Fabulous Fodens

Fodens Motor Works Band
Conductor: Fred Mortimer
Choice Recordings Ltd: CHOICE CD2 BM2
Total Playing Time: 76.42 mins

~ Buy with 4barsrest shopping

Would you be put off by the prospect of a recording that opened with four top section test pieces, written by four of the most prominent British classical composers, and recorded within a year or so of their premieres?

It would probably depend on what they were, and in the case of "Fabulous Fodens" they should hold no terrors to the listener with the composers being Elgar, Ireland, Bantock and Bliss respectively.

The original 78 rpm records have been digitally restored and transcribed by Choice Records, giving modern listeners the chance to hear one of the great bands from the past, recorded at their peak. Although dating from 1930 to 1943 the basic sound quality is remarkably good, with very little intrusive surface noise. The sleeve notes point out that this was a band that won the National seven times between 1930 and 1938, being barred in 1935 after winning the previous three years. It is apparent that here is a band with
talented soloists that is also very used to playing together as a unit. The style of playing may sound rather clipped at times to modern ears, but that may have been in part due to the need for clarity when faced with the difficulties of recording in that era. The recording limitations may also be a factor in the cornets sounding somewhat shrill.

Fodens had been led by several notable figures in the history of banding, including John Gladney, William Rimmer and William Halliwell, when Fred Mortimer was appointed Bandmaster in 1924. William Halliwell resigned in 1929, conceding that the band played better under Fred, whose three sons were by then all playing in the band; Harry as Principal Cornet, Alex and Rex on euphonium.

From the opening of "The Severn Suite" one is impressed by the tone of the band, with a uniformity of attack and fine ensemble playing that characterises the disc as a whole. It is good to hear the whole of "A Downland Suite" instead of just the Elegy, which incidentally is taken very slowly, calling for good breath control, while the fanfares in "Kenilworth" are very clean, with crisp articulation, with the more plaintive solo lines being played very smoothly.

There has been a resurgence of interest in the music of Granville Bantock in recent years, with Hyperion releasing a number of his orchestral and choral works, and Salford University Brass Band producing an all-Bantock CD. Highly respected in his own day, and very much involved in music education, Bantock's romanticism fell out of favour, but it is good to hear " Prometheus Unbound", and one wonders what contemporary players made of its occasional chromaticism at the time.

Harry Mortimer was voted number 3 in the 4BarsRest search for the top ten cornet players, and his four solos give him ample opportunity to show his paces, together with two duets in which he is joined by Jack Mackintosh. We are told that he practised "Shylock", his first solo feature at the National Final, until he could play it in his sleep, and his playing certainly demonstrates his customary fluency and flair. Basil Windsor's "The Warrior" opens somewhat unexpectedly with bird song, leading one to expect a pastoral idyll, rather than the triple-tonguing showcase which follows!

Philip McCann featured "Alpine Echoes" at Birmingham recently, using Harry's own echo cornet, and here is the real thing played by the master himself. Arditi's "Il Bacio" shows a clear tone throughout with liberal use of rubato, while the band follow him very closely. His fourth solo item is William Rimmer's "Hailstorm". In the duets, "Gentle Warriors" and "The Swallows' Serenade", the two players complement each other well, their lines intertwining effectively.

The remainder of the programme is typical of band programmes of an earlier era, including Suppe's "Poet and Peasant Overture", featuring the tenor horn of Arthur Webb in the central melody - bit of a wobble here and there, but that may again be due to the recording. "The Cossack" was the band's signature tune, and is played with flair, as is Rimmer's arrangement of Herold's "Zampa Overture".

There has been considerable interest in recent years in "light music classics", and the final two items fall into that category. Irish American Victor Herbert wrote his "March of the Toys" for a children's show in 1903 and it is carried off with considerable panache by the band, which seems to be enjoying its music-making, especially when the main theme reappears - real swagger here! Eric Coates' "The Three Bears Suite" is probably best known in its orchestral version. The arrangement here is by Alex Mortimer who has captured well the humorous nature of the piece. He gives Charlie Cook, on soprano (number 2 in the 4BarsRest listing), his chance to shine with some tricky solo work, and the repeated "Who's been sleeping in my bed?" phrases are tackled with relish, while there is real warmth and affection in the quieter sections - definitely one of the highlights on the disc.

Six of the tracks on the present recording are also to be found on the first disc of Fodens' "Centenary Brass" set (The Cossack, Zampa, The Warrior, Kenilworth, Poet and Peasant, and March of the Toys) but there is plenty of fresh material here of interest. An invaluable document for anyone interested in the history and development of banding, and very fine music-making all-in-all, particularly when one considers the need for everything to be recorded in a single take, with none of the editing and patching available to today's performers.

Peter Bale

~ Buy with 4barsrest shopping

^back to top