Search - Michael Korb, Anonymous, Leroy Anderson :: Bagpipes & Brass

WOW! THIS CD IS OUT-OF-SITE -- A SONIC BLOCKBUSTER!

Robert Edler | Saint Louis, Missouri USA | 05/23/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I JUST HAD TO HEAR MORE! That was my reaction when I first heard a selection from this CD on the local classical music station in Saint Louis. (Yes, we unfortunately only have one.) The selection I had heard was Amazing Grace in a makes-your-hair-tingle arrangement for BAGPIPES and BRASS BAND. With that limited information it took me a bit of searching to track down the actual CD even using Amazon's usually instant response search engine. (OK, so I never figured the CD would be simply titled BAGPIPES AND BRASS.) .... But it was worth the wait.First, it turns out the recording is not just BAGPIPES and BRASS, but BAGPIPES, BRASS and ORGAN! Talk about sonics! Who would have thought that such a diverse grouping of musical instruments could ever combine to make such beautiful, stirring and mind boggling music. (All right, so they not that diverse since they are all basically wind driven instruments.) Since the listing/description available for this CD is rather scant, let me fill in the missing details:The CD features THE DENVER BRASS, THE COLORADO ISLE OF MULL SAINT ANDREW'S PIPES AND DRUMS, and JOHN KUZMA on the organ. (Details on the organ were not supplied in the progam notes, but I would presume it is installed in the Bethany Lutheran Church of Englewood, Colorado where the recording was done.) The various selections were arranged/transposed by either organist Kuzma or Dr. Kenneth Singleton, the conductor and artistic director of the Denver Brass. And each one of them can stand on their own -- varied and totally fantastic! The CD is on the KLAVIER label.You're really going to have to trust me on this one, but it is the best single CD I have listened to this year. (I've played it five times and everyone who hears it thinks it fantastic, too.)
I hope you're able to hear it and enjoy it, too."

Get this CD!

Tony Owens | 03/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Reviewer: Tony Owens from Northglenn, CO USA
Will be brief, but heartfelt! If there be but one drop of Scottish blood running through your veins, you will want this CD in your collection! The mix of the brass and the bagpipes is very stirring and both the Denver Brass and the Isle of Mull Pipe Band are up to the challenge! I dare anyone to listen to "Hector, The Hero" and not think back to the Highlands of Scotland and the call of pipes. This is my first review and have been buying from Amazon for years . . . but this was the first CD I ever had that prompted me to tell people to add this to their collection."

Diasppointed

S. A. Wood | Nashville, TN. USA | 07/12/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I am not saying the music is bad or the quality is lacking, because it is not. If you are looking for traditional music played in the traditional way, then this CD is not for you. It is like listening to everyone's interpretation when they sing the "Star Spangled Banner". There is no need to jazz things up that were not written to be. The titles are old but the variations on the score have a lot to be desired if you wanted to hear these songs played the way they were meant to be played."