In Class Reactions 4/21/25

 Philip Jones Brass Ensemble: 

The immediate thing that strikes me with the ensembles playing, is the quality of both the loud and soft dynamics. The tone quality stays the same, and the confidence of the musicians s very apparent. The audio quality is also very good. There are some brass quintet studio albums where the recording just doesn’t capture the dynamic range of the ensemble very well. 

German Brass 

The immediate reaction I have to this group is that they make playing an arrangement of loengren sound easy. They manage to make it sound as easy as if strings were playing the parts still. They also do a wonderful job of capturing the different moods of each different section of the piece. At times the low brass sound like an organ with how full their sound is, and I love it. Ensemble balance in works like this is a huge challenge and they do a great job. 

Dutch Brass Sextet

The piece that this ensemble is playing is more humorous n nature, and I like how they lean into it as a group. Articulations and expression are really exaggerated to make certain effects really come through. It’s something that I still struggle with as a musician and it’s always informative to hear a group do these types of things so well. 

Belgian Brass

They do. Great job of capturing the more laid back nature of this Shostakovich piece. One thing that really stands out to me i how well the counter point in the inner voices is played. Ideas are passed off seamlessly, and the musicians aren’t at all hesitant in picking up where the previous idea left off. The use of mutes to get different tampers is also a nice effect. 

Belgian Brass (again)

The edition of percussion to the ensemble is nice in this recording. This piece is also different stylistically from the first on that was played, and the ensemble does a good job capturing it. 

Italian Brass Band

The level of playing is immediately apartment with how clean their softer dynamics are. One of the challenges with larger ensembles like this, is how do you get the entire section to match? Dynamics, tone, articulation, and infection are all things that need to be agreed upon within larger sections, and across the ensemble, and this group does a good job. There was one small phrase where the intonation between the cornets and the tenor horns seemed a bit suspect, but other than that it’s a great performance. 

Spanish Bass

One thing that I really respect about the Spanish Brass is how much they commit to any style of piece that they’re playing. They always have an idea of what their group sound is supposed to be. After getting to work with them last semester, I know how they can do this; they play almost everything together, and still spend hours a day rehearsing everything that they do. They have a distinct group sound, and knowing the work that goes into it makes it even more impressive. They also just make everything sound so easy it’s aw inspiring. Their sound is just so crystal clear. 

Arctic Brass 

The groups control of tie and meter is immediately apparent. Having a good sense of time is difficult enough, and being able to completely lock in with other members of the group is something that takes so much work to achieve. The group does a great job with this, being right with each other and not waiting to long to pass off ideas. The ability to move into vastly different sections of the piece is also very nice. 

Budapest Brass Quintet

The piece that they played is obviously very difficult. The time is complex and the music isn’t completely tonal, but the group still plays with such confidence. I obviously can’t see the performers playing, but I know that they had to be communicating together and moving together. 

Modern Brass Ensemble

Very interesting piece. Very technical parts and the group does a great job playing it together. The sense of time is so solid here there’s never a question of what’s supposed to be going on. 

Ten Thing, 

The expression of this group is great. The way they phrase together and make musical lines is so good. The piece is one long crescendo, and they do it so well. Melodic lines are traded of so well between the trumpet and horn with the rest of the ensemble. The non melodic parts of the ensemble also do a great job of supporting whatever melodic material is going on. There is such a sense of ease in their playing. 

Ramsoe Quartets 

The piece sounds similar at first to a lot quintets from the era. Rich in sound, melodic, and very stately in style. As we tried to figure out, the piece also sounds quite conical which is typical of the era. The piece is fairly simple from a melodic point of view compared to works by Ewald, but I think it’s a good thing. Not everything has to be as complex or sound the exact same. The melody is usually heard in the cornet, which I could imagine would make it quite a blow. 

Side note, it’s interesting how much the trombone can make a group sound different with it having to use a slide as opposed to valves. 

Piece by William Walton Played by Black Dyke 

The group does a great job of making all these technical lines sound clean, especially since they are often played by several different instruments. Intonation in the group is also very well done, tone and pitch are matched well across the band. A lot of brass band pieces follow a fast-slow-fast form, and this one seems to fit into it as well. I think it’s a great way to show off hat an ensemble an do, but I do think that the form gets a little bit predictable. The low brass technical work is done very well, it never feels too heavy. The Group ability to keep the tempo up at louder dynamics is also very nice to hear. 

Four Outings for Brass- Philips Jones

The piece is very technical, and the groups time is great. They also do a great job of matching double tonguing which is very difficult to do. They transition between different musical ideas well, and the group sound stays at a consistent level of quality.