Post Description

Mercury Living Presence Boxed Set CD46 van55.
Mercury 434334 Frederick Fennell Conducts Eastman Wind Ensemble 
John Philip Sousa 1854-1932 (CD1, 2 original LP's on one CD).
It seems like the heyday for recorded march collections was the early stereo era. The classic Mercury recordings by Fennell and the Eastman Wind Ensemble dating from that time no doubt contribute to that impression. In this collection, they demonstrate the seriousness with which they approach this repertoire by unearthing some lesser known (at least in the US) pieces to go along with the usual Sousa-esque fare. However, there is no sense that they scraped the bottom of the barrel: all of these marches are first rate. Even the less familiar marches will have you humming along in no time, so infectious are they. These performers bring their usual gutsy exuberance and the necessary polish, too. The sound is on the bold side so turn the volume down a bit for this one.