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With a record four year winning streak at the North American Brass Band Association Championship under their belts, I anticipated great things from the Fountain City Brass Band at their finale performance of the season last weekend.    Intense musicality and determined devotion have made this homegrown ensemble an international tour de force, placing in both national and international competitions, including the Scottish Open and English Open.

The ensemble performed its Classic Brass concert in the beautiful paneled Bell Cultural Events Center auditorium at MidAmerica Nazarene University.  The space was about two thirds full and the buzz indicated excitement for the forthcoming performance.  After a brief introduction by Professor McClellan of MNU, the Band formally entered the stage, snaking between the stands and chairs in the u-shaped seating arrangement.  I'm not sure if this is another aspect of traditional brass bands, but it seemed awkward watching and waiting for everyone to file in.  The entrance was followed by verbal program notes introducing the ensemble, the director Dr. Joe Parisi, and giving the audience more background for each piece. 

Slaidburn by William Rimmer is a traditional march, an excellent opener for this ensemble, their warm sound perfectly fitting the acoustics of the hall.  Some of the runs in the lower voices were muffled, but were more than made up for with the basses' powerful entrance.  The demanding technical passages in the high voices were juxtaposed with singingly sweet contrasting sections.  This piece was followed by an arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov's Procession of the Nobles by Derek Ashmore.  This could also have served as an opener, a captivating piece meant to be played by brass.  Fountain City's rendition was joyful and energetic. There were a few brief, squirrelly entrances in the high voices, but the lower voices resonated in the space, on the very edge of overpowering, yet somehow retaining balance with the rest of the band.

The shift in the program came with Piu Jesu, a transcription of a mezzo soprano aria by Maurice Duruflé.  The transcription and solo were by Chris Larios, principal cornet for Fountain City.  The piece was serene and beautiful, a nice programming break from the bombast of the opening numbers.  Larios had tremendous clarity of tone, lilting over the rest of the band.  The solo to ensemble balance was only briefly lost in the mass of sound at the peak of the piece. 

The final piece on the first half was one of the contest pieces prepared for the North American Brass Band Association Championship.  This piece, Variations on an Enigma by Philip Spark, brought the program into the modern era and was the first to really challenge the audience aurally.  After an emphatic beginning, each section was featured with a different treatment of the thematic material, with quick transfers of line and changes of attitude; each solo voice was accompanied by a supporting voice.  The solos in the euphoniums and baritones were especially beautiful.  The intricate fugal lines did get muddy, but the energy was high and the lines did not bog down.  Some of the writing seemed intentionally muddled, creating a mysterious attitude filled with insinuation. The finale of the piece was a huge build up of control - both technically and musically.  In light of their recent championship, the piece was appropriately triumphant.  I would have loved to listened to the whole thing over again and catch some of the lines that I know I missed.

Palladio opened the second half, the first movement in a suite written by Karl Jenkins, the arrangement by Tony Smalls.  The theme is used in De Beers diamond commercials.  Once again, the band tackled the piece with technical mastery, bright and brilliant solos, and dynamic control.  However, by the time we were presented with the fourth return of the theme I was ready for some new material - and then the piece was over.   This was followed by an arrangement by Gordon Langford of the popular 1880's song by Sir Arthur Sullivan, The Lost Chord. The original song is a setting of a poem by the same name, the musical treatment inspired by the sickness and consequent death of Sullivan's brother.  I would have liked the text of the poem included either in the program or read by the announcer.  This would have added substance to what was a very pretty, lyrical piece.  There were a few hesitant entrances during the piano sections, but the crescendos were exciting, never forced, and the overall effect delightful.   

Next, the audience was treated to Live and Let Die by Paul McCartney, originally recorded by the band Wings for the James Bond film.  This arrangement by Ray Farr featured Ryan Sharp on Eb cornet - "screamer" in the vernacular.  The performance was prefaced by the announcer reading a quote from a British publication simultaneously complementing Sharp's performance and chastising other cornet players for their less than musical attempts.  Sharp lived up to expectation, taking licks up an octave that should not be legal while still playing with sensitive line and feeling.  During the ensemble choruses, the bass trombone grounded the band, emitting terrifying rumbles, in a good way.

The finale of the night, and the season, was Fountain City's choice piece from their recent championship.  Extreme Makeover by Johan de Meij is a three movement piece and was written specifically for brass band; the composer utilized the traditional timbres of the brass and percussion while creating new soundscapes.  It began with interwoven lines in support of the solo cornet, interesting and pretty, but somewhat safe.  As the piece progressed, the muted cornet section and bowed vibraphone subtly changed the ambiance, heightening the tension as the sound darkens with ringing tone clusters and clanging percussion.  A powerful timpani solo interrupted and brought back the nice, polite melodic ideas.  The trombone section served as harbingers of the changing tide, introducing a heavier treatment of the melody.  Again the timpani redirected into a new section; the cornets each played a tuned bottle creating tones akin to an old fashioned street organ.  The pointillistic effect, together with the solo marimba and the later addition of the vibraphone, culminated in an appealing fresh aural image.  The bass section soli led the ensemble into another crescendoing mass of notes, an exuberant chaos to the finale. 

At the end of the concert, one couldn't help but be upstanding after the rousing performance. Fountain City Brass Band is deservedly proud of their musical achievement and national and international recognition.  Everyone in the Kansas City area should be pleased to be represented by this outstanding organization.


REVIEW:
Fountain City Brass Band
Classic Brass
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Bell Cultural Events Center at MidAmerica Nazarene University
2030 East College Way, Olathe, KS
www.mnu.edu/bellcenter
For more on the Fountain City Brass Band visit www.fcbb.net

By Libby Hanssen

Traditional and New Classical, Theatre Contributor

Libby Hanssen holds degrees from University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M.) and Ball State University (B.M.) in trombone performance and also studied music education at Indiana University. She has studied trombone with Carl Lenthe, JoDee Davis, John Seidel, John Huntoon and Denis Wick, and music education with Brent Gault, Estelle Jorgensen and Katherine Strand.

While at IU, she taught classes in general music, focusing on listening skills and music fundamentals through practical music usage and exploring new sound constructions. During the course of her studies at UMKC, she performed with many ensembles, including the Conservatory Orchestra and Musica Nova. She has also performed with the Kansas City Puccini Festival, the People's Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City, the New Jazz Order, the Indiana Wind Symphony and the Muncie Symphony Orchestra.

In 2010, she was a fellow (one of 23 journalists selected from across the US) for the seventh annual National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Arts Journalism Institute in Classical Music and Opera at Columbia University’s Journalism School in New York City.

Most of her free time is spent with her three boys (son, dog and husband) and camera, exploring the many fine aspects of Kansas City living. She enjoys listening to KKFI - Kansas City Community Radio and KCUR - Kansas City's NPR station, visiting Kansas City's fine collection of museums and galleries, and scavenging in thrift and antique stores to add to her collection of toy instruments.

She writes for the joy of words and the process of constructing a story, maintaining the blog Proust Eats a Sandwich (www.prousteatsasandwich.wordpress.com). She is working on her first book: Murray Goes to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.