Demondrae Thurman's "Songs of a Wayfarer"

[RickF]

Just recv'd my copy of Demondrae Thurman's latest CD, "Songs of a Wayfarer". It is an excellent CD!

The more I listen to Demondrae's sweet tone and wonderful use of vibrato, the more I want to practice.

You can view the song selections and listen to excerpts here:

[highams]

Yes I have that too, wonderful disc!

CB

[JTJ]

Just ordered it. Linked through to Amazon from this site. Hope to make Dave a wee bit to defray expenses.

John

[RickF]

Hope you like it John. I love the very first track, "Every Valley Shall Be Exalted" (Handel). I've been looking for the music as it would be great for church in the Advent season. Should be public domain -- but haven't found it in that key as yet.

[JTJ]

Rick, I think it is a marvelous CD. Your point on vibrato is well taken -- he has a superb, well controlled vibrato, and is a master of the slow vibrato. And it is always employed tastefully.

I love the Handel as well. It may be the most enjoyable track. I've found a trumpet version from J W pepper, which I might order. It's only $4.

John

[RickF]

Hi John,

Glad you like the CD. I think that Handel piece would be very appropriate for church (after all it's Handel). I found the music, "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" in a local music store in Lake Worth, FL. It's low enough that I can take it up an octave like Demondrae does on his CD.

BTW, I'm visiting in Raleigh, NC for a two more days. Didn't email you as don't think I'd have the time to get together this time. We're having to leave Tuesday morning. Just found out I might have some free time Monday morning and might call Vince at Tuba Exchange to see what he has in stock.

// edit //
Thanks for the tip John on a source for the music to "Every Valley Shall be Exalted". I ordered it from JWPepper, but it's on back-ordered.

[JTJ]

Thought I would give this thread a bump.

This CD is so good!

I have been listening a lot to the Mahler "Songs of a Wayfarer" itself, which is a suite recorded on the CD, giving the CD its name. They are so wonderful, work so well for euphonium that I ordered a performance set for trombone and piano to play on euph.

John

[RickF]

Yes, I've been listening to this CD more than any others since I got it. It's become one of my favorites.

P.S. I've not yet recv'd my copy of "Every Valley..." (Handel) from JWPepper. It's still on back-order. When I checked on it they told me it's coming from Salvation Army and they can be difficult to track and can take a long time to ship. It's been two months now.

:: edit ::
Deleted part of my post where I stated that I thought Demondrae Thurman was playing "Every Valley..." in key of Eb. He in fact played it in E major. Sorry for any confusion.

[RickF]

Update...

Just recv'd my copy of "Every Valley Shall be Exalted" from J W Pepper. Took a little over 3 mos. as it was back-ordered. It's in concert Eb ('F' for Bb cornet). Except for the key looks very similar to the arrangement that Demondrae played on this CD. The notes on the piano part are pretty small however.

Now if I could only sound as good as Demondrae.

Still listening to this CD quite often.

[daruby]

Rick, et. al...

I just left the company of Trevor Groom here in Kettering, England about 30 minutes ago. I brought a copy of "Songs of a Wayfarer" over for him to listen to (Trevor gave me a copy of Steven Mead's "Roccoco Variations" CD). Trevor had never heard Demondrae, so I am hoping he hears the differences in Demondrae's sound and enjoys it.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending C-TEW and having a master class and clinic with Demondrae. He is an AMAZZING teacher. He is one of the nicest people I have ever met, and despite being a very intense musician and teacher, he made everyone feel at ease in his presence. I also found out that Demondrae likes good micro-breweries!

Rick, Demondrae asked me to pass on a personal note. He had read your comments above about "Every Valley Shall be Exalted". He read your post and wanted me to let you know that, in fact, he DID play it in E, not Eb.

Cheers...Doug