2004 RNCM Festival of Brass

The Brown Shipley Hall,
Royal Northern College of Music,
Manchester
16th – 18th January

Grimethorpe Colliery (UK Coal) Band, Elgar Howarth
RNCM ‘All Stars' Brass Ensemble, Elgar Howarth
Fairey FP (Music) Band, Howard Snell
Fodens Richardson Band, Bramwell Tovey
RNCM Brass Band, Howard Snell
Buy as You View Cory Band, Dr Robert B Childs
Black Dyke Band, Dr Nicholas J Childs

When you've just experienced a weekend of exciting brass band sounds washing over you, it's easy to get carried away with technicalities and write about things like, ‘chord progressions – sound clusters – symphonic and sonata forms – timbre and sonorities' etc., etc. It's possible some reports on the 2004 RNCM Festival will comment on these aspects of the music played and heard, and 4BR can certainly be as technical as you want, when necessary.

But! - the popularity of this continuing Festival (and it will be held again between Friday 21st-Sunday 23rd January 2005 at RNCM) is dependent very much on how much your mainstream follower of brass bands and their music enjoys it, and wants to repeat the experience – technicalities come a distant second.

The key to the success of this unique UK Festival is that some of the world's best brass bands come together over a single weekend, in an uncompetitive environment, to play in most cases challenging music that is a pleasure for the player and listener alike, and which may only seldom be heard anywhere else.

Listeners don't have to be concerned about the ‘who's best' syndrome of contest performances. They know that with the standard of performance these bands are capable of, glitches and clips will be minimal, and full concentration can be give to the making of the music, the enjoyment of first class conducting of that music, and it's execution by masters of brass instruments. The fact is that the acoustics of the hall are good, and the performers' close proximity to the audience builds an atmosphere of involvement for everyone, which adds to the occasion.

Another fine aspect of this Festival is the perceived lack of restraint on composers writing original pieces to work to a time factor. This means that freedom of expression is evident in the music, and the form it takes. There are no obvious ‘cuts' for ‘commercial reasons'.

Professor Edward Gregson, Principal of the College, and Artistic Director of the Festival for this year, had some interesting things to say to people there. Dropping a few hints that Elgar Howarth and a few surprises might be the way next year's Festival may progress, he implored people to write to the BBC to try and gain airtime for the event in 2005. This year, despite brave efforts by Paul Hindmarsh and others, the hierarchy had chosen to ignore it, and there will be no broadcasts at all on Radio 3 or other stations, so people with infirmities or who are geographically remote, will be denied sharing the experience.

The banding world has no divine right to demand coverage from the BBC or anyone else covering such an event, but considering that this festival is the only major one in the year, it is a concern that the BBC's inconsistency in respect to the coverage of serious brass music is so evident. They are happy to promote a Young Brass Soloist of the Year, and give thirty minutes of banding coverage every week, but can not understand that events such as this festival is the pinnacle of the banding year, when related to its target audience.

This writer's personal opinion is that if the BBC can pay professional musicians' rates to a top orchestra of 70 or 80 people to sit in silence for ‘four minutes thirty-three seconds', (the famous work from John Cage had an airing this week) they can afford to record (recording equipment permanently installed) an event of this stature. Or does our outdated image still prevail in certain areas? You will all have your views on this, which you will no doubt share with us at 4BR, but please write to Radio 3 Controller, Roger Wright, (BBC Broadcasting House, London, W1A 1AA) to air your grievances. If the BBC won't record 2005, perhaps SP & S will consider recording the concerts, and producing a compilation disc of the whole weekend.

The Festival started in 1990 with the BBC encouraging bands to perform music to be broadcast on Radio 3. This sadly finished in 1997, but the RNCM saw the opportunity to develop the BBC's idea. As a result, the Festival has been held sporadically ever since, but fingers crossed, it will now become an event that will establish itself in the banding calendar.

Should the Festival become a regular event, this will give the organisers the chance to invite different bands (not a complaint as such, but the "usual suspects in "Festival" terms were on display here once more). Why not YBS, Eikanger or Stavanger say? In addition, nothing wrong in considering the ISB of the Salvation Army, and (although it would take some organising) the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain. Five of the bands on show, are some of the best in the business, but it is imperative that others are considered.

The organisers will have gone home happy with the attendance, but without doubt, it deserves (and needs) full houses. Only two concerts were full (Grimethorpe & Black Dyke) whilst Fairey, Fodens and Cory were around three-quarters full. The two lunchtime slots were around half-full, and considering the standard of playing on offer, it was a tragedy, and no doubt the organisers will look to address getting more bums on seats. The college does not make a penny out of the event, if anything it has to put money in, but its commitment to musical festivals covering numerous musical genres, is a huge benefit to its students. Ticket prices are reasonable and on a par with band concerts people go to, whilst discounts apply for day/weekend tickets.

Anyway - to the bands and the music on offer. Two strands connected all the concerts; The centenary of Eric Ball, and the bicentenary of Berlioz, with choices of repertoire that have not been heard too often. In addition, there was a fine selection of contemporary music that challenged players and listeners alike. From Grimethorpe on the Friday night through to Black Dyke at its conclusion, the standards of playing just got better and better and each ensemble performed (at least) one piece that stood out from the rest.

Grimethorpe, chose a programme of music that was influenced by its conductor for the night, Elgar Howarth. The popularity of ‘Brassed Off' certainly raised the profile of Grimethorpe but banding folk have always known of their musical capabilities. Traditional ambassadors they may be, but they still retain a "cutting edge" to contemporary fare.

What an opener though! "Le Carnival Romain" with Michael Dodd equalling the gorgeous sounds of horn player Sandy Smith, filling the hall in the famous euphonium solo. Mr Howarth was in total control and the band responded to his wishes, and a delightfully shaped performance that had an exhilarating finale.

Next up was a Mr Howarth arrangement of "Garden Rain" by Japenese composer, Toru Takemitsu. Once lost (found after an appeal on the 4BR site) it is slow and reflective, with the band changing formation, with players sitting opposite one another at the top of the stage. The music had a poetic feel to it, and certainly demonstrated that Grimethorpe have no difficulty in performing different styles of music.

The first half concluded with the piece of the night. Another arrangement by Mr Howarth for band and piano of Shotakovich's "Piano Concerto No.2 in F Major". The programmed pianist had been taken ill two days prior to the concert, so in stepped Fergal O'Mahony. What a performance, and what a player! The young man was certainly tuned in and engrossed in what he was doing, and the band allowed the music to breathe, and were a top-class foil for the youngster, who loved every minute of it.

After the interval, it was a trip back for the band and conductor to a recent CD of Eric Ball's music, with his concert overture, "The Undaunted". Once again, both band and conductor were in unison with one another. Nigel Fielding and Richard Marshall (both of whom were having great nights) were in expressive mood delivering some lovely playing, and you just did not want the music to finish.

When the pit problems came to light in 1992, Mr Howarth was a huge support to the band. A concert was arranged in London to raise the profile of the band and the situation it was in. As part of the concert, four miniature pieces were commissioned and three of them received just their second performance at the Festival. All of them were brief, and over before you knew it. Once again though, it showed Grimethorpe in adaptable mode with different styles of playing to be heard. The final miniature featured flugel player, Ian Shires, in a laid-back, jazz style piece.

Grimethorpe concluded the concert with "Songs for BL", by Elgar Howarth. Chosen as the test piece for the 1995 National finals, it raised a few eyebrows as to its suitability for competition then and since. As music goes though, it is cracking stuff, and the band really excelled themselves in this performance, making the most of the acoustic in the hall. Some of the melodic playing was tremendous and matched towards the end of the piece with some of the duets that appear with Nigel Fielding and Michael Dodd, closely followed by Richard Marshall and Michael Dodd. The on-looking Frank Renton will certainly be relishing the chance to conduct Grimethorpe again this year, having heard the band in great form.

As an encore, the band chose the Wilfred Heaton march, "Praise", which had an awful lot of detail and clarity brought out of it by Elgar Howarth. It brought to an end a great start to the weekend.

Saturday lunchtime dawned, and a chance for something a little different, in the form of the college ‘All Stars' Brass Ensemble conducted by Elgar Howarth. Set up in 2003 to acknowledge the part brass plays at the college, the group is a mixture of staff, students and a few extra star players for good measure.

The group opened with Gunter Schuller's four movement "Symphony for Brass & Percussion". Immediately, it was evident that rehearsals had gone well, with plenty of strong brass sounds being produced. Players such as John Miller, Thomas Osborne, Murray Greig and David Thornton were in terrific form. The music might not have been everybody's cup of tea, but the level of playing made a big impression.

Under Elgar Howarth, the ensemble concluded its contribution to the Festival with a stunning rendition of "Pictures at an Exhibition". It really was breathe-taking and one of the highlights of the whole weekend. From Murray Grieg's opening in the first picture through to the last second's of "The Great Gate of Kiev", Elgar Howarth loved every single minute of it, and it was clear that he was inspiring his charges in front of him producing something very special. Thank you Mr Howarth, for something quite extraordinary. Everyone wanted more, but alas, it never came, and so it was time for lunch.

Saturday afternoon belonged to National Champions, Fairey FP (Music) and Howard Snell. The band's programme featured three overtures, the music of Judith Bingham, and the individual performance of the whole weekend – "Variations" by Wilfred Heaton, realised by Howard Snell.

The much-neglected Berlioz overture, Waverley was the first piece. The music is based on the novel of Sir Walter Scott, and was the first genre of concert overtures. After a quiet opening featuring Lee Rigg, things build, and the sound opens up. Faireys were sounding like an orchestra with some delightful symphonic sounds.

Judith Bingham's ‘These are our Footsteps' was written for the Millenium, and not for contesting purposes, purely to be used in the concert environment. In four sections, it is descriptive music, portraying events that happened on the Roman roads. The first section is march style focusing on the defeated Roman army on retreat from Germania in 7 A.D. From here, the music denotes St Paul on the road to Demascus, before the crucifixion of six thousand slaves along the Appian Way, which has some great moments from within the band, superbly directed by the MD. Moving on, the music depicts Boudica and her army riding on London, and then the final section - a brilliant image of The Nazka lines in Peru. Kevin Crockford, Ian Porthouse, Owen Farr and Morgan Griffiths, were simply superb not just in this section, but the whole of the piece. Lasting around twelve minutes, ‘Footsteps' is certainly different – but brilliantly so, and will probably be put on to CD at some point.

The first half concluded with Eric Ball's popular, "Festival Music" with all sections of the band in great form. The overture movement was class, the second memorable for Ian Porthouse (what a loss he will be to the band when a replacement is found) and Morgan Griffiths, and the Impromptu section was yet another reminder as to why the band have won the Nationals, two years on the spin. (There wouldn't have been a single dissenting voice this year if this was the test piece and performance)

The second half commenced with the popular "Comedy Overture" by John Ireland. Howard Snell's interpretation was majestic and the band was thriving on him being in front of them.

Before going for the hat trick in London come October, the band has certainly a busy year ahead. A number of prestigious concerts, a tour to Belgium, and a crack at the European. In addition, CD recordings with music from Gordon Langford, and a solo CD featuring the talented horn player, Owen Farr. They will be busy for sure.

Fairey's concluded its concert with "Variations" by Wilfred Heaton, realised by Howard Snell. Heaton's death in 2000 meant the work was unfinished, but Mr Snell had the score in safekeeping and concluded the various unfinished sketches, enabling it to be performed. This is a colossal piece of music for band, lasting thirty minutes, and is vintage Heaton. It has twelve variations in total, with numbers eight and twelve requiring the most amount of work and understanding of what the composer intended. If ever there was a reason Radio 3 should have recorded the festival, this was it. You identify Heaton's musical forms immediately, and by the time the band was in the third variation, it was edge of the seat stuff, fast, lively, with brilliant technique and understanding of the music from the MD and the band.

Each variation has something totally different. The second section is certainly memorable for variations eight and twelve. Variation eight contains a strong Yorkshire theme with the tune "On Ilkley Moor", amongst others, and it would sit comfortably on its own in a band concert. In the finale variation, Heaton thought a massed band could only play it, but after some twenty odd minutes, there was no sign of tiredness from Fairey. The variation centres around a musical ‘Amen' – simply magnificent stuff, and Howard Snell hopes to have to the printed score available soon, and no doubt record the work as well. To give you some idea how the audience reacted, men of the calibre of Elgar Howarth and Bramwell Tovey stood to applaud, along with many others. Everybody had just heard something out of the ordinary, and extremely memorable whilst the players will no doubt remember it too, because they really were at the top of their game. The biggest thank you though goes to Howard Snell, for concluding something that Wilfred Heaton had tried to finish before his death. This is simply great brass music, and although some of Mr Heaton's music has been used in competition, we would hate to see this one cut and cropped to fit that limited genre.

The standard of playing during the day had been superb, but it went up another level during the evening concert. The Fodens Richardson Band, under Bramwell Tovey, produced in its entirety the finest concert of the whole weekend. To give you some idea of the level and quality of the band's performance, cast your mind back to Symphony Hall, 2001 and the Fodens/Tovey interpretation of Les Preludes (ironically broadcast on Radio 3). The band didn't need to warm up as they had been working with the semi-finalists in the BBC Young Brass Soloist for Radio 2 earlier in the day and the performance of the Berlioz overture, ‘Le Corsaire', was sensational – white hot!

You got the feeling that Mr Tovey had to catch a flight back to Canada, such were the tempos. Yes, it was quick, and some commentators could be critical of the speed, but none of the detail was lost. Bramwell Tovey was so taken with Helen Fox's flugel playing, that she got a kiss as a thank you and even though it might have been the first piece of the night, Bramwell Tovey had the audience in the palm of his hand. As a couple of late-comers came in, Mr Tovey made the point that they had not missed much, and would do a reprise (which got a spontaneous round of applause). Alas, that was not the case, and Cheshire-based band continued with the rarely heard tone poem from Eric Ball, "The Triumph of Peace". The piece is in sonata form and set around a hymn tune by Ball ‘Peace In Our Time, O Lord', which appears at the end. This was really beautiful stuff and the way Mr Tovey brought the piece to life was pure class.

The first half concluded with the piece that First Section bands will be tackling at the Regionals – his own, "Coventry Variations". Mr Tovey was a wonderful compere for the night, light, humorous, but informative and the audience was given an insight into how everything came about. The work is based on the mediaeval Coventry Carol, and depicts images of the city's life. This is tremendous music, and first section bands should enjoy rehearsing and playing it. Principal cornet and flugel players might have a few sleepless nights though, as the opening variation (depicting the carol) is a lovely tempered duet. A word of warning for anyone unfamiliar with the music though - it is loud, and in some places, very loud and many First Section bands may fall foul of overblowing – not so Fodens. The band had clearly benefited from working with Bram Tovey during the week prior to the concert, as they took their level of performance, up another gear with exceptional playing from Mark Wilkinson, Helen Fox, and Tim Bateman, on bass trombone.

The first half concluded with a "Canadian Folk-Song Suite" by Morley Calvert. The first movement is extremely jolly, and once again, no slacking on the tempo front whilst the second movement is certainly slower, and featured the delightful sounds of Glyn Williams on euphonium. The third movement has plenty of work for percussion who drove the tempo to conclude a lovely overall rendition.

After the interval, the audience was treated to an Eric Ball's arrangement of Elgar's "Prelude to the Dream of Grontius". The level and quality of performance was as good as that in the first half, before they concluded its programme with the UK Premiere of Bram Tovey's "Requiem for a Charred Skull" which is written for three soloists, chorus, and band.

The piece was commissioned by the Hannaford Street Silver Band and first performed in 1999, conducted by the composer. Mr Tovey spoke openly about the Millennium Dome and the massacre in Kosovo where the charred remains of some thirty soldiers were discovered in a farmhouse that had been set on fire – the skull of one of the soldiers being used as some sort of gruesome spoil of war. Mr Tovey's feelings on both issues were the inspiration behind the Requiem (a rather strange symbiosis on the face of it, but one that has a real depth of relevance). Once again, the music contained so much emotion whilst the playing of the musicians had a depth of feeling drawn from the MD himself that was at times exceptionally moving.

No one was leaving without an encore, and I have to confess, that Mr Tovey's interpretation of the prayer ‘Begin the Day with God' from Eric Ball's ‘Songs of the Morning', will stay with me for a long time. The passion and the musicality that was something else. As I stood to applaud the band and MD for a wonderful evening, a lady tapped me on the shoulder. ‘Thank you for applauding my boy' she said. Members of Bram Tovey's family had made the journey to Manchester, for the concert, and not only did they hear a wonderful night's music, their boy "done great" as Ron Atkinson would say! He is some musician.

Fodens had produced a truly memorable concert, one that even their most distinguished soprano player Alan Wycherley stated to 4BR after the event was perhaps the "highlight of my career". And that from a bloke has had more memorable highlights than Pamela Anderson. This was special indeed.

The RNCM Brass Band (Howard Snell) got Sunday's concerts up and running. It was a mix of old and new, and commenced with a modern day composition by RNCM student, Graeme Hopkins, entitled "Fanfares and Laments Op.3" It was certainly different, but well received by the audience.

The Berlioz offering was another rarely heard overture from bands nowadays – "Beatrice and Benedict' – last used at the highest level as the Regional test piece in 1980. The band led by Richard Poole was comfortable with the music, and Howard Snell kept the tempos steady, giving the music plenty of chance to breathe. Light and breezy, it is a piece that deserves further airings. Music for band and live electronics was next on the programme, and as you can imagine, plenty of interesting sounds, with the electronics coming via the speakers in the hall.

Robin Hollway's "From Hills and Valleys" is different, but enjoyable. The piece starts with muted cornets and horns, and certainly demands plenty of concentration from within the band. Rehearsals during the week had paid off, as the band certainly embraced the music, which has tuneful moments, and concludes with a dramatic exciting finale.

The RNCM Band concluded with Eric Ball's "A Kensington Concerto", and Howard Snell's reading was delightful. Richard Poole made nice work of the opening cornet solo, and he was backed up by good playing from flugel Laura Hirst s well as Lauren Petritz-Watts, YBS man Mike Howley on euphonium, and Andrew Gourlay on trombone. Many of these students are just starting their academic life, and they will have benefited from the opportunity and experience to play in such a festival.

The most intriguing programme (on paper) was to be from Buy as You View Cory, under Dr Robert B Childs. A mix of overtures, new works for band from Michael Ball, John Pickard and Rodney Newton were to be on offer and the audience appreciated the journey north made by the band. All bets are off for two of the tracks on Brass Band Classics Volume Three it seems! Cory commenced and finished the first half with the music of Berlioz and Eric Ball. "Judges of the Secret Court" was given a terrific reading by Dr Childs, with the band in great form early on. If the recording is anything like this rendition, listeners will get a treat, very dramatic, and bringing every ounce of the music from within the band.

The same can be said for Ball's "Tournament for Brass". Dr Childs had played the piece under Eric Ball in the NYBBGB and recreated some of the Ball magic. The middle piece of the first half came from euphonium genius, David Childs, performing the English premiere of Michael Ball's "Euphonium Concerto". If ever pride shone from the face of a father, it was there at the end of son David Childs' impeccable premiere performance of Michael Ball's work as part of RNCM Festival. It was a truly superb performance.

In recent times, there may have been minor improvements in the design of this instrument, but the real progress has been made by the continual development of players' abilities and the academic opportunities to further emulate these abilities by younger players who follow them. This has led contemporary composers to develop the role of the player and the instrument within their musical thinking.

As a consequence of these developments, and his personal, exceptional talent, the enjoyment of David's performance at the RNCM, and on many other occasions, was never in doubt. It was never a question of ‘Will he – won't he?' when it came to the technical hurdles set for him. It was all about the subtleties of the music, and his interpretation of it. His father, his uncle, the composer, the band, the whole of us assembled there, were thrilled to have shared in this unique occasion. Players from within the band, and David Thornton and other Black Dyke players, listened in awe.

The second half of BAYV Cory's concert was as impressive as the first. Amazingly, the audience were treated to only the second performance of "A Welsh Festival Overture" by Eric Ball – great music and something Cory hope to put on CD at some point as well as getting the music published.

Dr John Pickard has been working with Cory as a composer in residence. If you have heard "Men of Stone", and "Wildfire", they are all part of the same cycle of pieces. BAYV Cory have just recorded "Aurora" that is the third part of the cycle, with the last part (Tsunami) being recorded later in the year. As a result, the whole thing will be played at the Cheltenham Festival next year with the four pieces joined together by percussion links, or as the composer says ‘windows'.

It is fascinating music, with plenty for the band to do with plenty of solo work. Although slow and quiet, BAYV Cory certainly did justice to the music and the CD should be interesting.

BAYV Cory concluded their programme with Rodney Newton's "The King of Elfland's Daughter". Mr Newton spent nearly as much time giving the verbal background of the piece as it took for the band to play it. It really is terrific music, very descriptive, plenty of romance and good playing to boot.

For an encore, Dr Childs invited close friend, Edward Gregson to conduct the band in "Men of Harlech". This was another example of band observing the MD at all times, as Professor Gregson brought a delightful sound out of the band, bringing to an end, a super concert from BAYV Cory.

The band-in-residence at the RNCM Black Dyke (Dr Nicholas J Childs) had the honour of bringing the Festival to its close. If you have ever wondered about what it is that pulls the crowds in for Black Dyke concerts, you only had to be at the Festival on Sunday evening to discover why. It does not matter what is on the programme, a full house is practically guaranteed, due to the band's history, the name, and the sound the band produces. No programme details could have been announced, but it still would have been full. The rumour mill suggested the band were in good form as they prepare for a trip to Philadelphia and Bermuda in late January, and if this concert is anything to go by, they will make a big impression.

Commencing with "March to the Scaffold" by Berlioz, the sound was immense, and Michelle Ibbotson on soprano was right on the ball. Elgar Howarth had been involved earlier in the weekend, and having seen the full programme, stayed on to listen after his commitments. Mr Howarth's "Cornet Concerto" was to be showcased by Roger Webster. It is a terrific composition, and the opening cadenza was simply magnificent. The middle movement is slow, melodic and very beautiful, whilst Roger was at his mercurial best in the virtuoso third movement. Different mutes, a piccolo trumpet, it was all happening, and the percussion section had to be on its metal as well, as the music had a mini duet with percussion driving the tempos and Roger just being Roger. The piece lasted just short of fifteen minutes, but it felt shorter, it was so enjoyable.

The item of real interest was music from the pen of Philip Harper entitled, "The Legend of Sangeet". Mr Harper told everybody that the music was cross-cultural (Eastern/Western) with inspiration coming from India itself. The piece features a sitar and other Indian percussion. As people took in their interval drinks, it was certainly the talking point. I loved it, and would not mind hearing it again to gain more understanding of Philip Harper's objectives. In three movements, the first has plenty for percussion to do, supported by some beautiful ensemble playing whilst in the middle movement the horns of Lesley Howie, Arfon Owen and Alison Childs were simply out of this world. The sitar comes in at the beginning of the final movement. Amplified into the hall, the balance between band and instrumentalist was slightly out of sync in places, but it was a wonderful example of intelligent composition.

The second half opened with "FestMusik Der Stadt Wien", before the band played Eric Ball's "Variation on an Original Theme (Enigma)" by Elgar in full, not as was heard in London last October. Roger Webster's cornet solo at the beginning was beautifully shaped, and things built from there. It was not a contesting performance, more concert orientated, but still had some of those magical moments that were heard at the RAH. Variations eight and nine, along with the finale were the highlights. WN & Nimrod (Variations 8 & 9) just oozed class all the way through and the Finale was simply stunning. Nobody was leaving as the band got a rapturous reception, and the Eric Ball march, "Torch of Freedom" was performed with a touch of swagger for good measure to finish.

So that was that - seven concerts in three days with great music and terrific playing from all the ensembles. Congratulations to Professor Gregson and his team for bringing the Festival back. If the weekend is anything to go by, it will become a feature of the banding calendar for a long time to come, regardless of whether the BBC support it or not. Lets hope someone at the BBC can get away from the ludicrous "dumbing down", ratings rubbish agenda that has been set by the moronic lead given by Radio 1 and take time to come and listen to some real, high class music making. That would then make you feel you were getting value for the licence fee.

Malcolm Wood

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