The glories of the Baroque are realized in these splendid arrangements for brass and are celebrated in this classic recording from the Canadian Brass. Originally...

The glories of the Baroque are realized in these splendid arrangements for brass and are celebrated in this classic recording from the Canadian Brass. Originally released in 1983, this disc showcases what has made the "Brass" one of the most popular Classical ensembles of all time.

High, bright, light and clear - four ideals of the Baroque aesthetic, obviously applied to its architecture and perhaps similarly applicable to its music.

Samuel Scheidt's Galliard Battaglia is from a group of compositions compiled in 1621 for the entertainment of his employer, Margrave Christian Wilhelm of Brandenburg. This lively dance is one of the most imaginative of the many "battle pieces" composed during the Baroque era.

Until recently Jean Joseph Mouret was known only to musicologists. Within the last three decades several of his works have been revived, and one has actually achieved "hit tune" status. This is the opening Rondeau from Fanfares, a suite from the collection Suites de symphonies (1729). The suites were dedicated to the Prince of Dombes, and Fanfares was conceived specifically as a tribute to his valor in combat. The Rondeau has become familiar as the signature theme of PBS' Masterpiece Theatre.

In 1721, 100 years after the publication of Scheidt's Galliard Battaglia, J.S. Bach dedicated a set of concertos to another Margrave of Brandenburg, Christian Ludwig. Arthur Frackenpohl has compiled a suite of three selected movements from the Brandenburg Concertos for The Canadian Brass. The first movement is the final Allegro from Concerto No.6, the second the Polacca and Trio from the last movement of Concerto No.1, and the third is the brilliant finale of Concerto No.2, featuring the piccolo trumpet, a smaller trumpet designed to facilitate performance of virtuoso passages in a high register.

Two other works by Bach are included here. The first is the Air from the Suite No.3 for orchestra; in his arrangement, written specifically for The Brass, Arthur Frackenpohl assigns the familiar melody to both the trumpet and the piccolo trumpet. The second is Fred Mills' arrangement of a keyboard Prelude and Fugue (BWV 898) on the notes corresponding to the letters of Bach's last name (in German parlance, B equals B-flat and H corresponds to B natural).

The Purcell Suite is taken from a variety of sources. The fanfarelike Intrada is from the incidental music for John Dryden and Robert Howard's The Indian Queen, and the merry Rondo is from the incidental music for a revival of Aphra Behn's tragedy Abdelazer, or, The Moor's Revenge; this melody has become familiar as the theme of Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. The third movement is the famous lament from Dido and Aeneas. The fourth is a transcription of a transcription. "Cebell" refers to Purcell's borrowing of the melody of a chorus praising the goddess Cybele in Lully's opera Atys. The finale combines the stately Trumpet Tune, described to both Purcell and Jeremiah Clarke, with the spirited introduction to the anthem Rejoice in the Lord Alway.

William Boyce's best-known work is a set of eight short symphonies. These were published in 1760 but were, for the most part, composed earlier as introductions to theater pieces. Howard Cable has selected five individual movements for his Suite. The first, from Symphony No. 7, attests to Boyce's admiration of Handel's music. The tuba is given an opportunity to perform in a lyric manner in the slow second movement, from Symphony No.1. The ensuing Gavotte, from Symphony No.4, is a fine testimony of Boyce's aptitude for writing dance music; this is followed by another slow movement, from Symphony No. 7,and the suite concludes with the jubilant fugue from the first movement of Symphony No.5.

Gottfried Reiche was one of the musicians employed by the city of leipzig to provide music for ceremonies and festivals. His abilities were held in high estseem. In 1727 his portrait was painted showing him holding the manuscript of the brilliant trumpet fanfare "Albason," here brilliantly played by the two trumpets in unison (This arresting piece is a signature theme for CBS television's Sunday Morning cast.) On October 6,1734, the 67-year-old Reiche died of a stroke caused by th exertion of participating in a torchlight performance of Bach's cantata Preise dein Glück, gesegnetes Sachsen (BWV 215).

Jeremiah Clarke was a successful composer of church and theater music but was subject to episodes of depression, which caused him eventually to take his own life. He is chiefly remembered for the Prince of Denmark's March. The alternative title, Trumpet Voluntary, was first used in a 19th century organ transcription, mistakenly attributed to Purcell; Sir Henry Wood used this transcription as the basis of his celebrated orchestral arrangement. Today the piece is rightfully ascribed to Clarke.

From notes by DAVID OSSENKOP