The British Open Championship organisers have announced the list of set works to be used at the 2015 Spring Festival.

The 95th running of the event will be held on Saturday 9th May at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool.

The 2013 British Open Championship set work, 'Arabian Nights — Fantasy on Rimsky Korsakov’s Scheherazade for Brass Band’ by Stephen Roberts, will be used for the Grand Shield contest.

Eric Ball's classic ‘Festival Music’ will test the bands in the Senior Cup, whilst the former European Championship set work, 'Tallis Variations' by Philip Sparke will face the bands competing in the Senior Trophy.

Competitive tests

All three works have received both critical and popular contesting acclaim and have been chosen to provide bands with increasingly demanding competitive tests as they bid to ultimately qualify for the British Open Championship at Symphony Hall in Birmingham.

Popular

A spokesperson told 4BR: “The interest from bands wishing to gain entry to the qualifying contests for the British Open remains as popular as ever, and we would like to offer our congratulations to Vernon Building Society (Poynton) on qualifying to compete at the Senior Trophy through their success at the recent Wychavon Festival of Brass event.”

A further qualification place in the Senior Trophy will be made available for the highest placed band in the Championship Section at the 2015 Brass at the Guild contest to be held on Sunday 1st February.

Details of the Spring Festival start times, prizes, line-ups, adjudicators, venues and ticket information will be announced in due course.

Arabian Nights:

Following the performances of Arabian Nights at the 2013 British Open, 4BR has been informed that the composer, Stephen Roberts has subsequently made some minor changes to the score for the Grand Shield competition.

He states: “In order to keep the opening part flowing I have taken out the pause on the bar-line at A and also the pause in the bar before C.

I felt that, during some performances, the first part became too drawn out and disjointed, possibly because of these pauses. The whole passage from the beginning through to the third bar of C should sound continuous. It should flow, rather like shifting sands.

In bar 77 I have added sempre ben in tempo to the goblet drum part. The flugel horn solo should be expressive above this and any rubato should be set against a rhythmic background.”

He also added: “Some of the more extreme notes in the trombone and euphonium cadenzas now have options for the less brave. Please play whichever version you feel serves you to best advantage.

Generally speaking, from a personal point of view, the ‘whirling Dervish’ cadenzas (N onwards) need to drive forwards and not ‘hang about’. They should maintain the intensity of the previous section.

For bands that already possess the previously published sets (for the 2013 Open) pdfs of the ossias for the cadenzas for Euphonium and Trombone are attached and will not only be sent electronically to the bands but will be available on the British Open website.”

British Open website: www.thebritishopen.net

All three works have received both critical and popular contesting acclaim and have been chosen to provide bands with increasingly demanding competitive tests as they bid to ultimately qualify for the British Open Championship4BR

Festival Music:

‘Festival Music’ was originally composed in 1956 for the National Championships of Great Britain by Eric Ball, as a personal celebration of the bi-centenary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The three movement work has since been regarded as a classic piece of writing for the brass band medium, ‘with its engaging sense of style and finesse’, as Frank Wright described it.

Used at the British Open in 1971 and at the Grand Shield in 1982 and 1997 it is being used at the Senior Cup for the first time.

Tallis Variations:

Philip Sparke's ‘Tallis Variations’, was commissioned by the British Federation of Brass Bands for the 2000 European Championships held in Birmingham, and it has since become one of the composer’s most popular contest works.

It has subsequently been used as a set work or own choice selection throughout the banding world, including the 2003 Grand Shield.

Publishers:

Arabian Nights — Fantasy on Rimsky Korsakov’s Scheherazade for Brass Band: (Difem): http://www.difem.ch/

Festival Music: (R Smith & Co): http://rsmithcompany.moonfruit.com/
Tallis Variations: (Studio Music): http://studio-music.co.uk/