The
musical journey begins in the distant reaches of our solar system. Many
listeners will correctly surmise that Pluto: The Last Planet was inspired
by Gustav Holst's The Planets. When Boston Brass and Robin Dinda (see
Nocturne, below) commissioned the work in 1992, they did so with two major
goals: to make a worthy contribution to the organ-and-brass literature, to
produce a work composed in the style of a heroic legend. Bruce Edward
Miller, who was trained for film scoring and now works extensively in that
field, has met both goals most successfully in Pluto.
Our
next stop, closer to home, is in late-sixteenth-century Venice. Giovanni
Gabrieli is especially well-known for his Canzoni, rich musical
conversations among two or more voices or groups of voices. Canzona
Septimi Toni (Canzona on the Seventh Tone) is an exploration of the
seventh (mixolydian) mode, or scale. The combination of the mixolydian
scale and reverberant acoustics create a special "other-worldly"
effect.
The
next three works are associated with death and passage into another world.
Often sung at funerals, Let Nothing Ever Grieve Thee is an arrangement
based on Brahms' opus 30, Geistliche Lied (Sacred Song), for four-part
mixed chorus with organ or piano accompaniment. The piece was composed in
the mid-1850s, evidently as a counterpoint exercise for Brahms' friend,
violinist Joseph Joachim. Musically, the piece is notable for its use of
the double canon below at the ninth, in which the soprano and tenor voices
on the one hand, and alto and bass on the other, engage in a musical
dialogue. The text ("Let nothing afflict thee with grief. Be calm, as
God ordains, and so shall my will be satisfied.") is by Paul Flemming
(1609-1640), a widely admired lyric poet of the German baroque.
Continuing
the theme of death and other worlds is Dupré's Poème Heroïque, a
commemoration both of the restoration of the Cathedral in Verdun in 1935,
and the approximately one million soldiers killed in the First World War
battle of Verdun. The piece is essentially an elegy, but the listener will
hear themes both martial and heroic.
Sir
Patrick Spens is the title of a medieval Scottish ballad; Sir Patrick is a
renowned sailor whose reputation proves to be his undoing when he accepts
the challenge of sailing into a winter storm that ultimately sinks his
ship. This piece is an arrangement of a setting by Robert Pearsall.
Eugene
Gigout held the post of organist for most of his career at the church of
St. Augustin; he was also professor of organ at the Paris Conservatory. He
counted among his friends Fauré and Saint-Saëns; the latter was also
Gigout's teacher. Grand Choer Dialogué (Grand Chorus in Dialogue) was
originally scored to exploit separate divisions of a solo organ. The
arrangement heard here makes use of the two "choirs" of brass
quintet and organ; in the recapitulation, we are treated to the delightful
addition of the Flentrop's own reed stops.
The
world of heaven was a common subject of Lutheran chorales and Bach's
cantatas. "Wir Müssen durch viel Trübsal" (BWV 146) was
probably composed in 1726. My Spirit Be Joyful is a duet, originally for
tenor and bass. While the cantata as a whole explores both joy and grief,
Bach's setting clearly evokes the joy of heaven in this movement:
"Ah, how I will glory in song and rejoicing, / when all of these
earthly afflictions are past. / The sun of my soul will in splendor be
shining, / the blessings of Heaven will banish repining, / all earthly woe
will end at last."
Boston
Brass and Robin Dinda have long been affiliated through the First
Congregational Church of Nashua, N.H., where Dinda served as Organist and
Choirmaster. Gabrieli's Canzona Septimi Toni, heard earlier, inspired
Dinda to compose Septimi Tempi (Seventh Tempo, or speed) for brass and
organ. That piece, in turn, inspired Nocturne, composed in 1996
specifically for Boston Brass. As the title suggests, Nocturne is an
exploration of a separate world within our own; it is a quietly flowing,
contemplative interweaving of the various voices.
Richard
Strauss is known for monumental orchestral works; if such writing is to be
arranged for a group of only six musicians, then brass and organ are an
agreeable choice of instrumentation. Solemn Entry was originally scored
for brass band with tympani, but Strauss liked the piece well enough to
score it for symphony orchestra and organ. The arrangement heard here is
based on the original brass arrangement and a score reduction for organ by
Max Reger. The title refers to the ceremonial entry of candidates into the
order of St. John, originally dedicated to the protection of pilgrims to
the Holy Land during the Crusades.
George
Frederic Handel is known today largely for his oratorios (especially
Messiah) and his instrumental works. However, he also made a career-long
exploration of opera, ranging from playing violin in the Hamburg opera as
a teenager, to composing many operas of his own. Xerxes, composed in 1738,
treats the story of the mythical king of Persia. This piece was not
actually a setting of text, but rather a simple instrumental interlude
designed to divert attention from scene changes on stage.
André
Campra was a leading figure in French theatre and sacred music in the
eighteenth century. The two aspects of his career did not always
peacefully coexist, as cleverly illustrated in this punning poem by the
composer: Quand notre Archevêque saura / L'Auteur du nouvel opera / De sa
Cathédrale Campra / Décampera (When our Archbishop would know / the
author of the new opera / from his cathedral Campera / decamps). Campra
did just that, leaving his post at Notre Dame in 1700 to work solely at
the Paris Opera. The Rigaudon heard here, taken from the opera Idomeneo of
1712, is a stately dance well suited to the slow ceremonial processionals
of the day.
Our
exploration concludes with a tribute to Seattle and a musically convincing
argument for the pipe organ's inclusion in the jazz band! Here's That
Rainy Day was composed for the 1953 musical Carnival in Flanders. Jimmy
Van Heusen (who was born Edward Chester Babcock and later renamed himself
after the shirt company) collaborated famously with lyricist Johnny Burke
on dozens of musical theatre and film projects. Hornist J.D. Shaw's
arrangement opens with a statement not unlike the concert or sacred
character of much of the rest of the recording; but the harmony shifts
subtly: a foreshadowing, perhaps? The entrance of harmon-muted trumpet
confirms our awakened suspicions, and indeed our journey ends with a rich
stroll through a delightful, lush musical landscape.
Notes
by Timothy Helming and Ed Clough