Grand band music

THE GREATEST BAND IN THE LAND! The Goldman, conductor Richard Franko Goldman. Angel 67641; ADD.

Band music.

Marches.

Well, sure, marches. But if that`s all that comes to mind when you think of band music, let me tell you about what you`ll hear on this disc. For instance, you`ll hear: a patriotic hymn from the time of the American Revolution; battle music from that period; music written to celebrate the ratification of the federal Constitution; a work called "The Wood Up Quickstep" - and listen especially to the playing of the cornet and the valves bugle in this dance piece - dancing to bands was once very popular in this country.

Also, "Santa Ana`s Retreat from Buena Vista," the only work for band written by Stephen Foster; "American Salute," a wonderful concert piece written by Morton Gould written to a favorite song of the Civil War, "When Johnny comes Marching Home"; "The Presidential Polonaise" by John Philip Sousa, and concluding with a march probably everybody who has ever been in a band has played, "American Patrol." To this day I remember the trombone part and whistle or hum it ever time I hear the march played.

The Goldman Band has always been synonymous with great band music. It was formed by Edwin Franko Goldman in 1911. He conducted the band until his death in 1956. After that, the band was conducted by his son, Richard Franco Goldman.

This recording was made in 1966 and remastered in 2001. And how does the recording sound? Absolutely first rate!

STRICTLY SOUSA: Twenty-one marches by John Philip Sousa. Dallas Wind Symphony; Jerry Junkin, conductor. Reference Recordings 94.

If there is a better recording of the marches of John Philip Sousa than this one, show it to me!

I`m struggling for an adjective that might best describe the playing of the Dallas Wind Symphony, under its excellent conductor Jerry Junkin, and one of the buzz words of this generation would seem to be right on the money:

Awesome!

Every once in a while, I come across a fine recording of band music played by an excellent band and I think, "Why don`t we hear this kind of music more often?" The answer has got to be, we don`t have the opportunity.

Band music is probably the most descriptive and distinctive of all music of the American experience. There was a time when just about every city, town and hamlet in the country had a bandstand - sometimes large, sometimes small - smack in the middle of a public park. And there, on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, people could retire to hear some of their favorite band melodies played. The artistry of the band members ranged from local amateurs to highly skilled professionals. And. even if the quality of the music did vary greatly, the same universal saying would usually apply: A good time was had by all.

The Dallas Wind Symphony is one of the finest bands in the country today. The conductor of the band, Jerry Junkin, is also Director of Bands at the University of Texas at Austin. He also serves as director of the University of Texas wind Ensemble and Chamber Winds and has appeared as guest conductor and clinician in 40 states, Europe, Canada and Australia.

Conductor Junkin knows band music - from piccolo to tuba. He knows how it should be played, and he knows how to get the very best from a wind ensemble. He proves this most emphatically with these Sousa recordings.

Your favorites are on this disc of 21 works - "Semper Fidelis," "The Liberty Bell," "El Capitan," "The Washington Post," "The Thunderer," "King Cotton," the surpassing great "The Stars and Stripes Forever," "The Star-Spangled Banner" in the arrangement by the great conductor (New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera) of earlier times, Walter Damrosch - my favorite arrangement of our national anthem.

Just as interesting are marches some of us might have forgotten or even didn`t know: "Solid Men to the Front!," "The Black House Troop," "Hands Across the Sea," "Nobles of the Mystic Shrine," "Easter Sunday on the White House Lawn," "The Rifle Regiment," "The Picadore" and others.

There is even a blooper on the disc, which Junkin readily admits. You`ll hear it - boy, will you hear it! - on the last track of the disc, "The Liberty Bell `Tritone.`" This is what Junkin says:

"Sometimes the best ideas just don`t work. We had the use of a wonderful (and I mean wonderful) large old church bell from the International Festival-Institute at Roundtop, Texas. This replica of the actual Liberty Bell, weighing in over two tons, was trucked to Dallas and fork-lifted onto the stage of Meyerson Symphony Center where it awaited the appointed moment to make its recording on `The Liberty Bell` ... Unfortunately, the primary pitch of the bell could not have been farther away from the prescribed F natural, a perfect B natural - the worst possible pitch, a tritone, the devil`s interval from medieval days! Well, we thought that you should hear it, since it proves that not just ANY bell will work, and sometimes, the best laid plans ..."

The Dallas Concert Symphony consists of 55 instrumentalists. The playing of its members is of the highest caliber. The ensemble achieved is admirable, and the pitch they collectively demonstrate is everything that could be asked for. The group is a fully professional organization, supported partly by the City of Dallas, The 500 Inc., and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

The recording by Reference Recordings - superb!

(c) Copley News Service

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Author: King Durkee