Black Dyke Band

Conductor: Dr Nicholas Childs

Huddersfield Town Hall
Saturday 19th July

Mid-July heralds the start of ‘Schools out for Summer', The Open Golf Championships and the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts at the RAH in London. Not to be outdone by the start of The Proms, Black Dyke decided to hold their very own Promenade concert promoted by the trustees of the band, with a selection of music that has featured in their concerts during recent months.

The Whit Friday March contests proved to be successful for the band as they became Saddleworth Champions 2003 courtesy of their performances of Knight Templar, and this was their opener. Apart from being in a completely different acoustic (indoor instead of out) it was a performance compatible with those performed in mid-June on their return to the circuit.

A big feature of the Promenade concerts is the many orchestral overtures that are featured. Dyke decided to give the large audience some Mozart in the form of The Marriage of Figaro, and it was slick, efficient, and very impressive. Principal Cornet Roger Webster is just one of the Dyke players who has been clocking up the air miles in recent weeks having spent some in time in Italy. Roger gave an immaculate performance of the air varie, Silver Threads Amongst the Gold for his solo slot. You can only marvel at the level of performance Roger puts in time and time again, and it is understandable why he is constant demand as a soloist in many parts of the world.

The cornet section then assembled in a line front of stage to demonstrate their skills as a section in Trumpet Blues and Contibile arranged for band by Bill Geldard. Sometimes when your hear this piece performed, it is very easy for the cornets to go a touch OTT in the volume department, but not on this occasion.

Dr Childs and the band have been treating audiences recently to the music of Sir Malcolm Arnold. Arnold wrote some Cornish, English and Scottish Dances during the 1950s and 60s. It was in fact 1957 that Arnold composed Four Scottish Dances.

The BBC's Concert Orchestra in London premiered the dances with Arnold on the conductor's podium. Each of the four dances is different in style, but they reflect and represent everything Scottish. The first dance has numerous snippets of the ‘Scotch snap' and you sense a feeling of the odd bagpipe or two being portrayed, but its is extremely rhythmical and calls on high levels of concentration from the players.

The second movement is derived from the music scored for the film 'The Beautiful County of Ayr.' and it begins quite gently, but then you picture a drunk wandering along the street and this superbly performed on the bass trombone by Adrian Hirst. That feeling of ‘where am I?' and all the comical moments that are associated with too much alcohol certainly came across and all you can do is smile.

In the third dance, you could argue the case that Arnold succeeded in producing music that is more 'Scottish' than the Scots would write. It is one of the gems written by any composer that you would listen too countless times.

This is music that gives an impression of two lovers looking across the sea to a beautiful land of lost content. You picture them with a glass of whiskey in their hand looking at the Scottish landscape and the emotions they feel. It is beautiful music and Ray Farr delightfully reproduced it in the brass band arrangement by Dyke. The final movement reflects some of the opening one and is a million miles away from the previous one. You sense a touch of the Highland fling with countless bursts of energy. The whole nine minutes gave the audience that burning desire to go to Scotland as soon as possible.

Trombone Soloist, Brett Baker chose Dark Eyes originally composed for Don Lusher and just like Roger Webster earlier in the evening, it was a performance that was consistent with this fine soloist.

Black Dyke concluded the first half with the collection of Celtic tunes put together by arranger and composer, Peter Graham, which go under the title of Gaelforce. This is one of the pieces that many bands like to perform, as it demonstrates numerous aspects of the band, and the instrumentalists within it. The Rocky Road to Dublin, Minstrel Boy and Tossing the Feathers make up the selection and no matter how many times you hear it performed, it is still impressive. Black Dyke's rendition of Minstrel Boy was extremely memorable as it featured flugel John Doyle, supported by Lesley Howie, Alison Childs, Chris Hague, John Clough and David Thornton who produced a delightful mellow sound. Some serene playing from the cornet section before the evocative Tossing the Feathers brought the first half to its conclusion.

One of the most important decisions taken when getting married can be the music that is used during the ceremony. Walton's march Crown Imperial is often a choice, and it was the aforementioned march that commenced the second half. Twenty-four hours after this concert, Black Dyke was to be in concert at the King's Lynn Music Festival. The programme was to feature some new music by Philip Harper and Dr Philip Wilby, and no doubt we will discover more about these works in the near future. 2003 has been another year where the band has been busy in the recording studio.

The much-publicised Eric Ball CD is due out around October, and look out for Essential Dyke Volume Four. Black Dyke's disc of Beatles music is a popular purchase and a regular feature of the Yorkshire-based bands concerts has been some of the classic hits, and on this occasion the set had Yellow Submarine and Lady Madonna on offer.

Principal Euphonium player David Thornton is one of the handfuls of Briton's that has been taking part in the New Zealand National Championships. There was no sign of any jet lag as David performed Rossini's Variations on a Theme. Looking on from within the band was legendary euphonium player John Clough, who was guesting. John graced the end-chair at Queensbury for a number of years and would no doubt have been thrilled to have heard first-hand, the virtuoso performance by David. Without question this is a young man with immense talent, and someone who will no doubt sit proudly in Black Dyke for many years to come.

Bass Trombone player Adrian Hirst chose the Alan Fernie arrangement of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, which featured some nice ensemble playing in the style of the Pink Panther theme tune. The final soloist in recent times has gone to bass player, Joseph Cook, who produced his own musical cocktail based on Carnival of Venice.

Black Dyke concluded their first Summer Prom with one of the classic potboiler of finales and possibly the most famous orchestral overture ever written. Composed for the opening of the 1882 Moscow Exhibition, which coincided with the 80th anniversary of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, Tchaikovsky's 1812 was hailed as a masterpiece. The composer described the piece as ‘very noisy' and ‘lacking in artistic merit', contemporaries believed that Tchaikovsky's overture captured the spirit of Russia's victory in 1812, and ever since has become one of the most recognisable examples of nationalism in music.

The only thing to say about this performance is breath taking. Yes, it was a band going at full-throttle, but it was not OTT or a harsh sound, it was a big symphonic sound that filled the hall. Not many finales top 1812, and no-doubt it will be in Dyke's repertoire for a while yet. An encore for the faithful was not really necessary but nevertheless, the circus march The Waltonian brought the concert to a close, and by the time the band returns to Huddersfield Town Hall at Christmas, they will be hoping that they have some silverware on display from the Autumn contests.

Malcolm Wood

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