For those with surround sound systems, this PentaTone release of works by the 17th century Venetian composer Giovanni Gabrieli (ca.1555-1612) will be an absolute must have. It was recorded in February 2013 in Berlin's largest church, a building whose vast interior is capable of evoking the sonorous spaces of San Marco, Venice where the composer was organist for much of his life.

On this stunning SACD, Berlin Brass - a ten-strong ensemble founded in 1999 – has been enlarged to 33 brass soloists drawn from most of the leading orchestras based in that city. These include players from the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester, the Konzerthausorchester, Berlin's three Opera House orchestras (the Deutscheoper, the Staatsoper and the Komische Oper), as well as other bodies. There is even a player included from the Dresden Staatskapelle! As one might expect the performance of these musicians' conducted by Lukas Vis is nonpareil.

The programme presented here is divided into three parts.

The first consists of five works, some of which have organ accompaniment and are taken mainly from the editions of 'Canzoni e sonate' (Venice 1615) and 'Sacrae Symphoniae' (Venice 1597). The first four of these feature antiphonal exchanges between the various instrumental groups but in the fifth, (Canzon XVI à 12 for 14 Brass instruments in 3 choirs and organ) the full capability of multi-channel sound is demonstrated to incredible effect as the acoustic of the capacious Berliner Dom is re-created in one's listening room.

The second comprises five works for smaller ensembles- usually for combinations of four instruments – and these are interspersed with organ solos played on the Dom's historic Italian organ by the cathedral's organist Andreas Sieling rather than the large Sauer organ that is used elsewhere on this recording. Also included here is the well-known 'Sonata pian'e forte' for eight instruments in which the alternation of loud and soft passages is finely judged by these wonderful players.

The third and final part uses the largest groups of brass in works all taken from Gabrieli's 'Canzoni e sonate' and illustrates the full magnificence of the composer's use of spatial separation of the brass choirs and polyphonic interaction between them. The 'Sonata XX à 22' with its use of 26 Brass instruments in 5 choirs and Organ brings this magnificent programme to its spectacular conclusion.

Amazingly for a building with such a large reverberation period the sound of the various groups on this 5.0 DSD recording always remains clear and distinct. This is due not only to the skill of the engineers from Polyhymnia in managing the challenge of a cathedral acoustic, but also to the clean articulation and incisiveness of the playing throughout.

Both musically and sonically this disc is a feast for the ears!

Copyright © 2014 Graham Williams and HRAudio.net

Performance:

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