The Wallace Collection was founded by John Wallace in 1986 to explore and perform the extensive brass repertory, and has become one of the world's pioneering brass ensembles with an international reputation for innovative programming. All the works on this album are premiere recordings.

The five variations in the Quintet by Czech composer Petr Eben are based on a fifteenth-century chorale theme. In the five variations the texture is organised by juxtaposing different permutations of instruments against others. The meaning of the title is apparent from the opening phrase. A short (single-movement) but remarkable work, it shows a continuation of Berio's relentless exploration of the brass idiom that was evident in his iconoclastic Sequenzas for trombone (1966) and trumpet (1984). Hammered Brass moves seamlessly through sections in which the ideas are derived from the processes of manufacture of Pewter, Silver Filigree, Gold Leaf, Bronze and Burnished Brass.