Persichetti’s band music comprises one of the most enjoyable and successful segments of his copious compositional output. In it you will find a communicative voice and range of expression often missing from his symphonies, where at times he seemed to find the seriousness of the genre inhibiting. Here, though, the challenge and discipline of creating really good music for wind ensemble has set his imagination free. Listen, for example, to the atmospheric opening of the chorale prelude O God Unseen, or to the quirky humor evident in the Divertimento and Masquerade. The largest piece here, Parable for Band, is an absolute masterpiece of the medium. The winds of the London Symphony Orchestra (and friends, presumably, unless the orchestra employs a dozen clarinets) play all of this music with appropriate aplomb under conductor David Amos. If you enjoy the symphonic band repertoire, you probably already know a lot of this music, and so you also will know that you want this well-recorded disc (originally released by Harmonia Mundi in the mid-’90s). [4/12/2006]
