Comments ~ 2005: August

YBS down under; the demise of the G trombone; the sums don't quite add up; idealism and a plea not to ignore our youngsters. All this and more as we come to the end of the school holidays...

Any more from down under?

I have been following YBS through your reports from downunder and I am wondering if there will be any more reports to follow, the one of the 19/8/05 from Queensland. Reports of the Newcastle and Sidney Opera House would have finished the tour off nicely, for people who were not there.

Derek West

4BR Reply:
Nice to hear we have provided the service you needed Derek. We hope to get something from the last legs of the tour as soon as we can. 

Thanks for the YBS news

Congratulations for your reports on the concerts and tour by YBS Band down under. Our son is a member of the Band and we have been following your reports avidly daily.

It is very satisfying to learn that the Band has been well received at all venues so far, and will probably return from the tour with its reputation enhanced still further.

Thank you for your service.
 
Jenkin Griffiths

The Midlands - the sums just don't add up?
 
With regard to the Midlands Region Area contest changes requiring all bandsmen involved having to pay for the privilege of playing, does this mean that the Midlands bandsmen are alone in having to pay in order to take part in the competition or does this apply to all other areas. Ostensibly, this demand on players to pay in order to participate in the Midland Area is just to furnish the organisers with enough money to pay an extra adjudicator.

I understand that the most this will cost for an additional adjudicator would be in the region of £200.

Last year there were about 82 bands competing in the Midland's area.

Let us assume that this year there will be only 70 bands competing ( more and more bands are becoming disillusioned with the present set-up!), then accepting that each band would have a minimum of 26 players, then the extra amount required would be of the order of £200 divided by 70 x 26, i.e 1820.

This works out at something like 11p per player.

Bearing in mind that last year bands paid £60. to enter then we will have about 70 x £60 which is about £4,200 already in the kitty.

I do not know how much the esteemed Burton Town Hall costs, but I would imagine that the £4,200 should just about cover the cost of prize money, town hall hire and about four adjudicators and have a little left over for a few salad sandwiches.

However, we have an extra venue to consider, which I understand is better for some reason, and possibly more expensive? However, I feel confident that the money engendered from last year's contest would still be more than enough to cover this year's outlay on venues.

The Midland area committee will only require the Burton town Hall for one weekend and the use of this other 'club' for the weekend should cost less than the town Hall for another weekend.

Therefore the question that I pose is;' why are amateur bandsmen being required to pay a fee, over and above the band entrance fee, in order to get on to the stage and play at a brass band contest? If you are trying to destroy the brass band movement then I can only applaud your actions, because you will certainly succeed in doing so.

My feeling, as a player, is that I resent being exploited as an amateur bandsman and that my loyalty to banding is being used for personal profit by persons who are making a living from our amateur attitude and emotional loyalty to the brass band movement.

This great movement of ours is more fragile than most of us would like to believe, and a few more strokes of this nature, a la midland area, could herald the swan song of banding.

Please treat us with much more deference if you wish to see the movement prosper in the future.

Dai Francis

Idealism - fine, but naive

There's nothing wrong with idealism, but I'm afraid that David Francis's comments are rather naive.  He may think that the band 'movement' "needs no-one from outside to organise its (National) finals", but the lesson of the past 105 years is that that is exactly what it does need, because at no time during that period have bandsmen shown any serious inclination - any inclination at all, in fact - to take the matter into their own hands. 

To suggest that 'outsiders' are guilty of exploiting bandsmen is a bit like accusing the supermarkets of exploiting the general public's unwillingness to find their own independent source of cornflakes.  Both contest promoter and supermarket are simply satisfying a market need.
 
"Let us get together in order to do something", says Mr Francis.  I agree.  I suggest that he becomes a member of the only national brass band body with the potential to make a difference, the British Federation of Brass Bands.  Until bandsmen stop regarding banding as their private indulgence and start showing a real commitment to national unity, the fate of the National Finals, and banding in general, will always be in the hands of the 'outsiders' Mr Francis so obviously dislikes. 

Alec Gallagher
London NW9 

Time to notice our youngsters
 
With the number of youth bands growing and growing I imagine that the statement ‘young players are going unnoticed' would be frowned at, however I do believe that it is the case.

Where I live we have 2nd section, 3rd section and unregistered bands however no youth bands therefore the children are playing with the adult bands, expected to play at the same level as the adults. I have to say for all the children I have seen moving through the different bands by being placed in this position has improved playing drastically and the dedication of some of these players is a much higher standard than some of the older ones.

I don't condemn youth bands at all, don't get me wrong but without the opportunities for brass players in our area being as vast as some of the major cities we are competing against full adult bands and as I have been talking about this to many people apparently 'experience is the key to playing'. Having blind adjudication we expect that no favouritism is set, or am I wrong, but how is it fair without accepting situations of the individual bands.

Yes, it's about the music and competitions are to identify the ‘best' band, I just think that sometimes the children who aren't playing in youth bands and are actually playing in a group of adults are sometimes over looked and remain unnoticed, a shame for some of the talent that passes through the lower sections and are never introduced to the likes of the Mr Childs and Mr Kings of this world.
 
Louise Harrison
North England

A number of interesting points - quite a number in fact...

Andy Wyatt makes an interesting point about instruments. Many of our revered "classics" - Labour and Love, Life Divine, Freedon, Pageantry, Resurgam, Moorside Suite, Severn Suite, Comedy, Downland Suite - were written by the composers with high pitch in mind. For those who don't know, until the 20s most orchestras used to tune to A=452Hz (ish), known as "old philharmonic" pitch - significantly sharper than we are used to now.

In the mid-20s the classical music world agreed to standardize on A=440Hz. As usual the brass band world greeted this 20th century innovation with disdain, and persisted with "old philharmonic" or "high" pitch until sometime in the 60s when B&H announced it wasn't going to make high pitch brass band instruments anymore. Gradually all bands had to switch to low pitch and rather than buy a whole set of new instruments, many existing instruments were "adjusted"!

This means that when Holst wrote the thrilling last chord of the first movement of Moorside (every note of an F major triad from basses up to sop, pianissimo) he had a higher sound in mind than we can actually produce on modern instruments. This is why that chord is so notoriously difficult to balance without creating a "muddy" sound. It would be fascinating to hear this played on a set of genuine high pitch instruments (I bet there isn't a complete set anywhere!) with a G trombone.

The bass trombone in G was another 20s hangover; between the wars modern classical orchestral music had progressed to a point where the G trombone could not play what contemporary composers required and the modern Bb/F version became commonplace. G trombones were still manufactured for brass bands and dance bands but, like high pitch instruments, it eventually became uneconomical for B&H to keep making them.

The G trombone had a thinner, more piercing characteristic sound which was harder to blend with the band but gave the bottom end more "bite"; this sound is often replicated on a Bb/F by overblowing, but the beauty of the G was that this "bite" was available at all dynamic levels. However, a lot of modern testpieces (especially top section) would be virtually unplayable on a G, which would also struggle to balance with 2 modern tenor trombones.

On the topic of "cheating" by re-scoring parts, although as an amateur composer/arranger I would be appalled to see my work fiddled with, I am fully aware of the need for it in lower section bands. I have conducted a performance at a contest where our sop player played Bb solos (without any comment from the adjudicator, although we didn't win) purely because that was the only way I could get the band to the contest.

As a musician, you have a duty to the composer to represent his/her wishes faithfully, but as an MD of a lower section band I would argue that you have a greater duty to get the band to the contest/concert in good shape and give a good performance. Championship bands and MDs that are good enough to go the Open DO NOT have this greater duty; if players can't play what's in front of them they shouldn't be going to the greatest band contest in the world, and you can safely assume that Bram Tovey knows exactly what sound and balance he  wants and how to achieve it.

One last thing - in your review of BAYV's Gaia CD you imply that Pickard's 1995 Trombone Concerto was his first brass work. Not so; Wildfire (one of the movements of Gaia) was written for the NYBBW in 1991 and premiered in Bangor. I know 'cos I was on third cornet. The conductor? Man of the moment, Bramwell Tovey!

Andrew Baker

The demise of the cackling G trombone

I was interested to see Andy Wyatt's mention of the G Trombone and those who sigh for it's demise. In my experience over the years the two most used adjectives to describe this instrument's tone were usually 'crack' or 'rattle'. Obviously the skill of the player determined the final tone and there have been many fine exponents of this instrument over the years.

I remember my old mentor, George Thompson, telling me that he thought his brother Jim was the finest exponent of this instrument he had ever heard.  However, in the hands of some players it rightly deserved it's one time nickname as the 'hooligan' of the brass band world!

I once knew a 'G' player who kept his slide lubricated using a mixture of '3 in 1' oil and paraffin. Heaven alone knows what would have happened to him if someone had struck a match near him.

If you have ever heard a brass band marching down the street with the G Trombone in the front rank, you would never, ever, forget the experience; and you can make of that remark what you will!

Jim Wright
Rotherham

Anal Retentives - the Nationals composer speaks

In his "Anal Retentives" message, Andy Wyatt's comment that Elgar did not score the "Severn Suite" for Brass Band and that the task was delegated to Henry Geehl is incorrect. In my role as General Editor of the Elgar Complete Edition, I have studied Elgar's original manuscript in some detail and can confirm that Elgar did indeed score the work himself.
 
The manuscript notates the lower band in bass clef, as one might expect from a composer who had spent his career scoring for orchestral brass. There are a total of about half a dozen comments at various points in the manuscript, added by another hand (presumably Geehl's), suggesting minor adjustments of scoring, mainly for balance purposes, but no sign whatever of any lack of confidence on Elgar's part in scoring for band.

This shouldn't come as a surprise: Elgar was largely self-taught as a composer, so there is no reason to suppose that his autodidact orchestral genius should not have extended in experienced old-age to mastery of the brass band medium. Also, Elgar himself had practical experience as a brass player. Around 1900-01 he taught himself the trombone (the Daily Sketch carried a photo of him practising) and this experience caused him to revise the trombone parts of the 1890 "Froissart" overture and to push out the trombonistic boat in the newly written "Cockaigne" overture. I have often thought that his decision, as a mature composer at the height of his powers and on the cusp of international fame, to learn a new instrument shows a remarkable humility from which we can perhaps all learn.
 
Philip Maund (who is currently editing the Severn Suite for the Complete Edition) demonstrated some time ago that Elgar's involvement with Geehl was nowhere near as extensive as the latter subsequently claimed. Indeed, a card from Geehl to Elgar (preserved I think at the Elgar Birthplace), proves that they probably never actually met in person!
 
Of course, there remains the contentious issue of the key in which Elgar intended the work to be played - did he write the score "at pitch" or a tone higher than he expected it to sound? Again, Phil's research has yielded a pretty conclusive answer.
 
In conclusion, I would say that when playing original works specially composed for the medium - and especially test pieces - bands would do well to put their trust in the composer, however strong the temptation to do otherwise (and this observation is not confined to the interpretation of Elgar!)
 
John Pickard

The case for the peddling defence m'lud
 
In response to Phil Greens insightful and well-put arguments, I am sure that we would probably agree 99 times out of 100 where it was appropriate to add a base pedal and where it is not.  Many bands do use it too much, so I think broadly I am in agreement with him.
 
I wouldn't dream of criticising the masterful scoring by the likes of Eric Ball, Herbert Howells, Wilfred Heaton, Gilbert Vinter (again as Phil said –  who are we to do such a thing?).  In the classical orchestral world there are people who specialise in performing works on period instruments in order to be able to enjoy the music as the composers originally intended.  This is a fine thing to do as in my opinion we don't have enough appreciation for the lessons of history anyway (and not just in music). 

I would find it truly intriguing to hear a brass band live on period instruments of 150, 100, 75 years ago.  What do the whistful looks on peoples faces really mean when they bemoan the passing of the G trombone?  I wouldn't know I've never heard one (at least not live) – or were they really ‘carpet rippers'? …and what about this ‘high pitch / low pitch' change that was made – I know nothing about that either, nor the effect it had on the sound of a brass band.
 
This is all purely academic though and it brings me to point 3 of Phil Greens email.  No-one would question a composers right to dictate how they want their music to be performed – that is why we all learn to read Italian, German and a smattering of French early in our musical careers.  I have read in the past of comments made by composers about certain performances of their works and that they heard something in those performances that they'd never imagined when they were actually writing them – an almost spiritual experience that transcends the dots on the paper. 

The balance between the different parts, the grading of crescendi and diminuendi, the relative strengths of pianissimo and fortissimo, the tightness of ensemble, the tempi, accelerandos and ritardandos – and not forgetting personal emotion – it is these things that account in large part as what we call ‘interpretation' of a piece of music. 
 
I personally would always go for a lively performance that was full of heart but with a few clips over a technically clinical but soulless one any day – but what are the adjudicators going to go for?  It is my suspicion that the Leyland Band under Richard Evans would have had a far better haul of titles had more judges thought the way I do (for one example).  It is awesome when the technically clinical performances are also full of heart and they mark the truly memorable contest performances of which we all have our own favourites – and in fairness the adjudicators usually (but not always) manage to pick these out.
 
In the preparation of a band for a contest, a conductor needs to exercise his or her own judgement as to how to get the best performance possible (see my points of a couple of paragraphs ago) from the group of players at their disposal.  This is the nub of the argument.   I am sorry to disillusion many readers of this column, but many of the finest performances in history have to some degree, something, somewhere that was not printed on the copy. 

A part may have been switched, a dynamic may have been scrubbed – the trick is not being "discovered" by the judges – another argument for open adjudication or would this introduce miming as another skill of the finest bands?  Who wants to go onto a contest platform with some glaringly band tuning problems, when for the sake of swapping a few notes here and there, the problems can be solved, the best musical effect is achieved – and the composers sensibilities are not offended.  Where is the problem with that?  I stand by my view that this is NOT cheating – it is the de facto way of things – and it won't change, so those of you who have a problem with it need to find a way of dealing with it! 
 
When a conductor has the privilege of taking a band full of talented musicians who can all play their own parts with no problem, this is normally evident in their performances – and to some extent the conductors job changes from one of coping with the shortcomings to one of inspiring these great players to ever higher levels of achievement.  The bands at the very top of the 4BR rankings reflect this as they usually win and therefore rise to the top. 

But outside of the elite the reality is stark.  There isn't strength in depth, each band has a weakness or weaknesses somewhere either in the ability of some of the players to play their parts, to be able to practice enough at home – or to even attend rehearsals (a problem I personally have).  This is the reality outside of the top five or six bands and the skill of the conductors of the lesser bands – right down to the fourth section - is how to get the best out of what you have.  If that means swapping parts then so be it.
 
I repeat, this is NOT cheating, this is making the best music you can out of the resources you have to make it with.
 
The case for the defence rests m'lud.
 
Andy Wyatt

All right everybody, give it a rest now !

Phil Green presents the most relative comments and receives my backing. Far too many bands (At the highest of levels too) persist in normally one of the BBb bass players grumbling round the nether reaches. Believe me it sounds poor in most cases and is normally requested by conductors as some curious antidote to a poor quality bass sound. I purchased a CD of my favourite composers music recently to find it blighted by this disease of pedalling 'ad nausium' !

Most modern pieces have an extensive range already written so don't add anything else.

I remember some time ago discussing this issue with Bram Tovey himself. He was attending The NYBB as Guest Conductor at a  course in Harrogate when I was Bass Tutor.  I was requesting dispensation for the use of a Low F Natural to be played on two occasions in Resurgam. After much debate and discussion, it was agreed that the musical progression suited a low F rather than one an octave higher. As Mr Green states, there are a very few occasions when a lower octave is suitable and musical and when you get those moments, it can be jaw dropping to the sound of the Band in general.

My plea to BBb bass players is please, use pedal notes sparingly, but above all musically and never use them thinking it makes up for poor quality sound. You deal with that by laborious hours locked away doing long notes or playing bass parts to hymn tunes at half speed to increase your
staying power and stamina.

John M. Gillam

4BR Comment:
That indeed now rests the case on the peddling debate please, as we are sure there is nothing more left to say!

North of England Solo Contest - the last winner

It's great news that this solo contest will be resurrected.  Growing up in the Yorkshire region I took part in the contest for about 10 years. 

It was a great opportunity to compete against the top names, these used to regularly include David King, Roger Webster, Alan Morrison, Peter Roberts, Nick Childs, Bob Childs, Mark Walters, Russell Gray, Clarence Mansell (slow melody specialist).

Your news item is a bit misleading though, as you say that the last winner was David King in 1985.  I won it in 1988, and it carried on for a number of years beyond that.

Martin Irwin.

4BR Reply:
Sorry Martin - and what a great list of past winners eh? Let's hope the new contest attracts all the big names once more.

Down Under - not quite of interest to me

The news concerning "down under" banding is of only mild interest to me and I find it rather off-putting trying to separate home news from "down under".   Unless you have a comprehensive knowledge of their bands it can be difficult to sort them out.   Can you please consider separating the two lots of news?   It is possible to get into the "down under" reports separately but they are also mixed in with the home reports.
 
Deryck Turton
Bandmaster Luton SA

4BR Reply:
4BR is a world wide website Deryck and we do try to get news from all around the world. Those who just want to know about downunder can get their news together, but we think it shows the rest of us what is going on in the banding movement all over the globe.

Surprised by the Midlands reaction

I am very surprised at the reaction of bands to the enormous change in the concept for the Midlands area for next year.

I note that there are no more than four comments about the changes. Is there some editing going on?

The brass band amateur movement has been a patsy for outside money - making personalities for as long as I can remember, but I thought that as a movement we had matured and were looking at what is best for this great movement of ours.

We do not require outside expertise to organise any kind of contest, be it from association , to regional or to national finals. Who has been organising all these contests in the past , and present? Local brass band volunteers.!

The brass band movement needs no-one from outside to organise its finals, it can do it itself. All money from regional and final national competitions should remain within the band movement
We have the structure already in place to organise what is already going on, volunteers working for the good of the brass band movement, why do we comply with the rules of outside bodies?

I believe it is time that all bands realised that they have the associations who have the expertise to create a national championship contest for all sections without any outside body creaming off profits that do not have any association with the bands and bandsmen that created them.

As an amateur movement we have been exploited throughout the 20thth century, and even more so during this little bit of the 21st century. Not having a ticket to hear other performances may be acceptable, but not having a ticket and therefore not being able to play is certainly not acceptable. I know we are amateurs, but asking us to play for the privilege of playing at a contest, when the profit motive is so apparent, is beyond my ken.

I, as a player, am not prepared to play at a contest that demands a payment for sitting on the stage. My band will have paid an entrance fee and that should suffice.

If there is anyone out there who thinks the same then let us get together in order to do something about this obnoxious situation.

my email is; davidfjane@aol.com

David J. Francis

4BR Reply:
We haven't been editing any comments to us David on this matter, and there has been quite a few comments sent to us (even those we can't print for libel reasons!)

Regional test pieces - time for record change

Well done to Peter Parfitt in his bit of research on the recordings of the Regional test pieces over the past couple of years. I must agree that even though it is always nice to be able to hear all the test pieces on the one CD, it is becoming something of a bore to listen to the same old bands – however good they are.

A good idea too to get last year's winners of the National Finals to record the following years Regional set tests as well – an added bonus to the prize they win at the Finals.

Also, can we please ask the producers to not add tracks that have been previously recorded onto the CD, as this is just a very cheap way of getting the music put on at no extra cost whilst asking the general public to pay a second time for the same thing.

Bob Peters

Why not give a Fourth Section band a chance to record?

I must agree with Mrs Longton on her remarks concerning the Regional test pieces. As someone who has never played in a top section band, I find it rather disconcerting to hear these performances given by top bands, as they bear little or no relevance to how they are approached or performed by bands – especially in the Fourth Section. Tempos are cranked up, the bass end blast away and the cornets over power.

Why not a decent Fourth section band playing the test piece for the section it was written for – it would give conductors, players and listeners a much more accurate picture of what to expect and not give them a false idea of how the piece should be played.

Lyndon Jenkins

Well done Iwan... Williams that is...

I think it's only fair to congradulate Iwan Williams and the YBS band on the release of Mellow Moments! Although the CD doesn't show much of Iwan Williams' technique, it certainly shows off his beautiful sound!
There's not a single track on the CD that isn't as impressive as the one before. Although particular favourites are: Swedish Hymm and A Gaelic Blessing.

I hope this CD is a sign of things to come, not only from Iwan, but from other soloists. I'd certainly love to see John (Children of Sanchez) Doyle or Helen Fox record a solo CD.

Lauren Lilley
Flixton Band
Wigan Youth
NYBBGB

Well done Iwan ....Fox that is...

Just a note of thanks to 4BR for the service I received on my recent order of CD's through you. Quick as a flash and I got them back to me. Can't ask for anything better, plus I thoroughly enjoyed the reviews given by Iwan Fox. Straight and truthful and very entertaining.

Keep up the good work!

Pauline Sachs
Cheshire

Thank You - James Williams MBE

What a great pity that James Williams MBE is retiring from conducting the Enfield Citadel Band of the Salvation Army. Over the past 44 years of more he has given his life to God and produced the most beautiful music in his name.

He has given wonderful service, has been a true gentleman and fine musician. He has been an inspiration to hundreds and has also used his talent in a way to celebrate his faith. Both the Salvationist and general brass band movement should offer him the highest thanks for his outstanding contribution to music making.

Mrs Jean Denning

4BR Reply:
We can only add our thanks to him as well. 

Independent sponsors?

It is interesting to see that the English National Championships next year will be having a major sponsor in the shape of the family run Timeline Vision.

However, the announcement made by Robert Morgan made the telling statement that Timeline Vision has an association with World of Brass, having produced for them a number of (very good it must be said) videos and DVD productions. 

Although they are an independent business (although they are not a Limited company as they do not appear in current Company House records), are they still very closely associated with the Salvationist movement, and so you must question how much of a ‘major' sponsor of the event are they?

My understanding is that the Salvation Army is still the major financial backer of this event, so what and how much are Timeline Vision actually putting in, and for what purpose?

There is nothing sinister at all in them being a sponsor of the English National Championships, but until we are actually informed by the Federation to who is providing the major financial backing for the Championships you have to wonder why everything is being kept so secretive.

Paul Collins

"Nothing to do with us..."   

Yet again an organizing committee has come up with a clear message along the lines of "…it's not up to us its up to them!"...similar to the one given out at this years regional qualifiers!

As it is up to the adjudicators can we expect a timely and clear statement from them on this matter...in the next week would probably be helpful...and the level of penalty that would be imposed? 

If they are going to follow Mr Tovey's instructions would it be possible for them to indicate how the adjudicators intend to ratify their judgement of penalty given the closed adjudication environment for this competition (and long may it stay closed)?

As this guidance has, to my knowledge, never been enforced before can the precedence be set or would any penalised band have grounds for appeal on the basis of existing contest practice?

The words litigation and potential come to mind when I think of this!
 
Jim Corrigan

In defence of Mr Tovey - from a bass player at that!

Without getting into the "is pedalling right or wrong" argument, one of which I have very strong views by the way, I feel I should point out a few things that seemed to have been missed by most of your correspondents and most of the members of a particularly good brass band forum.
 
1.      Mr Tovey certainly understands the Brass Band medium.  He grew up immersed in banding, and for those with a short memory, has actually won the British Open as a conductor.
2.       Mr Tovey, as a finer tuba player than any of us, understands how to write for tubas.  I believe there is an extensive range used in the BBb part if played as written.
3.       Mr Tovey has written a competition test piece, not a song cycle or sinfonietta.  Our job, as players, is not to get our own interpretation of the piece over to the audience.  We won't suffer through lack of rehearsal time - I'll bet you 12 or so of the 18 bands have already started rehearsing it.  Our job is to play the piece exactly as written to three adjudicators.  Their job is to judge which band gave the most accurate reading (or has contesting changed?)  They should be grateful of any help they can get - I wouldn't envy their job.
4.       Mr Tovey has written the piece he wanted to write.  He knows the sounds he wants and the style it should be played in.  Not having played it yet I don't know if it's more Mozart or Mahler but whichever, have no doubt it will have been scored exactly how it should be to achieve the aim.

Who the devil are we, bass players or conductors, to change the scoring of this music?

Let's be honest, we know some bands will play pedals; one band I know seem to have a BBb continuously playing pedal notes, even at the most inappropriate moments.  The odd pedal note, in the right place, can add a whole new dimension to a chord and increase the resonance of a band disproportionately.  However, I know that the band I'm with will follow this instruction - I wonder how many others will be brave enough to?

Phil Green. 

Just asking for trouble...

Bram Tovey's instructions to the adjudicators to penalise bands for changing his scoring is just asking for trouble and putting an unnecessary extra burden on our already challenged adjudication system.  Bryan Hurdley caused upset by wrongly accusing a band at last year's West of England Area of playing the Eb sop part on Bb cornet in the fourth section. 

What will happen now if the adjudicators at the Open wrongly believe that they hear 8ve basses (they are after all in the box and cannot see anybody's parts)! being played by Dyke et al.

And what will happen when those in the audience "in the know" discover that the adjudicators make no mention of such a change by a band who actually employs that technique.

What have you done Mr Tovey?  Only if you are adjudicating on the day have you the right, or the power, to seek to penalise a band for changing your scoring.  If you are not adjudicating you have no right to make this demand in our contests, unless that is you will only let them use your music as written under threat of "you are going to take your ball away if they don't play fair!"  Once written, composers have no option but to leave their music in the hands of the conductors and musicians.  

Nigel Morgan

Why not scrap the prize money instead

"....it intends to introduce two adjudicators per section for next year's competition. To finance the development, bands entering the contest will be required to purchase concessionary tickets"
 
I read with great interest the comments on the £5 charge by the Midland Regional Contest Committee. The area contests are the only ones that all contesting bands have to enter if they are to maintain or improve their rankings so surely the paltry cash prizes (lets face it no band enters for the money) that are offered are totally unnecessary hence they would be better used towards the increased costs of Adjudicator fees so avoiding any or a lesser charge for bandsmen to pay.

I shudder to think what the cost of the Torquay based contest was to my band (Aldbourne) but the amount we won there really didn't figure in the importance of the day in fact I am sure no one even registered it's existence. The coming trip to Harrogate will like wise be very expensive to attend but I know we are not going for the money only the chance of being place first.

Graham Palmer
1st baritone Aldbourne Band

Just what do you mean 4BR?
 
I have just read your review of the last CD from the Norwegian Championship and just wondered what you meant with the review of Haukas Musikklag.

 I don't mind criticism if that's what you mean, but it is unclear to me if you are criticising our performance, the composition, or both.  It is interesting to read your opinion, but clarity helps we foreigners to understand your true meaning. Your internet site is after all international. 

I would be very grateful for your observations on this matter.
 
Thor-Arne Pedersen

4BR Reply:
We were talking about the test piece, 'Connotations' when refering to it by mentioning Miss Joan Collins Thor. Not the band or its performance - that was certainly better than anything she did over the years!

Thanks for the reviews - where ever they are?

I get a lot of value from visiting your website which I generally do on at least a daily basis. I find your reviews to be very useful for three main reasons.  

First, your comments often help me (and I'm sure others) understand the music being presented from a different perspective.   Second, the introduction of background information relative to the session(s), production etc. are interesting; and Third, your overall comments often help me make a decision to purchase (or not, as the case may be).  

I find myself revisiting the reviews for the first two reasons and was surprised to find that the review of the European Championships 2003 DVD has disappeared. Since the product remains for sale, I wonder if that is a mistake.

John Brooks

4BR Reply:
We will get it back on the site as soon as possible John. Thanks for the nice comments though.

A seconder for a pat on the Music Panel's back!

I must agree with Mr Arthur Linton who wrote to 4BR to congratulate the Music Panel on their choices for the test pieces for the 2006 Regional Championships.

I have been able to hear most of the pieces that have been chosen, and although I do think ‘Entertainments' will be a particularly difficult choice, with plenty of work and understanding of Vinter's music, it can be overcome.

Well done then the Panel, and roll on 2006.

Peter Jenkins

Can we have a bit more variety please - the figures tell us we need it?

Further to the comments by Mrs Longton on this site concerning the test pieces and the performers of the Regional works over the past few years.

I have been doing a little bit of research myself, and have found some surprising results which backs up her plea for other bands and conductors to become involved in performing these works each year: Since 1999, Nicholas Childs has conducted on every regionals release with the Ever Ready Band, Tredegar, Bodmin, Fodens, Black Dyke, Scottish Co-op and Mount Charles, whilst his brother has also been involved with BAYV on three occasions, including the past two years.

Black Dyke has appeared on the last three years and BAYV in the last two. To be fair, other bands have appeared too, including Brighouse, Fodens (although twice conducted by Nicholas Childs), Besses, Grimethorpe and Eikanger, but it hasn't been a varied selection of bands and some of the performances of late by some of these bands has not been very good (they don't appear to have taken some of the pieces very seriously, resulting in overblown run throughs)

I appreciate fully that these are very fine bands and very fine conductors, but I do agree that it would be a good idea for other ‘lesser' bands to be given the opportunity to play them, especially in the lower sections as this would be a wonderful incentive to say the National Champions of each section and would give prospective conductors a better chance to hear a performance of their chosen works by bands of roughly the same standard as themselves. 

Peter Parfitt

Ivy Benson

I hope this gets to you, my name is Sam and I. have a friend who was in Ivy Benson band in the 40's,she has asked me to e mail you, to tell you she has lots to tell you and lots of photos of the band, her name is Miss Una Mellor.

She is looking forward to hearing from you, and if possibly could you send me an e mail to confirm you have received this, so I can tell Una you got my e mail which will make her very happy,

Mrs Sam Teague

4BR Reply:
There is a Ivy Benson webite Sam , and if you go to our articles section you will be able to get in contact with the author direct. Nice to know that the article has created so much interest.

Rienzi revisited!

I agree with Jerry Hughes. For a quick example, at this year's Areas in Yorkshire, nearly every band in the Championship Section chose to play the opening bass chords the octave down (it was "Rienzi", just in case anyone forgot (!), yet nothing was written in these parts or the score to indicate to play otherwise. This gets my goat as we were one of (I think, if I remember correctly) 3 bands who played it as the piece was written... enough said.

Andy Stephenson

Accrington - the sad end to a great course

I'm an avid reader of this magazine, and I read that the above college is to close the brass band course - if so what a shame.

I attended this college and learnt a great deal from the likes of Richard Evans, Darrol Barry & Mr Butterworth.

I worked hard as did my fellow students, in my case the hard has enabled me to have music published. Lets hope it was all a bad dream and the college will carry on it's fine work.

Trevor Sutherland

What a waste of time in Wales!

I read that once again that the Brass Band Associations in Wales do not agree - WHAT A SURPRISE!!!!. One day they will remember why associations operate to support BRASS BANDS. Come on forget the politics and just make music instead of acting like children its getting boring now. Have the committees not got anything better to do with their time than disagree with each other just for the sake of it. Maybe its time to disband the regional committees in Wales and just have one association.
 
John Davies
Manchester

Midlands not thinking of the bands

Yet again we see the Midlands Regional Brass Band Committee just not thinking about the bands when they make decisions.

For a start we see the reintroduction of the Belvedere Club to apparently "return to the successful partnership of the first two years of competition at the venue". An interesting definition of successful, a venue that was awful to play at and almost impossible to park at in cars (let alone trying to get coaches there)

As for the news that "To finance the development, bands entering the contest will be required to purchase concessionary tickets (formerly known as bandperson's passes) to gain admittance to the contest auditoriums at all times, both to listen to bands and hear the results, and to enter band assembly areas." - why not just cut the spin and announce a huge hike in contest entry fees?

That is exactly what is happening here, and I wonder how many bands they actually consulted before making this announcement?

I bet they didn't consider the lower section bands who not only have to pay out a lot of extra money to enter, but now lose the rights to play in a reasonably nice venue to be replaced by a rubbish venue miles away from the centre of town.

As a final point, how many people will actually believe the reassurance that "costs of the recent court case involving Ibstock Brick Brass will not have a detrimental effect on them or the future of their Area contests"?

Are not the vast hike in entry fees already an effect of this court case?

Marc Robbins

Two Adjudicators at Midlands Area
 
"in line with most bands wishes, it intends to introduce two adjudicators per section for next year's competition. To finance the development, bands entering the contest will be required to purchase concessionary tickets"

~ Midlands Committee"
 
Top Section:
Assuming 12 bands consisting of 28 players and at £5 per ticket, that's a minimum of £1680.
 
1st Section:
Assuming 20 bands consisting of 28 players and at £5 per ticket, that's a minimum of £2800
 
and so on...
 
Just how much does one extra adjudicator cost?
 
Cliff Parker

2 Adjudicators - in line with whose wishes exactly?

I was quite surprised to read in the British Bandsman and 4BR that there will be two adjudicators used at next year's area contest at Burton for all sections. I was also surprised to read that this has been done "in line with most bands' wishes". Our band's opinion was not sought on this matter and neither have we been informed, despite the statement in the Bandsman "the Committee has also informed competing bands". We are a competing band and would have liked to have made a little input into this decision.

The article in the Bandsman does not make it clear, but was it also "in line with most bands wishes" that, in order to pay for two adjudicators, Bandsmans tickets 'formerly known as bandpersons passes' will be required to be purchased in order to gain access to 'band assembly areas' and to 'the contest auditorium at all times'?

The cost of these concessionary tickets is not known at present, but if they are just £2. each, then effectively , bands will be asked to pay at least £120 to enter the contest(as based on last years entry fee)

Many bands are struggling on two fronts at the moment;- 1. a lack of players, hence the number of mergers taking place, and 2. the lack of funds.

Does everyone who voted for these measures really believe that they will improve the lot of these struggling bands and somehow enhance the future of the band movement in the Midlands. I sincerely doubt it. 

David J. Francis
Band of the West Mercia Constabulary

The Night to Sing - Keeping the cows coming home
 
I am intrigued by recent reports that adjudicators have been instructed to penalise bands who do not follow the exact scoring of Bramwell Tovey's new piece for the British Open. Surely what the composer is really trying to say is "I've got it right, don't mess about with it." This, of course can be argued until the cows come home, but I would like to draw a few comparisons from outside the brass band world.
 
As a freelance trombone player, I have performed a great many new compositions as well as all the standard repertoire. In the professional world, most orchestras have a limited time to rehearse a piece of music due to financial constraints. It is the job of the musician to give their best interpretation of the piece. More often than not, there will be times when the voicing of a chord does not work, or a dynamic needs adjustment, or notes need to be swapped round to make it flow better, or whatever. The main aim is to transmit the composer's intentions to an audience in the best way possible.
 
I would like to think that, in a brass band, do we not try and do the same thing? I find it unreasonable to expect that adjudicators will be willing to risk their reputations by accusing bands of cueing/pedalling/re-scoring. In the last contest I played in, the adjudicator, in his comments, questioned if the band had re-scored something when we hadn't. This year's Open may well result in a certain amount of egg on a few faces!
 
I am sure that 'The Night to Sing' will be a huge hit, if 'Coventry Variations' is anything to go by, but please Mr Tovey, don't treat us like robots! In the very best bands, decisions to change the scoring are not taken lightly and when they are, they are done to achieve a better overall sound. Surely this is in the best interests of the piece, or am I being too orchestral?

Duncan Wilson
Huntingdon

Well done Mr Tovey

I must write to congratulate Bram Tovey for trying to make sure the bands at the British Open try to play his music the way in which he wrote it.

Why meddling conductors feel it necessary to fiddle about with the music to try and gain an advantage is beyond me, and I hope the adjudicators take note of what the compser has said and makes sure those that do wish to chop and change things for their own benefit get penalized.

Jerry Hughes

Anal retentives!

Just read the comments page.  There's always something interesting to read to rarely something that completely incenses me…
 
What is all this meaningless drivel about not being allowed to move parts around for contest performances – or embellishing in some way to enhance the overall effect?
 
All – GET A GRIP and let's not lose sight of the fact that first, foremost and last we're here to MAKE MUSIC!  I know lots of people (myself included) who buy several performances of the same orchestral music (particularly Mahler Symphonies) because the greatest conductors each find something personal and unique in the music that makes for such radically different interpretations.  With the notably outspoken exception of Bryan Kelly (Yorkshire Open, Primavera) most composers provide tempi guidelines – yes guidelines, not strict, must be followed instructions.
 
Famously Elgar did NOT score Severn Suite for Brass Band – a medium about which he knew very little, but he delegated this task  to Henry Gheel (I think).  Bram Gay re-scored this himself for the Open some years ago to improve on the original.  Interesting that – taking the time to re-score to a different key, and taking account of modern instruments and quality of technique...  With a repertoire as old as ours I as a tuba player reserve the right to make 8va entries where appropriate as composers of 100 years ago would never have written those parts and composers of the last 25 years have begun to do.

Tuba scoring in particular is normally extremely badly thought out (if any thought has been put into it at all) and it is normal practice to move parts around to cover breathing in sustained passages.  Maybe we should play it as written and have lots of big gaps?  EVERY conductor I have ever played for at a contest has made some change to some degree, from what was scored – and it will always be so!
 
If a part is moved from Sop to Bb, from baritone to trombone, from 2nd cornet to 2nd horn… so what?  I for one don't care – let's do whatever we can to make the best music.  This is not cheating!!!
 
This whole debate is one reason why the brass band movement is in serious danger of disappearing down its own bell end.
 
Anal retentives of the brass band movement it's time to move aside, let people with some common sense take over before it's too late.
 
Andy Wyatt – heart on sleeve!

Well done the Scots!

Well done to the Scots for revealing the 2006 Regional Test Pieces. If a final decision has been made  - then tell us. Or do the 'powers-that-be' like to revel in knowing something that us mortals don't.

It's certainly NOT embarrassing - this is (mostly amateur) Brass Banding, not some top secret mission. We don't need conspiracy theories right now - go public and be up front!

Julia Crask.

2006 test pieces - So what!!!

I have just read on 4BR that the test pieces for the 2006 Regional Championships have now been released – first by the Scottish Brass Band Association.

The question remains though – So what!

Why is there so much secrecy about the choosing of the test pieces? The Scots have done us a favour and allowed the bands to have more time to look at the works. Typically however, the details from the organizers did not include information on the CD requirements for the Championship test piece or the vibraphone part in the Images of the Millennium piece. They never get it right do they!

David McLintock

Well done the Music Panel

One more we get the list of test pieces for the Regional Championships, and once more I am sure we will get the usual complaints, grumbles and groans of disapproval from those who do not like the choices made.

Not me though. This time it seems to be a pretty good cross section of works – although I have not heard the Championship test piece before and it is nice to see that Gilbert Vinter has not been forgotten with the inclusion of his fine ‘Entertainments'.

Well done the Music Panel.

Arthur Linton
Bucks

Good choices or a cynical bit of money making?

Having taken note of the selection of works for the 2006 Regional Championships, I do wonder why there is a current trend for picking Championship test pieces that have been used by our top bands within the past year or so.

First we had ‘St. Magnus' which has now been played to death, and now ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth' that Black Dyke used at the European Championships. Am I being cynical or could this have more to do with boosting sales and recouping costs rather than just purely musical considerations?

Stephen Jones

Good choices but what about the recordings?

Now that we know the choices of the Area test pieces for next year, could we now have just as good a choice of performing bands to play them for the Regionals 2006 CD release?

Each year the same old bands do appear to perform them (and the standard hasn't been that good – especially last year) and I would hope that we do not again have Black Dyke, BAYV, Scottish Co-op or any other band that seems to be conducted by the same couple of people. Nothing against them personally, but it is becoming a bit tedious to find the same performers each year.

Why not allow last years National Champions in each section to perform the test pieces? It would be an added bonus for the lower section bands, you will be guaranteed that they will work their socks off to do it and the listeners will be able to hear the test pieces played by bands of a standard that the pieces were meant for. 

Mrs M. Longton
Exeter

Getting the horn

Well done 4BR on your recent review of the Besson versus the Yamaha tenor horns. Having played both of these in the past it was nice to read that both have looked at in some detail and their plus and minus points recorded in your own inimitable way!

I also agreed with your result as well – the Besson Sovereign is still the best, although it is now a little long in the tooth. The Yamaha is a bit rough and ready.

Keep up the good work, it very nearly made me take up playing again!

Ian Hunter

Horns do not play out of tune 

Horn players do not play out of tune 4BR – it is the rest of the band that cannot play in tune with us!

Pauline Young
Maidstone

Desford - Champion of Champions

I suggest Eric Leckenby contacts Keith Quinn to9 check if he still has a copy - according to his website
http://www.euph9.freeserve.co.uk/brassband.htm he has.

Keith's emmail address is KEITH@quinnk37.freeserve.co.uk

John Farrar
Chelmsford

And another....
  
I have a copy of the 1983 recording of Champion of Champions on vinyl in my loft.I can be contacted via the Aldbourne band web site if you want it, presuming you've got something to play it on!
 
Chris Lewis
Wantage

Bram Tovey - More of the same?

In your August editorial you say:
 
"Adjudicators should penalise bands who make alterations to the scoring of the work, particularly the practice of embellishing the tuba parts with 8va bassa."

"Never before has a composer made such a specific request to the adjudicators to ensure that their work is not tampered with in any way by errant hands and febrile minds in pursuit of contesting glory. And never before have adjudicators at our premier contest been put in such a situation. "

In fact this statement is patently incorrect; exactly the same instruction was printed in the full score of the same composer's "Coventry Variations" when it was used as the 1st section qualifiers test piece in 2004.

Gareth J. Green
MD, The Egham Band

4BR Reply:
Quite right Gareth. We were in our defence trying to point out that this has been the first time that such a request has been made for the test piece or the British Open Championship.

Viva Tovey!
 
I seem to remember playing a piece I think called 'Lorenzo'… that had printed comments that the sop should play the written part and if it was played on Bb the band should loose marks.

Does it ring a bell with you ….the piece is about 100 years old so has it took so long to realise that the composer has the right to have some input ? How many times have we been at contests where the band who completely ignored tempi won!!

We could be approaching a scientific way of declaring who was best !!

Viva Tovey

Dave Aston
Besses O' the Barn

And hoary old Tovey...

Bram Tovey raises the hoary old question of test-piece modification. One can understand a composer's dislike of insensitive conductors altering his score but let's not confuse and complicate the issue again (and again and again!). Conductors/bands interpret dots and squiggles on pages in an attempt to represent the composer's intentions.

If they do this badly (tubas 8ve basso normally but not always comes in this category) then any decent adjudicator will punish them. If they do it in the interests of a faithful representation (switching parts usually comes in this category) they should be judged on how well it works. Cheating? Irrelevant!
 
Peter Hartley

In defence of the WMC

This excerpt is taken from the WMC Website:

"The WMC Foundation (WMC) was set up in 1951 and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2001. The aim of the WMC is to encourage the further development of international wind and brass band music by organising periodical festivals and projects.

In addition, the WMC fulfils a supporting role for international wind and brass band music and also encourages projects and initiatives of third parties.

The WMC aims to maintain its position as the most important festival and to extend its influence, where possible. The WMC must become the Wimbledon for wind and brass band music: a festival that is unique due to its high quality and the international character of the participants".

The whole concept of the festival was in fact inspired by a visit by the Carlton Main Frickley Colliery band in 1949, but this was  the first time in the 54 years of the existence  of the WMC that Brass Bands were invited to be included in this festival. Why is it then that we have the arrogance to suggest that the WMC hasn't got it right in terms of organisation as you say in your comment (The World Championships - success or failure?)

The WMC has been organising large-scale music events for quite some time. And we're not talking about organising an event for 20, 100 or even 200 bands, but I'm sure I read that there were 270 different organisations from all around the world taking part in the festival this year. The brass band part of it is a new and in my opinion a welcome addition to the festival, but we're still a small minority.

I had the privilege of working with the XBY Concert Band (conductor Dennis Mycroft) from London. After winning gold at the National Concert Band Festival finals at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester on 13th March 2005, the band attended the WMC festival at the end of July. I was very impressed with the organisation of the event. The band knew weeks in advance exactly what time they would be playing (1 - 2pm) on their allocated day (29/7/05).  The band also knew what the adjudicators marking criteria would be and all band members were issued with their own copy.

An off-site rehearsal venue was provided with a full range of percussion equipment and stands. The band was allocated dedicated changing areas that could be secured (no gym halls here). There was an abundance of top-quality percussion instruments provided at the venue; there were at least three different sized xylophones, two marimbas (!), drum-kit, tubular bells, six timps, two glocks, congas, bongos, two sets of temple blocks, tam-tams, bass drums, tom-toms etc. etc., the list goes on - it was a percussionists' heaven. I was so impressed with the range and quality of the gear being provided that I had to take a picture of it as it filled an entire corridor (very sad, I know).

As the band warmed-up in an area of significant size and comfort, the percussion team was assisted by no less than five helpers to set the stage. Not that we needed so much help, as we were allocated bags of time. None of the British fixation of having to fling everything on stage as quickly as possible in fear of taking longer than a 4-minute set up time (or whatever time limitation the non-percussion committee decided).

The adjudicators sat in the open and watched the performance. We played a "warm-up" piece ‘Serenade' (Bourgeois) to get used to the acoustic and instruments (what a great idea!), then played ‘Danceries' (Hesketh) as a set-work from a long list of "set-work" choices (another good idea) and then played the European premier of the wind band version of ‘Music of the Spheres' (Sparke), which went down extremely well. When we finished playing we watched a DVD recording (which we could purchase) of our performance on a large plasma screen and also purchased CD recordings.

The DVD recording was of an extremely high quality with lots of different camera angles and close-ups (not such a good idea!!). Come results time, the multi-media displays illustrated the results for all to see as each band was announced. For the record the band got another gold and now sit at number 11 in the world ranking.

The whole event goes out on national television and is accompanied by a WMC update/chat show. At the same time there is a beer festival, like there is every time the WMC is in town.

Not bad, really in terms of organisation when you think about it. It's about as far away from an enclosed box with a bucket of sand in it for the adjudicator to wee in as you can get.

I feel that there is a lot that we in brass bands can learn from an event like this and hope that many more of our top bands can support this event and in my answer your comment - The World Championships - success or failure? - I'd say it was a resounding success.

Nigel Brinklow

The Battle of Trafalgar

Albert Elms: arr, Darwin

As it's the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar we have been asked to play this music but when we contacted the publisher they said they had decided to discard it from their library for this year.

Does anyone know where we can get a set of parts?

Keith Williams
keith@kwilliams.net

4BR Reply:
Anyone help?

Telling Porkies

I have just seen your piece on Porky Hardman with wife Ruth & family emigrating to Australia - and as your correspondent quite rightly says, he really is one of banding's real characters and will be missed of course by his Pemberton colleagues and also I would suggest, by the many other bands he has served and assisted in the North West area.
 
I recall when Wingates were doing a two day engagement (1993) in the Isle of Man - Porky received a phone call from Wigan to say his wife Ruth had gone into labour. An early flight to Manchester was booked and Porky arrived home in time to see the birth of his son John Kieron. In due course Ruth wrote to the band thanking them for releasing John from his banding duties and noted that at the time of his son's birth, Wingates Band were on stage at the splendid Gaiety Theatre in Douglas, their final concert item being Howard Snell's fine arrangement of the Respighi classic 'The Pines Of Rome':
 
Anne & I extend warm greetings and good wishes to John, Ruth & family in their new adventure.
 
Eddie Govier
Bolton.

The real world of brass band composers
 
Well done, Mr Lawrence, for voicing your thoughts on the real world of brass band composing!  I have heard many a time over the years, from those choosing test pieces for competitions, that they want to give 'new blood' a chance.  Great idea... but exactly how are we new composers (I use 'new', rather than 'young', on purpose!) supposed to submit our works for consideration?
 
I have tried to find out, for quite some time now, how to submit a new work for consideration as a test piece, only to find that nobody seems to have the slightest clue?  I have seen various brass band forums wax lyrical on the subject, read many articles, had conversations with various luminaries, etc., but the bottom line is that it is all so nebulous that nobody really knows.
 
Is it not possible, in this age of digital, instant communication and within the current climate of accountability (well, elsewhere, at any rate!), that there could be a transparent, recognisable route for composers to submit their work?
 
It would appear that, at present, it is all done via the 'old boy network', in camera.  Hence, the same names appear on the test pieces each year.
 
I am not, in any way, decrying the quality of work of those 'same old faces', they have created some of the greatest classics of the brass band repertoire.  But there is a newer brand of composers out here, desperate to be heard, with new ideas, wanting to develop the repertoire of the 21st century.
 
I was fortunate to have won a national composition competition two years ago with a 13-minute test piece aimed at championship/1st section bands.  Everybody who has seen the score, or heard its synthesised recording, (including some of the very top names in banding) have been polite enough to comment upon it in a very positive fashion.  Yet, despite this, it's two years later and NOT ONE BAND has played even one note of it!  How on earth, if one cannot break through the apathy of bands, can one then expect to get it to the men who matter?
 
I am currently writing another test piece, intended as a melodic rival to, say, "Masquerade"; aimed as an extremely difficult test for the very best bands in the world.  On current form, it will never be heard, never mind used as a test piece.  I do not know why I bother?!?"
 
P. Jones
Llanddona

Huffiness at 4BR!

I was a bit surprised by the tone of your article regarding the 2006 Regional Test Pieces and their early publication on the SBBA (not SABBA) web site. 

I know that 4BR prides itself in being first with all manner of brass band news but this particular article smacked of "huffiness" in being beaten to press.  Come on 4BR, how about an apology to the folks running the SBBA web site for your tone.  I'm sure they acted in good faith and weren't simply trying to get the jump on anybody else.

Bruce Gilmour

4BR Reply:
No huffiness intended Bruce, but it has been an embarrassment for the organisers (which was the point we were trying to make). There is usually an official announcement with details of the test pieces for the Regionals, usually closer to the Lower Section National Finals. Why it hadn't been made is a matter we will try and find out more about, but if there was not an embargo on the publication, then well done to SBBA for its scoop.

Some cynical thoughts on adjudication...

Read Steve Didcot's revisit to Derek Bourgeois's thoughts on adjudication. Very interesting and all relevant but, despite the attractions and efficacy of Tony Buzan's ideas, I think the situation is simpler (as implied by some of Steve's comments).
 
1) Problems of adjudicator's recalling performances can be largely overcome by experience and by reducing sections to a maximum of 12 (say) bands. Current contests that feature typically 20 bands should be simply split into 2 sections. Yes - it is possible - think about it - same total number of bands - might even make the logistics easier. More sections also allows better targeted test-pieces and a better chance to be in the frame!
 
2) Yes, there should always be at least 3 adjudicators, however their opinions are combined.
 
The obstacle to the above is almost entirely cost. And that obstacle will remain until your average bandsman realises that no one owes us anything - it's our hobby and we should pay for it. But your average bandsman is and always has been unable to understand how illogical it is to spend a small fortune on fags, beer, golf, cars, etc, etc, but not on banding. Shame!
 
And, of course, even if you manage to make the process fairer (by 20%? 30%? on average), do we really think there would be less whinging and sour grapes? Isn't that half the fun for many of us?
 
Personally I think choice of test-piece is the really important issue. Although I hate contest day itself, it's just one day, and I'm used to disappointing results. It's all those rehearsals that can really hurt.
 
Yours cynically
Peter Hartley

Fabulous Didcott

What a fabulous article by Stephen Didcott on the foibles of contesting - well done!  Bravo too to Derek Bourgeois for his insight and opinion.

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges to overcome are the opinions of the bands themselves and the intransigence therein.  We've had 150 years of closed adjudication - so why not commit to 5 years of open adjudication, come whatever and see how we all feel in 5 years time? 

Changes made in the way contests are run and judged need to be given chance to grow, evolve and mature - and we all need to give ourselves the chance to get used to them before declaring that it's all a horrible mistake - or an enlightened decision.

Many a conspiracy theory has been borne of closed adjudications - don't tell me that in the big contests the judges really don't know or can't accurately guess who's on stage because I don't believe it.   Let's not forget that closed adjudication also offers the opportunity for unscrupulous judges to 'settle old scores' and hide behind the panacea of a closed box - if the cap fits then wear it, I am not accusing them all by any means. 

Reasons of libel prevent me from naming the judge illustrated in recollections I heard from another conductor and adjudicator who spent most of one contest trying to guess who the bands were so that he could base his ranking on that information rather than the quality of the performance.  Suffice it to say that it happens...

Having said this, it is my belief that the majority of judges are fair and deliver honest and balanced opinions and any injustices that result are down to 'the system' and/or simple poor judgement.

You only have to take a look at the audience size in most contests (versus the size of the queue in the bar) that something is fundamentally wrong.  In the classical world audiences go to be entertained and appreciate the artistry of the 'competing' musicians. 

I'd like to see more contests be adventurous with their format, maybe each area committee for the regional contests should be allowed to choose their own format and select their own test pieces - or even make it own choice.  Why should every band within the same section nationwide play the same test piece to try and qualify for the finals?  Why not give more bands a chance of making an impact?  If a lower section band has a particularly talented player in a certain position, why not allow them to choose a piece to show that off?

I'd like to see some organisers replace the use of test pieces with own choice march, hymn tune and overture.  More variety to rehearse for the players, more variety for the audience, more opportunity for the judges to form a balanced opinion.  It's about selecting the best bands - it doesn't matter how you get to that point. 

As a player I'd far rather spend my contest prep rehearsing The President, Nearer My God and The Corsair than some dull piece where the bass part is easy and cornet parts are fiendish (far too many of them) .  This is repetoire that can help bands (of all levels) concert performances and would help to stimulate composers to writer new material in these genres that in all honesty as been seriously lacking in recent decades!

I don't believe in awarding points either - judges will always give more consideration to who gets the prizes than delivering a fully considered order of merit.  So don't bother.  Award the prizes to the best performances and where issues of relegation are at issue nominate those who deserve to go down and do it on a year on year basis. 

As far as the Open/Grand Shield/Senior Cup/Senior Trophy goes I'd like to see 5 down 5 up in all sections - including the Open.  Outside of the top half dozen bands, there is little to choose between the next 50 or so, other than consistency, so such a measure would not cause the quality to drop.

Anyway, I'll stop there - it is time for a change and it is time to be bold!

Those with power - use it, make positive decisions and take us all forward!

Andy Wyatt
Chorley

In defence of the Dutch

Maybe the rules in the UK differ from Holland, but being Dutch Champion does not mean that you can compete in a higher section. You must get your promotion at the regional contests. This even means that we were not allowed to play in the first section. But just for your information we earned promotion in March of this year.

This means that we still have to play in the 2nd section in 2005 at the Dutch Championships and that we are allowed to play in the 1st section in 2006! The only problem might be that the level in the 2nd section in Holland is much higher as in the UK. Please visit the Dutch Championships in December and convince yourself that you have been bad losers.
 
Jaap Ruisch

Looking for the Groom

I am very keen to acquire any recordings of solos by the euphonium player Trevor Groom (formerly principal euphonium of the Virtuosi Band Munn and Felton/GUS/Rigid Containers Band and Kettering Citadel Bands).

I am collecting an archive of his recordings here at Rider University and would especially welcome news of rare and/or 'live' recordings, especially those of the Joseph Horovitz Euphonium Concerto other than the one released on vinyl. Could you please release this request on your excellent web site and include my contact information below.

Steve Allen
Dr. Stephen Arthur Allen, D. Phil. (Oxon) [Ph.D., Oxford University],
LTCL, ABSM, ALCM, Cert. Ed.
Professor of Music, Fine Arts, Rider University
2083 Lawrenceville Road
Lawrenceville, NJ, 08648-3099
USA
sallen@rider.edu

Not quite geting the horn

I enjoyed reading the recent tenor horn review. It is disappointing that you did not include the new Willson tenor horn in your review, especially with its trigger to help intonation, and the growing reputation overall of Willson instruments.

Where possible, please be a little more broad, as you were with your triple cornet review, on subsequent reviews. There are new players in town, and most deserve at least an initial look, even though tradition does usually rule, as it did in this case.

4BR Reply:
It is a question of getting our hands on one. The two leading models are readily available and our friends at Normans could get them to us quickly and free of charge for us to review. If Willson can get one to us as well, then we will put it to the test.

Desford help required

I am trying to get hold of a recording of the Desford Colliery Band from 1983.

The album id entitled ‘Champion of Champions' and has ‘Comedy Overture', ‘Roman Carnival', and ‘Pines of Rome' on it. I think it was recorded on the Two/Ten label No: TT006 and also on cassette.

Can anyone help me in getting a copy?

Eric Leckenby
Durham  

Fiddling the score

Having just read you news item concerning the British Open test piece and the thoughts of the composer about penalising the bands and MD's who fiddle with his score, a thought crosses my mind.

How on earth are the adjudicators supposed to tell that a band has changed things? How can they tell that the second man down plays all the solos, or the cornets are using special mutes etc?

It may be possible to tell 8va bassa, but will the judges really be brave enough to take points off a band for doing so? I think not – the best bands will use their little ‘cheats' and get away with it and the judges will show themselves to lack the stomach to penalise them for flouting the composers intentions. Nothing will change.

Paul Shepherd

Players having their parts chopped - ouch!

Mr Tovey is a brave man (or should that be naïve and foolish) to think that the conductors at the British Open will take the blind bit of notice about his views on their ‘alterations'.

When was the last time that a band won a contest without recourse to at least one or two players having their parts chopped?

I applaud Bram Tovey for insisting that the bands play the music that he has written, and not to try recompose the piece to suit themselves. However, can he really think that the top bands will look at this in any way other than a challenge to get away with their usual methods of tinkering the score to suit their strengths?

Lyndon Hughes

Norwegian controversy - on CD

Well done Iwan Fox for his review of the 2005 Norwegian Nationals. Having compilations from contests is one thing, but they usually serve little or no purpose, and this is what he has highlighted here with this release.

The big controversy of the Norwegians this year was the relative performances between the winners, Eikanger and Stavanger who ended way out of the prizes. Wouldn't it have made sense therefore for the producers to give the rest of us the chance to hear why the judges thought this to be the case?

It is nice to be able to sell CDs to bands who played in the lower sections, but wouldn't it have made for an all together better CD if the real ‘contest' of the weekend could be relived?

Stefan Nielberg
Oslo

Talking the talk - but not walking the adjudication walk

Brian Buckley and ABBA make out a very good case don't they for the way in which they believe band contests should be run in the future. The problem though is that for all they good intentions, most contests still have to make do with the same old faces in the box, the same tired clichés and remarks, the same poor remarks sheets, and no opportunity to ask the judge why they made their decision.

Mr Buckley talks a good show, but the reality for the vast majority of us is the same year in year out.

Helen King
Manchester

Well done BFBB - just the right Sparke

Well done to the BFBB for making the right decision and asking Philip Sparke to write the test piece for the forthcoming English Championships. A test piece with tunes, proper technical tests for players and not one bottle, nose flute, Peruvian armpit singer or bass trombone blowing his spit out into anti freeze just for the sake of ‘something new'.

Ian Bracken

Wales and brass bands - great stuff (if I could understand it)

Brass bands and the television we are told don't mix. However, after accidentally finding the Welsh S4C Channel on my SKY television, I couldn't believe it when to my amazement they were showing hour after hour of live brass bands from the Welsh National Eisteddfod.

I didn't understand a word of what was being said, but they seemed to be giving the contest proper coverage with debate and analysis after each performance and proper coverage of the bands on stage playing their entertainment programmes.

Whoever decided that this was good television should be given a knighthood. Well done Wales – why can't we English follow suit and get the BBC to do the same for the British Open or the National Finals?

John Samson

Something from a friend on high - literally

My friends and I watched, danced and listened in amazement at you - to say you were excellent is an understatement, I'm sure you realised by the crowds reaction how good you were and how much everyone there was in awe of your performance - we could not get enough of you I have never heard acid jazz/house played by a brass band - the idea is genius and you and your colleagues were phenomenal. Thank you very very much.

Someone at the last Fairey Acid Brass Concert
(name and address withheld on the grounds that the person seemed to be as high as a proverbial kite!)

Player rankings?

Is there any site on the internet that would give me the ratings of the players in Great Britain, or for the world?

John Youffer

4BR Reply:
Afraid not John. There are no individual player rankings as yet. Perhaps some time in the future if we are feeling really mischeivous!

Message to Jaap Ruisch

Message to Jaap Ruisch of Pro Rege band. Have a brief read of what you wrote then honestly please let me know if you think you should have been playing in the 2nd section at the WMC?
 
"In 2004 Pro Rege became Dutch Champion in this division" so why are playing in it if your the champions? Perhaps you should be in the 1st section!!! Or is that me been silly???
 
Im not saying that you shouldnt have won because yes you played it as loud and as fast as all the other bands in the section so why shouldnt you win? The point, that i feel you dont get is, you shouldnt have played in that section as you were champions in 2004. So in my eyes and probably most of S.W.T.B and Greenalls you shouldnt have been in section 2.
 
Has you are a 3rd cornet player I do feel for you as I am myself but lets be honest the best 3rd cornet, sorry bands in the section on that day were the bands from the uk. Maybe not on playing but by playing by the rules!!
 
All the best to Greenalls and well done Ratby. Good luck S.W.T.B at the Nationals
 
Andrew Street
S.W.T.B

Not listening to us younger composers

"In the future though we would also like to encourage the new younger breed of composers and our policy will be to occasionally move away from the ‘tried and tested' in the hope that some of our young composing talent can really break through on the big stage".
 
Oh, those younger breed (now going for bus pass in the waiting) have been trying hard for years Mr Morgan. HELLO! New batteries in then? It's just that most (in your similar position) can't venture away from tried till brown, and well worn as band needs a third copy in ten years, played to death as in even passers bye who shop near the band room can now conduct it, and tested till the ink is no longer visible, just pencil marks & nervous sweat! If you want new pieces, you don't have to commission every time, just open eyes, ears, and listen with a modicum of research. We are hear, but few like you are listening to us younger breed at all!
 
Phil Lawrence
Elms Studios/Publishing

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