★★★★★
If you're not completely hooked by the strikingly realistic antiphonal sound or the breathtakingly virtuosic playing in the first 30 seconds of this remarkable recording, then check your equipment--both your ears and your sound system. Even if you're not normally a brass ensemble fan, you are certain to take this terrific disc and its perfectly chosen and organized program into your innermost circle of demonstration favorites...
- www.classicstoday.com
2009-11-05
★★★★★
If you're a Canadian Brass fan who remembers the group's classic RCA recordings from the 1980s and '90s, you'll be interested in the reissue/availability of its more recent offerings from its own Opening Day Recordings label, distributed by Universal Music. This release, from 2002, includes a wide-ranging program of first-class arrangements, from Scheidt and Gabrieli and Bach to Jelly Roll Morton (Black Bottom Stomp), a Glenn Miller medley, and Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me"...
- www.classicstoday.com
2009-06-06
★★★★★
Non-keyboardists increasingly lay claim to Bach's Goldberg Variations on disc, from string trios and cimbalom duos, to guitar renditions and synthesizer blowouts. The challenge to both performers and arrangers is to render Bach's keyboard-specific textures with results that are technically plausible and musically convincing. A brass quintet arrangement by Arthur Frackenpohl, newly recorded by the Canadian Brass, succeeds on both counts--for the most part...
- www.classicstoday.com
2009-06-06
★★★★★
The Christmas Album features Canadian Brass performing a variety of holiday favorites. Featured performances include "Visit From St. Nicholas," "Carol of the Bells," "Away in a Manger," and "Jingle Bells," in addition to 19 others. Most of these songs are traditionals and may be unfamiliar.
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
Red, White & Brass finds the Canadian Brass playing nine pieces and medleys of great American songs and compositions. Most of the music dates from the late 1800s and early 1900s, with such composers as Irving Berlin and John Philip Sousa getting special attention. Throughout it all, the brass quintet delivers stellar performances, making this record a joyous celebration of the land of the free -- even if it was performed by Canadians!
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
A collection of Beatles covers, All You Need Is Love finds the Canadian Brass turning in warm, pretty versions of such Lennon and McCartney staples as "When I'm Sixty-Four," "Michelle," "Penny Lane," "Yesterday," "She's Leaving Home," "Eleanor Rigby," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," and "All You Need Is Love." There are no real revelations here, nor are there any surprising reinterpretations, but the entire thing is quite enjoyable, particularly for longtime followers of the Canadian Brass.
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
Bolero and Other Blockbusters finds the Canadian Brass running through 26 of the most familiar classical pieces, from "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and "Hall of the Mountain King" to "Also Sprach Zarathustra," commonly known as the "2001 Theme." Even if some of the compositions are abbreviated, the Brass deliver excellent version of all the pieces, making this a nice sampler or introduction for casual fans or the curious listener.
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
This CD contains Broadway hits from Richard Rodgers, Stephen Sondheim, Duke Ellington, Andrew Lloyd Webber, George Gershwin, and Frank Loesser, all given the Canadian Brass treatment.
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
Christmas favorites performed by this popular brass choir plus the great organ of St. Patrick's Cathedral. The combination works. Fine traditional arrangements with some modern flavor.
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27