BRASS AND WINES PROVES A FINE VINTAGE

Steven Mead (euphonium)

Spanish Brass Luur Metalls

Bocchino BOCC 113

Available from www.justforbrass and leading stockists

Relative to others in his fi eld, Steven Mead releases a lot of recordings, but the key to his continuing success is in always delivering a high-quality product. In his latest venture, the far-travelled euphonium virtuoso has colluded with the outstanding Spanish Brass Quintet Luur Metalls to provide a varied and entertaining mixture of styles, ranging from Meechan to Mercury and Tchaikovsky to Telemann.

The title track, Brass and Wines by José Rafael Pascual-Vilaplana (who will be remembered by many as the exceptional winner of the Conductors’ Competition at the 2000 European Brass Band Championships in Birmingham) is in three movements – the intriguingly-titled Expectativa (depicting the beginning of the creative process at the Spanish vineyards that provided the inspiration for the music), Almoroig (Arabic for ‘meadow’) and Albir (Arabic for ‘fine to drink’) and it all combines to make

a fine blend that any cultured listener is sure to enjoy.

Telemann’s Concerto for Oboe in C minor is a four-movement work that one wouldn’t immediately imagine would transfer easily to the euphonium with brass quintet accompaniment, but both soloist and quintet give exemplary displays of restraint and artistry to dispel any purists’ fears.

Peter Meechan’s Elegie was originally an unaccompanied work for saxophone, but it has been expanded into an effective and reflective set of variations for this recording. In terms of a test for the performers, Juan J. Colomer’s Lisonjas de la Alcahueta (Flatteries of the Matchmaker) is among the more demanding works in this collection, with copious interplay between soloist and accompanying group.

Adolphe Adam’s Bravura Variations on a Theme by Mozart is based on the theme familiar today as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, which sounds pretty straightforward on paper, but it actually represents a considerable test of any player’s technique, which all performers pass with flying colours.

American composer, Ben McMillan, wrote the fascinating Kaleidoscopic Overdrive for Steven Mead and Spanish Brass in 2007, with the title deriving from its ‘constantly shifting, multi-metered nature’, which sums it up pretty well. It is followed by Xavier Montsalvatge’s Lullaby for a Black Child, a beautifully reflective piece with the tiniest hint of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Queen’s Innuendo, which follows in an arrangement by Roland Szentpali, could have benefitted from having a larger ensemble, but it is very effective nevertheless.

The final work on this excellent CD is the finale from Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, which will be familiar to most, although the idea of a euphonium playing a work with such challenging intervals is a concept that will be alien to many. That all performers reach the finishing line unscathed is a tribute to both their ability and their courage.

Extended programme notes are provided in Spanish and English for a product that is clearly aimed at worldwide market. It is to be hoped that brass aficionados the world over take this opportunity to hear one of brass bands’ finest ‘exports’, backed by a truly virtuosic group.

Kenneth Crookston