Editorial ~ 2008: July
4-Jul-2008This month we look at spiritual and non spiritual aims and objectives, European weighting and in praise of Kevin Crockford.
Spiritual and non spiritual aims and objectives
The very essence of Salvationist music making can perhaps be summed up by something General William Booth said in October 1897:
”Your temptation will be to play what is pleasing, what will bring out the music, what will impress the people with its charm – and with the ability of those to produce it. But beware! Let us have good music, but music which has a message in it. Tunes that whenever and wherever they are sung will bring God, and Calvary, and Eternity nearer.”
Just over 110 years after Booth’s words were published, and some 16 years after the International Headquarters of the Salvation Army scrapped its regulations preventing their music being sold to, or performed by, non Salvationist organisations, the religious and secular worlds of brass band music making are now inextricably joined together.
Overall it has been a breaking down of a barrier that has been of immense benefit to both parties, with the opening of the treasure trove of Salvationist inspired music to secular bands balanced by the pragmatic financial benefits it undoubtedly brought to the Army’s publishing and commercial arms.
Despite initial concerns from many quarters that the increased Salvationist involvement could lead to the promotion of a form of musical evangelism through secular brass band events, that has not transpired, mainly through the continued healthy respect shown between both parties.
It is therefore of vital importance that such a tolerant, respectful relationship continues, and that misplaced enthusiasm or unintentional desire to help advance general spiritual or non spiritual aims and objectives is not allowed to become an overriding factor at contests or events.
As William Booth himself stated all those years ago – the Salvationist message to be sought is contained in the music itself, a message that should be left to the individual to seek and understand if they so wish. The same applies to those with secular political or non religious beliefs too.
Perhaps we should just all sit back and enjoy brass band music making in our own personal way and leave the rest to another platform all together. .
What do you think?
Send an email to: comments@4barsrest.com
Weighing things up
The growing success of the English National Brass Band Championships in Preston has in its way brought into question whether or not the actual English qualification process for the European Championships is in fact not particularly fair to the competing bands.
It was a point highlighted by the adjudicators themselves in that they felt that both the winning performance of Grimethorpe Colliery Band and that of runner up, Black Dyke, were more than worthy in their opinion of gaining their place in Ostend in 2009.
That is a matter of musical opinion of course, but what cannot be disputed is the fact that at present, English bands have to go through a two stage process of gaining qualification for the Europeans, whilst every other country under the EBBA umbrella has only the one.
To even get to Preston the bands have to ‘qualify’ either by winning their respective Area Championship of accumulating enough ranking points throughout the preceding year to be invited to compete. They then battle it out again to claim the one place on offer.
In contrast, the Welsh, Scots, Irish and every other European nation have just one contest to compete at – and nowhere near as many bands to beat either.
Grimethorpe for instance had to overcome 11 other bands at Bradford, and then another 13 at Preston, whilst other contenders had roughly the same number. On the other hand, Tredegar had just 8 rivals to overcome in Wales, Whitburn the 9 in Scotland, whilst the European qualifiers had between 3 and 9 other bands to overcome at their National Finals.
Perhaps the BFBB could have a justifiable case in future to request an additional ‘weighted’ qualification place at the Championships for English bands, on the basis that given what they go through to get there they do seem to be involving many more bands and an extra qualification hurdle to overcome in the process.
What do you think?
Send an email to: comments@4barsrest.com
In praise of Kevin Crockford
Long term survival, let alone success playing the soprano cornet comes not by living the stereotypical ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’ lifestyle some associate with the more colourful exponents of the instrument, but by simply being an exceptionally good brass musician.
Those who think that soprano players are born with some kind of musical autism that helps them literally blow their brains without any sense of their own well being can point to any number of brilliantly bonkers characters who have sat in the sop chair in many a top band over the years too.
The truth is a bit more mundane however.
The very best players from the amazing Charlie Cook right through to the peerless Peter Roberts have been performers who not only combine the good basic physical mechanics of playing, well honed technique and the ability to produce a true, lyrical sweetness to their tone, but have the ultimate ‘X Factor’ of absolute confidence in their own abilities to execute them under the greatest degree of pressure too.
That is what makes truly great players stand out from the rest, and what makes the continued performances of Kevin Crockford at Grimethorpe Colliery Band such an impressive delight.
For well over two decades now he has performed at the very highest level of banding, placing his reputation on the line, time and time again and never coming up short.
The result has seen him take the plaudits on every major contest and concert stage he has appeared on – from Preston and brass band lovers at the English Nationals, to the Royal Albert Hall and the genuinely hard to impress ‘promanaders’. He has done it because he is one heck of a brass musician, a complete exponent of his chosen craft.
He is now without doubt the finest soprano cornet payer in the world. The heir apparent to Peter Roberts has now become the proud ‘King’ of his instrument. Long may he reign.
What do you think?
Send an email to: comments@4barsrest.com
