Our Review
Classy and brassy, the Pittsburgh Symphony Brass ("PSB") will win over legions of new listeners with its outstanding A Christmas Concert. Although the instrumental album's name will win no awards for innovation, its fantastic content should. Founded by George Vosburgh in 1994, the PSB has seven extraordinary players (Vosburgh, Neal Berntsen, William Caballero, Peter Sullivan, Murray Crewe, Sumner Erickson, Robert Hamrick) on this album. The top-notch musicianship is matched only by the phenomenal quality of the recording.
Brass matches beautifully with holiday music, and A Christmas Concert is a perfect examplar. Horns are warm, yet speak with clear, bright authority. They can be a brilliant fanfare ("Joy to the World"), sly & jazzy ("We Three Kings"), classically straightforward ("Good King Wenceslas" and "Deck the Halls"), exotic and muted ("Patapan"), gently reverential ("Silent Night"), and even funny ("The Twelve Days of Christmas"). All things are possible with talented brass musicians.
With 29 tracks on an album that is only 48 minutes long, you needn't be a math maven to conclude that each piece receives relatively sparse treatment--most cuts are well under two minutes in length. Even so, when the music is this good, great things can come in very small packages, and the result is a fully satisfying holiday album of beautiful instrumental brass. The focus here is on traditional, ancient carols; everyone will immediately recognize at least half of the pieces.
So crank up the volume and let the PSB's A Christmas Concert fill your concert venue with abundant brass. So sweet!
--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2005)
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From the liner notes:
The Pittsburgh Symphony Brass are:
George Vosburgh: trumpet & flugelhorn
Neal Berntsen: trumpet & flugelhorn
William Caballero: french horn & Wagner tuba
Peter Sullivan: tenor trombone & euphonium
Murray Crewe: bass trombone
Sumner Erickson: tuba
Robert Hamrick: tenor trombone (4,15,22,26,27)
Producer: Arnold Roth
Executive Producer: Lee Smith
Artistic Coordinator: George Vosburgh
Recording Engineer: Konrad Strauss
Mastered by Konrad Strauss
Pittsburg Symphony Brass
A Christmas Concert
Artist link
Label: Four Winds
Length: psb minutes
Genre: Classical
Release: 2000
Track List
| Song Title |
|---|
| Joy To The World - (Lowell Mason) |
| Carol Of The Bells - (Traditional) |
| Ding Dong! Merrily On High - (Thoinot Arbeau) |
| I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day - (Longfellow & Clakin) |
| The Merry Bells Of Speyer - (Ludwig Senfl) |
| I Saw Three Ships - (from Piae Cantiones) |
| Christmas Song - (from Piae Cantiones) |
| Mid-Winter - (Gustav Holst) |
| Masters In This Hall - (Traditional) |
| In Dulci Jubilo - (Traditional) |
| He Is Born Emanuel - (Michael Praetorius) |
| How Brightly Shines The Morning Star - (Michael Praetorius) |
| Lo, How A Rose E're Blooming - Michael Praetorius) |
| Volte - (Michael Praetorius) |
| God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - (Traditional) |
| Wexford Carol - (Traditional) |
| Murztaler Engelruf - (Traditional) |
| The Twelve Days of Christmas ( Traditional) |
| We Three Kings - (John Henry Hopkins) |
| Kommt, Christen, seht... - (Traditional) |
| Schlafe mit Rueh - (Traditional) |
| Good King Wenceslas - (from Piae Cantiones) |
| Patapan - (Bernard de la Monnoye) |
| Capriccio a 2 Cornetti Soli - (Johann Vierdanck) |
| Silent Night - (Franz Gruber) |
| Nativity Carol (Poverty) - (Traditional) |
| Infant Holy - (Traditional) |
| Deck The Halls - (Traditional) |
| We Wish You a Merry Christmas - (Traditional) |