The aspiring young musicians of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama have been putting on their series of enjoyable lunchtime concerts for some time now - managing to attract a growing audience in the process with their well chosen repertoire.

The latest was another eclectic mix and match - from Paul Lovatt Cooper’s bubbly opener ‘When Thunder Calls’ to Edward Gregson’s masterful homage to the greats of brass band test piece composition, ‘Rococo Variations’. 

Engaging

MD Matthew Rowe was an energetic, engaging presence at the band’s helm - bringing vitality and fizz to PLC’s effective showcase aperitif, complete with uber-confident stand up solo lines.

It was followed by Ben Halstead’s bravura soprano cornet rendition of ‘Live & Let Die’ - with the thumping Paul McCartney motifs played at a pace an ageing Roger Moore would have had trouble keeping up with as he skipped over snapping alligators in his beige safari suit.  

Halstead...Ben Halstead, had no problem though - playing with the suave lyricism and cool headed aplomb of a latter day 007.

Innate skill

On the 50th anniversary  of the death of the prolific Welsh composer TJ Powell, a breezy run through ‘The Contestor’ was a timely reminder of his innate skill at writing so expertly for the concert march format; bold, passionate and tricky. 

With some neat solo lines touches from the likes of the impressive Will Norman on principal cornet and Peter Jackson on euphonium, the MD was able to deliver it with a fine sense of purpose.   

Cultivated image

Joseph Turrin’s ‘Hymn for Diana’ seemed curiously out of place; a sugar coated piece of sentimentality that pays homage more to the expertly cultivated media image than the reality of a flawed ‘People’s Princess’.

It was well played though - with finely balanced tonal warmth to the ensemble sound and solo interventions that were delivered with welcome simplicity.

Damn good

To close, a damn good crack at Gregson’s immensely difficult ‘Rococo Variations’ - a work of pure craftsmanship and understanding of its chosen compositional pen portraits. 

The MD brought elicited a mature stylistic nuance - bringing a dark sense of intrigue to the dislocated ‘waltz’, an austerity to the ‘lament’ and a fiery pulse to the formidable ‘fugal scherzo’.

It rounded off another tasty lunchtime musical menu that certainly satisfied with its hearty substance. 

Iwan Fox