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Best of Omnibus Wind Ensemble,

Best of Omnibus Wind Ensemble,

Opus 3  SACD 22082

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical


Mozart, Roman, Seymer, Rossini, Thelin, Aulin, Kraus, Agrell, Peterson-Berger, Bizet

Omnibus Wind Ensemble

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Review by John Miller - November 5, 2009

Suffering from a surplus of strings? The Omnibus Wind Ensemble may have the cure for you. This is a compilation of classical items from several previous discs by this Swedish group. Their core complement of 12 players (including a string bass) varies from item to item, depending on the piece's demands. Most of the very fine arrangements and transcriptions have been produced by members of the Ensemble, whose playing is superb, with pinpoint tuning and precision ensemble.

Since the disc is a compilation and the booklet mostly features covers from the three discs from which the tracks derive, with no information about the music, I include some notes here, as the Swedish composers featured are hardly household names, even in Sweden.

1. Overture to The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Spirited, light-hearted, rhythmically buoyant - a delight!

2. Drottningholm Music: Allegro con spirito by Johan Helmich Roman (1654-1758)
Roman, having studied in England with Handel became known as "the Swedish Handel" when he returned to take over the Swedish Court Orchestra. His Drottningholm Music (named after the royal palace just outside Stockholm) for the wedding in 1744 of Crown Prince Adolf Frederick was a suite of short pieces, this one strutting and catchy.

3. Solöga (Buttercups), Op. 11 No. 3 by William Seymer (1890-1964)
Transcription of a piano piece from a composer and musical journalist. A haunting, languid dance over gently chiming harmonies, full of nostalgia. Charmingly played and evocative.

4. The Barber of Seville: Figaro's and Rosina's Duet by Gioachino Rossini
A comical dialogue between flute and sax-like basset horn, full of brilliant roulades and tart enjoinders.

5. Overture to The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini
All the great tunes with clarity of harmonic structure and texture that rivals the original scoring. The final bars are rendered at breakneck pace with astonishing agility.

6. Circo della vita by Eje Thelin (1938-1990)
Eje Thelin was an innovative Swedish trombonist, his techniques influencing saxophonist John Coltrane. At just over 8 mins, this is the longest track on the disc, featuring staccato Stravinskian buffoonery with a dry march-like tune, followed by a close-harmony chordal section with modern jazz overtones and a final section underpinned with a persistent drum rhythm.

7. Four Water-Colours: Idyll by Tor Aulin (1866-1914)
A Swedish violinist, conductor and composer, Aulin wrote these gentle impressionistic pieces for violin and piano, most sensitively played by the Omnibus Wind Ensemble, with harmonious tonal blending reflecting the work's title.

8. Four Water-Colours: Lullaby by Tor Aulin
Sweetly lilting!

9. Four Water-Colours: Polska by Tor Aulin
A sprightly Polish dance with lovely wind colours, played with great sensitivity.

10. Amphitryon by Molière, incidental music: No. 5. Andante by Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792)
Kraus was a German classical composer working in Stockholm and sometimes referred to as "the Swedish Mozart." His incidental music to 'Amphitryon' consists of 4 interludes and a divertimento for ballet. This Andante is a plaintive 3/4 time dance.

11. Amphitryon by Molière, incidental music: No. 14. Tambourin by Joseph Martin Kraus
A fast polka-like dance with a rustic flavour.

12. Duet in A major for two flutes: Presto by Johan Joachim Agrell (1701-1765)
Johan Agrell was a German/Swedish late baroque composer, credited with 22 symphonies in galant style.
A little instrumental gem which lasts a mere 50".

13. By Frösö Church by Wilhelm Peterson-Berger (1867-1947)
Peterson-Berger was a prominent music critic, whose compositions were influenced by Grieg, Wagner and Swedish Folk Music. The two pieces here are transcribed from piano pieces portraying holidays on the island of Frösö. His tone-painting of the church is a richly sonorous chorale, making the most of brass and wind timbres.

14. Summer Song by Wilhelm Peterson-Berger
A gentle idyll based on folk song.

15. Overture to Carmen by Georges Bizet (1838-1875)
A fiery and vivid rendition, complete with swaggering toreador. Great fun!

16. Overture to Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The darker wind tones are ideal for this transcription, played with real theatrical flair.

17. Don Giovanni: Canzonetta. Deh! veni alla finestra by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Bel canto from woodwinds - and a mandolin. Delectable.

18. Die Zauberflöte: Marsch der Priester by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Solemn and richly-scored.

19. Overture to L'Italiana in Algeri by Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
An effervescent and exciting conclusion to the programme, with virtuoso articulation and flair.

Opus 3 plough their own audiophile furrow in making recordings. These, of 1990s vintage, were recorded on a Telefunken Magnetophon M-28C tape recorder with a Blumlein single-point stereo AKG C-24 vacuum tube microphone, hooked up to a custom-built valve preamp. The tapes were digitised to DSD, extracting the L & R rear channels from the out of phase signals. An LF channel was derived from the output below 60 Hz, giving a 4.1 multichannel configuration. The results are very realistic: well-balanced sound captured in an airy environment which allows full development of the various instrumental timbres. There is no audible tape hiss, the ensemble's sonic image is finely focussed and subtle output from surround speakers adds depth.

Despite the eclectic nature of the programme, the tightly integrated sound of the wind band, with textures varied from piece to piece, this disc is more than the sum of its parts, and keeps finding its way back into my player. The band's sparkling renditions of the overtures are worth its price alone, and their infectious musicality sustains interest in repeated listening. Tonic for a jaded palate!

Copyright © 2009 John Miller and HRAudio.net

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