Do you plan to move on the (rather more) complete works in the DGG set later, hh?

I must be in a critical mood today.  I find this kind of neither-fish-nor-fowl approach to HIP annoying even at its best (and this clip probably does represent it at its best) - what's with the hybrid valved trumpet thingy, the modern bows held halfway up in the misunderstanding that baroque playing is "light", mixed in with a modern oboe?  That's my own specialist gripe, but musically it produces a result that I find irritatingly combines a twee delicacy with a sewing machine approach to passagework and articulation.  Where's the variety, the shade to contrast with the light, the swoop of excitement as it gets unbelievably high?  And having a conductor is SO UNNECESSARY in this music - it completely takes away the chamber music feel.  When the centre group pass around an ornament they insert (a little mordent), they each do EXACTLY the same thing - so even if it was spontaneous it sounds written in and not much fun.

I suppose I should listen to more of it before really laying into it, but I'm now feeling a bit grumpy.

I'm afraid to say that I was also rather irritated by this performance, though for a slightly different reason. Strina's right about the conductor being unnecessary - in fact the performers didn't take a great deal of notice of him did they? There were places in both versions where the music sped up for a few moments (cellists) and the rhythmic feel of the soloists was anything but unified: to my ears the oboist was a bit of a rusher and the violinist too laid back. Chap on the pea-shooter was a marvellous player of course but a pity they didn't all measure up rhythmically to that Kate Adie on the recorder.

Just a perfectly normal modern piccolo trumpet as far as I can see (with Reinhold Friedrich behind it).

I seem to be the only one to find the Reinhard Goebel performances entirely reasonable and not (well hardly) at all bonkers, then? To me they're not only the ones to have best stood up over time, but seem to me to be for the most part perfectly sensible!

I wouldn't call it perfectly normal. Most piccolo trumpets I've seen look more like this:

I said more like that, ie. short, but indeed they mostly have four valves, enabling a larger repertoire of pedal tones which as any fule kno are the crowning glory of the piccolo trumpet. 

Just listening again to the cd I had on yester, entitled, "New Music for Brass Band"

Richard Rodney Bennett: Flowers of the Forest.
Kenneth Hesketh: The Alchymist's Journal
George Benjamin: Altitude.
Judith Bingham: Prague
Philip Wilby: Shadow Songs#
Various composers: Variations on a theme of Tippett

Foden's Richardson, Bramwell Tovey.

This was the recording which I mentioned to the R3 presenter Andrew McCregor on his staurday morning programme, CD Review. He mentioned this recordinng, and played the George Benjamin track. BTW, my username was mentioned as well! I mentioned this cd in TOP. So it has its uses.

Top class recording in every way.

Indeed he did DB. Rather good that, huh? BTW the band that i have just joined is, just in case you guys did'nt know, is being recorded this weekend and hopefully be released in December sometime!! So email me or pm me for any copies!