The Henry Brant Collection, Vol. 1

The Henry Brant Collection, Vol. 1

by Henry Brant
The Henry Brant Collection, Vol. 1

The Henry Brant Collection, Vol. 1

by Henry Brant

CD

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Overview

One maverick composer of the "old guard" American avant-garde, other than Elliott Carter, is still here and making music today -- Henry Brant. Like Carter, Brant was in the first generation of American composers to benefit from the direct influence of the music of Charles Ives. Since 1950 Brant has pursued a unique interest in expanding instrumental resources through stereophonically conceived "spatial" scoring. Whereas Carter is regarded as an institutional icon, throughout his career Brant has received very little "love" from institutions of any kind. Recordings of Brant's works have been few and far between, and known only to a tight minority of the hardest-core collectors of American contemporary music. But recently in the concert and academic spheres there have been signs that this is turning around, especially since Brant was honored in 2002 with a Pulitzer Prize for his composition Ice Field. The Minnesota-based contemporary music label Innova has finally begun to redress the balance with The Henry Brant Collection, Vol. 1, which contains one huge work, Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities (1985), and a little one, A Plan of the Air (1975). Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities is a wild, noisy, crazy celebration of the kitchen-sink effect in music -- the multiplied instrumental groups contrast massive tone clusters against a dance band playing Glenn Miller-styled phrases, the huge chorus wails through the roof, and jagged instrumental lines tangle and separate from one another from a variety of places in the hall. Though the piece runs a whopping 96 minutes and is spread out over two CDs, it is never dull -- there's always something striking and unusual happening, and like some music of Ives, parts of Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities tickle your funny bone. A Plan of the Air is less ambitious and also more serious in tone -- big, dissonant chords move slowly over an area of negative space in a manner akin to "high holy minimalism," although this work was written quite a bit before that trend in music was singled out as being something specific. American composers in the experimental tradition whose roots go back to before World War II use a distinctive tonal palette that is free of the structural rigors of serialism, and though highly dissonant, still connects with something in your brain that indicates forward direction. Brant comes right out of the center of that tradition -- while there is plenty of music on this collection that sounds unusual and out of the way, there is little that sounds unfamiliar or difficult to grasp. One reservation, and it's a considerable one, is the sound. These are university-made recordings of live performances, and are far from being top quality -- the recorded image is not placed in a discreet stereophonic ambience so much as it merely represents the multiple instrumental groups as being either close or far away. Some of the music that is played further away demonstrates telltale signs of tape hiss, and here and there parts of the tape of Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities break up a bit. But these are the sole recordings of works that have been performed only once or twice, and they will certainly do for now. Mastering engineer Teo Macero seems to have gotten the best than can be had out of these sources, which weren't made for commercial release in the first place. If you are a frequent flyer in the realm of American contemporary music, The Henry Brant Collection, Vol. 1 is a trip that you will want to take, not miss. ~ Uncle Dave Lewis

Product Details

Release Date: 02/03/2004
Label: INNOVA RECORDS
UPC: 0726708640828

Tracks

Disc 1

  1. Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities, a Spatial Assembly of Auroral Echoes, for multiple ensembles & 6 conductors~Battles of Gods
  2. Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities, a Spatial Assembly of Auroral Echoes, for multiple ensembles & 6 conductors~Ionized Atoms
  3. Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities, a Spatial Assembly of Auroral Echoes, for multiple ensembles & 6 conductors~Celestial Glow
  4. Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities, a Spatial Assembly of Auroral Echoes, for multiple ensembles & 6 conductors~Rarefied Air
  5. Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities, a Spatial Assembly of Auroral Echoes, for multiple ensembles & 6 conductors~Aksanialo!
  6. Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities, a Spatial Assembly of Auroral Echoes, for multiple ensembles & 6 conductors~Flaming Horizons
  7. Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities, a Spatial Assembly of Auroral Echoes, for multiple ensembles & 6 conductors~Luminous Fans
  8. Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities, a Spatial Assembly of Auroral Echoes, for multiple ensembles & 6 conductors~Inner Demons

Disc 2

  1. Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities, a Spatial Assembly of Auroral Echoes, for multiple ensembles & 6 conductors~Curtains of Light
  2. Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities, a Spatial Assembly of Auroral Echoes, for multiple ensembles & 6 conductors~Pulsating Arcs
  3. Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities, a Spatial Assembly of Auroral Echoes, for multiple ensembles & 6 conductors~Reflected Mirages
  4. Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities, a Spatial Assembly of Auroral Echoes, for multiple ensembles & 6 conductors~Silent
  5. Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities, a Spatial Assembly of Auroral Echoes, for multiple ensembles & 6 conductors~Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities
  6. Northern Lights Over the Twin Cities, a Spatial Assembly of Auroral Echoes, for multiple ensembles & 6 conductors~Earth's Upper Atmosphere
  7. A Plan of the Air, for mutliple wind ensembles & 2 conductors

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Henry Brant   Primary Artist,Conductor
Amy Snyder   Conductor
Carol Johnson   Flute
Jim Dickrell   Euphonium
Sarita Roche   Soprano,Soprano (Vocal)
Doug Heinzen   Cornet
Macalester Concert Choir   Choir/Chorus
Jeanie Heitzman   Cornet
Marsha Ward   Trombone
Jan Nilson   Horn
Joan Walstead   Cornet
Karen Lindberg   Sax (Alto)
Charlot Hagberg   Clarinet
Kathleen Hunter   Sax (Alto)
Cathie Perrault   Bassoon
Mary Helen Waldo   Bassoon
Christie Iverson   Oboe,Horn (English)
Brad Haase   Percussion
Glenn Hoeft   Trombone
Diane Hunt   Flute
David Ruether   Sax (Baritone)
Nancy Newbauer   Oboe
Julie Forehand   Flute
Mary Mortenson   Sax (Alto)
Elliot Wilcox   Cornet
Terri McDermott   Trombone
John Benson   Flute
George Koepp   Clarinet (Bass)
Susan Schmidt   Flute,Piccolo
Kathy Romey   Director,Conductor
Shelley McConaughui   Flute
W. Larry Brentzel   Conductor
Paul Merrill   Clarinet
Cheryl Luettinger   Euphonium
Rick Penning   Sax (Tenor),Tenor (Vocal)
Mark Dzubay   Trumbadoras
Kristie Yokum   Piano
Janeth Bennet   Clarinet
Kathy Schneider   Percussion
Dave Johnson   Trumpet
Susan Gilbert   Flute
Cindy Lambert   Soprano,Soprano (Vocal)
Solveig Aasen   Sax (Alto)
Wayne Dalton   Baritone
David Olsen   Percussion
Edouard Forner   Conductor
Sandra Wedepohl   Horn
Mark Pedersen   Cornet
Kathleen Hanson   Flute,Piccolo
Rodger Preble   Trombone
Patrick M. Devine   Trombone
Melanie Miller   Cornet
Joan Willett   Flute
Kathy Weigert   Trombone
Kathy Frederick   Percussion
Sharon Murphy   Flute
Laura Harris   Euphonium
Ted Snyder   Sax (Tenor)
David Cody   E Flat Clarinet
University of Wisconsin Symphony Band   Band
Paula Owen   Horn
Tommy Gardner   Flute
David Llewellyn   Trumpet
Macalaster Festival Chorale   Choir/Chorus
Kathy Salzman Romey   Choir Director
Lori Olson   Cornet
Macalester Symphonic Band   Band
Mac Jazz   Ensemble
Ten-Piano Ensemble   Ensemble
Macalester Dance Ensemble   Ensemble
David Vandermeuse   Tuba
Alvin King   Baritone (Vocal)
Bruce Hasselquist   Cornet
Sandra Cross   Soprano (Vocal)
David Lord Larson   Clarinet
Merlin Bicking   Trumpet
Derrick Dixon   Sax (Tenor)
Keith Witte   Percussion
Joan Oftedahl   Clarinet
Penny Trader   Clarinet
Loa Cain   Horn
Robert Hanson   Tenor (Vocal)
Macalester Symphony Orchestra   Orchestra
Macalester Pipe Band   Band
Macalester Special Percussion Group   Ensemble
Carleton Macy   Director,Conductor,Percussion Leader
Joan Ross   Sax (Tenor)
Andy Westberg   Horn
Elizabeth Skinner   Percussion
Andrew Hoag   Conductor
Mary Heebink   Clarinet
Vicki Hagberg   Clarinet
James Bohn   Bass Baritone
Tim Stevens   Euphonium
Kathy Langeness   Trombone
Randy Rischette   Horn
Leanne Warner   Cornet
Linda Becker   Clarinet
Wanda Luettinger   Horn
Jeanne Pedersen   Clarinet (Alto)
Neal Haglund   Cornet

Technical Credits

Amy Snyder   Composer's Assistant
Kathy Romey   Preparation
Leonardo da Vinci   Artwork
Philip Blackburn   Design,Executive Producer
Leonardo DaVinci   Artwork
Becky Heist   Preparation,Choreographer
Edouard Forner   Preparation,Coordination
Paul Herzing   Producer,Preparation
Teo Macero   Mastering
Henry Brant   Liner Notes,Coordination
Michael Fossenkemper   Engineer
Kathy Salzman Romey   Preparation
Alvin King   Preparation
Alex Theoret   Engineer,Mastering
Patricia Gorman Brant   Text
Carleton Macy   Preparation
Donald Betts   Preparation,Coordination
Adam Snyder   Composer
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