Philadelphia Brass Ensemble: A FESTIVAL OF CAROLS IN BRASS

Philadelphia Brass Ensemble: A FESTIVAL OF CAROLS IN BRASS. Columbia (levyetiketeissä tai kotelossa ei ole vuosilukua). Ehjä LP-levy, kansissa pientä taittumaa ja kulumaa, muuten ehjät, takakannessa muutama aivan pieni kynän kärjellä tehty merkintä (piste; ks. liitekuva).

Philadelphia Brass Ensemble esittää kaksikymmentäviisi joululaulua (Christmas Carols) – Compiled, Edited and Produced by Andrew Kazdin:

Side 1: 1. Deck the Hall With Boughs of Holly – Lo, How a Rose E´er Blooming, 2. Bring, a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella – The First Noël, 3. O, Come All Ye Faithful – O Sanctissima, 4. O Tannenbaum, 5. O, Come, O Come, Emmanuel – Good King Wenceslas, 6. Silent Night, Holy Night – Joy to the World

Side 2: 1. The Twelve Days of Christmas, 2. Coventry Carol – God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,
3. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, 4. Good Christian Men Rejoice – O Holy Night, 5. What Child Is This? – Wassail Song, 6. O Little Town of Bethlehem, 7. Away in a Manger – We Wish You a Merry Christmas

"A Festival of Carols in Brass is the very definition of a Christmas "classic" – since it was first issued in 1967 it has never gone out of print, and the recording remains the number one choice for brass-styled Christmas music played in shopping malls throughout the United States during the holiday season. This album by the Philadelphia Brass Ensemble contains 25 traditional carols that are arranged in a colorful but no-nonsense fashion. To vary the sound, the Philadelphia Brass Ensemble make use of differing instrumental combinations among the various players, even within a carol, in addition to sparing but tasteful application of mutes. As opposed to merely getting through a carol without mistakes and to everyones satisfaction, the Philadelphia Brass Ensemble take the time to arrive at a blend of sound and work together on trying to make it as beautiful as possible, and it shows. CBS analog recording, though well nigh approaching the age of 40 years, is bright, spacious, clear, and not dated. The Philadelphia Brass Ensemble was a leaderless group drawn from the brass section of the Philadelphia Orchestra. During this time, conductor Eugene Ormandy had the Philadelphia Orchestra extremely busy in the recording studios, waxing practically the entire major orchestral literature for CBS Masterworks. Once in a while the Philadelphia Brass Ensemble would get a chance to do something on its own, as long as Ormandy was aware of it and got a piece of the action. Ironically, A Festival of Carols in Brass has outsold practically all of the regular orchestral recordings made by the Philadelphia Orchestra in the 1960s. For some reason, Sony has never seen fit to upgrade the cover on the compact disc release of A Festival of Carols in Brass; it is still in the same stripped-down "longbox"-era type of package it has appeared in since the 1980s. It does not list the players who participated on this now historic recording. For the record, they are Gilbert Johnson and Seymour Rosenfeld, trumpets; Mason Jones, horn; Henry Charles Smith, trombone; Dee Stewart, euphonium; and Abe Torchinsky and Peter Krill, tubas." (Uncle Dave Lewis, All Music Guide)

"Maybe it´s the influence of the Salvation Army, or maybe it´s just a special kind of inherent affinity. Whatever the cause, it´s a fact that practically everyone associates the sound of brass instruments with the music of Christmas. So, following the succes of the Philadelphia Brass Ensemble´s debut album, "The Glorious Sound of Brass", it seemed obvious to us to showcase the Ensemble´s sumptuous sonorities in a program of favorite Christmas Carols." Andrew Kazdin