Favourite Marches of The Salvation Army

Favourite Marches of The Salvation Army
Boscombe Band
Conductor: Bandmaster Howard J. Evans
SP&S Ltd: SPS 178 CD

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The Boscombe Band, based in Bournemouth on England's south coast, was formed in 1886 and has long been established as one of the finest corps bands in the territory.  Under their bandmaster, Howard Evans, a former National Bandmaster and currently also responsible for the leadership of the Amsterdam Staff Band, they play an active role in the ministry of the corps, both taking part in indoor meetings and also undertaking a full programme ministering in the open air to the holiday crowds. 

This two-cd set has been produced in conjunction with the latest publication from The Salvation Army, a journal drawing together marches and hymn settings written over some considerable period (the hymn settings have also been recorded, by the Regent Hall Band).  Included are a number of real old favourites dating back many years, such as Arthur Gullidge's "The Fount", originally published as long ago as 1937, whilst others are much more recent, with Len Ballantine's bossa nova style "Brazil '75" having been written in 1997 to mark the 75th anniversary of the work of the Salvation Army in that part of the world.

A glance through the titles and composers reminds one of just how international The Salvation Army is, with composers including Australians Arthur Gullidge and Allen Pengilly, Dane Erik Silfverberg, Canadian Len Ballantine and Americans Ray Ogg and Stephen Bulla.  In addition, there are those who originated in one area but produced most of their work elsewhere, such as Scandinavians Erik Leidzen and Emil Soderstrom, and Scotsman James Anderson, now based in the USA. 

Many of the marches are named after particular places or events, and these too point to the variety of Salvation Army expression, from Brindley Boon's "Croydon Citadel", named in honour of one of the oldest corps (churches) in the United Kingdom, through "Balga Citadel" in the suburbs of Perth, Australia, and "Zimbabwe Centenary" up to Stephen Bulla's "ARC Centennial", written to mark the centenary of the work in the Adult Rehabilitation Centers of the USA.  Many of the marches are primarily designed for marching to, as may be expected, whilst others are more for concert use, and they normally, as is common practice within The Salvation Army, include at least a reference to a hymn tune, often in the middle section.  Some of these may only be familiar to Salvationists, whilst others have passed out of general use as the years have gone by.

The first disc commences with Erik Silfverberg's "Etobicoke Youth", featuring the chorus "Dare to be a Daniel", followed by the first of four Norman Bearcroft marches, "Zimbabwe Citadel".  One of the notable aspects of the internationalism of The Salvation Army is the practice of incorporating elements of the local culture in worship where possible, so it should not be a surprise to find an extended drum solo included in a work written for Africa. 

"ARC Centennial", by Stephen Bulla, is written in a light, airy style, with answering phrases across the band, and passages setting triplets against the basic 4/4 time- not ideal for marching to, this one.  His second contribution, "Washington Salute 125", incorporates the song "Banners and Bonnets", written for the Salvation Army by Meredith Willson, of "Music Man" fame, together with the old song "Rescue the Perishing".

Ray Steadman-Allen has written many fine marches (others not recorded here include "The Scarlet Jersey", "Silver Star" and "The Crown of Conquest") but here he is represented by "Hollinwood" and "Hadleigh Camp", one of his earliest compositions and written for the pioneering music camp first held on the old farm colony in 1947.  It contains some tricky fanfare work, and a very poignant middle section.  Norman Bearcroft's "Cobham Hall" marks a more recent incarnation of the music school, which was held at the school of that name, and he uses a chorus written by the then General Arnold Brown: "Able to save, able to Keep".

Two marches included by the younger generation of writers are Martin Thomas's "South Coast" and Martin Cordner's "New Commission", which features his customary use of crisp rhythms and syncopated figures, whilst the bossa nova feel of Len Ballantine's "Brazil '75" is rather reminiscent of Peter Graham's "Las Lluvias Grandes".

James Anderson's "Goldcrest" has proved a very popular march, and "Powerpoint", using the song "There's wonder-working power in the blood" is in a similar up-beat style, requiring precision in attack if it is to be effective.  Kenneth Downie wrote "Victory Parade" for the Glenmore Temple Corps to play as they participated in the celebrations surrounding the annual Calgary Stampede, and the chorus featured is "When we all get to heaven", with its closing line "We'll sing and shout the jubilee".

Of the older composers included, there are three items by Bramwell Coles, the stately "Victors Acclaimed", the lilting 6/8 march "The Young Salvationist" and "Danforth Citadel", dating from 1955 and written for a corps in Toronto.  It is interesting that two of the marches here should be the only known published works of their composers, namely Albert Drury's "Norwich Citadel" and Ray Ogg's "Rousseau".  The latter writer was one-time bandmaster of the Chicago Staff Band and first-time listeners may find it rather disconcerting to discover that the hymn tune used, "Rousseau", reminds them of the words "Go tell Aunt Nancy the old grey goose is dead"!

Charles Skinner and Albert Jakeway both held appointments as head of the Salvation Army's music department, as did several of the other composers represented, whilst others have served in other capacities.  "Amsterdam Congress" was the central corps in Amsterdam, now combined with other centres to form Amsterdam West, whilst "Rosehill" was named after the premises occupied by the Salvation Army Assurance Society when they were evacuated during the war, and whose band, formed and led by Colonel Jakeway, soon made its presence felt. 

Although The Salvation Army has never been established as a church in Egypt, the Red Shield department played a major role working for the welfare of service personnel and others during the war, and "Cairo Red Shield" was written for the band formed there at the time.  It features the tune "Pilgrims" which appears first in a straightforward setting without percussion, calling for discipline in the band if the tempo is to remain steady, and the final section incorporates a running bass part, which is found in a number of Salvation Army marches of the period.

With his family roots in Denmark, Emil Soderstrom was one of the leading figures in Salvation Army music in the USA.  His marches often make considerable demands of the players, and "Minneapolis IV", written for a mainly Scandinavia corps in that city, and "California" are no exceptions.  Also of Scandinavian origin, but this time from Sweden, Erik Leidzen was very active in both brass and wind bands in the United States, and "In the King's service" features a distinctive descending semi-quaver run from the bass section, and calls for crisp tonguing from the rest of the band.  Comparison with other recordings, Hendon on "Marching with the Salvation Army" and also the Word recording "Marching to Glory", reveals the playing on the present recording to be less marked, although that may have been a deliberate move by the bandmaster.

When recording marches each listener is likely to have different expectations.  There will be those who are looking for an exciting, concert-style presentation, whilst others would prefer a more straightforward interpretation, such as might be heard as the band was marching down the street.  The grouping of the marches on the cds, with many of the new ones coming together, and then a group of older ones, may also lead to the impression that there is not a great deal of variety. 

Initially the impression was that the sound was rather monochrome, although on further investigation the recording seems to come across at is best at a higher playback level than usual.  Generally, the playing is good, although some listeners may feel that more could have been made of the dynamic contrast, regardless of the markings on the score, and the tonguing could be crisper at times - there may also be a fatigue factor, with the band recording 29 marches over three days!  There are occasions where intonation does not seem uniform across the band, and the overall sound is rather on the dull side, with the bottom half of the band seeming to be more dominant than the cornet end.

Several of the marches here have not been recorded many times, if at all, and the recording is undoubtedly a useful marketing tool.  Anyone wishing to investigate the unfamiliar will find good, workmanlike performances, and with two cds for the price of one it is definitely worth exploring for that purpose.  For those seeking a particular march, however, then there will probably be more distinctive versions around in mixed programmes played by other bands.

Peter Bale

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