******
- Verified Buyer
This is a stunning recording. I only wish more of John Williams’ compositions would be recorded by this superlative wind band.Williams writes most of his soundtracks for orchestra, but when you closely examine which sections of the orchestra he assigns major themes to, you begin to see the wisdom of making a wind band recording of his music. The brasses and woodwinds are the heavy hitters in these selections. Sharing the spotlight is the large percussion section you’d find in either ensemble.Take my favorite piece here, The Cowboys. I’ve never heard cleaner, more precise playing of the rapid-fire initial theme. I have this piece by Williams and the Boston Pops, but here there is better articulation by the woodwinds. Reference Recordings sets the standard for realistic sound capture these days, and the combination of exceptional playing and perfect acoustic capture brings me very close to the music. I had the pleasure of playing tenor sax on this arrangement of The Cowboys with a college wind ensemble recently, and I could pick out my part here - which I almost can never do in a recording. To achieve a realistic soundstage and present instrumental sounds clearly as we have here is a crowning recording achievement. I know, I’m an amateur recording and mastering engineer.The acoustic environment in Dallas’ Meyerson Hall is rich with natural reverberation. I’ve attended one concert by this group there, and from my seat far back in the hall I could hear every section play every note. In a rich environment like this, microphone selection and placement are critical. The Reference team has never had difficulty with this hall, and didn’t here.This recording is a hybrid CD. This means the purchaser gets an audiophile-grade DSD recording, and a standard CD recording, on one disc. This makes this recording a tremendous value. I’ve played it on my Oppo SACD player and on my restored 1984 Revox CD player, and it sounds great on either.I’d love to know what John Williams thinks of this recording. I know he loves a good wind band - several years ago I heard him conduct the United States Marine Band in his works at the Kennedy Center. He was as excited about this performance as I’ve ever seen him.This disc is a real treat.
