Brass Spectacular Review

Brass Spectacular solid, but not flashy

By Sarah Bryan Miller

POST DISPATCH CLASSICAL MUSIC CRITIC

1/24/08

There was plenty of impressive playing in the "Brass Spectacular" at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis on Tuesday night - although little of the programming really lent itself to being called "spectacular," in the sense of flashy playing.

But the sold-out audience of about 1,300 seemed to appreciate the artistry on display. Members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra brass section and regular extra players joined forces with three hard-working percussionists, organist Robert Lehman and the massed teenagers of the Missouri All-State Brass to make some big sounds.

The latest edition of the "Brass Spectacular," the admirable joint effort of Cathedral Concerts and Symphony principal trumpet Susan Slaughter, benefited from the clear, informative conducting and clear, informative spoken program note of the guest conductor, Capt. Michelle Rakers of the U.S. Marine Corps. Clad in black civvies, Rakers was a strong presence on the podium, and the eight-second reverberation of the chilly, breezy Cathedral Basilica didn't seem to faze her in the least.

The concert started with occasionally muddy playing in a transcription of Walton's "Crown Imperial" Coronation March. The high point of the first half was Alan Hovhaness' "Prayer of St. Gregory," which takes the haunting tonal world of Eastern Orthodox liturgical music and transforms it for horn, trumpet and organ. Tod Bowermaster, Slaughter (up in the eastern gallery) and Lehman were superb soloists.

Most of the memorable programming came in the second half, starting with Marcel Dupré's "Poème Héroique (Heroic Poem)," for brass choir and  organ. Three transcriptions of Brahms motets worked well, as did two intriguing movements from "Fanfares, Marches, Hymns & Finale for Brass and Percussion," by Bruce Broughton, who has built a career in film and TV music. Rakers saved the best for last: Richard Strauss' "Feierlicher Einzug (Festival Procession)." It opens with echoes of Wagner's "Götterdämmerung" and traces of Stauss' "Also sprach Zarathustra," and develops impressively from there. It wasn't all quite in tune at the beginning but pulled together quickly for a satisfying end to the program.

John Romeri, executive and artistic director of Cathedral Concerts and director of music for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. St. Louis, had back surgery last week, but was there to greet and introduce the concert. Lehman was an excellent not-quite-last-minute substitute.