Recordings

Thomas Coates by Newberry’s Victorian Cornet Band

Recordings

coatescdNewberry’s Victorian Cornet Band, Thomas Coates: The Father of Band Music in America (MSR Classics MS 1556), 2015.

Douglas Hedwig; conductor, Christine Erlander Beard; piccolo (Rudall Carte, London, c. 1900), Dominic Giardino; 1st Bb clarinet (Joseph Walis, London, c. 1867-80), Lawrence Bocander; 2nd Bb clarinet (Jerome Thibouville-Lamy, Paris, c. 1897), Michael Tumiel; 3rd Bb clarinet (Jerome Thibouville-Lamy, Paris, c. 1875), Michael Jones; Eb cornet, (Tourville & Cie, Paris, c. 1890 with original mouthpiece), Jeff Stockham; Hall & Quinby, Boston, side action rotary Allen valve cornet, presentation instrument 1866, 1855 Graves & Co. mouthpiece), Elisa Koehler; solo Bb cornet (William Seefeldt, Philadelphia Bb cornet, 1890 with Seefeldt “Jules Levy” model mouthpiece), William Gregory; J.W. Pepper, Philadelphia Bb cornet, c. 1882, Courtois mouthpiece c. 1880), Christopher Belluscio; 1st Bb cornet, (Boston Musical Instrument Manufactory, Boston C/Bb/A cornet, 1879 with original mouthpiece), Larry Cole; 2nd Bb cornet (Bohland & Fuchs, Graslitz, imported by Lyon & Healy, Chicago, Seefeldt “Jules Levy” model mouthpiece), Lenore Turner; Eb alto horn (Bohland & Fuchs, Graslitz c. 1900), Michael Beard; Eb alto horn (C.G. Conn, c. 1898), Dickson Rothwell; alto horn (Quinby Brothers, Boston c. 1872, original mouthpiece), Steve Lundahl; 1st Bb tenor horn, (J.W. Pepper c. 1890) trombone (Henry Distin 1899), Seth D. Fletcher; 2nd tenor horn (Bohland & Fuchs c. 1890 with original mouthpiece) trombone (August Heinem, Austria c. 180-1900), Barry Bocaner; Bb bass/baritone, (Boston Musical Instrument Manufactory, Boston, c. 1900), Michael O’Connor; baritone (English maker, imported by J.W. Pepper c. 1900), Roy Coates; Eb bass (French maker, imported by J.W. Pepper, c. 1885), Tyler Wiernusz; Eb helicon (J.W. Pepper, c. 1905), Daniel Gonzales; snare drum, (John C. Haynes, Boston, rope-tension drum c. 1870), James G. Petropoulos; Bass Drum & Cymbals, (Slingerland drum co., Kalamazoo, c. 1920).

Dragon Voices: The Giant Celtic Horns of Ancient Europe

Recordings

dragonvoicesJohn Kenny, Dragon Voices: The Giant Celtic Horns of Ancient Europe. Delphian Records (DCD34183), 2015.

John Kenny; Carnyx, Loughnashade horn, conch shell, bells and drums.

Recorded November 18-20, 2015.

Those attending the Historic Brass Society Session of the EMAP (European Music Archaeology Project) in Viterbo, Italy in 2015 had the rare experience of viewing, listening to, and playing a number of reproductions of ancient brass instruments. This was the result of a five-year project undertaken by EMAP to reproduce and explore the sound world of ancient Roman, Greek, Egyptian, and Celtic cultures. John Kenny was part of that conference and this recording is an offshoot of his long experience playing and composing music for those instruments. In this CD he primarily plays three instruments; the Tintignac carnyx after a first-century BC original found in Tintignac, France (made by Jean Boisserie), the Deskford carnyx after a first-century BC original found in 1816 at Leitchestown, Scotland (made by John Creed), and the Loughnashade horn after a first-century BC original found in 1794 in Co-Armagh, Ireland (made by John Creed).

Six Recordings by Roland Wilson, La Capella Ducale and Musica Fiata

Recordings

wilsonfuxwilsonfictawilsonveniceDario Castello, Sonate Concertate 1629. Musica Fiata. Roland Wilson, director and cornetto; Arno Paduch, cornetto; Detlef Reimers, Peter Stelzl, trombone; Adrian Rovatkay, dulcian; Anette Sichelschmidt, violin; Christine Moran, violin and viola; Christiane Volke, viola; Olaf Reimers, violoncello; Christoph Anselm Noll, organ and harpsichord; Axel Wolf, chitarrone; Johanna Seitz, harp. CPO 555 011-2. Recorded October 26-29, 2013 at Dorfkirche Bochum-Stiepel, Bochum.

Johann Hermann Schein, Cymbalum Sionium. La Capella Ducale and Musica Fiata. Roland Wilson, director, cornetto, cornetto muto, and recorder; Frithjof Smith, cornetto, cornetto muto, and recorder; Detlef Reimers, Cas Gevers, Ercole Nisini, trombone; Adrian Rovatkay, dulcian and great bass shawm; Anette Sichelschmidt, violin and viola; Axel Wolf, theorbo and lute; Christoph Anselm Noll, organ and regal; Monika Mauch, Constanze Backes, soprano; Alexander Schneider, Rolf Ehlers, alto; Tobias Hunger, Hermann Oswald, tenor; Joachim Höchbauer, Ulrich Maier, bass. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 88875051442. Recorded October 20-21, 2014 at Bethanienkirche, Leipzig.

Reformationsmesse. Musica Fiata and La Capella Ducale. Roland Wilson, director, cornett, and recorder; Anne Schall, cornett, mute cornett, and recorder; François Petit-Laurent, cornett and trumpet; Hannes Rux, Almut Rux, Peter Protschka, Cas Gevers, Gerd Schulz, trumpet; Detlef Reimers, Cas Gevers, Ercole Nisini, trombone; Andreas Nowak, timpani; Adrian Rovatkay, dulcian and great bass shawm; Anette Sichelschmidt, Christine Moran, violin and viola; Christiane Volke, viola; Hartwig Groth, violone and viola de gamba; Michael Freimuth, chitarrone and lute; Axel Wolf, chitarrone; Christoph Anselm Noll, Martin Lubenow, organ, regal, and spinet; Monika Mauch, Constanze Backes, Karolina Brachmann, soprano; Alexander Schneider, Rolf Ehlers, alto; Vincent Lesage, Hermann Oswald, Tobias Hunger, tenor; Wolf Matthias Friedrich, Ulrich Maier, bass. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 88843021592. Recorded October 14-16, 2013 at Michaeliskirche, Fürth.

Johann Rosenmüller, Sonatas 1682. Musica Fiata. Roland Wilson, director and cornetto; Frithjof Smith, cornetto; Detlef Reimers, Peter Stelzl, trombone; Adrian Rovatkay, dulcian; Christoph Anselm Noll, organ and harpsichord; Axel Wolf, chitarrone; Anette Sichelschmidt, Christine Moran, violin; Christiane Volke, Andreas Pilger, viola; Olaf Reimers, basso viola. CPO 777 688-2. Recorded 2012 at Germanisches National Museum, Nürnberg.

Christmas in Venice. Musica Fiata and La Capella Ducale. Roland Wilson, director, cornetto alto, and cornetto basso; Gebhard David, cornetto alto; Frithjof Smith, Josue Melendez, cornetto alto and cornetto tenore; Anette Sichelschmidt, Christine Moran, violin and viola; Detlef Reimers, Peter Stelzl, Cas Gevers, Robert Schlegel, trombone; Ercole Nisini, Henning Plumeyer, bass trombone; Axel Wolf, chitarrone; Klaus Eichhorn, organ; Martin Lubenow, organ and harpsichord; Nele Gramß, Alex Potter, Alexander Schneider, Daniel Auchincloss, Manuel Warwitz, Hermann Oswald, Wolf Mathias Friedrich, Joel Frederiksen, singers. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 88691944742. Recorded December 5-7, 2011 at Michaeliskirche, Fürth.

Johann Joseph Fux, Kaiserrequiem. La Capella Ducale and Musica Fiata. Roland Wilson, conductor, director, and cornetto; Gebhard David, Fritjof Smith, cornetto; Peter Stelzl, Robert Schlegel, trombone; Adrian Rovatkay, bassoon; Christoph Anselm Noll, organ; Anette Sichelschmidt, Christine Moran, violin; Christiana Volke, viola; Olaf Reimers, violoncello; Hartwig Groth, violone; Monika Mauch, Constanze Backes, Karolina Brachman, Rannveig Sif Sigurdardottir, soprano; Alexander Schneider, Arnon Zlotnik, alto; Markus Brutscher, Lothar Blum, tenor; Harry van der Kamp, Ulrich Mayer, bass. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 88697959972. Recorded December 2-4, 2009 at Paterskirche, Kempen.

Ensemble Ventosum. L’Arte dei Piffari

Recordings

piffariEnsemble Ventosum. L’Arte dei Piffari: Cornets and Sackbuts in Early Baroque Italy. Pan Classics (10332), 2015. 

William Dongois: cornettino (Henri Gohin, 2010), straight cornett (Henri Gohin, 2011); Francois Petit-Laurent: cornett (Serge Delmas, 2011), cornettino (Henri Gohin, 2009, tenor cornett (Henri Gohin, 1990); Friederike Otto: curnved cornett (Serge Delmas, 2011), tenor cornett (Christopher Shuler, 2012); Paul Gonzales: tenor sackbut (Ewald Meinl after Anton Drewelwecz, 1595, Nuremburg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum MI 167); Stefan Legee: tenor sackbut (Ewald Meinl after Erasmus Schnitzer, 1551, Nuremburg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum MI 170); Abel Rohrbach: tenor sackbut (Ewald Meinl after Anton Drewelwecz, 1595, Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum MI 167); Franck Poitrineau: bass sackbut (Ewald Meinl, made of silver after Georg Nicolaus Oller, 1640, Stokholm, Musikmuseet M 252); Gosta Funck: organ (Henk Klop, 2000)

Recorded February 2013 and February 2014 at Sankt Nikolai, Berlin-Spandau, Germany in A=440 ¼ comma meantone 

The Art of Heinrich Scheidemann

Recordings

scheidemannLe Concert Brisé: The Art of Heinrich Scheidemann. Accent Records (24302), 2016.

William Dongois, cornetto; Alice Julien-Laferriére, violin; Odile Bernard, recorder; Jean-Christophe Leciere, organ. Straight Cornetti by Henri Gohin in 3 parts pitched at 440 (tracks 3, 4, 5, 7, 14) and at 495 (tracks 2, 10, 12); Organ after Italian original, by Rudi Jacques, Talange, France.

Recorded at the church, Jésus Ouvrier, Talange, France, October, 2014 in A=440 at ¼ comma meantone.

Heinrich Scheidemann (1596–1663) first studied organ under his father, David, in his hometown of Hamburg and was sent by him to Amsterdam to study with Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck from 1611-1614. Sweelinck dedicated his canon Ter eeren Of Vromen Jongkmans Henderich Scheijtman, van Hamborgk to him. Scheidemann succeeded his father as organist at St. Catherine’s in Hamburg and also was a consultant for organ building in Lübeck. His compositions are characterized by their improvisatory character and make great technical demands on the performer. At the same time, they are not merely vehicles for virtuosity. To be sure, there is substance in his compositions and a wide variety of moods are expressed.

Three Recordings by Don Johnson, with President Lincoln's Own Band and Kentucky Baroque Trumpets

Recordings

johnsongettysburgDon Johnson and the Kentucky Baroque Trumpets. Music for Trumpets, Strings, and Organ from Before 1700.

Recorded in Fairchild Chapel, at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, June 2013. The music on this CD is performed in meantone temperament; the chapel organ, opus 25 by John Brombaugh, employs a split-key keyboard to facilitate this tuning. 

Don Johnson and President Lincoln’s Own Band. The Gettysburg Address: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Milan Records M2-36699, 2015. 

Don Johnson and President Lincoln’s Own Band. President Lincoln’s Own Band.

These three CDs represent some of the fine recent work by Don Johnson and his colleagues. The Kentucky Baroque Trumpets recording of seventeenth-century music is a very fine effort. They are ably assisted by guest artists Friedemann Immer and John Foster. The program is a mix of some of the “greatest hits” of the natural trumpet repertoire as well as some lesser known compositions. The sonatas a’ 10 and a’ 7 by Christian Friederick Witt (1660–1716) embody the glorious sound of natural trumpets and the Kentucky trumpets are supported by a fine Baroque string ensemble and Steve Plank’s wonderful organ playing. These works, from about 1695, are a welcome addition to the repertoire.  A more familiar work of this syle and equally performed is the Sonata No. 332 by Cesare Bendinelli. Getting to hear a number of the anonymous duets from the Modena collection of 1690 played by the likes of Immer, Foster, and Johnson is a real treat. John Foster exhibits beautiful and delicate playing on Sonata No. 1 by Giovanni Bonaventura Viviani (1638–93) and is equally matched by Friedemann Immer’s performance of the Sonata No. 2 a’ 4 by Pavel Josef Vejvanovsky (1633–93). Steve Plank again displayed his wonderful musicianship on three passagalli for solo organ by Giovanni Battista Ferrini (1601–74). The closing work on this fine recording is a vibrant work, but not a common piece on most natural trumpet programs. The Sonata a’ 10 by Anton Thomas Albertini (1660-1734) is brilliantly performed by the Kentucky Baroque Trumpets. 

Trio Aenea: The Virtuoso Ophicleide

Recordings

ophicleidewilbartPatrick Wilbart and Trio Ænea, The Virtuoso Ophicleide, Ricercar/Outhere Music (RIC 362), 2015.

Patrick Wibart (ophicleide), Adrian Ramon (cornet), Lucie Sansen (piano), with guests Corentin Morvan (ophicleide), Oscar Abella Martín (ophicleide), Jean-Yves Guéry (vocal chant).

For years, the early brass world has marveled at the virtuosity, on both serpent and ophicleide, of French tuba player Patrick Wibart. He has appeared in many live performances and workshops, and tantalizing excerpts of his playing have been available on YouTube for several years. But the fact he had produced no commercial recordings was a great frustration for early brass enthusiasts yearning to hear more.

Finally, Wibart’s CD, The Virtuoso Ophicleide, has been released in late 2015. Wibart has modeled this recording on the salon style of performances popular in the nineteenth century, and engaged Pierre Girod, a musicologist specializing in beau chant français (French bel canto), as his advisor on period performance practice and the salon style in particular. Girod’s recommendations influenced the tempi chosen for the selections, the number of improvisations in the piano part, and the number of improvised embellishments and cadenzas for in the solo part, which are often not represented in the original scores.

Three Recordings by Les Sacqueboutiers de Toulouse

Recordings

sacque1sacque2sacque3Les Sacqueboutiers de Toulouse. Reis Glorios L’Influence de La Musique Arabe Dans la Mythologie Occitane. Flora Records Flora 3916 (2015).

Jean-Pierre Canihac; cornetto, Philippe Canguilhem; chalemie, bombarde, medieval flute a bec, Daniel Lassalle; sacqueboute, Lucile Tesier; bombarde, medieval flute a bec, Jodel Grasset-Saruwatari; medieval lute, rebec, oud, arch lute, Florent Tisseyre, tambourine, daf, panderata, derbuouka, buche, cloches. Guest Musicians: Pierre Hammon; medieval flute a bec, double flute, bansouri, cornemuse, Driss El maloumi; oud, chant, Pierre-Yes Binard; vocal, Renat Jurie; vocal.

Les Sacqueboutiers de Toulouse. Venise sur Garonne Giovanni Gabrieli. Flora Records Flora 3314 (2014)

Cornetti: Jean-Pierre Canihac, Marie Garnier-Marzullo, Lluis Coll I Trulls, Regis Singlit, Tenor Trombones: Daniel Lassalle, David Locqueneux, Aymeric Fournes, Oliver Lachurie, Elias Toure, Xavier Sibra, Julien Miro, Hugo Liquiere, Bass Trombones: Fabien Dornic, Jean-Noel Gamet, Dulcians: Laurent Le Chenadec, Philippe Canguilhem, Daphne Franqin, Laurent Le Chenadec, Barbara Bajor, Theorbo: Matthias Sopaeter, Organ: Yasuko Bouvard, Maiko Kato, Kaori Kakai.

Les Sacqueboutiers de Toulouse. Giovanni Martino Cesare Musicali Melodie (1621). Flora Records Flora 3615 (recorded 1996, released 2015)

Cornetto: Jean-Pierre Canihac, Philippe Matharel, Tenor Trombone: Daniel Lassalle, Bass trombone and serpent; Bernard Fourtet, Organ and harpsichord; Jan Willem Jansen. Guest Musicians: Cornetto: Jean Tubery, Trombone: Stefan Legee, Nicolas Valade, Theorbo: Charles-Edouard Pantin, Violins: Brigit Taubl, Gunar Letzbor, Viola da Gamba: Lorenz Duftschmid, Harp: Christine Pluhar, Vocals: Guillemette Laurens, Marie-Claude Valin, Jean-Louis Comoretto, Jean-Yves Guerry, John Elwes, Bruno Boterf, Bernard Fare-Garrus, Yves Berge.