2012 Norwegian National Championship:

Elite Division:
Friday 10th February

Set Work: Goldberg 2012 (Svein Henrik Giske)

Starts: 4.30pm (local time) (3.30pm GMT)

Adjudicators: John Wallace, Karl Ole Midtbo, Philip Harper

Comments: Iwan Fox

Follow live streaming at:
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What do we think?

A cracking test piece — one that deserves to be heard on the stages of the major banding events across the globe. There were elements in it that sent a shiver down your spine for so many reasons.

One band stood out today — and by a margin too.

Manger were simply breathtaking — helped by a briliant reading of the score and some of the best ensemble and solo playing you can ever hear. It was a performance to tell you grand kids about.

Stavanger and Eikanger were a good length or three behind and have to play out of their socks if they are to beat their rivals. Stavanger take second place for us because their musicality was so much greater even if there were a few more slips.

Molde should come in fourth with Krohnengen in fifth and Ila sixth. Sola could be the dark horse with Oslo, Jaren and Kleppe a little way back.

4BR Prediction:

1. Manger Musikklag
2. Stavanger
3. Eikanger Bjorsvik
4. Molde
5. Krohnengen
6. Ila
7. Sola
8. Oslo
9. Jaren
10. Kleppe

It's all to play for tommorrow but Manger must have one hand on the trophy tonight...

10. Molde Brass (Russell Gray)

Aria 2:
A wonderful start with real atmosphere created thanks to fine trom lead and solid sop. Moves with menace in build too.

Tocatta:
Deliberately set out by MD this — time for both the Bach and the emerging funk. Doesn't quite get you down and dirty but not stuck with your head in a Glen Gould score either. Emerging styles are heard and the wild end is neatly captured.

Aria 1:
Deliberate again — very nearly tips into misplaced pathos but not quite. It had its moments of unease, but MD really took a risk here with tempo and style. It just about worked.

Transmorgrifying Bach:
Grows and grows — a bit like a large spliff without the same hazy effect. The pace and pulse doesn't really let your hair down but there is something stylish about the way this is presented. Bubbly basses do their bit too and the Sting inspired 5s & 7s comes off.

From Long Ago:
MD in his element here — cold, detached and aching with pain. It's a lovely bit of musicality without ever seeking for the sugar coated emotion. Not everything comes off but this was still a little gem.

Rhapsody on Bach & Brecker:
Gets a bit over wrought in places as the band try too hard to funk skunk it up. The Bach reprise is well handled though despite the growing tiredness. Just enough juice left in the tank too for a bells up finish.

Overall:
A good one from Molde — and helped by the MD on his best form in getting the music out from the score. Clips and blips but one that could well surprise a few today.

9. Ila Brass (Thomas Rimul)

Aria 2:
A superb opening from trom and then the ensemble. Very atmospheric with classy sop leading into a menacing build.

Tocatta:
More quality to follow with Var 23 pushing along with a precise pulse and deliberate sense of style. Neat and tidy this — laid out with purpose by MD. The funk takes its time emerge — but it swaggers like Dicky Evans in an afro wig when it does.

Aria 1:
Not quite at ease at times or in tune, but it is laid out with real Bach deliberation by MD.

Transmorgrifying Bach:
The accel is well done to open and we hear the individual layers — some clearer than others though. Sop does so well and the pulse of the funk emerges without fuss. Improv solos are well handled and so too the Sting inspired 5s & 7S.

From Long Ago:
Not quite sure about the stylistic intent here — a very deliberate approach loses the sad melancholic feel for us. Strangely unengaging this — no real sense of a cold emptiness — but not over emotional either. Odd.

Rhapsody on Bach & Brecker:
Perc dominates the funk — but you still hear decent funkers. Doesn't quite get you down with the Becker Bros though... Xylo is deliberate and good, but the music has lost that sense of vibrancy. A tired band is battling its way to the close — but with just enough in the tanks for a bold close.

Overall:
One that didn't quite live up to its early promise. Deliberate style just lost its way in places but overall a peformance of merit.

8. Manger Musikklag (Peter Sebastian Szilvay)

Aria 2:
A wonderfully sculpted opening — full of atmosphere and style — led by tip top trom and sop. Builds with purpose and menace too.

Tocatta:
Great precision in Var 23 work with pulse and clarity. We hear the defined layers in the complex writing — with free flowing vibrancy. So stylish — tubas on Bachman Turner overdrive mode... There is a wow factor here already — even with old train wow -wow effects.

Aria 1:
Lordy, Lordy — Bach in excelsis. We have waited a long time for this today. Just the odd uneasy moment but this was so well crafted — and bass trom leads the emerging funk with a growl that shakes your fillings.

Transmorgrifying Bach:
This is again so well put together — stacking the layers on top of each other like a New York deli sandwich. Funkmeister MD draws great playing from the ensemble. Improv solos are superb and then comes the tour de force stuff — led by bass trom. 7s & 5s and the rest bejazzle the senses.

From Long Ago:
A slightly warmer feel to the melancholia — but it is dark and empty. Cornet plays with a real sense of despair. Perhaps needed more sense of detachment but it was lovely stuff.

Rhapsody on Bach & Brecker:
Yep — MD gets the skunk funk feel in his bones and so too the band. This is cracking stuff — and the Bach is a great counterpoint too. Xylos — bloody hell!! MD draws on reserves for an ending that draws Bach from the brink. Huge close.

Overall:
A performance that would have had Bach writing for Earth Wind and Fire if he heard it. Simply outstanding in style and execution. A rare privilege to hear playing like this today.

7. Kleppe Musikklag (Rune Hannisdal)

Aria 2:
Nerves play their part in an uneasy opening, but sop does well and it recovers its poise and sense of building purpose.

Tocatta:
Var 23 opens well and the trom chorale from Var 26 is excellent. Little blips and clips but this is playing full of youthful verve and bouncey style. That growing sense of funkiness is bubbing along nicely. Great sop!

Aria 1:
A very musical approach from MD allows this to have space and time, but the error count is growing. Well done euph and dark bass trom.

Transmorgrifying Bach:
You hear those little elements from Var 7 — and there is a growing free flowing pulse as it develops. Improv jazz solos are well done — esp trom. These kids get the funky skunky feel — 7s & 5s — you smoke it they play it...

From Long Ago:
As bleak as an episode of Wallander — and just right. Coldly portrayed, if not always secure in execution. Just wavered in places, but MD sought out the sense of despair.

Rhapsody on Bach & Brecker:
Builds well with its emerging mix of styles and growing energy. They know their Brecker from their Bach even when it begins to sound tird in places. Just loses the pulse as stamina wanes, but also just enough in the tank for a bold close.

Overall:
A performance that aimed to play the music and not just the notes. Not everything came off but for a young band (average age of 20 we are told) it was a terrific effort — and a cracking MD too.

6. Krohnengen (Gary Blake Peterson)

Aria 2:
Solid opening yearns for atmosphere, but trom and especially sop do well and it builds with purpose.

Tocatta:
23rd Var has pulse and drive, but just gets scrappy in places. Lovely tuba foundation and the middle band sounds are neat and very balanced.

Aria 1:
Lovely — Glen Gould inspired Bach. So much time and space given by MD — right on the edge of becoming odd. Not always 100% in execution but this was the purest Bach by far today.

Transmorgrifying Bach:
Shake that booty — this moves along with real bubble and bounce. Not everything quite comes off in improv lines but that sense of skunky funk has the wide lazy feel of a hippo's yawn. Good fizzy finish too.

From Long Ago:
Not quite that chilling emptiness that signifies a loss of such importance to the composer. A little too safe dynamically perhaps to bring that aching despair of detachment to bear. Fine cornet shows how it should be done though — bravo. Fine close.

Rhapsody on Bach & Brecker:
Again — not quite in full skunky Ron Jeremy mode but it tries to imitate it. French Overture element is more succesful. Xylo whizzes along. Gets scrappy in finale though and a little tired to close.

Overall:
A performacne that had its moments both in execution and style. Just tired rapidly to close — but a solid performance overall.

5. Eikanger Bjorsvik (Prof David King)

Aria 2:
Lovely atmospheric opening led by 2nd trom and fine sop. Just the odd clip is heard but it has a clarity of thought and sense of growing anxiety.

Tocatta:
Very precise Bach opening leads on with bold pulse and vibrant style. You hear so much detail even when it gets wilder. Great bass end sound.

Aria 1:
Pure Bach is played with breadth and balance. Not all lines are 100% but once again you sense the clarity of thought and style.

Transmorgrifying Bach:
Bubbling tubas and juicy euphs lead the way here — with a pulse that thumps your spinal alignment. Improv solos are well played but not really free flowing. Tubas and bass trom once again thump a great skunky funk feel. It's very precise stuff this if not down right groovy babe...

From Long Ago:
More raw emotion than detached melancholia. Doesn't quite draw the sense of sheer loss. The division of the final call of anguish on the cornet sums this up. Why? Too calculating — the music demanded a braver response.

Rhapsody on Bach & Brecker:
Back to what they do best with lovely chorale middle band, but xylo is uneven. This is great brass band playing — but funky? So much control and technique, but it doesn't quite have that freedom and funky drive. Massive finish and the crowd go bonkers!

Overall:
The crowd loved it and gave it a standing ovation — but was it that good? Plenty of brilliant playing for sure, but also plenty of calculated contest playing too in style and execution.

4. Oslo Brass (Andreas Hanson)

Aria 2:
Solidly played opening — sets the scene led by fine trom and well balanced percussion

Tocatta:
A deliberate sense of style — a touch academic rather than truely visceral. It's there but not free to really revel in its funkiness. Not quite a walk on the wild side...

Aria 1:
Pure Bach is played with a studiousness that fits and the emerging jazz feel starts to permeate through.

Transmorgrifying Bach:
The complex layers are well defined, but that funky feel is never quite freed. Impro solos are well handled but the ensemble needs a touch of fizz — even the tubas don't bubble like an old Verve Clique '74. Strangely unengaging this even in the 5s & 7s.

From Long Ago:
A darker hued melancholia — led by super euph. Doesn't quite chill to the marrow with its sense of loss, but is still very effective. Lovely close fades like an old memory.

Rhapsody on Bach & Brecker:
Bach works, but the Brecker Bros jazz again sounds played rather than felt — a lttle too precise maybe? Just a little tired in places. Xylos in stereo mode left and right? Bold close rounds things off.

Overall:
Never quite lept off the page this. Ruled by the head rather than the heart maybe? As a result it was well played but never quite as engaging and you may have hoped.

3. Stavanger (Allan Withington)

Aria 2:
Spooky opening is played with a real cold touch, led by superb trom. Builds with a touch of menace too.

Tocatta:
Var 23 with a jazz bounce — and such depth of sound. Little clips, but so stylish this and precise in Bach elements particular. Great drive.

Aria 1:
Pure Bach — just like the soundtrack to Silence of the Lambs — where composer first heard it. Stylish if a little heavy in places. Brill bass trom.

Transmorgrifying Bach:
Now it bubbles in the funky tubas — oh yes. Improv solos are played with real elan — esp trom. Now it is in full jazz flow. 5s & 7s make the Sting element amlost swing. This has been so well played.

From Long Ago:
The sadness aches from this. A bleak beauty seeps through. Just the odd hint of unease — but this has chilled to the marrow.

Rhapsody on Bach & Brecker:
Brecker jazz meets Goldberg French overture is a hoot. Real skunk fest stuff in the 'boogie baby' — with the little ciphers from Var 8 heard too. Xylos — phew! Back to 70's porn fizz before its a Bach with a bang to close in huge climax.

Overall:
A superbly crafted interpretation — so much pulse and vibrancy with the cold heart at its centre. A performance of such style and musical panache.

2. Sola Brass (Ian Porthouse)

Aria 2:
Just the odd hint of discomfort but a very opaque opening sets the atmospheric scene.

Tocatta:
23d Var base is full of pulse and drive and the hints of the jazz to come. Great tuba work as it gets wilder to close.

Aria 1:
Pure Bach aria causes a few little niggles, but it is so well balanced.

Transmorgrifying Bach:
Starts with little elements of Var 7 of Goldberg but gets increasingly complex. Just little hints of unease. The jazz influence grows and bubbles with tubas. Those ghostly echoes of Bach remain — but the improvisation is impressive with Sting inspired 5s & 7s from 'Seven Days'?.

From Long Ago:
A real feel of melancholia with the personal remembrance — and that first oblique hint of 'The Lost Chord', the composer talks of. Chilling.

Rhapsody on Bach & Brecker:
Brecker Bros boogie baby is mixed with French Overture — right to the skunk funk climax (not words we usually write!).Xylo excels and the little persoanl motifs are heard too.

Back to boogie nights before the Bach returns for the heady cocktail of genres to end.

Overall:
A notch up this — so much more detail and free flowing jazz style. Lovely touches made this an enjoyable one. Good stuff.

1. Jaren Hornmusikkforening (Dr Howard Evans)

Aria 2:
Atmospheric opening created by trom and perc section is solidly played.

Toccata:
Based on 23rd variation is pacy to start and starts to show first hints of jazz. It morphs into much wilder reprise.

Aria 1:
Pure Bach theme opens and finds problems in solo lines. Var 7 from Goldberg follows in dark mode, before accel to funk element led by basses.

Transmogrifying Bach
Bubbly tubas provide foundation for funk improv solos — then Sting inspired 5' and 7s with Bach on top.

From Long Ago
Giske's homage to his dead father is played with melancholic understatement and spooky close.

Rhapsody on Back & Brecker
French Overture to Brecker Brothers 'If you want to boogie' is played with flair. Great xylo interlude then more Brecker jazz before the elements are brought together for the huge tonic climax.

Overall:
A fine premiere from Jaren and a classy reading too from the MD. Perhaps just lacked the real power pedal depth and energy of the best bands today, but a good marker for sure.

Draw: