Review

John Frith
The Big Top: A Circus Suite for Brass Quintet:

Vancouver, BC, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2011
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Primary Genre: Brass Ensemble - 5 brass

John Frith’s ode to the circus is an eight movement programmatic work that is perfectly suited for a pops or children’s concert. On the Cherry Classics website Mr. Frith states that his inspiration for the different movements came from watching the circus on television and the movies. This is readily apparent in the first five movements, which are the strongest, as they convey the convincing imagery through sound. The last three movements lack the depth of the first five and tend to be more pop in nature but are still worthwhile pieces to be examined. 

The movements range from 2/4 to 12/8 meter and tend to all be moderate to fast in tempo. The slowest tempo comes in the third movement, dotted quarter = 76. Styles range from Latin in movement 7, The Tumblers, to dirty, bluesy jazz in movement 3, Peep-Show Princess. The piece is idiomatic for every instrument but tends to favor trombone and horn with most of the melodic material. However, everyone gets a piece of the action at some point. The tuba part could easily be played on bass trombone, but watch out for the penultimate measure in the last movement! Its sixteenth note run will require a bit of practice. 
  
-Jonathan Gill
Tarleton State University