World Class Marches of the Salvation Army

Have Black Dyke been able to march to beat of a different drum?

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Black Dyke Band
Conductor: Dr Nicholas Childs
Doyen: DOY CD221
Total playing time: 65.28

From the early days of The Salvation Army, one of the key roles of the band was to provide music (and, initially, protection form disruptive elements!) in the open air services, and to head the march back to the hall for the indoor meeting. 

Importance

The importance of open air work can also be seen in the printing of music – apart from the more elaborate Festival Series – on march-card-size sheets. 

All the marches included in this first volume of Salvation Army marches from the Black Dyke Band were originally published in that form and will have been played frequently on the march by bands around the world, as well as being used for concert purposes.

International selection

The pieces featured were published between 1912 and 1967, the composers ranging from George Marshall to Ray Steadman-Allen, whilst the international Army is represented by the antipodean Henry C Goffin, Dean Goffin and Arthur Gullidge, and from across the Atlantic, Ray Ogg, Norman Audoire, Emil Soderstrom and Erik Leidzen, the latter two having their roots in Scandinavia. 

When preparing an issue such as this, there is no-one better than Dr Ronald Holz to provide the programme notes, and he has supplied some interesting comments on each march included.

Varying tempos

Whilst all the marches were primarily intended for street use, the actual metronome markings vary considerably, from the crotchet=104 of “Montreal Citadel” (frequently the march played whilst whichever band is participating in the Lord Mayor’s Show passes the BBC camera point) to the brisk crotchet=130 of “Star Lake”. 

The former, with its prominent bass part in the opening bars which makes such an impact when marching down narrow streets, definitely benefits from the more leisurely tempo, whilst the latter brings a reading that really sparkles. 

Unlike the two volumes by the Egon Virtuosi Brass, no da capos are observed, apart from in Eric Ball’s “Torchbearers”, of particular interest to anyone not knowing the work and who is anticipating Peter Graham’s treatment of it in the test piece for the 2009 Nationals Finals.

Detailed readings

One would not expect a band such as Black Dyke to be over-troubled by music such as this, but it is clear that sufficient care and attention has been lavished on this production to ensure that the performances are more than just a peremptory run from top to bottom. 

The score is followed closely with much attention to detail: if anything, some could feel the readings are slightly clinical, without any of the accretions that tend to creep in with familiarity, such as additional octaves in the bass solos, and variations in the percussion playing. The playing is of a very high standard, with only the occasional moment suggesting that a track may have been laid down at the end of a tiring recording session.

More in prospect

Whereas a recording entirely made up of marches can become rather repetitive, the mixture of styles and the alertness of the players guarantee that there is no risk of boredom setting in. 

Advertised as “Volume 1”, and with all the marches pre-dating the more recent developments by composers such as Barrie Gott, Bill Himes and James Anderson, the prospect of further issues including more contemporary repertoire really whets ones appetite.

Peter Bale

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