Re: GG: canadian brass art of fugue

["Mark Williamson"<mwilliamson@alston.com>]

        Yes, they are marvelous players, and they have recorded a lot of 
        Bach.  Their Bach performances are consistently outstanding, 
        particularly when you consider the wide range of musical styles 
        in which they perform . . .  I did not realize they had met GG 
        before his death but given the Canadian connection it seems 
        fitting.
        
        These Bachworks, in one form or another, are perennial favorites 
        for brass quintets.  There are admittedly some authenticity 
        problems stemming from the fact that brass instruments in the 
        18th century were fairly primitive whereas the modern 
        instruments are among the most flexible, beautiful, and 
        well-tuned instruments you can find.  Consequently you don't 
        find a lot of 18th century brass music (although there is some, 
        to be sure) and the lush beautiful sound of the modern ensemble 
        is really quite different from anything in use in the 18th 
        century (except perhaps the organ!).  By "brass" I mean to 
        include instruments such as the cornetto which were actually 
        made out of wood.
        
        But you can hardly beat the brass quintet when you want a modern 
        take on an old piece of music.

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: GG: canadian brass art of fugue
Author:  <kb@cs.umb.edu> at internet
Date:    3/23/97 6:50 AM


I recently got the Canadian Brass' version of the Art of Fugue, and 
noticed that ``this recording is dedicated to the memory of Glenn 
Gould''.  The notes go on to say:
     
  In 1976 the Brass had the first of many meetings with the legendary 
  Glenn Gould.  It was during these meetings that the Art of the Fugue 
  was first conceived as a recording project.  From Glenn's insight and 
  advice, the Brass was encouraged to bring this project to fruition.
     
The date on the recording (done in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, 
Toronto) is 1987.  (As a further random connection, the instruments used 
were made by Yamaha :-)
     
Does anyone happen to know anything further about this?  I don't 
remember the C. Brass being mentioned in any of the standard works.
     
I find the recording itself quite stirring, FWIW.  I like it better
than the string quartet rendition.  It wouldn't be the one I'd take to a 
desert island, but ...
     
K