• Sixteen star brass players and four percussionists – members of the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic, plus a few others – have collaborated to form a new ensemble, called the Philharmonic Brass. After their debut concert at Vienna’s Musikverein earlier this year, they have released a debut album. Overture! (Decca), reflecting its title, presents six contrasting overtures by Beethoven (Egmont), Verdi (La forza del destino), Borodin (Prince Igor), Dvořák (Carnival), Shostakovich (Festive) and Gershwin (Cuban). The arrangements by Peter J Lawrence and principal trumpet Matthias Höfs remain faithful to the originals but relish the virtuosity of each section – trumpets, French horns, Vienna horns, trombones, tubas, all have their moment. The whole sequence awakens the senses, reaching a breathtaking – but never breathless, in the case of these star players – finale with Dvořák’s exuberant Carnival. Irresistible for anyone susceptible to the sound of brass.
• If there’s an easy way to sum up the ingenious offerings of Circus Dinogad (Zefir) I’m stumped. Welsh contralto Hilary Summers, Dutch theorbo and bass clarinet duo Mike Fentross and Maarten Ornstein and the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam, who first got together as a collective in 2022, perform ancient melodies, some from the baroque and renaissance, often with improvisation, and with jazz or folk accents. Familiar titles, sounding fresh and distinctive, include Byrd’s Ye Sacred Muses, Purcell’s Music for a While and In Darkness Let Me Dwell by John Dowland. These versatile musicians have each contributed to a new set of pieces, Seven Deadly Sins. It’s novel and intriguing.
So too is another gem for the music lover who has everything – but who won’t have this. Music in Circles (Backlash Music), by the international sextet Hear Now Berlin, features flutes, clarinets, trumpets, violin, viola and cello, playing works by five living composers including Caroline Shaw and Kelly Watson Woelffer. From punchy and energetic (Gabriella Smith, Nathan Schram) to shadowy sounds of the night (Andrew Norman), this is one of the most interesting chamber music albums I’ve heard recently. Worth tracking down this small-label release.
• Recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall last week: the European premiere of Gospel Messiah, a reimagined soul version of Handel’s Messiah, arranged by Bob Christianson and Gary Anderson, conducted by Marin Alsop, with the BBC Concert Orchestra and soloists Zwakele Tshabalala and Vanessa Haynes. Tuesday, 7.30pm, Radio 3/BBC Sounds.
