THE CANADIAN BRASS: “GREATEST HITS.” RCA Red...

THE CANADIAN BRASS: “GREATEST HITS.” RCA Red Seal Compact Disc RCD1-4733. “CANADIAN BRASS LIVE!” CBS Masterworks Compact Disc MK 39515. “CHRISTMAS WITH THE CANADIAN BRASS” RCA Red Seal Compact Disc RCD1-4132. “HIGH, BRIGHT AND CLEAR: THE GLORY OF BAROQUE BRASS.” RCA Red Seal Compact Disc RCD1-4575. These four compact discs may be the perfect revenge against noisy neighbors. But they’re much more than that--brilliantly articulated arrangements of practically every tune under the sun for two trumpets (Frederic Mills, Ronald Romm), a horn (Graeme Page), trombone (Eugene Watts) and tuba (Charles Daellenbach). “Greatest Hits” goes from Fats Waller’s “A Handful of Keys” to Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Flight of the Bumblebee” with Handel’s “Hallelujah” Chorus and Bach’s much-abused Toccata and Fugue in D minor thrown in for good measure. “Live” goes from an almost nine-minute version of Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” to “Tuba Tiger Rag” to a seven-minute “Tribute to the Ballet” in which “Swan Lake,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Nutcracker” go to the brass. “Christmas” includes all the familiar carols as well as the Great Organ of St. Patrick’s Cathedral (John Grady making the mighty sounds). “High, Bright and Clear” was recorded in the Cathedral Church of St. James in Toronto and the CD sound is the best of the lot, fully capturing the warm acoustics of this great, spacious cathedral. The sound on all four CDs is enough to make you think the five members of the Canadian Brass have invaded your living room.