Transatlantic

This album combines pieces for the core quintet of Onyx Brass with works for expanded brass ensemble, supplemented with piano in Florence Price's "Octet for Brasses and Piano". Most of the pieces appear here on record for the first time, including two Britten premieres that bring two long-forgotten works from the Britten Pears Archive in Aldeburgh to light: "Funeral March" and "A Fanfare for June 30th 1970". Alongside these new discoveries are also established favorites from Sir Malcolm Arnold and Joseph Horovitz, which have been part of the standard repertoire for brass chamber music for more than half a century. The choice of composers, spanning the greater part of the 20th century and both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, gives the album a refreshing contrast between musical traditions and styles.

Originally inspired by the early years of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, Onyx Brass Ensemble, founded in 1993, remains a leading force in establishing the brass quintet as a medium for serious chamber music. The ensemble has already commissioned and premiered more than 200 new works, with many more works in the pipeline for performance and recording.