This album should appeal to both fans of
Michael Nyman and of the British brass band tradition. It features an assortment of music by
Nyman, primarily from film scores, originally written for his trademark
Michael Nyman Band, which includes strings, winds, brass, keyboards, and percussion, arranged by
John Parkinson for the distinctly nineteenth century ensemble of an assortment of cornets, horns, euphoniums, baritone horns, trombones, and basses, plus percussion. The music is vintage
Nyman, which is to say it's uneven in its quality; movements of striking originality bump up against others that are jarringly derivative and/or tedious. The most interesting music here comes from the soundtrack to the 2004 film The Libertine. The movements are varied and dramatic; it's easy to hear how the music would work well in underlining theatrical situations, and it also has enough of a distinctive profile to be fully effective on its own. Chasing sheep is best left to shepherds, from the
Peter Greenaway film The Draughtman's Contract, is an entertaining romp that uses eighteenth century musical language and syntax, but with a driving, rock-like beat, and it builds to a terrific climax, an appropriate finale for the album. The variety of
Nyman's styles and
Parkinson's skillful arrangements keep the potential density of the ensemble from becoming overbearing.
Andrew Berryman conducts
Wingates Band, a 30-member ensemble founded in 1873, in performances that are rousing and muscular, and sometimes surprisingly poetic. The sound is crisp, bright, and resonant.