Editorial ~ 2007: June

This month we give our opinion on 'Meadgate', Whit Friday shenanigans and the selection of test pieces for the National Finals.

Meadgate

The one thing the whole ‘Meadgate' adjudication controversy has clearly shown the rest of the non brass banding world, is that once again our movement has the priceless ability to project itself as being impressively parochial and amateur over issues that are of real consequence. 

The decision by the BFBB to publicly back Steven Mead's appointment to be a judge at the English Nationals but later ask for his withdrawal after alleged representations from competing bands and conductors showed a degree of weakness that has further eroded its credibility to be involved in the promotion and organisation of major contests.

Circumstances may be said to have conspired against them after the decision to allow Grimethorpe to compete at the contest, but it cannot alter the impression that the situation was handled in such a disastrously weak and amateurish way. 

The appointment of adjudicators for any contest is primarily done on the question of trust. That is the over riding ethic of asking someone else to make a subjective decision on another's performance in any field of endeavour. Once that process is undermined by direct or indirect accusation and innuendo about probity then all trust in the system that has for over 150 years served the movement so well is lost.

Asking bands and their conductors for their choices to whom they would like to judge them at a contest is a good thing (as shown in previous years at the All England Masters), but once a decision is made by the organisers then it should not be changed, unless the judge in question himself believes his position registers a conflict of interest. 

That is what made this particular decision appear all the more pitiful: This was not a question of compromise, it was a question of impotence in the face of the perceived threat of withdrawal, and as a result it brought into question whether or not the organisers themselves had complete trust in a judge they had initially chosen.
 
One wonders if we have not heard the last of an issue such as this in the months to come, and whether or not other contest organisers will show themselves to be as weak willed as the BFBB were on this occasion.

What do you think?
Send an email to: comments@4barsrest.com

Whit Friday shenanigans

The annual jamboree that is the Whit Friday march contests has once again shown that given a fine day, liberal opening hours for drinking establishments, plenty of prize money and a fair degree of traffic management control in congested areas, the whole event will continue to prosper to the delight of the bands, police, pub landlords and even dedicated brass band lovers.

The whole event however continues to move further and further away from its true religious context, even though there is still a well maintained and honourable tradition of community based Whit processions that include local bands.  The contests themselves hold no relevance to what goes on earlier in the day. 

Therefore it comes as no surprise that this year there has been the usual scramble for prize money and with it associated tales of underhand and unsporting behaviour (the contests themselves have more than anything else become a dash for cash). Top bands demanding preferential treatment by ‘pre booking' their place at a contest; booking in before their bus has arrived; asking ‘lesser' bands to give up their place in the queue; booking in, then moving to another venue only to return to push back into the original queue - were just some of the accusations made this year of a number of our most famous bands.

It's nothing new though – this has been going on for years as contest organisers have turned a ‘blind eye' to the shenanigans that have gone on since the contests themselves began. Until now it has been seen as ‘fair game' so to speak – so too the tales of judges peeking out of their tent to catch a glimpse of the band next to play, so called band supporters declaring rather too loudly by the judges tent the name of their band just before the conductor brings down the baton, and bands using their own signature marches to give a ‘clue' to their own identity. 

The venues themselves want the best bands and the most bands to compete on their patch, and so the rather grubby spectacle of bands trying by fair means or foul to gain an advantage over their rivals will be tolerated, even if it does mean that true brass band supporters and those with a real respect to what Whit Friday means become more and more marginalised from an event that lost its true sense of identity years ago.

What do you think?
Send an email to: comments@4barsrest.com

The promise of the National test pieces

The announcement of the test pieces for the forthcoming National Finals in Harrogate and London will of course illicit a fair degree of debate between now and the contests themselves later in the year.

Without having complete knowledge of the pieces yet, it is difficult to ascertain whether or not they are all fine choices for their respective sections, but given the existing output of the chosen composers it is a fair bet that the bands, conductors and audiences alike will find something to please themselves with.

Philip Sparke continues to provide an almost never ending supply of fine test pieces for major contests, and ‘Music for Battle Creek' with its stated mix of excitement, bravado and virtuosity saluting the ‘can do' attitude of the founders of the Battle Creek Band should once again prove to be a popular choice with the performers as well as encouraging the increased demand for tickets for the finals seen in recent years. 

Ray Steadman –Allen's ‘Victorian Snapshots – On Radcliff Highway' is more well known and should provide the First Section bands with a stern test of musicianship as well as a number of technical hurdles to overcome.  Darrol Barry's ‘Toccata, Elegy and Scherzo' should contain all the ‘user friendly' ingredients that we have become accustomed too for the bands in the Second Section, whilst Bruce Fraser has earned himself a well deserved reputation as a skilled tunesmith. His ‘Imperium' should be an interesting work for the Third Section, especially for those who have enjoyed the books of Robert Harris – from which this Roman inspired piece derives.  

Finally, the panel should also be commended for encouraging new talent to emerge with Leigh Baker's ‘Roman Tryptych' – another swords and sandals epic it seems that aims to capture the feel of Russell Crowe, Ben Hur and Quo Vadis in one fell swoop. It promises to be a little cracker. 

All in all some very interesting choices – and ones that cover a fair old scope of musical genres too. The Panel has provided an eclectic mix that holds a great deal of promise for everyone concerned.   Let's hope they all live up to expectation in the months to come – from having a very low errata list to a very high bums on seat count come the finals themselves.

What do you think?
Send an email to: comments@4barsrest.com

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