Promenade

Bournemouth Concert Brass
Conducted by Nigel Taken and Lt Col. Chris Davis
Harlequin Recordings:HARO105CD

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‘Summertime.... And the livin' is easy', was how Gershwin depicted life in the musical Porgy and Bess. A traditional part of summer in the UK from John o' Groats to Lands End is the endless pleasure given by brass and military bands on the bandstand. The opportunity to simply sit back, relax and enjoy the delights of what is on offer can be hard to resist, especially if the weather is acceptable. The choice of music will be high in the entertainment stakes and give the listener the opportunity to whistle a happy tune.

These thoughts come to mind when Bournemouth Concert Brass' latest CD, ‘Promenade'. Recorded at the end of 2002 on the Harlequin label, conducted by Nigel Taken and Lt Col. Chris Davis, here is band that simply enjoyed itself with a selection of music that will tickle the taste buds of anyone who enjoys some ‘easy listening'. Commencing with a brisk and impressive performance of JJ Richards' The Waltonian, the band tackles the overture from Mozart's Impresario and the band gives a confident reading.

Soprano cornet player James Cooper makes light work of the solo, Demelza by Hugh Nash, who is better known as Cornishman, Goff Richards. The European Championships in 2004 will be give band lovers to opportunity to hear the set test piece commissioned for the event by Salvationist, Kenneth Downie. This is a man who has become a leading light in the banding-world in recent times, and Mr Downie has worked closely with European Champions, Yorkshire Building Society. Spirit of Celebration was composed in the form of a signature tune for YBS, and has been used by the band on many occasions. The performance on this recording is certainly confident and full of energy.

One of the real joys of attending a Welsh Rugby International in the Principality of Wales is the atmosphere of the crowd before the match itself inside the stadium. With a choir on the pitch (and perhaps a brass or military band) the stadium erupts to the traditional tunes associated with everything connected with Wales. One of the most famous to be sung is ‘Sosban Fach' which in English means ‘little saucepan'. The arrangement by Gareth Wood depicts the Welsh song in an up-tempo rhythmical style and Bournemouth produced a confident performance Hymn tunes are always a favourite with audiences, and Bournemouth Concert has included ‘Dear Lord and Father of Mankind'. This is one of the nicest bits of the whole CD.

Bands can always up the volume when required, but a skill exists in playing quietly and in a controlled manner, which is demonstrated in this rendition of the tune known as Repton.

A euphonium player to look out for in the future is Christian Squibb. Christian performs the delightful Midnight Euphonium by Goff Richards. The player quite literally sings a beautiful ballad in a very relaxed manner. Congratulations young man.

Every side of the euphonium solo are two lively performances composed by Johann Strauss Junior. His Persian March is certainly rarely heard these days, and receives the band gives a confident performance, and projects plenty of energy in Hungarian Polka.

Torstein Aagaard-Nielson is a familiar name in brass circles. The composer has taken music by Norwegian Forde Alnaes and produced an arrangement in the character of a rock anthem. The music is called Vitae Lux which in English means ‘Light of Life', and was the title track of the highly acclaimed CD in the late 90s by Yorkshire Building Society Band. The piece with the flugel nicely taking the melody and then the piece builds with the original melody becoming a theme throughout.

Brass Bands certainly enjoy the opportunity to make the most of arrangements from other musical idioms from time-to-time. Bill Broughton has skilfully identified how to make swing sound impressive when performed by a brass band and that is demonstrated in Deep River.

Cartoon's are something that can be enjoyed by different age groups and Bournemouth Concert pay homage in an arrangement by Peter Graham which gives the percussion section plenty to do. Composed for Evelyn Glennie and Black Dyke, it is a favourite in many concert programmes. Cartoon characters can become cult figures, and the latest of these is The Simpson's. The signature tune has been cleverly arranged by Phil Lawrence and receives this rendition would not receive the approval by Bart Simpson himself.

Felicity Danning demonstrates her skills as a soloist with an enchanting performance of the Scottish ballad, My Ain Folk. Superbly arranged for band by Peter Graham, this is a performance that any flugel player from the world's top bands would be proud off. It is calm, controlled and very confident.

Brass band concerts will always feature arrangements by Alan Fernie, Goff Richards, Gordon Langford and Alan Catherall. Alan has arranged Manhatton Skyliner which comes from the film Saturday Night Fever, and is very much part of the big band library.

The last two items on this enjoyable disc are Stephen Bradnum's arrangement of The Irish Blessing, and Peter Graham's Gaelforce. The Irish Blessing gives you one of those tingles down your spine with some lovely playing by a quartet of players, before the full band join in. The key to this performance is similar to the hymn tune, reflective and played very quietly, and it is reproduced superbly on this CD.

In complete contrast, the disc comes to a close another of those pieces that every band now likes to have in its library. Ever since the introduction of Riverdance at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 (which arguably caused a bigger stir than the contest itself) the public has taken to Celtic music in a big way, and the three tunes of Rocky Road to Dublin, Minstrel Boy and Tossing the Feathers certainly get the toes tapping.

This is a CD that certainly reflects an afternoon down at the local bandstand, with a good band in excellent form, accompanied by some excellent programme notes.

Malcolm Wood

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