• Once in Royal David's City
• Carol of the Bells
• Away in a Manger
• The Christmas Song
• How Far Is It To Bethlehem?
• O,Come,Little Children
• Jingle Bells
• Frosty The Snowman
• Mary Had a Baby
• Silver Bells
• O Christmas Tree
• Sleep of the Child Jesus
• Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
Let it Snow!
• Ding Dong Merrily on High
• O Come , All Ye Faithful
• We Three Kings
• Santa Claus is Coming
to Town
• Deck the Hall
• Silent Night
• Joy to the World
|
• Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
• Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
• Good Christian Men, Rejoice
• Jolly Old St Nicholas
• I Saw Three Ships
• White Christmas
• O Little One
• I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa
Claus
• My Sheep were Grazing
• Beautiful Savior / Angels We
Have Heard on High High
• Winter Wonderland
• In the Bleak Midwinter
• I Heard the Bells on
Christmas Day
• O Little Town of Bethlehem
• We wish you a Merry
Christmas
• Auld Lang Syne |
"My Diamond in the Rough"
This issue comes to you just in time for the holidays. Neither the front nor the back covers of the disc lend any idea as to what the listener is about to experience. As I popped this disc into my car stereo unit I couldn't imagine how one hornist would hold my attention through thirty-seven short, strophic melodies. I was totally unprepared for the ingenuity, musical wizardry, and variety that was to manifest itself. Mr. Brask opens the disc with a sublime monophonic presentation of Once in Royal David's City: no additives, no distractions from the tune, simply brilliant and heartfelt. As I eagerly awaited each band to change, I tried and failed miserably to second guess the next techniques by the title of the selection. Through the wonder of multi-tracking and over-dubbing, as many as four-or five-part horn choirs appeared, some with straight-forward harmonies; other with added seconds and sixth; others in a jazz vocabulary. This disc was not thrown together by any stretch of the imagination. Mr. Brask is also the keyboardist and percussionist here. The only outside collaborator is the harpist. There are some truly humorous arrangements; others are grippingly sensitive; still others are of total amazement. What began as a cassette-tape holiday gift idea mushroomed into this disc. There is literally something for everyone on this recording: Spanish motifs, American harmonic progressions, great contrapuntal moments, superior obbligato lines, and artfully carved variation designs. Look for the ad elsewhere in this issue to obtain a copy, as the artist handles the discs himself. He is a member of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. You won't be disappointed in this album."
John Dressler-Horn Call November 1996 |
