Following its “renovation” of Beethoven [Beethoven Renovated–see review by typing Q5002 in Search Reviews], Quintessence Saxophone Quintet takes on Christmas, and most tradition-loving listeners may wish this adventurous (some would say irreverent) ensemble had left this one alone. Whether you call it reinterpretation, modernizing, jazzifying, or just having fun with some classics–including Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Overture, Handel’s Hallelujah! chorus, and Bach’s Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme–it’s safe to say you’ve never heard favorite Christmas pieces arranged and played like this. While the essence of each original work is maintained, the five saxophonists (soprano, alto, two tenors, and baritone) go off on many wild journeys, harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic. The group’s general approach seems to be, crank up the tempo (even of Albinoni’s famous but decedidly non-Christmas Adagio), emphasize the rhythm’s accents, and see how many ways you can twist a tune and shuffle a harmony–and don’t forget to foil listeners’ expectations as often as possible. While everyone may not fall in love with the result, you have to admit that it does get you to listen.
Best of all is Vaughan Williams’ Christmas Dance (from his Suite for Viola and Orchestra), whose lively, shifting rhythmic character lends itself especially well to the quintet’s style and to the jazz-flavored sound of their instruments. The playing is unfailingly virtuosic, the blend and balance among the five saxophones is ideal, thanks in part to the vibrant, clear engineering, and the arrangements are, well, unique. I’m just not sure I’m ready to hear a soprano sax (or alto, for that matter) wail a bluesy take on Bach’s Jesu, Joy of man’s desiring, or hear Handel’s Hallelujah reduced to a pop-and-bop number–but I must admit that I found the Bernsteinian opening to Vom Himmel hoch kinda cool. There are some very nice full-bodied chorale passages in Wachet auf–and the final track is one of the more toe-tapping, smile-inducing renditions of We wish you a merry Christmas you’ll ever encounter. [12/20/2003]
