Time to Time: American Masters and New British Voices ? review

Onyx Brass with Mark Stone
(Meridian)

Onyx Brass, a versatile quintet founded in 1993, prides itself in its dedication to modern composers, expanding the repertoire with new arrangements and commissions. This latest CD embraces Americans from the recent past ? Ives, Copland, Barber ? and a trio of British composers all born in the 1970s. Dances from Rodeo, Copland's 1942 wild west ballet (arr. Joseph Hollings) launch the disc with a swagger. The elegiac and moving Two Cairns by Stuart MacRae (b 1976) and Time to Time by Timothy Jackson (b 1972) ? melancholy settings persuasively sung by Mark Stone ? are recent Onyx commissions. Still Life by Joe Duddell (b 1972) offers Bach-inspired contrast. This is an eclectic ear-opener of a disc, virtuosically played.

• Classical music

Fiona Maddocks

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jul/10/onyx-brass-time-to-time-review

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