World Famous Marches

Black Dyke Band
Conductor: Dr. Nicholas Childs
Obrasso Recordings: CD902
Total Playing Time: 60.08

~ Buy with 4barsrest shopping

What a year 2005 promises to be for Black Dyke. Five months into their 150th Anniversary year they have already captured the European Championship in style, regaining the trophy for the first time since 1995 by a staggering seven points from their nearest rivals Buy As You View. They may have been pipped at the Yorkshire area post by Grimethorpe, but with the "big ones" still to come later in the year including the defence of their 2004 National title, we have the feeling that we have not heard the last of Dyke's 2005 successes on the contest stage.

Amidst the multitude of concerts and celebrations that the band will be involved in, the highlight being the official anniversary concert to be held on the 10th June at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, a number of recordings are scheduled for release and 'World Famous Marches' is a further addition to the band's growing catalogue of discs on the Swiss Obrasso label.

Whether our Swiss friends have quite the same opinions as ourselves as to what constitutes "world famous" is a matter for possible debate. Whilst we have no qualms in awarding such an accolade to Sousa's effervescent 'Liberty Bell' we do not recall too many people whistling (or playing for that matter) Rudolf Herzer's 'Hoch Heidecksburg' or Ernst Robert Uebel's 'Jubelklänge' at the recent Whit Friday March Contests. No Matter!

What we have here is a march fest of the first order, recorded in the amply spacious and ever popular venue of Morley Town Hall with a band in wonderfully fine fettle. Chief contributor amongst the arrangers is Roy Newsome who is responsible for no less than ten of the eighteen marches. Of the others, five come from Ray Woodfield with one apiece from Keith Wilkinson, Peter Smalley and Alan Fernie.

The music falls into two distinct schools, one being the American circus march and the other the great European tradition albeit with a slant towards Eastern Europe. The one notable exception to this is 'Honour The Brave' by William Rimmer, the only truly British march on the disc although it should be mentioned (I am sure that Nick Childs, not to mention Iwan Fox would be upset if it was not!) that J J Richards, the composer of 'Shield of Liberty', was born in Wales before his family emigrated to the United States when he was a young boy.

Without exception the American marches are barnstormers, none better than the opener, Karl Lawrence King's 'The Melody Shop'. It's an appropriate title for a march with sparkling tunes and equally sparkling playing from the band. Listen to Peter Roberts' characteristically magnificent soprano playing and the running semi quavers in the euphoniums in the big central tune and you will see what I mean.

King's liking for trombones is evident in 'The Trombone King', a tongue in cheek reference to his own name but also possibly to Sousa's nickname of the "March King". Either way it's another corker of a march, brief but hugely entertaining. Like 'Liberty Bell', 'National Emblem' with its references to 'The Star Spangled Banner' needs little introduction although Alan Fernie's arrangement of Sousa's great favourite deserves to be noted for its skilful scoring. 'Rolling Thunder' rolls along at an appropriately cracking pace and features fine playing from Dyke's trombones led by Brett Baker.

Of the American marches, that leaves 'Shield of Liberty' and Belford's 'Carnival March'. Both of these have been around as arrangements for some time and in particular I recall Sun Life playing the latter on Best of Brass some years ago (I don't want to try and guess how many!) under Barry Pope. Belford's is a real bracer and it's difficult not to be transported to the spectacle of the circus that it was intended for. Written in 1939, 'Shield of Liberty' is later than the true era of the circus march and slightly different in style as a result. The star here once again is Peter Roberts. If Sousa is the "March King" here surely we have our "Sop King"!

The European marches are too numerous to mention in their entirety so I will not try! By way of summary however there are several that stand out from the crowd.

The German Carl Teike is best known for 'Old Comrades', without doubt the most world famous of his many marches. Of the two lesser known examples recorded here, 'Graf Zeppelin' and 'In Treue Fest' (Steadfast and True), 'Graf Zeppelin' is perhaps the less memorable of the two melodically although both are reasonably effective nonetheless.

Like Teike, Julius Fucik's reputation rests largely and perhaps in Fucik's case unfairly, on one march, 'The Entry of the Gladiators'. Unlike Teike, Fucik was Czech and had the distinction of studying under Dvorak at the Prague Conservatoire. 'Fearless and True' is less heavy in style than many of its German counterparts although still nods towards the German tradition in the fanfare like style of some of the melodic writing.

Fucik's Czech compatriot Karl Komzak belonged to a family of composers and his 'Archduke Albrecht March' is a suitably patriotic homage to a national hero. Of the German marches on the disc Roy Newsome explains in his informative booklet notes that Rudolf Herzer's 'Hoch Heidecksburg' did not initially achieve popularity due to its deviation from the traditional norm. It is certainly less overtly military in style than most of its German bedfellows but it is for that very reason that for my money it's the best of the German marches on the disc. Either way it brings matters to a splendidly rousing conclusion.                                             

It is just possible that even the most anorak clad lover of the great march idiom may find themselves reeling after a procession of eighteen of the little gems. I have to confess that I certainly did. I would therefore venture to suggest that this not a disc that will be listened to many times in one sitting. Not that this should matter or deter for this is one of those recordings that enjoyment will be gleaned from when in the mood for dipping into a bit of swaggering good humour. Just remember to don your lederhosen before you do so.    

As I conclude writing this review I have just heard the news that Dyke have been crowned Saddleworth champions at the Whit Friday march contests. A happy coincidence given the content of this particular CD and perhaps an omen for its success! 

Chris Thomas

~ Buy with 4barsrest shopping

^back to top