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Title: Low Spirites anything but Phantasticke
Review: With so many fine recordings of wind bands available on the market today, "Spirites" flies very low. The wind playing on most every track suffers from serious intonation problems that seem to sap what little musical interpretive interest Mayse is capable of displaying. Whitacre's "October," which normally leaves one's spine tingling with bitter-sweet emotion, is presented by the RCC group as a flat-lined, ill-paced story that sadly misses the point of being melancholy in the October of one's life.This very young two-year community college group is simply not up to snuff with such ensembles as Eastman, University of Northern Texas, or the New England Conservatory, to name a few. From the first track, it becomes apparent that the ensemble lacks the command, presence and maturity necessary to pull off the pieces with any sense of artistry.
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