A European Brass Band Festival underpinned by a bubbling sense of musical inclusion saw Cory pop the champagne bottles in victory celebration.
It was a fittingly fizzy climax to end a thrilling Gala Concert (although the results ceremony was as flat as a left open bottle of cheap prosecco) that saw the defending champion join forces with the remarkable trumpet star Louis Dowdeswell and his big band colleagues.
Alchemy
Theirs was a musical alchemy every bit as breathlessly brilliant, engrossingly thought provoking and contentiously intriguing as the contest itself: And given the enthralled audience at Symphony Hall had just enjoyed six hours or so of Gabrieli to Higgins, Belgian polyphonists to First World War poets, Biblical metaphors to imaginary doppelganger lives — that took some doing.
Before the 11 showcase displays of virtuosity and earwax clearing stratospherics came the solid contest winning foundations that had to be laid with performances of the set-work, 'Saints Triumphant' by Philip Wilby on the Saturday.
Sunk deep
The stanchions of Cory's eventual victory were sunk deep into the consciousness of the judges, as Philip Harper eschewed the preferred (but not obligatory) band layout as proposed by the composer, for his own spatial mix; the echo choir sat far from the band rather than within, Tom Hutchinson on principal cornet remaining seated.
It certainly gave a different tonal balance; although the velvety richness of the ensemble breadth and subtle fusions of texture and colour the MD elicited provided the judges with the elegant refinement and tonal astuteness they were looking for — and as the final band of the day.
"Your performance today was so complete", wrote Katrina Marzella-Wheeler. "So much respect for your band and even more for your incredible, most musical MD", Erik Janssen added. Garry Cutt summed up his findings with "Glorious!! Bravo all!"
It saw Cory end two points clear of Welsh rival Tredegar, with Stavanger, Foden's, Valaisia and 3BA Concert Band in single point margins behind.
Grip
However, as people drifted towards the bars and hotels away from Centenary Square, the chatter that filled the air was of the possibility of Cory's grip on the famous Milton Steven treble clef trophy being prised away.
Tredegar's performance under Ian Porthouse was a beacon of controlled emotion and waspish brilliance; an evangelical Saint of triumphal exhortations. Meanwhile, Stavanger's reserved incantations under Allan Withington promised a wonderful musical salvation, tarnished only by some minor discrepancies and errors.
They followed Foden's wonderfully engaging premiere off the number 1 draw, played as if Russell Gray was reading the score like the King James Bible — beautifully embossed with lyrical engravements and imagery.
These were the bands that led the halfway-point night-time bar chatter; the MDs able to draw from a deep well of passionate choral vocality to enhance Wilby's expertly crafted score. That was most marked in the huge 'Jubilus' finale which almost saw the audience in congregational acclaim singing 'Alleluia! Alleluia!' to accompany their applause.
Behind them, Valaisia took time to find their Saintly intonation bearings before delivering a performance of visceral intensity, whilst 3BA Concert Band provided further evidence of their potential with a rendition built on slabs of meaty tonal colourings and marbled inflections.
Cardinal sly
The banding movement has been fortunate indeed that Philip Wilby has gifted us yet another major work that marries the musical material and technical challenges of the performers directly to his audience's understanding of the inspiration.
The traps in 'Saints Triumphant' were subtle and Cardinal sly; the calibration of dynamic and pacing demanding liberal refinement, the wit bone-dry in the piu nervosa section that deliberately instilled a pinch of febrile anxiousness to the mix. The final clarion calls to all corners of the hall heralded an Allargando finish that raised the roof. It certainly had the Wilby 'Wow!' factor in spades.
Interestingly (and given what happened the following day when subjectivity became more contentious) the set-test adjudicators were drawn towards the bands displaying what could be described as the 'traditional' tonal palettes of richer, warmer balances and infusions.
It was a little different 24 hours later.
Virtuosity
The task of separating the 11 bands providing performances of incredible musical virtuosity and substance fell to Arvid Anthun, Christophe Jeanbourquin and Jan de Haan.
It has become an almost impossible task; the renditions now refined to such a level that a calibrated form of perceptive discernment becomes utterly personal.
The playing was incredible. As the Argentine tuba star Patricio Coscentino told 4BR as part of the Wobplay.com live broadcast, in his opinion it matched the likes of the celebrated German or Canadian Brass ensembles.
Why it is left to three judges sat in an enclosed box, is an argument for another day — but as many people pondered after the results were announced, surely the time has come to 'open' this element of the event.
The trust in the judges should be based on experience and expertise not on a misinformed notion of sub-conscious favouritism.
Ormolu clock
In the end the trio opted for the virtuosic brilliance of Valaisia's 'A Gabrieli Fantasy', as ornate and precise as the best Swiss made ormolu clock (the soloists on startling form), from the delicate Ravel/Debussy dance-like colourings of Haut-de-France's 'Sinfonietta No.2 — Four Impressions'. The musical differences between the compositions were huge, the level of delivery miniscule.
Meanwhile, Foden's delighted as they revealed the musical metaphors and allegories of 'Eden' with passionate perspicacity to end third. John Barber was the perfect oleaginous 'snake', the music growing through darkness and rapacious greed to end with huge optimism
Schoonhoven's 'Fraternity' was fourth; a superb construct of dark tragedy, informed direction and confident players, which pushed Cory into fifth.
Thierry Delleruylle's 'No Man's Land' narrative of the life and death of poet John McCrae was told with controlled passion; detached enough not to become over-sentimentalised. It was wonderfully played, yet the audience and judges may have felt that it lacked the usual Cory sparkle and pizzaz — although not surprising given the subject matter.
Fifth place was the lowest placing a band has gained in the own-choice element of the contest and still gone on to win the title.
Stavanger's 'The Turing Test' ended sixth; the complexities and enigmatic pulsations drawing a portrait of a humane genius criminalised by spiteful ignorance. It grew with an intensity of spirit and understanding to end darkly uplifting.
Audacious brilliance
For Tredegar the overall conclusion come the results was anything but uplifting, despite their superb flugel horn player Will Norman taking the 'Best Soloist' prize and the audience drawn ever deeper into the sheer audacious brilliance and sublime beauty of Gavin Higgins' 'As Spoke Albion' score.
The work created a huge impression, as did the quality of the band's performances over the two days -and as did the final result.
Elsewhere there was also much to enjoy from Gota's 'From Ancient Times' — bold and characterful, the cooperation band's dramatic 'Journey of the Lone Wolf', 3BA's, subtly marked 'Other Lives' and Oberosterreich's substantive 'Dynasty'.
After all that the audience still had the appetite for yet more adrenaline thrills. It got an injection that sent eyes popping and local canines within earshot of Symphony Hall racing to find out what the high-pitched fuss was all about.
Then came the denouement; and the results from last to first.
No surprises until the top four. Then a sharp intake of breath as Tredegar was announced in fourth, and a growing sense of the inevitable as Foden's polished high-class consistency was rewarded with third.
Compere Stein Skorpholm ratcheted up the last levels of anticipation between the remaining rivals of Cory and Valaisia before revealing the identity of the 2022 winners.
Familiar and deserved
The celebrations that followed were familiar and deserved.
Philip Harper, draped in a Welsh flag was at the centre of it all; his players, still on a high after their stunning contribution to the Gala Concert bobbing around him on a wave of communal euphoria as the European Youth Band pumped out the music.
He himself finally seemed drained; the epic defence of their title and the contribution to a memorable concert leaving him speechless. He graciously accepted the congratulations and spoke of his almost bewilderment by it all — including his feeling that his band didn't quite perform to its optimum on the set work.
It mattered little now that the trophy was in his grasp.
It was a fitting end to a contest that will long live in the memory banks for so many stunning, contentious and joyful reasons.
Iwan Fox
Philip Harper, draped in a Welsh flag was at the centre of it all; his players, still on a high after their stunning contribution to the Gala Concert bobbing about around him on a wave communal euphoria4BR
Results:
Championship Section:
Adjudicators:
Set Work: Prof Garry Cutt, Katrina Marzella-Wheeler, Erik Janssen
Own Choice: Arvid Anthun, Christophe Jeanbourquin, Jan de Haan
Test Piece: Saints Triumphant (Prof Philip Wilby)
(Draw): Set Work/Own Choice = Total
1. Cory (Philip Harper): 98/94 = 192
No Man's Land (Thierry Deleruyelle)
2. Valaisia Brass Band (Arsene Duc): 93/98 = 191
A Gabrieli Fantasy (Bert Appermont)
3. Foden's Band (Russell Gray): 94/96 = 190
Eden (John Pickard)
4. Tredegar Band (Ian Porthouse): 96/92 = 188*
So Spoke Albion... (Gavin Higgins)
5. Stavanger Brass Band (Allan Withington): 95/93 = 188
The Turing Test (Simon Dobson)
6. Hauts-de-France Brass Band (Luc Vertommen): 91/97 = 188
Sinfonietta no.2 — Four Impressions (Pierre-Antoine Savoyat)
7. Brass Band Schoonhoven (Paul Holland): 90/95 = 185
Fraternity (Thierry Deleruyelle)
8. 3BA Concert Band (Corsin Tuor): 92/88 = 180
Other Lives (Oliver Waespi)
9. the cooperation band (Michael Fowles): 89/89 = 178
Journey of the Lonely Wolf (Simon Dobson)
10. Göta Brass Band (Michael Thomson): 87/90 = 177
From Ancient Times (Jan Van der Roost)
11. Brass Band Oberosterreich (Gunther Reisegger): 88/87 = 175
Dynasty (Peter Graham)
Best Soloist: Will Norman (flugel) — Tredegar Brass Band
*Set Work placing takes precedence in event of a tie
