Fairey Band in Concert

Conductor: Simon Stonehouse
Soloists: Stephen Wilkinson, Katrina Marzella, Lucy Murphy, Christopher Pannell, Christopher Haigh, Andrew Oetegenn, Rebecca Crawshaw, David Belshaw
Doyen Recordings: DOY CD224
Total Playing Time: 72.47

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The last couple of years have been somewhat of a rebuilding period for the Fairey Band. At times it has been painful and it has suffered some set backs, but it has been a process that has been undertaken by people who have the future cause of the band close to their heart. The foundations though are now very much in place and the future looks secure.

That said, they still have the occasional moment of re-evaluation shall we say, and in the last few weeks they have parted company with both their principal cornet and euphonium players and lost their soprano player to University and a life of medicine – all three of whom are featured on this release. Fairey is a continuing work in progress – getting there by all means, but still with a little way left to go it seems.

That state of musical construction work is reflected in this enjoyable but uneven release. Recorded in May and June this year it features 17 tracks of eclectic repertoire and no less than five individual soloists and a trio.   At times the playing is of the very highest quality, whilst at others it reveals ensemble and individual frailties that do noticeably detract. It is not helped however by a very ‘dead' ambience to the recording acoustic at the William Hulme Grammer School which rather robs the band of warmth and balance which leaves them sounding brittle and hard especially in the louder dynamics.   

The five soloists are good value, with the pick the talented female trio of Katrina Marzella, Lucy Murphy and Rebecca Crawshaw.

Katrina Marzella is the newly crowned 2006 British Open Solo Champion and you hear why she is rightly regarded as perhaps the finest baritone player of her generation with a wonderfully shaped performance of Andy Duncan's ‘Romance' from his ‘Baritone Concerto'. Lucy Murphy too produces a lovely account of the Puccini ‘Ave Maria' whilst Rebecca Crawshaw displays a real sense of the dramatic in ‘The Queen of the Night's Aria'.

The lads are not too far behind, with a secure swansong rendition of the old Hartmann classic ‘Fatherland' featuring David Belshaw, whilst Stephen Wilkinson reveals his potential with the ‘Slavische Fantasie' by Hohne. The horn trio meanwhile is a lively and well paced ‘Black Note Fantasy' which captures the right honky-tonk style, even if it does sound as if the old piano is in need of a bit of a tune up.   

The unevenness of the recording reveals itself elsewhere however. The better stuff is to be found when the band is controlled and more lyrical in style, such as the excellent ‘David of the White Rock' that has a stunning introduction and the haunting ‘Winter' from Howard Snell's superbly realised arrangement of Vivaldi's ‘Four Seasons'. ‘Forgotten Dreams', the ‘Spring Waltz' from Philip Wilby's  ‘The Seasons' and ‘South Pacific' are of a similar quality and there is much to admire in the approach to the musical phrasing, whilst the direction from the MD is subtle and sympathetic. The two lightweight high tempo numbers, ‘The Trolley Song' and Freikugeln Polka' display a neat sense of style and technical execution which is impressive.

Things though go astray somewhat with the other items, and there are noticeable problems encountered with the ‘Overture' from the ‘Bartered Bride' that is at times a mess and the opening ‘Fanfare for the Common Man' in its awful Emerson, Lake and Palmer 1970's rock guise, which is stylistically toe curling.   Duke Ellington's ‘Caravan' sounds more like a motorway tourer towed on the back of a 4x4, whilst the finale, which is a somewhat uninspiring arrangement of Elmer Bernstein's ‘Great Escape' would have got Steve McQueen caught by the Germans way before he tried to jump the wire on his motorbike.  

There is much to admire about the Fairey Band and its determination to bring back the glory days to its particular musical corner of Stockport. As this recording shows, there is plenty of evidence that strong foundations have been put in place and that bodes well for the future. The talent is certainly there whilst the ongoing search for experienced and committed players has born fruit of late too.

This recording though does give a truthful musical snapshot of where they were in that rebuilding process in May and June of this year, although as we have said, it would have benefited more by a more generous recording acoustic. Still, an enjoyable, if slightly uneven concert recording from a band with a glorious past and a rosy future.

Iwan Fox.

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