Notes and Editorial Reviews
TEXAS HORNS
•
Paul Phillips,cond; Dallas SO Horns; Houston S Horns
•
CRYSTAL 774 (64:54)
TURNER
Bronze Triptych.
BECKEL
Portraits of the American West.
WILLIAMS-Di Lorenzo
Hooked on Williams.
BARBER
Adagio
(arr. Kaza).
JONES
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class="ARIAL12bi">A Child Is Born
(arr. Meyer).
BRAHAM/FURBER
Limehouse Blues
(arr. Meyer).
WOLF
Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
(arr. Meyer).
PROCTER
Amazing Grace
Recently Crystal has issued several recordings highlighting wind personnel from our American orchestras. This latest release chronicles the prowess of the combined horn sections of both the Dallas and Houston orchestras. The result is a spectacular 12-horn ensemble strutting its stuff in music that is straight out of heartland America. The two largest works—Kerry Turner’s
Bronz Triptych
and James A. Beckel Jr.’s
Portraits of the American West
are largely Coplandesque, with dollops of William Schuman and Roy Harris thrown in. Both are haunting in their evocation of the West Texas landscape, past and present. The world of jazz is tapped into in Braham/Furber’s
Limehouse Blues
and Tommy Wolf’s
Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
, and that of hymnody is evoked in Thad Jones’s
A Child Is Born
and Sterling Procter’s deeply moving version of
Amazing Grace.
The ensemble work is faultless. Intonation and articulation are splendid. The use of percussion is resourceful, transcending the plebian role of a mere rhythm section. In the Williams-Di Lorenzo piece,
Hooked on Williams
(a medley culled from John Williams’s score for
Hook
), it becomes a tellingly coloristic element.
Listening to this offering, I am once again amazed at the level of musicianship, both in terms of technical mastery and musical insight, currently to be found in our American orchestras. The sound is up to Crystal’s high standards, resulting in a 65-minute trip through some quite user-friendly, and, from time to time, astonishing music.
FANFARE: William Zagorski
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Works on This Recording
1.
Bronze Triptych by Kerry Turner
Conductor:
Paul Phillips
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Horns,
Houston Symphony Orchestra Horns
Period: 20th Century
Written: USA
2.
Portraits of the American West by Beckel, James A., Jr.
Conductor:
Paul Phillips
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Horns,
Houston Symphony Orchestra Horns
Period: 20th Century
Written: USA
3.
Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 by Samuel Barber
Conductor:
Paul Phillips
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Horns,
Houston Symphony Orchestra Horns
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1936; Rome, Italy
4.
A child is born by Thad Jones
Conductor:
Paul Phillips
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Horns,
Houston Symphony Orchestra Horns
Period: 20th Century
Written: USA
5.
Limehouse Blues by Philip Braham
Conductor:
Paul Phillips
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Horns,
Houston Symphony Orchestra Horns
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1922; USA
6.
Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most by Tommy Wolf
Conductor:
Paul Phillips
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Horns,
Houston Symphony Orchestra Horns
Period: 20th Century
Written: USA
7.
Amazing Grace by Traditional
Conductor:
Paul Phillips
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Horns,
Houston Symphony Orchestra Horns
Notes: Arranger: Sterling Procter.
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