Fuoco Brass & Brett Baker

Fuoco Brass, with guest soloist Brett Baker
Conductor: Jack W. Burch
B&H Sound Services: BHSS0493
Total Playing Time: 71.07 mins

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The decision of The Salvation Army to relax its rules regarding both the music produced for its use and also concerning its own bandsmen, has led to changes in a number of areas.

Many bands from outside the Army have begun to programme and record Salvation Army music, notable among these being the three "Essays in Brass" CD's produced by The Yorkshire Building Society Band.

There have also been various ad hoc groups formed either for recording (such as the now defunct Egon Virtuosi Brass) or for fund-raising concerts (such as Salvo Brass in the Midlands), as well as the tendency for the Army's own Over-60's bands to become open to a wider range of players.

The latest of these groups to spring up is Fuoco Brass, and for their first recording they are joined by Brett Baker, Principal Trombone with the Black Dyke Band. The group itself is made up of players from England, Ireland and Scotland (no Welsh, at least not on this occasion!) all of whom are active bandsmen within the Salvation Army, and many of whom have played with some of the top championship bands. They met under the experienced baton of Bandmaster Jack Burch from Belfast, reading, rehearsing and recording the whole programme within 24 hours.

Peter Graham's "Prelude on Tallis" makes an impressive opener, demonstrating the bright clear sound produced by the band, with careful attention to the dynamics adding greatly to the overall effect. The smooth bass line entering against the cornet ostinato figures works particularly well and in the cascading chords each entry is cleanly designated.

Brett Baker's first contribution comes in the form of a setting of Joy Webb's plea that God will "Come into our World". Dorothy Gates made the arrangement especially for him, and its high lying solo line shows off his smooth playing to great effect. The composer, originally from Belfast but now resident in New York and a member of the New York Staff Band, is no mean
trombonist herself and understands the instrument well.

Dean Goffin's "Prelude and Fugue: Arise my Soul, Arise" is based on the tune Darwells, which many may associate with the hymn "Ye holy angels bright". A feature here is the answering phrases across the band, and the parts are finely balanced. The fugue is taken at a sensible pace, enabling each entry to be heard clearly before slipping into the background as the next takes over. The tension builds up effectively to the statement of the melody by the trombones, where the separation between the notes makes it seem a little disjointed. The final bars are drawn out but not excessively, making for a powerful conclusion to a fine work that is sometimes overlooked.

"Londonderry Air" appears in Howard Snell's arrangement, where the soloist's delicate decorative figures are slotted in neatly around the familiar melody. The band then slips into martial mood with George Marshall's march "Spirit of Praise". Here the sound seems a little boomy, particularly in the bass solo, becoming rather rough in the louder sections, and the semi-quavers sound as though they could be opened up more.

Probably the most controversial aspect of the recording is the inclusion of the cornet solo "Golden Slippers", written by Norman Bearcroft for Deryck Diffey and the Canadian Staff Band but now inexorably linked with David Daws.

This has caused some consternation and light-hearted banter amongst members of the internet forum theMouthPiece.com and no doubt many will be curious to see how it works. The answer is rather like the curate's egg - good in parts - although that is no criticism of the soloist, rather that some of the figurations work better on cornet than trombone. It is the slower sections that this listener found most effective, although the playing is never other than first class, and some of the changes, such as the accompaniment in the cadenza (which sends Brett into the stratosphere) by the other trombones, seem just right, and yes, he does include the lip-trills! There is a long history of solos being appropriated by instruments other than that which was originally intended - Monti's "Czardas" was of course written for violin - so one shouldn't let that get in the way of appreciating such fine music-making.

The second contribution from the pen of Dean Goffin comes in the form of his meditation "Wonderful Healer", written as a companion piece to the more familiar "The Light of the World". It can be a deceptively tricky piece to bring off, especially the placing of the repeated figures matching the words "touch me again", but the band seems to get the balance just right between the tenuto notes and the rest of the phrase. The trombones come through well when they take the melody towards the end.

Barrie Gott's up-beat setting of "The Lord's Prayer" was inspired, believe it or not, by a version that entered the charts in Australia, sung by a guitar-playing nun! Here the percussion are able to let their hair down somewhat, playing a leading role without ever becoming over-prominent. The band adapts to the change of style well, but the cornets do sound a little shrill here at times.

From its early beginnings, the Salvation Army would frequently take an existing, well-known melody and add new words to it - less concern over copyright in those days! One of the tunes used was Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer", which was coupled with the words "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine". Ray Steadman Allen, who has made a number of fine
contributions to the Army's repertoire for trombone, has taken the title for his version from the words of the chorus "My Story, my Song".

As their contribution to the Eric Ball centenary celebrations Fuoco Brass play the selection "The King of Kings". In five sections with the headings "His Birth", "His Work on Earth", "His Agony and Death", "His Resurrection" and finally "His Throne in Glory", it gives ample opportunity for the band
and its soloists to show what they can do. Particular mention should be made of the fine soprano playing of Jonathan Corry, the band's chairman and currently conducting the Besses o' th' Barn Band. The dramatic writing here brings out some of the best playing on the recording, with answering phrases
well balanced, unison figures nicely together and a full sound from top to bottom of the band.

Paul Drury, bass player in the band and at Edinburgh Gorgie Corps, has penned a number of pieces in recent days, including the fine circus-style march "Jubilee", the title track on the latest recording by the International Staff Band. He has written "Bound for the Promised Land" as a processional and theme, using the American gospel song of that name.

Following a full opening the music advances gently but steadily, in the tradition of William Walton and Arnold Bax, but with the flattened notes slipped into the harmony perhaps being one of the pointers to the influence of John Williams. The music builds to a fitting, positive climax, with the soprano prominent once more.

Joy Webb was a member of the Salvation Army rhythm group "The Joystrings" in the 1960s and it was one of her fellow members, Bill Davidson, now an evangelist in the USA, who featured as the soloist when "There will be God" was presented at one of the annual festivals at the Royal Albert Hall. Performed on that occasion with strings, organ and chorus, Ray Steadman Allen's new arrangement allows the soloist to soar above it all, affirming that, amidst all life's uncertainties, God will indeed be there. The arrangement itself makes for an interesting comparison with that done by Richard Phillips for Derrick Kane's solo recording.

Richard Wagner's music to accompany "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral" in his opera "Lohengrin" has become a great favourite to end a concert, either in Howard Snell's version or in that used on this occasion, by William Himes. There is always a danger that the music will be allowed to get too
loud too soon, but the conductor here keeps the band well under control until the end, making the final climax all the more effective. The sound of the triangle ringing out in the final bars came as rather a surprise to one more accustomed to hearing a tam-tam with the timpani, but it is apparently written in the score! Either way it draws the disc to a powerful, triumphant conclusion.

The presentation of the disc is good with comprehensive notes by Jonathan Corry, although some may find the print (white on a dark background) a little hard to read where it is imposed over the picture of the band. There is some very fine playing here, particularly when one takes into account the limited time available. In retrospect they may regret not having had an
extra session to tidy up the odd patches of suspect intonation - possibly caused by lips growing tired - but it is still a laudable effort, and a recording that will give much satisfaction. As has been stated above, much attention has been paid to the markings, and there is a good dynamic range, with the inner parts given as much care and attention as the melody lines.
It is to be hoped that they will return to the recording studio before too long.

Peter Bale

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