For a band with an illustrious past and a recent history that has seen a period of unprecedented success under Ian Porthouse capped by a famous British Open victory, Tredegar’s recording catalogue is a touch thin to say the least.
 
A quick scan of their website reveals only two available recordings prior to this latest release, with both consisting of familiar concert material.
 
Overdue

A recording of substance featuring some of the weightier repertoire they have performed with such success of late, notably Gavin Higgins’ ‘Destroy, Trample As Swiftly As She’, the work played to such powerful effect at the 2011 European Championships in Montreux, is long overdue.

In the meantime however, ‘Tredegar in Concert - Volume 1’, gives us a generous, sixteen track showcase of some of their more recent concert material (aided by an outstanding production by Avanti Recordings), including a hefty dose of its highly effective 2011 Brass in Concert programme.
 
Quality

Beyond the sheer quality of the playing that is abundant throughout, there are two immediate factors that come across loud and clear.
 
The first is the band’s instinctive ability to traverse stylistic chasms with ease; in particular the comfort and affinity with the jazz idiom. 

There is something for everyone amongst an entertainingly diverse track list that for the traditionalists includes, ‘The Lost Chord’, George Willcocks’ sparkling march ‘The Champions’ and Gordon Langford’s familiar arrangement of ‘Men of Harlech’.
 
Yet, it is in the jazz orientated numbers such as the Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s ‘Blackbird Special’, ‘There’s A Great Day Coming’, in which the entire cornet section switch to trumpets and, in more relaxed mode, Pat Methany’s ‘Letter from Home’, that they truly display their musical strengths and stylistic ingenuity.
 
Relaxed manner

Just a few seconds into the gospel blues of ‘There’s A Great Day Coming’ (in which Ian Porthouse plies his skills on trumpet) and there is a sense of not only the stunning virtuosity of what is an outstanding section, but also the utterly relaxed manner in which the players sense the rhythmic nuances the music demands.

The glowing hues of ‘Letter from Home’ dictate a very different approach, yet there is an emotional warmth and delicate appreciation to the shifting colours that the band enunciates with such enthralling style and compassion.        
 
Hall output

The second notable factor is the significance that the arrangements and compositions of Matthew Hall, a member of the band’s percussion section, have had on their concert output, with no less than four of his pieces figuring strongly in the programme. 
 
The energetic opener, ‘Activate’, is a toe tapping attention grabber punctuated by some terrific sounds from the cornets, basses and trombones, whilst the elegiac, evocative tones of ‘The Smile’, a touching tribute to the composer’s grandfather, display a very different side to the composer’s musical make up.

Melting pot

‘Legends of Cyfartha’ weaves a number of familiar welsh tunes, notably ‘Sospan Fach’ and ‘Myfanwy’, into an intoxicating historical homage to the workers of the famous Cyfarthfa ironworks at Merthyr Tydfil - a real melting pot of heroism and poignancy, whilst in complete contrast, ‘Nightingale Dances’, is a fizzer of a finale that stamps a colour packed kaleidoscopic mark on Irving Berlin’s familiar melody.
 
‘Original’ is a tag that is perhaps difficult to apply to Matthew Hall’s music, but it certainly possesses verve, energy and sheer melodic appeal in spades.     
 
Fine effect

Amongst the soloists, Dewi Griffiths delivers a wonderfully fluent account of the Barbara Streisand classic ‘People’ on trumpet, with the mellifluous, languidly relaxed tones of solo trombone Stephen Sykes utilized to fine effect in ‘I Loves You Porgy’.

Lyricism is at the heart of flugel player Danny Winder’s sensitive and gently nuanced ‘Ave Maria’, whilst Buzz Newton brushes aside the technical challenges of Wilby’s fiery Greek ‘Zeibekikos Dance’ with remarkable ease - its fearsome virtuosity in marked contrast to the touchingly simple yet highly effective ‘Song’ that precedes it.         
 
On the move

With the addendum of ‘Volume 1’ clearly pointing to a concert repertoire successor in the wings, it’s great to know that Tredegar’s catalogue of recordings is on the move.

Maybe that possibility of a heavyweight release isn’t so far away after all.
 
Christopher Thomas      

Contents

1. Activate, Matthew Hall, 1.58
2. People, Jule Styne, arr. Alan Catherall, Trumpet soloist Dewi Griffiths, 4.15
3. Blackbird Special, Dirty Dozen Brass band, arr. Reid Gilje, 2.32
4. The Smile, Matthew Hall, 4.03
5. Legends of Cyfarthfa, Matthew Hall, 4.53
6. I Loves You Porgy, George Gershwin, arr. Bill Geldard, Trombone soloist Stephen Sykes, 3.27
7. Men of Harlech, Traditional, arr. Gordon Langford, 3.10
8. Letter from Home, Pat Methany, arr. Svein Giske, 3.11
9. There's A Great Day Coming, Will Lamartine Thompson, arr. Terry Everson, 3.10
10. Concerto for Euphonium, Philip Wilby, Euphonium soloist Byron Newton, 7.25
11. The Lost Chord, Arthur Sullivan, arr. Gordon Langford, 3.41
12. The Champions, Major G H Wilcox, 2.42
13. Little Hymn, Simon Dobson, 2.44
14. Nightingdale Dances, Matthew Hall, 4.28
15. Ave Maria, vavilov att. Giulio Caccini, arr. Thomas Wyss, Flugel Horn soloist Danny Winder, 4.46
16. Credo, Lorne Barry, 6.25