ntil fifty years ago, it was rare to hear a symphonic brass ensem-

ble of any size. In 1968, The Antiphonal Music of Gabrieli, one of the best-loved brass recordings of all time, was recorded by the brass sections of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and became an instant success inspiring symphonic brass players around the world to come together in various combinations ever since.

Brass instruments and choirs have much in common in terms of sound production and have always enjoyed a close asso-ciation. When Morten Lauridsen wrote his beautiful choral setting of O Magnum Mysterium, he was asked to arrange it for brass by Jonathan Ring, of the San Francisco Symphony and Bay Brass. The result is exquisite and we are most grateful for the chance to record and perform this work.

J. Scott Irvine, a Toronto tuba player and composer, has written a salute to the 1968 Gabrieli recording with an arrangement of Gabrieli’s Magnicat à 17, a work for four separate brass choirs placed around a large church. The work is for four separate brass choirs placed around the church. In recent years, there has been a move towards per-forming Renaissance works on original

instruments, but we are sure that Gabrieli, while having never dreamed of the power and sonority of modern brass instruments, would, nevertheless, revel in the experi-ence of hearing his great works played on modern instruments four hundred years on.

Kevin Lau is a Canadian composer whose varied work is being performed by ensem-bles across the country. He is equally at home writing film music, string quartets or works for symphony orchestra. He has composed several works for brass, includ-ing his Concerto for Brass, which was commissioned by the Hannaford Street Silver Band as a work for Brass Band. This symphonic adaptation was made possible thanks to a generous gift from Tom Smee.

In Kevin’s words: “The work is a miniature brass sym-

phony in two movements (slow, fast) which explores the various characters of the ensemble in depth. Each family of instru-ments has a chance to shine, lyrically and virtuosically: hence the ‘concerto’ aspect of the title.

“The first movement, Haven, opens serenely; a lone cornet solo glides above a landscape of lush, chromatically dec-adent harmonies. But this externally placid environment is soon disrupted by inner demons, and the music takes on an anxious, harried quality. The second

movement, C.A.G.E., is built on an obses-sive motive consisting of those four notes, or more specifically, C#, A, G#, E, strongly implying C# minor. Throughout the course of this ferocious Allegro, the music con-stantly struggles to escape the confines of this harmonic “cage” symbolized by a fugue-like refrain that embeds statements of the motive throughout the ensemble like a hall of mirrors. The climax of the move-ment offers a glimpse of hope, with a key change that naturalizes the notes (C, A, G, E) suggesting the emergence of C major. But at the last moment, the music reverts back to its original form. The movement ends with an altered statement of the motive (A,G#,E, C#) that ends resoundingly, like the final nail in a coffin.”

On the subject of coffins, prolific Canadian composer Nicole Lizee offers a new work for brass, How to Fake Your Own Death. Commissioned by James Sommerville for the CNBP, this world premiere record-ing features James as both horn soloist and conductor. This is no mean feat, as Lizee’s music contains complicated rhyth-mic passages and abrupt tempo changes. Much of Lizee’s work is based upon visual images, especially from film, and she writes: “This piece is inspired in part by the ornate murder plot in Hitchcock’s Vertigo (involv-ing passing off a dead body as a suicide

victim) as well as the eerie image of Clint Eastwood’s papier mâche decoy body in Escape from Alcatraz. Things are not as they seem. The labyrinthine melodic twists mirror the vertiginous feelings of James Stewart’s character, while metric modula-tion serves as a kind of subjective reality in a nod to the makeshift reality of papier mâche Eastwood.”

Mussorgsky’s original composition Pictures at an Exhibition was written for piano, and there have been many arrangements for orchestra and large ensemble, most famously by Maurice Ravel. Elgar Howarth’s brass arrangement, origi-nally for the Phillip Jones Brass Ensemble, is an excellent example, preserving the spirit of both of the original and the orchestral arrangements that followed.

The Canadian National Brass Project was founded in 2015 by James Sommerville and Sasha Johnson and consists of Canadian brass players and percussionists from fifteen major orchestras across Canada and the U.S.A. This CD was made possi-ble through the generous sponsorship of the Canada Council for the Arts, Yamaha Canada and Dr Chris Buller, to whom we are extremely grateful.

C A N A D I A N N A T I O N A L B R A S S P R O J E C T

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C A N A D I A N N AT I O N A L B R A S S P R O J E C T

JAMES SOMMERVILLE, Artistic Director

Mr. Sommerville has conducted dozens of first-rate orches-tras and ensembles throughout Canada and the USA. He led the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra to great critical acclaim in his seven seasons there as Music Director. Recent engagements include appearances with Symphony Nova Scotia and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and in Edmonton, London, Ontario and Quebec. Internationally, Mr Sommerville has been conductor of the US National Brass Ensemble in concert and on their award-winning CD. The winner of major international competitions, Mr. Sommerville has pursued a glittering career as a horn soloist and chamber musician. His disc of the Mozart Horn Concertos won the JUNO Award for Best Classical Recording in Canada. He has appeared as a soloist in London, England, Boston, Costa Rica, Holland, Quebec, Washington, Ottawa and Milan, to universal applause. He currently serves as Principal Horn of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

SASHA JOHNSON, Administrative Director

Sasha Johnson serves as Principal Tuba of the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra. He is on the brass faculty of the Glenn Gould School of Music of the Royal Conservatory of Canada, the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, and NYO Canada. Sasha is a graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Academy.

SASHA JOHNSON

JAMES SOMMERVILLE

1. James Sommerville Principal Horn Boston Symphony Orchestra2. Allene Hackelman Principal Horn Edmonton Symphony Orchestra3. Julie Fauteux Associate Principal Horn National Arts Centre Orchestra4. Gabriel Radford Third Horn Toronto Symphony Orchestra5. Patricia Evans Principal Horn Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra6. Stéphane Beaulac Trumpet Los Angeles Philharmonic7. David Parker Principal Horn Symphony Nova Scotia8. Larry Knopp Principal Trumpet Vancouver Symphony Orchestra9. Larry Larson Principal Trumpet Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra10. Michael Fedyshyn Principal Trumpet Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra11. Adam Zinatelli Principal Trumpet Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra12. Karen Donnelly Principal Trumpet National Arts Centre Orchestra

13. Jon Wade Percussion National Arts Centre Orchestra14. Sasha Johnson Principal Tuba National Ballet of Canada Orchestra15. Robert Slapcoff Principal Percussion Les Grand Ballet Canadiens de Montreal16. Nicholas Atkinson Principal Tuba National Arts Centre Orchestra17. Kristofer Maddigan Principal Percussion National Ballet of Canada Orchestra18. Peter Sullivan (Euphonium) Principal Trombone Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra19. David Pell Bass Trombone National Ballet of Canada Orchestra20. Keith Dyrda Second Trombone Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra21. Gordon Wolfe Principal Trombone Toronto Symphony Orchestra22. Steven Dyer Principal Trombone Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra23. Benjamin Raymond Principal Trumpet Orchestre Metropolitain du

Grand Montreal (not pictured)

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