Fennell: Suites 1 & 2 / Folk Song Suite / Toccata Marziale

Gustav Holst (Artist), Ralph Vaughan Williams (Artist), Peter Mennin (Artist), Vincent Persichetti (Artist), Herbert Owen Reed (Artist), Frederick Fennell (Artist), Eastman Wind Ensemble (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 13, 1999)
• Mono edition
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B00000IIX5
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #89,895 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #9 in	Music > Classical > Featured Composers, A-Z > ( P ) > Persichetti, Vincent
  #70 in	Music > Classical > Featured Composers, A-Z > ( H ) > Holst, Gustav

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant band performances, December 4, 2003

By	Robert E. Nylund (Ft. Wayne, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Here is more proof of the wonderful accomplishments that Mercury Records achieved in its "Living Presence" classical recordings between 1951 and 1968. Those were golden years for American music as Mercury utilized the talents of such conductors as Howard Hanson, Antal Dorati, Paul Paray, and, in this case, Frederick Fennell. Fennell is heard here in vintage, superb high fidelity recordings (circa 1955) with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, one of the outstanding musical groups associated with the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

These works for band or wind ensembles were often performed by college or university bands. Indeed, I heard some of them at the College of San Mateo and San Jose State College during the 1960's, right at the time that Mercury was continuing to issue such fine classical recordings. These performances were all recorded with a single microphone, much like RCA's "New Orthophonic" series, but I have often felt that these had better overall sound than the RCA Red Seal recordings of the early 1950's.

The effects of superb, monophonic, high fidelity have seldom been better represented than in the very colorful "La Fiesta Mexicana" by Herbert Owen Reed, given an absolutely dazzling performance by the Eastman musicians.

The two suites for military band by Gustav Holst, as well as Ralph Vaughan Williams' "English Folk Song Suite" and "Toccata Marziale" are representative of a high point in British music, the early twentieth century. Holst and Vaughan Williams were very good friends and compatriots; they both wrote exceptionally well for wind and brass. These are top-notch performances that set a benchmark for the numerous college and university bands who dared to perform these challenging works.

Less known are Peter Mennin's "Canzona for Wind Band" and Vincent Persichetti's "Psalm for Band," but these works by twentieth century American composers are also well performed in these recordings.

This compilation is definitely a musical "treasure" and have seldom sounded as good as in this digital remastering by Phillips.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We have been looking for this for 15 years!, January 3, 2000

By A Customer

My spouse grew up listening to this album. Yup,an old mono LP that was issued in the 50's and has been dearly loved ever since. However, because of all that love, the recording had deteriorated due to the pops, crackles, skips and plain old wear and tear. We had made contact with Mercury Records, who advised us they did have the master, but were unwilling to reiusse. To have our LP digitally remastered would have cost thousands. We had almost given up hope. This year, I made a search again, this time on the Internet and lo and behold it turned up and we were able to purchase it reasonably at Amazon.com! Listening to it again has been bliss. We have ordered 4 more copies to share with others. Thanks, A.C, you made our Christmas!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fennell Interpretation, May 14, 2007

By	David R. Holsinger - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For Band Conductors / Teachers, there is no better conducting interpretation than those of Frederick Fennell. Tho these recordings are not new recordings, they are still viable interpretations. Glad to see them still available.