Mallet Mischief - Vol. II - Harry Breuer

 

TV Funeral March

Mallet Mischief - Vol. 2

Harry Breuer and His Quintet

Photograph by Bob Witt

Audio Fidelity AFLP 1882

1958

From the back cover: Originality is a rare thing in music. Composers, conductors and interpreters are constantly searching for new subtleties of expression, unusual styling, something different. There are just so many ways of performing a composition. Except for minor variations in style, most musicians confine their efforts to fairly conventional standards and let it go at that. Harry Breuer, however, is an exception.

Harry Breuer would have been in his element on the memorable occasion when Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture had its world premiere and startled an audience with the blast of a genuine cannon which the composer had incorporated into his original score. Not that Breuer is given to admiring noise making. On the contrary, he is a musician who, seeking to exploit a much-neglected medium in music, chose three percussion instruments and charted new paths of expression on all three. The instruments he selected are the marimba, vibraphone and glockenspiel, which have been relegated to that group of orchestral instruments that most conductors haul out only when they want to give audiences a taste of novelty. Harry Breuer has converted this taste into a basic diet. Probably the most noteworthy compliment paid him came from a fan who had heard his quintet perform and said: "You don't just listen to this man's music making; you become infected with it."

People everywhere, since time immemorial, have found it hard to resist tapping their feet or otherwise keeping time to music with some kind of noise maker. The development of percussion instruments has seen the invention of no less than three hundred types of objects using practically every kind of material known to man-skin, wood, metal, glass, fibre, bone and even liquid. The music lover of today who would like to be in the shoes of the cymbalist in Tchaikovsky's fourth symphony, of the tympanist in Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique, or of the triangle player in Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel has much in common with his ancestor who beat two pieces of wood, bone or metal together to keep time during a tribal dance.

Of the great variety of percussion instruments that have been devised through the years, precious few survive in the modern symphony orchestra and jazz band. The more common ones-tympani, drums, tambourine, triangle, cymbals, bells and chimes-are heard chiefly as supplementary instruments. Only in recent years have a few composers seen fit to orchestrate for the more unusual percussion instruments like castanets, marimba, vibraharp, glockenspiel, blocks, sticks and rattles. And here also, with few exceptions, these instruments are generally treated as "second class citizens" in the instrumental family.

In spite of the fact that relatively few instruments have a wide variety of multiple sound effects, the marimba, vibraharp and glockenspiel have been wantonly neglected. It is difficult to understand the reason for this, considering the vast potential of tonal range and dynamics afforded by these instruments. For many years composers and performers alike were content to accept the simple wooden block construction of the marimba and vibraharp; and when they used these instruments it was usually a kind of humorous effect. Today, as a result of considerably more knowledge about the nature of acoustics and tonal dynamics, these instruments have achieved more serious consideration. An increasing number of modern and contemporary composers have assigned more prominent roles to them, and a number have even written solo works featuring them.

Probably the principal reasons why the marimba, vibraharp and glockenspiel have come into their own are the recognition by musicians of the multi-tone possibilities they offer, the wide range of tonal effects that has been opened up through the amplification of live sound through electronic techniques, and the application of the double and bounce beat (on the marimba and vibraharp). The latter has come about through the borrowing of the drummer's technique. It has involved not only the actual technique of striking the instruments with mallets with the double and bounce beat as used on the drum, but also the invention of the so-called cross-hammer technique-a system that calls for crossing the arms when one plays in higher or lower registers. All of this has enabled the performer to achieve greater speed, more complex harmonies and a larger variety of dynamic effects.

Not content with the inconspicuous place accorded the ma- rimba, vibraharp and glockenspiel, Harry Breuer has explored new tonal worlds through his stunning arrangements and his interpretation of many popular favorites on marimba, vibraharp and glockenspiel. Many fascinating effects are achieved in this recording, which contains some delightful compositions and provides a perfect showcase for the three instruments played both as solos and in ensemble. Breuer and his quintet display some dazzling pyrotechnics in the TV Funeral March and the famous Hora Staccato. The lyrical beauty of La Paloma and the Pavane is captured to best advantage on the vibraharp, to which is added an intriguing kaleidoscope of tonal color and technical wizardry with the addition of marimba and glockenspiel. And you'll fairly jump to the volcanic energy of Down Home Rag.

The interesting thing about this recording as a whole is its exploitation of tuned percussion instruments, which present an entirely different tonal and acoustical experience from ordinary percussion like drums, cymbals, triangle, etc. The unusual subtleties of each of the three instruments in the high and low registers, of loud and soft tones, and of technical intricacies are captured here with matchless perfection, where they might otherwise be totally lost (to the naked ear, or in a recording of lesser quality with respect to sound engineering techniques). Here, indeed, is a collection of selections that is calculated to meet the most exciting standards of Hi-Fi enthusiasts.

HARRY BREUER acquired a solid musical grounding through the study of violin before he decided to switch to percussion instruments. As conductor, arranger and performer he has appeared with his quintet on the Steve Allen TV show, in a number of other top video and radio programs, and has been kept busy with studio, transcription and motion picture work. He has written numerous works, including study material, for all mallet instruments (marimba, vibraphone and glockenspiel). A native of Brooklyn, Breuer started his professional career as xylophone soloist in movies and vaudeville. He made his radio debut during the early days of broadcasting on the A & P Gypsies Show, the Cliquot Club Eskimos and other popular programs of the day. Later he joined Roxy's Gang as soloist at the Roxy Theater in New York, and subsequently appeared at the Radio City Music Hall. His motion picture credits include performances in short features for Warner Bros., Educational Pictures and Soundies. For some years he was staff musician at the Warner Bros. studio under David Mendosa and at the Fox Studios under Erno Rapee. This was followed by a period as staff musician at the NBC Studios. He is considered one of the country's leading authorities on mallet instruments.

Farmerette 

Pavanne

Dainty Miss

Fiesta De Oro

Fiesta Waltz

Hora Staccato

Paloma Beguine

TV Funeral March

Down Home Rag

Minute Merengue

Tropicale Stephanie

Boomerang