The organisers of the British Open Championship have announced the test-pieces for the Spring Festival to be held at Blackpool's Winter Gardens on Saturday 9th May.

2020 sees the 100th Spring Festival event — a landmark in the history of one of the oldest and most popular annual contests in the brass band calendar.

Celebrate

To celebrate the centenary and to recognise the contribution of some of the most influential figures who have played their part in its history, three works with a retrospective musical theme will be performed.

The Grand Shield contenders will perform 'Dynasty' — Symphonic Poem for Brass Band by Peter Graham, with the Senior Cup challenge posed by Hubert Bath's 'Freedom'. The Senior Trophy competitors will tackle 'Life Divine' by Cyril Jenkins.

Dynasty

'Dynasty' was a joint commission for the 2019 British Open and Belgium Championships, and pays homage to the iconic figure of Harry Mortimer through a series of linked narrative passages using his autobiography as a musical point of reference.

First heard to widespread acclaim at Symphony Hall, the work will make its European contest premiere at the Belgian National Championships later this year, with the score available to purchase from retailers from Monday 2nd December.

Freedom

'Freedom' by Hubert Bath was written for the National Championship of Great Britain in 1922. Bath entitled the work as 'Brass Band Symphony No. 1' to reflect its condensed symphonic structure — a first for a test-piece written for the movement.

Although technically neither symphonic in structure or reflective of the composer's evocative later inferences about joy, love and freedom of nature, it remains a hugely inventive piece of writing, redolent of its time, but still an imposing test of modern day skill sets.

Its opening movement is marked by florid passages of writing, balanced by a central 'Interlude' of beguiling beauty. The 'Scherzo-Finale' is an animated jest, light and precise before it broadens into a rich, fulfilling conclusion.

The work has tested the very best bands across the world ever since (including the 1987 British Open) and has been chosen as a tribute to James Scott, now aged 94, who led Brighouse & Rastrick Band to victory on 'Freedom' at the 1973 National Championships.

One of the most respected figures in the banding movement, his contribution and success as a player, conductor and adjudicator have provided a beneficial influence to British banding for many years.

Life Divine

Written for the 1921 National Championships, 'Life Divine' by Cyril Jenkins was notable not only for its musicality, but also for the severity of its technical challenges — still as testing today as they were almost a century ago.

It was to become Harry Mortimer's favourite test-piece, although he was never as pompous in his thinking as that of the then editor of British Bandsman Herbert Whiteley, who felt the original title, 'A Comedy of Errors' to be inappropriate given its use at Crystal Palace.

Jenkins later amended his preface to suggest that his tone poem reflected, 'certain phases of Life (that) are common to most if not all men' — the work expressing dignity and seriousness to vigorous optimism, elements of stress and the ennoblement of true love.

Whatever his thoughts, 'Life Divine' become a central foundation stone of the test-piece repertoire — its detailed thematic working and florid technical challenges balanced by lyrical interludes and contrapuntal interest, setting the standard for a generation of test-pieces that followed — including many modern programmatic test piece works.

We are delighted to mark the centenary Spring Festival event with three works that reflect on the historical significance of the people, composers and performers who have played such an integral part in 100 years of successBritish Open

100 years of success

A spokesperson for the British Open told 4BR: "We are delighted to mark the centenary Spring Festival event with three works that reflect on the historical significance of the people, composers and performers who have played such an integral part in 100 years of success."

Bands not already invited to compete at the Spring Festival can also gain an invitation to compete through the Brass at the Wire, Bolsover Festival of Brass, Wychavon Festival of Brass, Welsh Open and the Fife Charities contests.

Details of the start times, prizes, adjudicators and venues for each of the Spring Festival contests, as well as ticket information, will be announced in due course.

The competing bands are also reminded that the contest falls on the May Day holiday weekend next year. In August, the UK Government announced that the traditional May Day holiday which was Monday 4th May will be changed to Friday 8th May in 2020 to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

Further information:

Further information for the Spring Festival can be obtained from the British Open website: www.thebritishopen.net