While the combination of brass and percussion may seem very much a 20th century concoction, the fact is that both Edvard Grieg and Jean Sibelius exploited such forces to great effect in their youth. Grieg originally wrote his Funeral march in memory of Rikard Nordraak for piano. It makes a weightier, starker impression as arranged by the composer for brass octet and percussion, especially in the present performance. The six Sibelius selections are well-crafted occasional pieces, the only exception being the Weber-like Overture in F minor. Sibelius tossed off numerous miniatures of this kind when he wasn't being a symphonic genius. Norwegian composer Knut Nystedt's 1971 five-movement requiem mass Pia Memoria uses percussion to flavor and enhance the virtuosic brass writing, from the relentless repeated chords in the Sanctus to the harried motives flying about in the Dies Irae.

Musically speaking, the opening two works by Einojuhani Rautavaara crown this collection, including the 1981 title composition. The latter features fragmented arpeggiated figures that play against and with each other across a colorful canvas of registral extremes. Moments of contrapuntal mayhem suddenly materialize into impenetrable chord clusters. There's plenty of breathing room from one idea to the next, so that even the densest moments never sound busy, even in the chattering coda. Rautavaara's 1953 A Requiem in Our Time, of course, is the work of a younger, more conservative, yet no less confident and energetic composer whose polychordal imagination is operating at full thrust. The musicians of Brass Partout, led by Hermann Bäumer, display levels of technical refinement and pinpointed nuance that will either inspire or depress rank and file brass players. What will Brass Partout record next? I'll be all ears. [5/11/2000]

--Jed Distler