The Organ Magazine www.theorganmag.com
May 2001
The organ in St Mark's Episcopal Cathedral was built by
Flentrop in 1965 and renovated in 1992/95 by Paul Fritts. It has four
manuals, with 58 stops on 79 ranks, with and a six second reverberation.
Boston Brass encompasses Rich Kelley and Jeff Conner
(trumpets), J D Shaw (horn), Ed Clough (trombone) and Matthew Gaunt (tuba)
and the combination of brass and organ in such an acoustic is indeed out
of this world, well - almost!
Inevitably, much of the programme consists of
arrangements of both familiar and new works for 'other instruments'
including the Poéme Héroïque by Dupré, Gigout's Grand Chœur
Dialogué, works by Bach and Handel, and also Solemn Entry by
Richard Strauss. The opening piece, Pluto, the last planet was
commissioned in 1992 and owes something to Holst's famous work The
Planets, and proves a fabulous addition to the repertory for brass and
other instruments.
J Melvin Butler has been Organist and Choirmaster of St
Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle since 1992; here he demonstrates
that he is an ideal accompanist for the brass quintet. This is a CD of
quality that should long be remembered.
