The National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2007
8-Jul-2008
The best of the best at the Nationals in 2007. Grmethorpe's Battle stunner to two Sword and Sandal epics in the lower sections too.
Featuring: Grimethorpe Colliery; Pennine Brass; Newbridge (Celynen); Middleton Band; Formby Band; Black Dyke; Cory Band
Soloists: Richard Marshall, David Childs, Brett Baker
Doyen Recordings: CD240
Total Playing Time: 79.48
With all eyes now firmly set on the 2008 National Finals at Harrogate and the Royal Albert Hall (after straining for far too long on the Kapitol Promotions website waiting for the announcement of the test pieces for this year), this recording gives you the chance to return back in time to enjoy the winning performances from each of the National Champions of 2007.
In addition to the live recordings we also get the chance to hear a couple of items from Black Dyke and Cory from the ‘Walking with Heroes’ Concert which rounded off the big day at London before the announcement of the results. It all makes for a pleasant hour or so of competitive brass band playing and twenty minutes or so of fairly relaxed concert fare.
Musical highlight
The musical highlight is of course Grimethorpe’s stunning rendition of the Championship Section set work, Philip Sparke’s tour de force, ‘Music for Battle Creek’, which is delivered with such panache and sense of vibrancy that it leaves you without a scintilla of doubt about its authenticity as a worthy winner of the National title.
On the day it was a class apart, and you can hear why, from the clarity and precision of the technique of the performers to the subtle shaping and shading of the musicality from the MD. It is some winning performance.
It was also one that was beyond their great rivals too, with both Black Dyke and Cory falling well short on the day. That though didn’t stop them from enjoying themselves at the concert with some neatly chosen audience friendly items that helped pass the time away before Grimethorpe’s players could get about the business of celebrating their triumph.
Bubble gum
Richard Marshall, Brett Baker and David Childs enjoy themselves with their chosen solo items, without them becoming overtly pyrotechnical exercises, whilst the opening tub thumper from Black Dyke is a example of infectious brass band bubble gum music that is fast becoming the norm in just about any concert you go to nowadays.
Back to the contesting stage at Harrogate though and Pennine Brass deliver an authoritative performance of the First Section test piece ‘Victorian Snapshots - On Ratcliffe Highway’ that deservedly won them their National honours. This was a winning performance earmarked by an authentic sense of style and detailed ensemble balance throughout, finely led by MD Ian Porthouse.
The same applied to Newbridge (Celynen) who stamped their class on the Second Section contest with a performance that had impressive detail, powerful ensemble balance and soloists on the top of their game. Led astutely by MD Paul Holland their win was as clear as the precision of their playing in the opening ‘Toccata’ of the Darrol Barry test piece.
Hurdles
The Third and Fourth Section set works were perhaps two of the most enjoyable test pieces set for the Finals in recent times, and although their inspiration came from the same historical period of time, both were very different musical hurdles to overcome.
Bruce Fraser’s ‘Imperium’ was more a personal musical portrait than Leigh Baker’s filmatically inspired ‘Roman Tryptych’, and although you could almost smell the blood and guts of the Coliseum at times, thankfully the competing bands never quite came to mortal blows on the International Conference Centre stage.
What we did get however was a fine performance from the Middleton Band conducted by Matthew Stringer in taking the Third Section title with a display of warmly balanced, technically secure playing on ‘Imperium’, whilst Formby wrestled away the Fourth Section title with a rendition of colour, excitement and no little sense of fearlessness on ‘Roman Tryptych’.
The rather heroic ending to the piece rather appropriately brings to a close a recording of contesting glory, which gives a tantalising reminder of just what bands must go through if they are to claim the greatest crowns in the British banding world.
Iwan Fox
What's on this CD?
Featuring Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Pennine Brass, Newbridge (Celynen) Band, Middleton Band, Formby Band
1. Walking With Heroes, Paul Lovatt-Cooper, Black Dyke, 3.34
2. Music For Battle Creek, Philip Sparke, Grimethorpe, 15.20
3. Victorian Snapshots — On Ratcliff Highway, Ray Steadman-Allen, Pennine Brass, 13.20
4. Zelda, Percy Code, Richard Marshall (Cornet) with Black Dyke, 6.45
5. Toccata, Elegy and Scherzo, Darrol Barry, Newbridge (Celynen) Band, 11.34
6. The Hot Canary, Maynard Ferguson arr. Wood, David Childs (Euphonium) with Cory Band, 2.31
7. Imperium, Bruce Fraser, Middleton Band, 10.45
8. DL Blues, Don Lusher, Brett Baker (Trombone) with Black Dyke Band, 3.20
9. Roman Tryptych, Leigh Baker, Formby Band 12.32
