The pleasure of arrangement
With ERSCHALLET, TROMPETEN!, Lucerne Chamber Brass refers to a Baroque tradition when presenting selected compositions by Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, and Rathgeber not in their original form but in arrangements for brass quintet, organ, and timpani. These arrangements hold a special allure, especially when the originals are vocal compositions.
During the Baroque era, composers largely adhered to the belief inherited from the Renaissance that the form of a composition must adapt to the specific performance conditions. Baroque composers were, therefore, masters of arrangement. Bach rewrote many of his instrumental concertos when the opportunity arose to perform them with a different solo instrument. Handel replaced entire arias in his operas when a famous castrato appeared in London, wanting to showcase his skills in a favorable light. Vivaldi, in the realm of opera, not only left behind original compositions but also arranged and compiled works by himself and other composers for revivals, creating so-called pasticcios.
The brass quintet Lucerne Chamber Brass (LCB) was founded in 1999 at the Lucerne School of Music and is now one of Switzerland's most renowned brass ensembles. The quintet has won various national and international competitions (Jan Koetsier Competition, Munich; Mozart Prize of the Axelle and Max Koch Cultural Foundation; Philip Jones International Brass Ensemble Competition, Guebwiller; International Brass Competition Passau). Concert tours have taken the ensemble to London (Wigmore Hall, Trinity College, Swiss Church), Tunisia (Tunis, Carthage, Sfax), Italy, and the Royal Welsh College in Cardiff, Wales. LCB performed twice at the Lucerne Festival and appeared at the Alpentöne Festival and the World Band Festival. The ensemble has been featured multiple times on Swiss television and in live broadcasts on Radio DRS 1 and 2 (SF bi de Lüt; Christmas concert on Radio DRS; DRS 1 Advent calendar).
Theo Flury is a Benedictine monk of the Einsiedeln Abbey. After his philosophical and theological training in Einsiedeln, Salzburg, and Rome, he studied music at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome (degrees in organ and composition). He studied improvisation with Jan Raas in Amsterdam. Theo Flury is the Abbey organist and lecturer at the Theological School of the monastery, a professor at the Lucerne School of Music, and at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome. He is active in concerts at home and abroad, teaches courses, composes, and records music.

For more information, visit www.chamberbrass.ch