The Derick Kane Euphonium Album

Derick Kane: Euphonium
The International Staff Band, Conducted by Stephen Cobb
Richard Phillips, Piano
SP&S Ltd: SPS 195 CD
Total playing time: 77.16 min

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When a recording is produced in conjunction with the publication of sheet music then the results can sometimes be disappointing, giving the impression that things had been done on the cheap, with limited rehearsal and studio time leading to a less than satisfactory product.  It should be stressed at the outset that there are no such concerns with this new (of which more later!) recording by Derick Kane, Principal Euphonium in the International Staff Band, with some tracks accompanied by the band, and the remainder by Richard Phillips, currently bandmaster of the Kettering Corps.

It seems strange looking back and recalling the raised eyebrows in Salvation Army circles in 1976 when a young, little-known player came down from Hamilton in Scotland to occupy the hot seat in the ISB.  Needless to say any doubts were soon dispelled as more people came to hear Derick in action, and even more so following the International Congress of 1978, where he premiered the first item on this recording, Norman Bearcroft's 'The Better World'. 

Exploiting Derick's smooth upper register and replete with numerous top Ebs the performance (at a festival featuring the ISB, New York Staff Band and Melbourne Staff Band) was recorded for posterity and helped his reputation spread across the globe.  In many ways it is linked with him as 'Golden Slippers' is with David Daws, and the reading here shows he has lost none of the dexterity he showed in that early recording, whilst his lower register seems fuller and more in control.

David Catherwood, a Belfast Salvationist, has written a number of (mainly devotional) solos for Derick.  In 'Spirit of Life' he has taken his own vocal item and reworked it as a vehicle to display the smooth lines and delicacy that the euphonium can do so well.  The accompaniment by Richard, who was for some time the pianist with the Salvation Army's International Staff Songsters and has also appeared on disc with Steven Mead amongst others, is all one could ask for, enabling the soloist to work his magic at will. Kenneth Downie's arrangement of  'My Love is like a Red, Red Rose' was also done specially for Derick, who copes with the subtle decorative figures of the solo line very effectively.

The late Chris Mallet, although originally from the United Kingdom, spent a considerable time in California, where he was the Divisional Music Director and founder of the Southern California Youth Band.  He wrote 'Travelling along' for a visit to the UK in 2000, featuring the old Salvation Army songs 'Travel along in the Sunshine' and 'Sunshine', but also incorporating references to 'Calfornia here I Come' and even 'Raindrops keep falling on my Head'.  Chris favoured the upper register, with a couple of runs up to F, and whilst the lightning-speed runs are under the finger it still takes first class playing to bring them off.

Ray Steadman-Allen has contributed several euphonium solos to the repertoire (including the fine but often over-looked 'The Ransomed Host') but 'Lyric Variations' is undoubtedly the most intricate and complex.  Using the Shaker melody 'Simple Gifts' (aka 'Lord of the Dance') he has created a real tour de force, with angular phrases and awkward intervals to be negotiated across the full range of the instrument.  The solo was one of the highlights of Derick's solo cd from 1999, from which this recording has been taken.  It also asks much from the accompaniment, as there is much important interaction between soloist and band, and the ISB are fully up to the challenge.

Another arrangement made for that recording was Richard Phillips' setting of the Joy Webb song 'There will be God', heard here with the arranger at the piano.  It is a melody that would not be out of place in the world of the musical theatre, and even detached from the words the sense of seeking for and finding the assurance of God's presence still comes across.  A brass soloist is very exposed with only the piano texture to provide support but Derick maintains the intensity right to the climatic top F, with only a very slight waver towards the end.

Ivor Bosanko and Ralph Pearce both originate from Wales, but are now firmly established in the USA.  'To live Right' opens with a sustained, lyrical section, with references to the tune before the melody proper kicks in over a gently syncopated accompaniment.  The performance is notable for the light touch of both soloist and pianist, particularly in the arpeggios at the restatement of the tune.

Ralph Pearce wrote 'Welsh Fantasy' for Chris Mallet to perform, and acknowledges in the sleeve notes the assistance of Ivor in producing the new piano reduction of the accompaniment.  The Welsh melodies 'Suo Gan' and 'Men of Harlech' are used, the former having been linked with Herbert Booth's words 'Let me love thee'.  Again the solo line requires considerable agility and flexibility, and there is some effective interplay between with cornets and trombones prior to the cadenza.

The second contribution from Norman Bearcroft is an arrangement of  'Jesus, I come to thee', where subtle emphasis is placed on the rising interval that recurs frequently throughout.  There is considerable empathy shown once more between soloist and accompanist, as there is in the following item, Derick's own arrangement of Ernest Rance's melody  'Ochills' (not to be confused with Robert Redhead's solo of the same name, featured on Aaron VanDerWeele's new recording).  The composer was inspired to pen the melody as he looked out across the Scottish hillside, and claimed to have followed the lines of the mountains as he wrote, thinking of the words of Psalm 121: "I lift my eyes to the hills . . ."

Andrew Blyth, currently the Salvation Army's Assistant Territorial Music Director, is perhaps best known for his choral works, and 'Compelled by Love' is a reworking of a one of his own songs.  Stephen Pearson's lyrics speak of the challenge to serve, and of the Christians response, and the soloist and band bring the arrangement to a rousing climax.

Just as David Childs has followed in the footsteps of father Bob and uncle Nicholas, so Derick's son Stephen is also an aspiring euphonium player.  Derick wrote 'A New Direction'  for Stephen in 2000, featuring John Larsson's melody 'When I came to him' and the chorus 'Allelujah'.  A bright, jaunty number it will no doubt prove a useful addition to the repertoire of many players, both young and old.

Bizet's incidental music written for the play 'L'Arlesienne' is probably best known in brass band circles for the popular 'Farandole' (curse of many a tambourine player!) but the score contains much fine music, not least the "Menuet" recorded here in a transcription by Kevin Norbury.  The solo line, originally for flute, sits quite comfortably on euphonium, and offers the chance for some fine, expressive playing.

The final track offers two Dericks for the price of one, in Norman Bearcroft's 'Timepiece', written when he was Bandmaster of the Canadian Staff Band, and memorably performed at the Albert Hall in 1980 by Derick and Trevor Groom.  The two solo lines blend well, without the somewhat cloying effect that can sometimes occur with a multi-tracked recording.  Being recorded with piano accompaniment gives a fresh slant on even a work as familiar as this, with the sense that some of the euphonium playing is more restrained than it would be with a band, and it makes the control shown, particularly in the upper part, all the more remarkable. 

To return to one point mentioned earlier, these are not all new recordings, and collectors may already have one or two tracks in their collection.  Apparently the original intention was just to include the couple of existing tracks with band accompaniment, with all the remaining items being played with Richard at the piano.  It is good, though, that studio time was found to record some new tracks with the ISB as it makes for a more balanced recording.  The presentation is first class, with brief comments on each work, mostly from the composers themselves, and all the performances are of a very high standard.

If, having listened to the recording, anyone wants to have a go for themselves, the Derick Kane Euphonium Album sheet music contains solo parts in both treble and bass clefs, the piano accompaniment, and a cd for rehearsal or performance, with the accompaniments played by Richard.

Peter Bale

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