Happy Birthday to galdrin!

Many happy returns of the day!

Recently Heard: Heavy Metal

Heavy Metal, by the Stockholm Brass

I picked this disc up for one piece - Laudes for brass quintet by Jan Bach - which I couldn't find on any other releases. I had heard this performed by the Valkryian Brass, but I couldn't even find the CD for sale on any of the Norwegian sites.

As this collection is geared towards the ensemble, there are a lot of other composers on here, a few of which I've heard before.

The recording opens with Mini Overture for brass quintet by Witold Lutoslawski. I have a Kronos Quartet disc of Lutoslawski's material, and I'm not overly impressed by it. I do like this piece, its tonalities are much more pleasing.

The Bach piece is up next - and something should be pointed out before I actually get to it. The common theme of this release is not, of course, covers of Black Sabbath tunes for brass quintet, rather modernistic pieces for such ensemble by northern or eastern European composers. This is not something that should be listened to around easily skittish people, as it tends to jump and start, and have occasional fits of dissonance.

One thing that had made Laudes stand out for me was the use of the mute on the trumpet in a few places. Generally used in jazz music, it provides an interesting texture when it is performed with more of a modern classical line.

The remainder of the pieces on this I'm not yet familiar - although Torbjorn Iwan Lundquist's Scandinavian Music is sounding pretty good at the moment. Other than Lutoslawski, the two other composers I've heard before - and have represented on other discs in my collection - are Paul Hindemith and Hans Werner Henze. The ones I haven't heard of before are Folke Rabe, Bo Nilsson, Ivan Jevtic, and Sven-David Sandstrom; the latter of whom created Heavy Metal for brass quintet, and provides the source for the album title.