Septura - Christmas with Septura (2016)

The English brass septet Septura (three trumpets, two trombones, bass trombone, and tuba) has emerged as a worthy successor to the various brass quintets that enjoyed a vogue at the end of the 20th century. Their ensemble work is unimpeachable, but where they break new ground is in their arrangements, which both draw on a slightly wider range of sources than usual and have a more varied selection of textures. The latter is not just a result of the fact that Septura is a septet rather than a quintet, but that it also involves novel treatments of the instruments and their groupings. The program starts off normally enough with Schütz, Bach, and Praetorius, but brings some delightful surprises in the middle parts, such as the arrangements by trombonist Matthew Knight of two sections (one is the well-known "Bogoroditse Devo") from Rachmaninov's Vespers. Sample one of these (tracks 16 and 17) for an idea of what's in store for the buyer here. (The arrangements are all by Knight or trumpeter Simon Cox.) Even with the repertoire and arrangement stretches, there's nothing to make this collection unsuitable for festive holiday listening, and indeed it will fill the bill elegantly in that regard. This release is part of a generally fresh series by Septura on the Naxos label, and future items in the series are eagerly anticipated. -- James Manheim