Lovers of modern American music for brass ensemble will find the Bay Brass' 2011 SACD on Harmonia Mundi to be full of the high spirits and stirring expressions expected of the genre. Presenting contemporary but decidedly conservative works by John Williams, Michael Tilson Thomas, Morten Lauridsen, Bruce Broughton, Kevin Puts, and Scott Hiltzik, the San Francisco-based ensemble has been engaged in its American Composers Project to foster new works for the brass repertoire. On the whole, these premiere recordings are bright in their sonorities and characteristically festive, particularly in the fanfare-styled works by Williams, Broughton, and Hiltzik, though more reflective music can be found in the quieter selections by Tilson Thomas, Puts, and most especially in Lauridsen's moving O Magnum Mysterium. The music is consistently tonal and accessible, with a strong presence of quartal harmonies and tried-and-true harmonic voicings, and the composers have all written idiomatically and expressively for the group, so the album is sure to have broad appeal for devotees of brass music. Harmonia Mundi's multi-channel recording is a first-rate studio production, and every note is clear and crisp in the DSD recording, so audiophiles should definitely give this vibrant showcase a listen.