2007 All England Masters International Championships

Highlights of the 2007 Masters in Cambridge, where Fodens delivered on RK and took the title back to Sandbach in real style.

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Master Brass: Volume 18
Brass Band Willebroek; Fairey; Foden’s Richardson
Conductors: Frans Violet, Major Peter Parkes, Garry Cutt
Polyphonic Recordings: QPRL 226D
Total Playing Time: 70.07mins

If you think about it, live recordings are a risky business. If all goes well you end you with the various artistes on good form and no problems at all.  If things go wrong, the engineers can end up having to patch and re-edit a flawed, uninspired recording, and the value of the product is less effective. 

Polyphonic are old hands at this game though and their eighteenth volume of highlights from the Masters at Cambridge is testament to the fact they can produce a high quality recording without any real problems that is snapped up by banding enthusiasts whether they were present on the day or not. 

The formula for the recording remains the same: The majority is of the Gala Concert featuring a couple of bands, the Guest Soloist and the winning performance of the test piece - the big carrot that gets dangled to entice the purchaser. Stan Kitchen and his experienced team produce it all to the very highest quality.

This year’s recording is no different than previous years; High quality recording and production values and the best of the Gala Concert and that winning performance from Foden’s Richardson of ‘In Memoriam RK’.

The two feature bands in the concert were the reigning European Champions, Brass Band Willebroek and the Fairey Band.

It’s Fairey’s under Major Peter Parkes that kick off the highlights in good form with Blackenburg’s ‘The Gladiator’s Farewell’ whilst they also enjoy themselves in ‘Let’s Face the Music and Dance’, and the lively, ‘Trolley Song’.  Tribute is paid to the great days of light music with Ernest Tomlinson’s delightful ‘Little Serenade’ and Major George Willcock’s classic arrangement of ‘David of the White Rock’.

Six solo items are featured on the recording with Fairey’s contribution coming from the band’s principal euphonium, Steve Walsh, whose delivery and control in the ‘Allegro’ from Mozart’s ‘Bassoon Concerto’ is simply terrific.  Here the soloist gives an example of why he was in the European Soloist Final in Birmingham just three weeks previously, and it’s a performance that is one of the highlights of the recording.

Brass Band Willebroek under their MD, Frans Violet, features three soloists.  Stijn Berbé plays with a sense of real freedom in Peter Kneale’s popular ‘Variations on a Welsh Theme’ whilst, trombonist Walter Hoeks brings a real sense of fun to Moreau’s ‘Dear Frog’. The same goes for tubist, Stefan Moeskops in Monti’s familiar ‘Czardas’.

The two remaining solo’s come from the Yamaha Guest Soloist, Rex Richardson.  What a player this gentleman is.  Those who heard him in Cambridge or during the Regent Hall Festival on the eve of the Nationals in London, certainly got a treat as this recording demonstrates.

‘Malaguena’ demonstrates his proficiency on the trumpet whilst ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’, performed on the flugel horn, is a delightful touch of musical poetry where the soloist’s mellow sound leave’s the listener amply satisfied.

Willebroek’s only solo performance comes from an impressive ‘Reunion and Finale’, and it’s a shame that there isn’t more of them playing ensemble pieces even if it meant dropping one of their soloists from the recording.

So what about the winning performance of ‘In Memorium RK’ by Foden’s Richardson led by Garry Cutt?

Fodens’ winning performance is captivating listening from the first note until the last and to be honest, is worth the purchase of the CD on its own.

Some of the playing is exquisite; terrific ensemble - listen out for some terrific lyrical cornet sound of Mark Wilkinson, Alan Wycherley on soprano and the bass playing by Les Neish (that gave him the 4BR Instrumentalist award) all of which add to this compelling performance. Cometh the conclusion, this is fifteen and a half minutes of immensely satisfying listening.

Once again, Polyphonic has produced a recording that will appeal to people for varying reasons, although it is disappointing that from the sound of the rather gentle ripples of applause on the items for the Gala Concert there weren’t too many in the hall to listen to it live.

Malcolm Wood

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