Thursday, March 1, 2012

This is it!

When Pete Postlethwaite invites the female accountant to join band practice with her father's cornet in 'Brassed Off' the miners don't expect much. The look on Pete's face as she launches into the most wonderful solo of the second movement of Rodrigo's 'Orange Juice' is priceless. The film is about the passion miners had for their pits, their jobs and their communities; but the band leader's passion is music.

John Elliot Gardner, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Julian Bream have that passion in spades - and some. RCA's Red Seal recording of the Concierto de Aranjuez (82876 60870 2), to give it it's proper title, is the stuff desert island discs are made of. Try it with a glass of Galician white!

You can expect the legendary Bream to give it his all, but the orchestra is a revelation. At almost every stage they match Bream's peerless musicality. In 1983 it was a young group and it shows - full of life and brio. Aged 50, Bream was in his prime and recording his third 'Orange Juice' but his first digitally.

If I had to choose just one of the discs so far this would be it!

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