|
British Open Championships 2003
Review - Best of British Brass, Symphony Hall, Birmingham,
Sunday 14th Sept
Over the last couple of years, the Sunday concert
following the British Open has developed into a showcase for some
of the top bands around, and this year's was no exception.
Hampshire County Youth Brass Band, conducted by Alan Pring.
Before the main featured bands took the stage, a programme was played
in the foyer by the Hampshire County Youth Brass Band, conducted
by Alan Pring. From the first notes of the Maori melody "Hine,
hine" it was clear that this is a band that places great emphasis
on intonation and ensemble playing. Continuing with "The Waltonian",
"The Greatest Show on Earth" and "Swedish Folk Song"
they demonstrated a full tone, supported by an excellent bass
section. The first soloist featured was Liam Holt, playing Peter
Graham's "Whirlwind", before their former conductor, Leighton
Rich, took over the baton. As he has had to give up the band due
to ill health, and this being somewhat of a swan-song for the 2003
band, it was quite an emotional
occasion as he led the band in "Minnie the Moocher" (Edward
Shackleton, bass trombone), "Indian Summer" and "Bolero".
Alan then returned to conduct "Hey Jude" and "Breezin'
down Broadway" to round off a very enjoyable prelude.
The two conductors should be very proud of their players, whose
deportment and presentation was excellent throughout. It could be
said that some of the playing was a little strait-laced in comparison
with some other youth bands around, and the accompaniments to the
solos could have done with cutting down to one on a part, but this
should not detract from a first class effort. It was just a pity
that they had to compete with the noise of the staff preparing the
bar for opening.
The Illinois Brass Band, conducted by Peter Lipari
When the Illinois Brass Band was introduced by compere John Maines
(whose contribution to the afternoon was first-rate) they were received
most warmly by the audience as they played the march "Midwest"
at a cracking pace,
guided by their exuberant conductor. Following the march, and in
total contrast, came the first of the tributes to Eric Ball in the
form of "Resurgam". Despite a somewhat hurried pace at
the start, some slips in ensemble and rather jerky phrasing, once
they got into their stride they produced a rendition full of emotion,
with no-one playing in the gaps!
Following that came William Himes' arrangement of "Amazing
Grace", where they seemed a little more at home, relishing
in his harmonic clashes and producing a full sound. Their final
programmed item was William Rimmer's
transcription of Verdi's "Overture to Nabucco", in which
the contrasts in volume and between sustained chords and livelier
passages were well made. When John Maines asked the audience if
they wanted an encore, the band was
ready with - what else? - "The Stars and Stripes Forever",
giving another opportunity for their soprano to show what he was
made of, as he came to the front of the stage for the piccolo solo.
All in all a well-received programme, and it was good to hear what
is going on across the Atlantic. Generally a well-balanced sound,
although the principal cornet was not as assertive as one would
like, and the trombones could have been more prominent at times.
The Fairey FP (Music) Band, conducted by Alan Withington
Introducing Faireys, John Maines pointed out that one of the intentions
in planning the afternoon's concert was to provide a variety of
music, and what they brought was certainly different! Benjamin Britten's
"Fanfare for St Edmundsbury" was originally written to
be played by three trumpets, spatially separated, who each play
their individual fanfares, in different keys and time signatures,
before joining the three parts together. Faireys' nine Bb cornets
were split into three groups, as one of each trio played the initial
statement, before they all joined in, and it made for a very
effective opener. As the rest of the band came onto the stage, there
was a bit of humour from John Maines. As the Nationals' trophy was
carried on by two of the larger bandsmen, he quipped that Pete Postlethwaite
had been able to lift it with one hand in "Brassed Off",
despite his illness!
"Immortal Bach" divided the band into five groups, each
of which played a setting of Bach's chorale "Come, sweet death",
except that the groups were constantly moving in and out of sync
with each other, leading to repeated
harmonic clashes, gradually resolving as they came back together.
It is fair to say that it did not find favour with everyone in the
hall, but would merit being heard again.
As the crowd applauded, there was the spectacle of two players
moving out to the front and having a private conversation, including
the comment from one to the other that "Mum's up there somewhere!"
After further "business",
they moved into an effective arrangement of "Me and my Shadow",
and it was good to see euphonium and baritone being given equal
parts to play. For their final contribution, Faireys presented "The
Heat of the Day", by Metheny. The band seemed to enjoy this
jazz and latin american influenced number, complete with hand-clapping,
various ostinato phrases, and a central drum solo, starting with
cymbals alone and gradually working in the rest of the kit. Again,
this was not everybody's cup of tea, but it was well played and
received good applause.
The Black Dyke Band, conducted by Nicholas Childs
Black Dyke's first item was Mozart's "Overture to The Marriage
of Figaro", arranged by Hazlehurst. This certainly tested the
dexterity of the players across the band, and brought out some tight
playing, with much dynamic contrast and some fine sop playing. There
were times, however, when the playing seemed excessively loud and
heavy for Mozart, which is difficult to bring off on brass, and
the quieter passages never reached a true Mozartian pianissimo.
David Thornton was the first of Dyke's two soloists, playing "Euphonium
Variations", music originally written for clarinet and orchestra
by Rossini, making for a very challenging solo. David bought it
off splendidly, although the accompaniment seemed a little heavy
at times, covering up some of the decorative figurations in the
solo part. The central, lyrical
section was most impressive.
Brett Baker presented the 2nd and 3rd movements of the Rimsky-Korsakov
"Trombone concerto", written while the composer was band
inspector for the Russian armed forces. In the 2nd movement the
articulation did not always appear clean when moving between legato
notes, but the 3rd movement came across much better, complete with
cadenzas.
For their tribute to Eric Ball, Dyke played "Sinfonietta,
The Wayfarer", one of his last major works. Here the trademark
pianos from the cornets were excellent, although the additional
pedal notes from the basses became a little wearing, and the bass
trombone seemed over prominent at times, at least from where this
listener was sitting. There were some outstanding contributions
from horn and soprano, and a full tone from the band.
As an encore, Peter Graham's "Swedish Hymn" was beautifully
played, with finely graded crescendos and a telling climax, really
making the most of the arrangement and a good demonstration for
the youth band members who had played it earlier, and who were now
seated up in the orchestra stalls. All in all, a fine programme
but perhaps a little short of what we have come to expect from a
band that sets itself such high standards.
The Buy as You View Cory Band, conducted by Robert Childs
Cory's started off proceedings after the interval with "Prelude
to Pageantry" from Eric Ball's "Four Preludes", the
first of five Ball items. The fanfare figures from the cornets were
very tight, with tidy trills and a finely balanced trombone sound,
cutting through where appropriate but not too domineering. Eric
wrote "A Welsh Festival Overture" for the Cory band
in 1972, basing it on Welsh tunes, although none seemed particularly
familiar to those on the English side of the Severn Bridge. Nevertheless
it seems to be a work well worth reviving.
The cornet solo "Glory to his name" was written for Harry
Dilly, and was played in exemplary fashion by Ian Williams, whose
sweet tone seemed ideal for this solo. This was followed by David
Childs and Nigel John, playing Eric Ball's arrangement of "Calon
Lan", arranged originally for Bob and Nick Childs. The two
euphoniums blended extremely well together, and their duet was very
well received by the audience.
Cory's then presented what I believe was the first public performance
of Bramwell Tovey's "Coventry Variations" in its revised
form, now with nine variations on the familiar "Coventry Carol".
The composer was due to receive a presentation the day before but
had been unable to travel over from Canada. In his absence the band
gave an authoritative rendition, bringing some excellent playing
throughout the band, with trombones and basses particularly impressive.
The additional variations include some tricky sections rhythmically,
with shot notes in abundance, all of which were played with clarity
and confidence.
As an encore they offered "Star Lake", perhaps Eric Ball's
most frequently played composition, taken up to tempo and with good
attention to the dynamics. The only thing that seemed to detract
from Cory's programme was some rather lack-lustre percussion (apart
from Coventry variations where all was fine). They seemed to be
a long way back from the band and a little uncertain, not least
in "Star Lake", where the expected percussion interpolations,
written or not, seemed absent, or only played half-heartedly.
The Fodens Richardson Band, conducted by Thomas Wyss
Closing the concert this year were Fodens, and they started with
Steve Sykes' arrangement of John Williams' "Liberty Fanfare",
written for the centenary of the Statue of Liberty. The band got
off to an impressive start, with crisp fanfares from cornets and
trombones leading to a clear, sustained pedal note from the basses,
with percussion also very precise.
According to the programme, the next item should have been the
"Overture to Rienzi", but instead they played George Hespe's
"The Three Musketeers", written for the 1953 British open,
where the National Band of New Zealand
captured the trophy. There appeared to be one or two slight tuning
discrepancies when melodic lines moved from one instrument to the
next, but this may in part have been due to having tuned to the
organ ready for the finale. There also seemed to be a little uncertainty
in following their new
conductor, at times looking to be slightly behind the beat, but
all in all it was a satisfying performance, with the basses once
again impressive.
The final tribute to Eric Ball came in the form of "Prayer,
Begin the Day with God", the central movement from his suite
"Songs of the Morning". Fine contributions from horn,
flugel, cornet and sop respectively, coupled with a well controlled
sound, made this one of the most satisfying items of the day, and
made one wish there had been time for the other movements. Mark
Landon then proceeded to astound the audience with Peter Graham's
xylophone solo "Xylomania". The accompaniment was first
class and it was hard to believe he was only using two sticks.
For the finale, David Saint joined the band to present the Finale
from Saint-Saens' "Organ Symphony". There seemed to be
none of the clashes of tuning often encountered when organ or piano
is joined with a band, and the two sounds complemented each other
effectively, with none of the
over-blowing that can sometimes mar such united items. On what had
been a busy weekend for sop players, this time it was Alan Wycherley's
turn as he coped manfully with a challenging part.
Overall, then, a splendid afternoon, and excellent value for money.
The audience seemed to go away content, although one wonders where
the younger listeners were, as it was predominantly middle-aged
to elderly, and there was not quite the range of music presented
in previous years. The concert was recorded by the BBC, and highlights
will be broadcast in Listen to the Band over the next couple of
Fridays for those who wish to hear more.
Peter Bale
4barsrest
© 4BarsRest
 back
to top
|
|
