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MAGENTA CYAN YELLOW BLACKDVD BOOKLETCreditsExecutive Producer: Brett BakerProducer / Sound Engineer / Editor:Richard Scott of RAS Audio ServicesAccompanist: John WilsonRecorded at:Peel Hall, the Crescent University Salford3rd-5th September 2012Photography: John StirzakerProgram Notes: Joanna Cambray-YoungDesign: GK Graphic DesignThanksMy thanks go to John Wilson for his expert playing, Duncan Winfield andRichard Rock for the use of Peel Hall at Salford University. I would like tothank Steve Dillon and Ron Holz for helping me source the music and themany bands in the USA, Australia and New Zealand who allowed me to trawlthrough their extensive libraries in search of this rare material. I would like tothank my good friend Gerard Klaucke for his inspired designs and I would alsolike to thank my family and friends for putting up with all the practice. FinallyI would like to thank Michael Rath and Chris Beaumont for their continuedsupport in this project.InstrumentsRath R4 rose brass bell, yellow bass tuning slide, heavy valve cap,and 41b lead pipe.The Baroque Sackbut is based upon a version made byAnton Drewelwelz in 1595 in Nuremburg Germany.“Brett Baker plays exclusively Michael Rath Brass Instruments”PAGE 12PAGE 1
MAGENTA CYAN YELLOW BLACKIntroductionThis CD is a celebration of rarely played trombonesolos from the beginnings of virtuoso playing on the sackbut,in Europe in the 1620s, to the trombonists in wind bands of theUSA, up to 1940. From my research on trombone solo repertoire it isapparent that there have been several periods when the trombone was popularas a solo instrument; from 1755-1170 in Austria, 1820-1860 in Germany and1880-1940 in the USA. There has been resurgence recently, in the late 20th andearly 21st century. I focus on the Romantic and post American civil war periodsfor this recording.The trombone was also used extensively during the 1600s in Italy and Germaniccountries, but usually as a chamber instrument rather than for solos. However,some solos do exist, hence the inclusion on this CD of the Cesare compositionand St Thomas Sonata. The dexterity required for these pieces is quite alarming!Trombone use declined significantly in Europe during the 17th and 18thCenturies, except in Austria, where its popularity and importance grew. Solosbegan to emerge from composers such as Leopold Mozart, Georg ChristophWagenseil, Michael Haydn and Johann Albrechtsberger in the form of concertos.The inspiration for many of these composers was no doubt the virtuosic playingof Thomas Gschladt, who worked in the court orchestra at Salzburg, and alsoLeopold Christian Sr. and Jr. These pieces have been performed and recordedextensively and therefore I have chosen to disregard this period for the purposesof this recording.Following Thomas Gschladt’s decline we see Leipzig and Germany rise tobecome a centre of trombone pedagogy in the early Romantic period. Thetrombone began to be taught at the new Musikhochschule founded by FelixMendelssohn.It appears that Frederick Belke and Karl Traugott Queisser were the influencefor many composers to write for trombone as a solo instrument. The DavidConcertino has been a staple solo for many years and is believed to have beenwritten for Queisser. From this period, I have recorded Meyer’s Concertino forBass Trombone (which is very high in range for today’s bass trombone players)and Novakovsky’s Concertino for trombone and piano, which was writtenshortly after the David Concertino. Queisser almost single-handedly helped tore-establish the reputation of the trombone in Germany and began a tradition intrombone playing that is still practised there today.Belke was seen as one of the foremost interpreters of the concertos of hisday, on such works as the David, Meyer, Müller and the Neidhardt.Belke expanded the instrument’s repertoire with numerouscompositions of his own, including a Concertino, opus 40(with orchestra), a Fantasia, opus 58 (with orchestraPAGE 2DVD BOOKLETthe United States, he maintained a homein Newcornerstown, Ohio, and for manyyears served as the conductor of the Hyperion Band.Yingling was also a composer of band music. The majorityof his compositional output is limited to marches and two-steps,although he did compose a solo for trombone entitled Hyperion Polka,which was named after the band that he conducted in Newcornerstown. Themusic was discovered in a library of silent film live music and was then arrangedas a solo with piano, with help from Steve Dillon from New Jersey.A Vous (To You) (1937) by Al PinardJohn Schueler, another trombone soloist with the Sousa band, did not composeany of his own solo works, instead choosing to champion the compositions ofothers. Schueler’s favourite technical solos were those composed by Al Pinard,the first famous trombonist to endorse the King brand trombone manufacturedby the H.N. White Company, and trombone soloist with the Pryor Band. AlPinard also wrote some simple slow melodies such as this one, which is rarelyheard.Beautiful Colorado (1940) by Joseph De LucaBorn in Rome, Italy, in March of 1890, Joseph De Luca became one of the bestknown euphonium soloists in the United States. He was a graduate of the PerugiaConservatory of Music in Italy and was an accomplished musician in his homecountry, having played with many bands and orchestras before immigrating tothe United States. He joined the Sousa Band in 1921, replacing John J. Perfettoas first chair euphonium and soloist; Perfetto had replaced Mantia in 1904 whenMantia joined Pryor’s Band. In addition to being a fine euphonium player, DeLuca was also a proficient trombonist. Although he played with the Sousa Bandfor many years, De Luca was also a member of Victor Herbert’s Orchestra andthe bands of Giuseppe Creatore, Patrick Conway and Frederick Innes.De Luca played with the Sousa Band until 1928, and during this time exhibitedhis skills on trombone, as well as euphonium. He appeared as a trombone soloistduring the 1925 Willow Grove Park engagement, performing John Philip Sousa’scomposition The Fighting Race. His most well recognised composition is theeuphonium solo Beautiful Colorado, hence its inclusion on this CD.PAGE 11
MAGENTA CYAN YELLOW BLACKis most famous for his books of studiesnow rather than his trombone solos. Thissimple melody is a very different piece to thepolkas of the day.Salute to Sousa (1930s) by Frank BurnellFrank Burnell played in Professor E. L. Weinn’s Orchestra, which in1904 was a 10-piece group. He also played in the Sousa band on 2nd tromboneafter this period. The piece is very reminiscent of an Arthur Pryor solo and difficultto say the least. It was discovered as a manuscript on the desk of Steve Dillon inNew Jersey in 2011 and may have been un-performed until this recording.Heaven of Love (1933) by Edwin Franko GoldmanFor more than 90 years the Goldman Band has been recognised as a vital part ofAmerica’s concert life. It has served not only to thrill and entertain the public,but also to promulgate the traditions and repertoire nurtured by two centuries ofAmerican bands. Eminent composer-conductor Edwin Franko Goldman founded theband in 1911 and the present band still retains the Goldman name under the currentdesignation the Goldman Memorial Band.Goldman was born in Louisville Kentucky on January 1st 1878. He began earlystudies on cornet with the eminent cornet soloist Jules Levy. He received ascholarship to the National Conservatory of music that was under the directorshipof Anton Dvorak. At age 22, he had established himself as a virtuoso cornettist andperformed with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for 9 years. In addition, he was awriter for the Carl Fischer Music Company and had a very lucrative teaching practicewith 90 students per week. During his tenure with the Met he had the opportunityto play under some great conductors including Walter Damrosch, Gustav Mahlerand Arturo Toscanini. For its first season as the Goldman Band, in 1920, he began topresent a vast array of soloists, including Del Staigers who played this version of theslow melody written by Goldman.Hyperion Polka (1934) by Manuel YinglingManuel “Manny” Yingling was born in Newcornerstown, Ohio on October 24th 1872.He became a career musician, going through the school system in Newcornerstown.After leaving Ohio, Yingling pursued music studies at both Oberlin College of Musicand Boston Conservatory. He was associated with several bands and orchestrasthroughout his distinguished career, including Sousa’s Band, in 1920. In nearly allof the bands that Yingling was associated, he was the featured trombonesoloist. In addition to his performing career, Manuel Yingling wasalso a conductor, composer and musical entrepreneur. Asvarious performing engagements led him throughoutPAGE 10DVD BOOKLETor organ) and various collections ofstudies and duets. His studies remainavailable today (published by Editions-Bim).Although at this time the trombone was still notconsidered to be a common solo instrument, several other19th-century trombonists made their reputation as soloists,including A. G. Dieppo in France and Felippe Cioffi in the United States.The next period when the trombone rose again as a solo instrument was inthe USA from 1880 to 1940. This coincided with the emergence of professionalwind bands after the American civil war and the beginnings of professionalorchestras. This was the popular music of the era and lead to several virtuosi playerssuch as Frederick Innes, Frank Holton and Arthur Pryor becoming the pop idols oftheir day. Many immigrants went to the USA from Europe and immediately becamevirtuoso players, such as Simone Mantia, Charles Cusimano and Joseph de Luca.Many virtuoso players would play solos written for valve instruments on a slidetrombone with ease during this period.Arthur Pryor immediately comes to mind and is perhaps one of the most famousplayers from this period, perhaps due to his enthusiasm to record, which manysoloists frowned upon during that era. The popularisation of Jazz and big bands inthe 1950s then lead to the emergence of stars such as Tommy Dorsey and GlennMiller, which again has been widely documented.For this CD I have resurrected pieces that were once popular in the Baroque,Romantic and post American civil war periods, but which have been forgottenthrough the mists of time.Brett Baker ARCM BSc. PGCE“The name Brett Baker has become an established, household name in the worldof brass, not least for the level of commitment and focus that this outstandingmusician has given to his craft.” Professor David KingPresident of theprincipal trombone ofa clinician for MichaelBrett Baker is viewedbrass performers andabout encouragingpioneering newhas performedsingersBritish Trombone Society,the Black Dyke Band andRath Brass Instruments,as one of Europe’s leadingeducators, and passionatecomposers to writesolo repertoire. Hewith celebratedsuch as AlisonGoldfrappPAGE 3
MAGENTA CYAN YELLOW BLACKand Hayley Westenra and otherworld class trombone soloists suchIan Bousfield, Wycliffe Gordon, ChristianLindberg and Joseph Alessi. He is currently the mostrecorded trombone soloist in his genre, and as well asnumerous broadcasts and TV appearances by twenty-four hehad won every major brass band competition in the UK. Brett is a pastTrombone Solo Champion of Great Britain and an Associate of the RoyalCollege of Music, London.Originally from the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, Brett was encouraged to playtrombone by his father. His early teachers included Bryan Nelmes, David Rudge,Robert Morgan and Ken Harmon, whilst he played for the Bream and LydbrookSilver Bands. In 1989, he moved to the Flowers Band and joined the National YouthBrass Band of Great Britain, where he was principal trombone for two years. Histeachers at this time were Danny Hannaby of the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra,Steve Walkley of Sunlife Band and euphonium player Lyndon Baglin.In 1992, Brett became a Brass Finalist in BBC’s Young Musician of the Year andshortly afterwards he moved north to study at Salford University, simultaneouslyjoining the Fairey Band. At Fairey’s Brett’s reputation as one of the finest playersof his generation was firmly established. He was British Open Trombone SoloChampion from 1993-5 and trombone tutor at Salford University from 1993-1996.He studied with Professor David King whilst also taking Business Economics. Brett’sfirst solo recording “Bone Idyll” accompanied by the Fairey Band in 1996, gainedmuch critical acclaim. His advisor at the time was Denis Wick.In 2000 Brett began studies at the Royal Northern Conservatoire under ChrisHoulding, John Iveson and John Miller and was invited to join the Black Dyke Bandunder the direction of Dr. Nicholas Childs. At Dyke Brett has played on over 100CDs, and highlights have included two trips to the USA and Bermuda and a tour ofAustralia.Brett has had some impressive contest successes, winning the All England Masters,and Australian Nationals twice, the Europeans and British Open Championshipsthree times, the National Championships of Great Britain four times and the EnglishNationals three times, most recently in 2012.Assuming a hectic playing schedule of 100 concerts a year, Brett enjoys presentingworkshops specializing in performance. Brett has been guest trombone tutor onStar Lake Music camp near New York and the Swiss National Youth Band. Brettis currently trombone tutor of the National Children’s Brass Band of GreatBritain and the International Brass Band Summer School. He has beentrombone tutor of the Northern Brass Band Trust since 1992, andit’s Course Director since 2000. In 2006, he became Chair andVice President of the British Trombone Society (BTS)PAGE 4DVD BOOKLETthe Smith, Spring and Holmes ConcertCompany, which made several recordings.Smith was an accomplished and virtuosotrombone soloist. Many of his works reflect a needfor technical and lyrical proficiency. Unlike Arthur Pryor,Leo Zimmerman and other contemporaries who “headlined”
Beautiful Colorado (1940) by Joseph De Luca Born in Rome, Italy, in March of 1890, Joseph De Luca became one of the best known euphonium soloists in the United States. He was a graduate of the Perugia Conservatory of Music in Italy and was an accomplished musician in his home country, having played with many bands and orchestras before immigrating to the United States. He joined the Sousa
