Jerry Junkin - Crown Imperial

"…there's not a better way to discover Mr. Johnson's penchant for huge, holographic soundstages, explosive dynamics and depth-charged low frequency extension than on this recording…Addictively warm and velvety is how this Keith Johnson recording sounds. It captures the sound of the hall in all its rich, creamy, clarified glory…A musical and sonic spectacular you're sure to enjoy especially if your system delivers the bottom end goods." Music = 10/11; Sound = 11/11 – Michael Fremer, Music Angle, www.musicangle.com

In addition to the renowned Dallas Wind Symphony and its director Jerry Junkin, this disc features the services of Mary Preston, resident organist of the mighty Fisk concert instrument in the Meyerson Symphony Center. No one knows better than she the capabilities of the Fisk, and Preston can make it sing and shout. In addition to the royal coronation anthem Crown Imperial by William Walton, there are substantial pieces that are seldom heard in such full instrumentation. Richard Strauss contributes a stately Festival Intrada; there's a Canzon originally composed "in stereo" by Giovanni Gabrieli; a ceremonial brass Fanfare by Henri Tomasi and much, much more. The justly famous acoustics of the Meyerson Center have all the clarity, warmth and spaciousness we could ask, and when the full ensemble and center-of-the-earth organ pedals come together, the effect is hair-raising. Audiophiles everywhere will go nuts.