Listening Party

Fugue in D Minor (Originally in G) Arr. Mexi- Budapest Festival Horn Quartet

I really enjoy the different colors that the horns are able to access throughout this work. This allows the music to sound much more diverse aside from the trading of lines in the fugue. The low horn playing here was especially impressive.

Victory Fanfare Benjimann Blasko- Tromba Mundi w/ Wind Ensemble

This sounds quite Ewazen(y) to my ears especially at first. I don't mind the optimistic sounding melodic and harmonic ideas. The playing on this record is great overall, and I know the individuals in the ensemble are all fantastic. However, I'm not sure if I'm completely in love with trumpet ensemble as featured ensemble in a traditional sense. I feel as though with the contrast against a wind ensemble the trumpets sound brighter than they may be in real life, and this contrast leads to a less than ideal quality on the record.

Divertimento for Brass and Percussion Karel Husa- UNT Brass Choir

I forget how nice Husa's works are to listen to especially when they are executed this well. I'm much more familiar with Perseichetti and Dahl, which Husa reminds me of quite a bit in this piece.

Quidditch John Williams- Boston Symphony Brass

I enjoyed this short little arrangement, and think it could make a great piece to close a brass ensemble concert.

Jazz Suite for 4 Horns, Harpsichord, Guitar, Bass, and Drum Alec Wilder

I. Horns O' Plenty

Another composer I often forget about. I love the way Wilder brings harpsichord into the jazz idiom, which plays with expectations quite a bit. My favorite part of jazz music is how musicians create and then break expectations, and I believe Wilder accomplished that with the instrumentation here.