Music for Wind Band, Vol. 7

Sousa (Composer), Brion (Conductor), Royal Artillery Band (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Royal Artillery Band
• Conductor: Brion
• Composer: Sousa
• Audio CD (December 16, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos American
• ASIN: B001JNCO9C
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #167,082 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Fanfare Archive, Ronald E. Grames, May/June 20

Keith Brion, one of the foremost authorities on the music of Sousa, has been building an extensive library of Sousa's music for Naxos since 1998, beginning with the first release ("On Stage," Fanfare 22:1), which first appeared on marco polo in 1997. This is planned to be the most comprehensive collection of Sousa assembled, currently consisting of these seven volumes of wind band music, in addition to an earlier three volumes of Sousa for orchestra. In terms of wind music alone, Brion has so far released 86 works: marches, suites, waltzes, and novelty numbers. The current largest collection is by the Detroit Concert Band, which recorded all 116 published marches on five CDs (Walking Frog 300). The U.S. Marine Band's set of four CDs, available as "A Box of Sousa" on Altissimo 5571, has 56 works. In terms of performances, the Marine Band is probably my favorite, with the Naxos set a very close second. Both compare favorably with the best single-disc releases, including Junkin with the Dallas Wind Symphony (Reference Recordings 94), Fennell with the Eastman Wind Ensemble (Mercury 434300), Foley with the American Main Street Band (EMI 54130), and Keith Brion with his own New Sousa Band (Delos 102 or Walking Frog 217), which includes seven restorations of recordings conducted by Sousa himself. The relative completeness of the Detroit release recommends it, but the performances often lapse into the routine. Besides, the Naxos set will eventually include 20 additional marches and dozens of concert works.

This seventh volume is as good a place to start as any, as it continues the series pattern of presenting a satisfying mix of the familiar (El capitan and The Black Horse Troop) and the unfamiliar (Congress Hall and The Naval Reserve), of marches derived from Sousa's stage works (El capitan, again, The Bride Elect and The Charlatan), of Strauss-inspired waltzes (Intaglio Waltzes), of historical scenarios à la Wellington's Victory, complete with battle sounds, racing horse hooves, and cheering (Sheridan's Ride), and novelty numbers like Sounds from the Revivals, an arrangement of late-19th-century hymns which may have been written for Offenbach's orchestra when they appeared at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.

James Camner has reviewed three of the earlier releases in the series for Fanfare: Vol. 2, 25:5, Vol. 3, 27:3, and Vol. 4, 28:1. In each he has pointed out the essential rightness of Brion's performances. I concur. They are not so fast as to make them overbearing or cheaply exciting, but rather taken at a comfortable march tempo that allows the music to unfold naturally. The Royal Artillery Band, formed before the American colonies declared independence, plays with style and verve. Those who have learned their Sousa with (or in) larger concert bands may initially be surprised by the somewhat smaller sound of this ensemble, but in fact, this is the instrumentation that Sousa used in his own touring band. Sousa-lovers will want the whole series. The uncertain risk little, at Naxos's bargain prices, by diving in here.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sousa's El Capitan March, and Much More, January 12, 2009

By 

J Scott Morrison (Middlebury VT, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Music for Wind Band, Vol. 7 (Audio CD)

John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) wrote a jillion marches -- well, actually only 136 -- and you've probably only heard one of the ones on this disc, the seventh in Keith Brion's and the Royal Artillery Band's series devoted to his music. The one you've heard -- and, really, I doubt if there is anyone who hasn't -- is 'El Capitan'. This famous march is actually a medley of tunes from Sousa's Broadway show of that name from 1896. It, and all the other selections on this disc, are played with proper restraint and delicacy. Sousa's music is not just blood and guts; it is really quite wonderfully and knowledgeably constructed and was originally played in the rather cool manner adopted here by this British band. That is not to say there isn't spirit in the playing, it's just that it isn't loud, too fast, or schlocked up.

Among the highlights on the disc is the late (1916) 'America First March' (also called 'The March of the States') which uses four tunes associated with as many states or regions: 'Dixie', 'Maryland, My Maryland', 'We're Off the Philadelphia in the Morning' (a tune that commemorates the centennial celebration in Philly held in 1876 in which Sousa had played violin in the Exposition's orchestra), and good ol' 'Yankee Doodle'. Great fun.

There is the lovely and Straussian 'Intaglio Waltz' (1884) written for a friend's daughter. Another operetta selection is 'The Bride-Elect March', from, you guessed it, 'The Bride-Elect' from 1897, a modest success that followed the wildly popular 'El Capitan' on Broadway. And from another operetta, 'The Charlatan' (1898), is 'The Charlatan March', which takes some of the show's triple time tunes and recasts them in march time.

And oddly effective one is 'Sheridan's Ride' commemorating the famous breakneck twenty-mile ride of General Sherman to rejoin his troups and rally them to win the battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia during the Civil War. It comes complete with the sounds of artillery fire and cheering during the battle sequence.

But my favorite of all these is 'Sounds from the Revival' which incorporates 'Jesus Lover of My Soul', 'Nearer My God to Thee' and 'Sweet Bye and Bye' among others. A lovely, nostalgic picture of an earlier, more innocent time.

As in the earlier issues in this series, Brion and his Royal Artillery Band do themselves proud. Brion, of course, is probably the world's foremost Sousa specialist, so this is no surprise.

Another winner in this series.

Scott Morrison