Review of Brass and Wines CD BOCC113 The Brass Herald Dec 2008

 Brass and Wines is a most exciting new CD release featuring Steven Mead and The Spanish Brass Luur Metalls quintet. There is something sincerely refreshing about this album which the listener will detect from the very first track, since not only does it demonstrate how successful a partnership the tonal lyricism of the euphonium makes with the brighter timbre of the established orchestral brass quintet, but also it is packed with interesting music played to nigh on technical perfection with some stunning musicianship on display.

 The opening piece and title track, Brass and Wines, comes from the pen of Jose Rafael Pascual-Vilaplanta and depicts the process of wine making. Each of the three movements takes its title from Spanish wines from Valencia region - an imaginative and appetising theme, setting the mood beautifully for the music to follow in the form of an arrangement of Telemann's Concerto for Oboe in C Major and the Elegie by Peter Meechan. For the writer, this latter work is the outstanding piece of the CD, making it well worth buying for this track alone. The atmospheric essence of the music is arresting and the manner in which both soloist and accompaniment capture the idiom is nothing short of breathtaking.

 Following a close second to Elegie is Cancion de Cuna Para Dormir a un Negrito (Lullaby for a black child) by Xavier Montsalvatge. This is a short piece taken from the composer's  Five Negro Songs and the addition of a piano into the accompaniment line adds a rare and exquisite touch of musical magic.

Other tracks include Bravura Variations on a Theme by Mozart arr. Howey, Ben McMillan's Kaleidoscopic Overdrive, Lisonjas de la Alcahueta, commissioned from Spanish composer Juan J. Colomer and Roland Szentpoli's arrangement of Innuendo, made famous by rock group Queen as a tribute to Led Zeppelin. The CD finishes with a break-neck speed performance of the Finale from Tchaikovsky's Concerto for Violin in another Henry Howey arrangement.

Overall this release is a must for anyone thirsting fabulous euphonium playing - Steven Mead's virtuoso skills are in abundance! But on top of this the CD offers a brilliantly sourced selection of music that is artistically balanced as well as being adventurous in terms of combining and contrasting a brass band instrumental voice with those from other musical genres.

Richard Franklin