Рет қаралды 461
Sibelius scored this work originally for the traditional Finnish brass septet, a format which had arisen in the second half of the 19th century. A typical Finnish septet consisted of a cornet in E flat, two cornets in B flat, an alto horn in E flat (what we in the UK would call a tenor horn), a tenor horn in B flat (what we would call a baritone horn), euphonium and tuba. At least one source suggests the typical make-up omitted the alto horn and included basic percussion although I've found no photographs featuring this latter combination. Either way, it's not difficult to see how works for this ensemble could easily be scaled up for a standard brass band. This performance is by Solna Brass conducted by Lars-Gunnar Bjorklund.
It seems remarkable that an original work for brass by one of the giants of 19th/20th century international music could be overlooked by UK brass bands, particularly such an attractive work as this - but that's brass bands for you!