ARTICLES

Live @ the Preston Front - National Finals 2001

Section 2

Sunday 23, Sept 2001
KO: 10.00am

Test piece:
Diversions - Variations on a Swiss Folk Song, Philip Sparke
Adjudicators:
Derek Broadbent and Philip McCann

The Result.
1. Ammanford Town 188
2. City of Bristol Brass 186
3. Towcester Studio 185
4. Knottingly Silver 184
5. Hade Edge 183
6. Harborough 182
7. Dobcross Youth 181
8. Livingston Brass 180
9. Tintwistle 179
10. Stonesfield Silver 178
11. Westoe STHCT 177
12. Bendix Kingswood 176
13. Poulton-le-Fylde 175
14. Tilbury 174
15. Tayport Instrumental 173
16. Royal Oakeley 172
17. York Railway Institute 171

-------------------------------------------------------------

The Draw:
1. Ammanford Town, Jim Davies
Starts well and big sounds are heard. Good stuff through. Theme as well.
Var 1. Nicely done
Var 2. Another good bit of work. Safe and solid.
Var 3. Goes well until cornet solo who plays standing facing audience with no music. A great pity and things go to pieces for a while. Why stand?
Var 4. It's all a bit of a scramble for a little while but recovers with some fine playing.
Ends well, but a performance could suffer from the early draw and cornet solo.
Star Player. Solo horn - high class

2. Tayport Instrumental, Robert McDonald
Not together at the start and it lacks detail.
Var 1. Too loud for the dynamic markings and it's a bit chippy.
Var 2. There's very little dynamic variation and tuning suffers.
Var 3. Everything in place but it's not sympathetic to dynamics and lacks colour.
Var 4. Lacks clarity and not all lines come through. Perc a bit dominant.
The lack of dynamic variation was the big problem throughout. It needed more colour.
Star Player. Solo horn - good effort

3. Westoe STHCT, Stephen Malcolm
Starts up tempo and lacked some clarity. Tuning is wonky especially with mutes. Theme goes along nicely.
Var 1. Untidy to start but recovers well.
Var 2. Another untidy start but gets much better. Not bad.
Var 3. Tuning spoils some good playing. Not bad again.
Var 4. Up tempo and detail is lost. It's all a bit loose in the ensemble and overblown.
The daps are on for the race to the end. Another show that didn't quite hit the mark.
Star Player. Euph - neatly done throughout.

4. Livingstone Brass, Alan Samson
Confident start. Some detail is not heard but it goes along nicely through the Theme.
Var 1. Very well done. Great bass trom! Neatly done.
Var 2. Not quite as good, but plenty to commend. A little loud, but it has shape and style.
Var 3. Fine cornet playing. Some tuning problems and a little loud, but overall good stuff. Well done horn
Var 4. This moves along with style and dynamic contrast. Some really good playing through here.
A good whip through to the end. Well directed good quality show.
Star Player. Bass trom - one of a good strong team.

5. Poulton-le-Fylde, Gordon Clough
Not a bad start, but it sounds very nervy in the solo lines. Euph leads a recovery, but it's very hesitant stuff.
Var 1. Better playing, but detail is lost through exhuberant perc.
Var 2. Poor start but recovers well. Some nice playing.
Var 3. Tuning leaves stage left! This spoils things more than a tad.
Var 4. Good start and plenty of real good stuff through here. The bands best playing by far.
The sprint to the end is well handled.
Star Player. Euph - neatly played all through.

6. Royal Oakeley, John Glyn Jones
Steady start with sop leading very nicely. Tuning seems to be a little flat in solo lines, but the Theme is solidly handled.
Var 1. Seems to plod along a bit but it's not bad. Well done bass trom and sop.
Var 2. Poor start but it recovers. A little heavy handed perhaps?
Var 3. A bit lumpy and the tuning decides to make a break for it, but some neat touches. Well done horn..
Var 4. Scrappy start - again it recovers in parts, but it lacks detail. Sensible tempo in the race to the end.

Star player. Sop - solid from start to finish.

7. York Railway Institute, Derek Warley
Big sounding start, but the problems start as soon as it falls below forte. A little nervy in the Theme and the tuning decides to have a life of it's own.
Var 1. Better stuff, but it's untidy and out of tune.
Var 2. Again it improves, but the dynamic level is pretty high up.
Var 3. The tuning has left the building. Spoils the good effort from the players. It's loud. Well done horn.
Var 4. Good efforts all round, but now the dynamics have gone AWOL.
It could have been so much better if care had been taken with some of the basics.
Star Player. Euph - did all things very well..

8. Stonesfield Silver, Terry Brotherhood
Another start where we don't get to hear the detail, but it's safe enough. The Theme is nicely handled, but needs a bit of clarity.
Var 1. Up tempo and a bit scrappy. The style is nearly there. Not bad.
Var 2. Untidy start and it's over accented. Perc dominates.
Var 3. It's a little loud but solo cornet plays well. Tuning again detracts from a performance. A pity. Very good horn.
Var 4. It's faster than the first variation which it shouldn't be and the detail is lost in the rush.
A fair old romp to the end, which again leads to lost detail.
Star Player. Solo cornet - nicely played all through.

9. City of Bristol Brass, Bryn James
Starts well and we get to hear the solo cornet semi quavers at last. Balance is a bit of a problem and the Theme gets off to a shakey start but. recovers well.
Var 1. Up tempo and pretty good stuff all along. Plenty of style.
Var 2. Excellent style - just a few clips detract from a real good effort.
Var 3. Flipping 'eck. The tuning has had a divorce with the band here. Again good musical shape and fine horn to close. This may cost.
Var 4. Good tempo and a great style. Real detail is heard at last today. Fine bit of stuff.
Right old chase to the end. Well done! A real contender for us, only the tuning in the variation 3 may cost.
Star Player. Euph - classy throughout.

10. Hade Edge (J & E Dickinson), Simon Wood
Excellent start - clear cornet semis all through. This moves along well through the Theme and there's plenty of detail.
Var 1. Very up tempo, but has style and detail. Neat stuff.
Var 2. A bit untidy to start, but plenty of good playing. Another good bit of work.
Var 3. Real fine effort to capture the style and mood. Some tuning problems, but these do not detract. Fine horn to close.
Var 4. Excellent tempo - lots of detail and good dynamics. Sterling effort.
Excellent close to a very well directed performance. One to beat.
Star Player. Euph - one of many fine youngsters in the band.

11. Harborough, Chris Groom
Good quality start - another with the detail. Less impressive at the Theme, but there are nice sounds.
Var 1. Not bad stuff with neat playing from all sections.
Var 2. The start is poor and perc and band have a temporary seperation. Not bad again. Safe rather than sorry.
Var 3. Lovely tone to solo cornet - classy playing. Horn ends a good section of playing.
Var 4. Well measured stuff - lots of good detail and style.
Going along very well to a good end. A fine effort.
Star Player. Solo cornet - very high class.

12. Towcester Studio, Adele Sellers
Starts well but lacks the detail that's written. Moves well to a very lilting theme. It has style.
Var 1. Sensible tempo means good detailed playing. Nice.
Var 2. Not so good and there's a fair bit of scrappy stuff. Less nice.
Var 3. Moves well and there is plenty to admire. Tuning starts to go wonky but horn does the business.
Var 4. Good tempo. Neat playing all round and not overblown. Moves well and is very good.
The dash for the end is really well measured. Good show.
Star Player. Solo horn - good quality.

13. Bendix Kingswood, Kevin White
Not a bad start, but a few nervy moments spoil it. The Theme has style but the tuning has become relative - like a distant cousin.
Var 1. Good style let down by the execution. Some nice moments.
Var 2. Perc has become a bit divorced and hampers a good effort.
Var 3. Another good effort let down by tuning and overblowing. Horn does well.
Var 4. A bit lumpy, but nice sounds. This is their best stuff by far.
The final dash is a bit too hectic and messy. A curates egg.
Star Player. Solo horn - well played.

14. Tilbury, Robert Nunnery
Safe start, but the conet semi quavers are lost. It moves along well to a shapely Theme. Some tuning marrs.
Var 1. Untidy - the perc have done a Kate Winslett and have seperated from the band. It spoils some good band playing.
Var 2. Better - much better in fact. This works well.
Var 3. Good effort this. Safe and solid. Fine horn to close.
Var 4. Starts nicely due to sensible tempo. Starts to get a little scrappy and hard, but has style.
Foot down and a good exciting sprint to the end. Not a bad show at all.
Star Player. Solo horn - well played and with style.

15. Tintwistle, David Shutter
Not a clean start and a bit heavy in the perc, but it moves along well to a nice lilting Theme. The ending is a bit frayed.
Var 1. Untidy start but recovers well and there's lots of good work.
Var 2. Another untidy start. A little lumpy but safely as she goes. Ends well.
Var 3. A good start! Fine bit of cornet playing, but the movement is cursed by the tuning gremlins! Good horn to close.
Var 4. Fine solo lines marred only be the odd splash. The bands best playing - well controlled.
Good sprint to the line to end a very decent show.
Star Player. Solo cornet - nicely shaped playing.

16. Dobcross Youth, Ted Griffiths
The youngest band on show by a mile and they give a good account of the opening and Theme. Tuning is a bit wonky but the solo lines all have fine tones.
Var 1. A little untidy but it's got a lot of style and it's not overblown.
Var 2. This works nicely with good ensemble playing - just the occassional blip.
Var 3. Some brave and stylish playing. Excellent soloists and it has musical shape. Only the tuning spoils.
Var 4. Super euph playing and it has lots of very good ensemble work. This is as good as any today around here.
The youthful sprint is full of good stuff and it ends very well. A very well played show.
Star Player. All soloists deserve a mention.

17. Knottingley Silver, Kevin Belcher
A safe start, but it lacks the semi quaver detail - like far too many today. Moves nicely through Theme and closes well.
Var 1. Neat playing spoilt only be a few too many clips.
Var 2. Good style and shape. A bit dynamically one dimensional but it's all there.
Var 3. Safe start, but the volume switch is up. No risks and no real slips.
Var 4. Untidy start, but it recovers and moves along very nicely. Starts to become a bit scrappy towards the finish.
The sprint is turbo charged but finishes together. Not bad.
Star Player. Flugel horn - very nice throughout.

© 4BarsRest

back to top