Do You Like Brass and Choir?

 

Huddersfield has you covered!

I recently listened to the Huddersfield Choral Society on their Christmas Celebration album, found HERE, that one recorded five years after Christmas Fantasy. Both recordings use brass band, although here we have the starrier Black Dyke Mills Band.

In that other blog post, I lament my distaste for the British Brass Band traditions, that is, the tight vibrato and cornet heavy sound associated with that distinct style of playing.

With chorus, I notice it less, but there are a couple items here for brass band alone, such as the famous chestnut A Christmas Festival from Leroy Anderson, Grainger's Shepherd's Hey, and Bizet's Farandole. That is where my musical senses seem assaulted, although I cannot complain about any of the virtuosic playing from Black Dyke, and many of these pieces are rarely heard for brass alone, so take my bias with a grain of salt.

The Huddersfield Choral Society is a large, symphonic-sized chorus, one which excels in such works as Handel's For Unto Us a Child is Born, at least if you like an old-fashioned, big choral sound. They are less suited for the more intimate Berlioz's Shepherd's Farewell and Rutter's Nativity Carol, where the choir sounds too numerous to do the music justice.

Otherwise, this is a fairly traditional program, featuring carol arrangements from Sir David Willcocks and Sir John Rutter, ones which have stood the test of time through the Carols for Choirs volumes. It is here where Huddersfield excels, and this listener recognizes the worth of these carol arrangements from British choral masters.

This recording comes in at just under 50 minutes worth of music, and that is the only remaining detriment; its short runtime. However, if you are simply looking for wonderful performances of traditional Christmas music for brass band and choir, this will suffice.

 

Listen on YouTube

 

 

Performers
Anthony Cooke, organ
Huddersfield Choral Society
Black Dyke Mills Band
Roy Newsome, conductor
Keith Rhodes, conductor

Label: Chandos
Year: 1988
Total Timing: 49.13

 

 

 

 

I would stick with Huddersfield's Christmas Celebration and Carols Album recordings.

This one is very good too, but rather short measure playing time, if such things matter.