British Open - Brass on Sunday Gala Concert

Brass on Sunday
British Open Gala Concert
Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Sunday 19th September 2004

4BR sent two of its concert reviewers to see and hear what the top bands had to offer on the day after the British Open, and to find out if the four contributors had got over their various disappointments at not winning the contest the day before. This is what Malcolm Wood and Peter Bale thought:

Symphony Hall has really taken to brass bands.  The Open is very much the focal point, but throughout the year on Sunday afternoons throughout the year, you will find a top class band appearing in this fine hall to a large and appreciative audience.  The day after the Open has in recent years become a traditional day for a number of top bands to forget about contesting, and to go out and entertain.

Bram Gay has listened to the audience over the past few years that attend the post-Open event, and taken on board the fact that in the past the event can over-run just a little bit too long.  As a result, common sense prevailed with four bands being showcased in programmes of around thirty to forty minutes long, meaning all was done and dusted at a sensible hour and giving those in attendance for the whole weekend (including the bands) the chance to get home at a sensible hour, and for those who came just for the afternoon, more than enough to enjoy without them feeling 'short-changed'.

There were some top class bands on offer once more.  Buy as You View, Black Dyke, who between them were the outstanding ensembles of the day, Faireys and Grimethorpe - all of them producing programmes that demonstrated their various talents to the full.

Buy as You View Band: Dr Robert Childs

This was a band in scintillating form and who reinforced the point that the second place at the Open was more than justified.  They commenced proceedings with Rodney Newton's fabulous composition, 'Echoes of the East' - four movements played continuously that showcases different sections of the band, and draws inspiration from the music of Eastern Europe.

The music is very lyrical and enjoyable to listen too and from the opening notes, the capacity audience was captivated with the sound of the cornets from the back of the stage.  The opening movement (Aubade) was beautifully performed with some superb ensemble playing coming through (depicting Bulgarian peasants saluting the new day).  The second movement, is called 'Village Wedding' and although Romanian, it portrayed a Greek feel; lively, energetic, plates crashing etc. It was the third movement (Twilight Romance) which was the outstanding section of the whole piece though.  Here, Richard Davies (cornet), Joanne Deane (flugel) Owen Farr (horn) and David Childs (euphonium) produced some quartet playing of the highest order.  The final section is a "keep your eyes and ears peeled" one, as anything can happen, from the band's xylophone player appearing from nowhere and various soloists standing all over the place.  In many ways, this is another showcase for band similar to Call of the Cossacks, (written for Black Dyke) whereby the real quality of sound within the band can shine through, whilst also demonstrating the fine soloists the ensembles have in abundance.

The next two items were an opportunity to showcase more soloists.  The euphonium duo of David Childs and Nigel John is one of the finest pairings in the business, and the two of them stepped forward to perform the lovely 'Deep Within the Sacred Temple' by Bizet - simply magnificent stuff.  After all the fun and games of the day before, what a joy to hear two fine exponent's of the instrument just take your breath away.

And it didn't stop there.  The band's principal horn player, Owen Farr was making his solo debut with the band, and he loved every minute of his performance of the popular, 'Czardas'.  This young man of course has gone back to his native Wales having been at Faireys and is a fine addition to the band.  This was another individual performance of the highest order, and as was said, Owen loved it, and just couldn't stop smiling when taking the applause.

BAYV's official finale was Geoffrey Brand's arrangement of 'Carnival' used for the National finals in 1980, with Brighouse and Derek Broadbent taking the honours that day.  This was fantastic stuff, typical of what everyone is expecting from this band on the contesting stage nowadays.  It was a pulsating start, and a roller coaster of excitement right the way through with some terrific tempo's. What impressed most of all though was the detail that was drawn out of the score.  Some wonderful playing in every section, and what is more, the band and MD, loved every minute of it.  As an encore, a touch of self-indulgence from Robert Childs, with a march special to the Childs family, TJ Powell's 'The Bombardier'. It brought to an end, a magical opening to the afternoon's events. 

Black Dyke Band: Dr Nicholas Childs

The main part of Dyke's contribution to the afternoon came in the World Premiere of Paul Lovatt Cooper's Trombone Concerto for Brett Baker, but before that came some wonderful playing by David Thornton, and a classic military march to start.

The band's performance the previous day was one of the highlight's of the contest, and this mini-concert (as with BAYV) demonstrated despite missing out on the top prize, Dyke were determined to put on a fine show - and a fine show it was as well.

French Military March got things underway in confident manner, steady tempo, and a really good sound that filled the hall and with just the right Gallic feel of bombast and over puffed chests.

Next year will see the 60th birthday of Professor Edward Gregson and Black Dyke are working on a major recording project celebrating that fact at the moment.  David Thornton chose one of Gregson's early compositions, 'Symphonic Rhapsody for Euphonium and Brass Band' to showcase here.  Gregson's music has a challenging nature to it, but for David Thornton it just comes so easily and naturally in what was a fine interpretation.  The music has strong Salvation Army connotations, and from within the music, the soloist provided just the right sense of vitality.
 
The centrepiece of the band's contribution came from Paul Lovatt Cooper's Trombone Concerto: 'Earth's Fury' written for Brett Baker.  The idea for the piece focuses on natural disasters (blizzards, tornado's, earthquakes) but the music certainly isn't abstract and while it is a good listening piece, it can certainly challenge the musical mind.

The first movement reflects people in an American town going about their everyday business, whilst a twister starts to form bringing total chaos with it.  Fascinating stuff, and clearly Brett Baker had got inside the musical concept as he made the listener feel as though that they were in small town Nowheresville, USA. It was like one of those Stephen Spielberg disaster movies in fact - the music especially giving more of a mere nod and wink to the scoring of John Williams.

The second movement is beautiful; focussing on the reflection on what has happened, and the implications that disaster brings with it. The final movement is a return to the original ideas with the town going about its business once again and everything is once more OK with the world.

The piece is only ten minutes long, and in the programme notes (and speaking on stage) the composer hopes that people would 'connect' with the music and visualise a picture of what was happening.  Brett Baker was in great form, and judging by the audience's reaction, they enjoyed it, and so did Black Dyke Band.  Congratulations to the composer and soloist, and the accompaniment deserves a lot of credit as well - excellent stuff all-round, and look out for the next composition from Paul Lovatt Cooper, he is a talented Bolton supporting lad.

To close, a crackerjack of a piece from Dr Peter Graham called 'The Red Machine'.  Originally written for The Coldstream Guards, this piece was re-scored for band by Dr Graham just prior to a concert acknowledging ten years of Gramercy Music (Peter Graham's music publishing company) in May this year.

It has a feel of a mini concerto about it, with a 'fast-slow-fast' shape, and it is a real showcase for Dyke, and definitely 'edge of the seat' stuff.  The main theme relates to the famous chorale from 'Les Huguenots' by Giacomo Meyerbeer, and those familiar with Trooping the Colour will identify with it immediately, as it is played year in, year out.  The clarity of sound was a bit special, as Dr Childs only asked from his band no more than they could give, but they pulled all the stops out for this one.  All the solo players were terrific on the day, but Alex Kerwin on soprano brought over for the Open demonstrated why she took the British Open Solo Championships last year.  At times, during the concert, Alex was different class altogether.

Black Dyke encored with more Dr Graham music and 'The Cossack Wedding Dance', a showcase for individual players within the band, with a touch of humour to go with it, and it ended an impressive mini concert.

Fairey (FP) Music Band: David Evans

The star of the show for the National Champions was principal cornet, Nick Walkley.  Throughout the short concert, this young man was a real star, on an afternoon when overall, the band didn't really shine as well as they'd liked to do.

Musical Director, David Evans stepped in for Professional Conductor, Alan Withington with only a few hours notice, and the opening march 'The Champions' wasn't performed as well as a 'Champion Band' would have wanted it to sound.

Nick Walkley stood forward to give the Fairey's performance of the day in Harold Moss's 'The Nightingale'.  The National Champions are certainly just finding their feet after a difficult year, but the young man who has taken over from Ian Porthouse and follows a line that stretches back to Phillip McCann clearly relishes in the opportunity.  Nick's tone and control of the instrument was highly commendable especially in this solo, and many a great from the past would have been proud to put on a performance such as this.

'Fantasy on Tico-Tico' and the hymn tune 'Nicea', that has the familiar 'Holy, Holy, Holy' as its opening line, were both dispatched not as commandingly as they could have been, before the band tackled its finale; Sparke's 'Year of the Dragon'.

The highlight of the performance was the trombone playing in the middle 'Interlude' section by Roz Davies, but the two movements either side, at times didn't have the clarity and excitement that is so often associated with the piece.

Congratulations to David Evans though - his contribution to proceedings once more showed that he is top notch conductor who should be seen more at this level. All he needed was a bit more time with his band on this occasion -though that was not his fault.

Grimethorpe Colliery (UK Coal) Band: Lt-Col Frank Renton

The final band of the afternoon (and indeed whole weekend) were Grimethorpe, and when it comes to concerts, Grimethorpe are perhaps the very best in the business.

'Liberty Fanfare' was commissioned to celebrate the centenary of the building of the Statue of Liberty, and it got things going in rousing style.  For the second time in a couple of weeks, 4BR have had the delight of listening to Richard Marshall in superb form.  Anyone in Manchester at the Great Northern Brass Arts Festival, will have been knocked sideways by his performance of 'Blaze' by Phil Lawrence, and on this occasion a total contrast, with the delightful 'Ave Maria' - one of the moments of the afternoon - it was just a privilege to hear such talent.  Thank you Richard.

A blistering 'Dance of the Pirates' from Spartacus in typical Grimethorpe fashion was the meat in a sandwich of soloists, as Michael Dodd stepped forward to producing a sparkling performance of 'Zigeunerweisen' (Gypsy Airs) arranged for band by Thomas Ruedi.  This was the sort of playing to take your breath away and reminds you once again what a fine array of euphonium players, the movement has, and what such an underrated player Michael Dodds is.

To finish (officially anyway) a Ball masterpiece: 'Journey into Freedom', one of Frank Renton's favourite Eric Ball compositions.  At times, you sensed Frank was casting his mind back to the Yorkshire Area, in Bradford, in 1991, when Grimey's performance of this classic was considered one of the 'all time greats'.  Different era, different players, but this interpretation had its moments for sure.

Another old classic was resurrected next with the William Rimmer march, 'Slaidburn' which was used as the encore, and a belting performance to finish off an enjoyable afternoon. 

Yorkshire Building Society will feature in a 'Brass on Sundays' Concert in Symphony Hall on Sunday 21st November, and highlights of this event will feature on 'Listen to the Band' on BBC Radio 2 (www.bbc.co.uk/radio2) for three Fridays from 24th September.

Thanks to the bands and Artistic Director, Bram Gay.  The event in a shorter format than previous years worked well, and once again, it proved that whilst contesting is the lifeblood of banding, it's the concerts that are the life support system, as demonstrated by a full house, who went home, educated, entertained and very happy indeed.

Malcolm Wood

They say that the day after the Lord Mayor's Show can sometimes be somewhat of a letdown, but the four bands invited to take part in the day's music-making the Sunday after the British Open were determined that would not be the case.

The Buy As You View Band, resplendent in their new red and gold uniforms, were first to take the stage, with four solo cornets at the back of the stage ready to play the opening "Aubade" of Rodney Newton's "Echoes of the East".  Drawing inspiration from the folk music of Eastern Europe the Aubade - Bulgarian peasants greeting the new day - led into the lively Romanian "Village Wedding", with its complex rhythmic patterns, and displaying some particularly crisp articulation from the cornets and trombones.  The ensuing "Twilight Romance" featured a finely balanced quartet of euphonium, flugel, cornet and horn before the final section, the "Gypsy Festival", again from Romania, complete with rivalry shown between groups and individuals.  With each band playing separately this year, staging had been set up for the bands which was used to good effect in this opening number, even if the xylophonist still had to run on with his instrument, play his few bars, then run off again, to the great amusement of the audience!

It is sometimes said that a non-specialist audience will not respond well to original music for bands, but the reception given to this number gave the lie to that idea - it was music that communicated instantly, but also contained ample musical content and technical difficulty to satisfy any banding aficionados present.  Once Robert Childs had succeeded in getting the microphone to work, he introduced what many would rate as one of the best euphonium sections in any band: David Childs and Nigel John played an extended arrangement of the "Pearl Fishers' Duet" by Bizet made by Robert for David's solo recording last year.  With very clear arpeggios in the accompaniment, and prominent use of bells and subtle cymbal rolls, the solo line was at times split imperceptibly between the two players.  With crystal clear top C's each time they cropped up, and no forced, virtuoso ending, this was a most musical performance, with a suitable pause resulting before the audience applauded their efforts.

Having pointed out one error already in the printed programme - the aforesaid arrangement was shown as that by Keith Wilkinson - Robert now explained that he could not claim credit for the version of Monti's "Czardas" to be brought by new signing Owen Farr on tenor horn, which was in fact by Steve York.  He displayed considerable confidence in the opening, slower section, with a beautifully clear bottom "G" and effective use of grace notes.  Moving into the faster section, he continued to play quite quietly, the band matching him perfectly, and never overpowering the horn.  It was good to see the smile of reassurance exchanged between soloist and conductor as the band played the tutti section in what was his solo debut with the band.  Their partnership continued to bear fruit, right up to the final top "E", and they received a well-earned ovation.

For their finale, BAYV played Dvorak's "Carnival Overture", as arranged by Geoffrey Brand for the 1980 National Championships.  Here the percussion had an active role from the start, with some particularly tidy tambourine playing.  The band as a whole played with a bright sound, possibly a little more vibrato than some, but with a full tone and a solid bass section.  They also took advantage of the staging, which rose up the 2nd and 3rd cornets, so that their trumpeting figures were particularly prominent, and the sop and flugel features also came across well.

For an encore, they had chosen T J Powell's "The Bombardier", an old favourite of the Childs family.  The two euphoniums shared out the duet with the solo cornet, the trombones were especially precise in their dotted rhythms and the trio melody on flugel and horns provided a welcome change of tone colour.  With the last section held right back in tempo it proved a fitting end to their programme.

Next on stage was Black Dyke with their newly-slim conductor, Nicholas Childs.  From the opening notes of the "French Military March" (Saint-Saens, arr Hargreaves) one was conscious of the depth of sound produced by the bottom half of the band, whilst the trombone tone cut through where appropriate.  All the sections dove-tailed together smoothly, and the runs were articulated very cleanly, although the accelerando near the end seemed almost to catch a couple unaware for a split second.

Black Dyke's first featured soloist was euphonium star David Thornton.  Having produced a recent recording featuring some new repertoire, he had gone back in time somewhat, to an early work by Edward Gregson, celebrating his 60th birthday next year.  "Symphonic Rhapsody for Euphonium and Brass Band" was written in his teens, and features the old gospel song "We'll roll the old chariot along".  With its rather unusual slow central section in 5/4 time, it offered David ample opportunity to display his skill.  Once again, it was good to find a soloist prepared to play quietly and a band ready to keep beneath the soloist, and also encouraging that there were no inappropriate additions to the solo line, just a straightforward reading of a piece that has sometimes been overlooked.

Rather than introduce Paul Lovatt Cooper's "Trombone Concerto: Earth's Fury" himself, Nicholas Childs called upon the composer, who plays percussion in the band, to do the honours.  Following his description of how the small American town is devastated by a twister before life returns to some sort of normality, Brett Baker stepped forward.  The opening, depicting the town going about its business, is somewhat reminiscent of John William music for "Jaws", before the disaster strikes, with attractive figures and hummable tunes. As for the solo line, within a couple of bars it was up in the stratosphere, calling for good control and showing off Brett's fine tone at the top of the range.  There was much use made of mutes and percussion to add colour to the ensemble, and the solo part was very athletic once the twister came on the scene, with wide-ranging leaps and rapid phrases to articulate.  The middle section was more reflective, but still often very high lying, before the percussion led the way home with a reprise of some of the opening music as the town began the rebuilding process.  Again, new music had been presented in a way that made it attractive, rather than intimidating, and the audience responded well to a confident and exhilarating performance.  As for the composer, Nicholas Childs offered to be his agent if he could produce works of such quality.

Peter Graham has been associated with Black Dyke for some time but has now added to his existing band links by taking up a position as Composer in Residence with The Band of the Coldstream Guards, apparently now having the nickname "The Red Machine".  Peter's work of that name was written for them as a concerto for band, and has been re-scored for brass by the composer himself.  Effective use was made of the antiphonal placing of xylophone and vibraphone on the risers either side of the band, as strong full band chords, with prominent trombone parts, underpinned some very busy writing. 

There was also some interplay between cornets and trombones before the entry of "Ein Feste Burg" - as featured in Meyerbeer's "Les Huguenots" and used each year in the ceremony of Trooping the Colour on Horse Guards' Parade.  A solo section featured in turn euphonium, horn, trombone, cornet, soprano and flugel, and there were triplet figures that would be familiar to anyone knowing "On Alderley Edge", together with references to the music of Holst.  The music ended in a real blaze of sound, and had certainly proved a hit with the audience.

Before going into their encore ("Cossack Wedding Dance") Nicholas Childs remarked, to the obvious approval of the majority in the hall, "Concerts are our lifeblood, and well may it continue".  As they commenced their encore, the band seemed really relaxed and enjoying themselves, particularly apparent in the various solo episodes, including references to Monti's "Czardas" from the trombone and "Flight of the Bumble Bee" from the euphonium.  At the conclusion all instruments were raised in the air with an exultant flourish.

The Fairey FP (Music) Band has undergone several changes of personnel in recent days, and it was with a mixture of youth and experience that they took the stand, including in their number the two female players (on soprano and 1st trombone) who had been brought forward by Alan Withington following their performance in the Open.  Conducting them on this occasion was their music director, David Evans, who had responded to an SOS call when Alan Withington's flight back to Norway had been brought forward at short notice.   Throughout the opening march, George Willcock's "The Champions" there was obviously some discomfort over the tuning of the solo cornets, and adjustments continued during the first couple of sections, which detracted a little from a finely judged reading.

Nick Walkley has stepped up into the Principal Cornet chair, and he had selected Harold Moss's "The Nightingale" as his solo item.  In the introduction, the possibility was raised that it may have been originally intended for trombone - perhaps another challenge for Brett Baker to take up?  As for the performance itself, there were few signs of any nerves, even under a substitute conductor, and his lightish tone suited the work well.

The name of Derek Bourgeois is often associated with large-scale and challenging works, but he has also contributed a number of lighter items for brass, both through his association with the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and also his spell with the Sun Life band.  "Fantasy on Tico-Tico" offers an opportunity for the whole band to display their talents, starting with solo cornet, and moving through horn (whose contribution was a little lost in the ensemble), basses and trombones.  There were some particularly fine pedal notes from the three trombones, and various additional percussion instruments appeared around the band before the euphoniums led into the up-tempo final section.  A lively performance, possibly a little brash in the louder sections, and which would have benefited by the horn rising for his solo feature.

The hymn tune "Nicea" is usually associated with the words "Holy, holy, holy" and the setting by William Himes creates a reverential atmosphere, adding his own features, particularly that introduced by the solo cornet.  The bottom part of the band sounded especially well here, with the horns and baritones deserving of special mention, although from where this listener was seated, there appeared to be the occasional break in the melodic line.

For their finale, the band turned to Philip Sparke's "Year of the Dragon" which seemed to bring out the best playing of their slot.  From the opening with its tight side drum and full chords they seemed very confident, with the conductor making the most of the contrasts in the music, in particular drawing from them some extremely quiet, controlled playing.  The trombone solo received more of a jazz-tinged treatment than is sometimes the case and, despite having to contend with a considerable amount of coughing in the audience, the band maintained the intensity effectively.  The unison lines in the finale came over very well, although there was one disconcerting moment when something - a mute or stick? - fell to the floor.  The band, however, were not distracted and carried on to a positive finish.  There was no encore offered, but they had showed that they have a good basis on which to prepare to defend their title in October.

The Gala Concert was brought to a close by The Grimethorpe Colliery (UK Coal) Band under the baton of Frank Renton, and seated in their established formation with the flugel and horns to the front of the band, baritones and euphoniums in front of the basses.  For their opener, Mark Freeh version of John Williams' "Liberty Fanfare", they produced a suitably trumpet-like sound, supported by some very pure octaves in the basses. Led by Richard Marshall, it was an exercise in clarity when articulating semi-quavers, although it can become a little repetitive after a while.

Richard's solo contribution eschewed any fireworks in favour of the beautiful melody added by Gounod to Bach's counterpoint, and called by him "Ave Maria".  In the safe hands of arranger Ray Farr, and with a delicate contribution on vibraphone from Peter Matthews, it gave Richard the opportunity to display some fine, lyrical playing after the technical expertise shown previously.  In total contrast, the band then whipped through the "Dance of the Pirates" from Khachaturian's "Spartacus", arranged by their solo horn player Sandy Smith.  This lively interlude was very brief - only lasting some ninety seconds - but was very well received.

Soloists are often on the lookout for suitable vehicles for them to display their skills and this applies particularly to the brass band, where there is little historical legacy to draw upon.  The Swiss euphonium player Thomas Ruedi has conjured up a fiendishly difficult solo around "Zigeunerweisen" by the violin virtuoso Sarasate.  Based around gypsy airs, the opening section stays at a slow tempo, but with elaborate decorative figures from the soloist, using the full range of the instrument and calling for considerable dexterity.  Michael Dodd proved a more than adequate exponent of the art as he made all these figures sound as if they had always been intended to be played on the euphonium.  The second section of the piece, at a considerably faster tempo, incorporated much fluent scalic work, complete with the occasional whoop into the top register.  With fine support from the band - alternately brash and soothing - this was a great success.

Frank Renton maintained a good rapport with the audience, even risking the wrath of the band when he said that conductors only look at the top line of the score, which no doubt produced the intended reaction from the bass section.  Introducing Eric Ball's "Journey into Freedom" he spoke of the high regard in which Eric Ball is held within the world of brass bands.  As for the performance, it was perhaps a little more aggressive than some, but with some fine interplay between solo cornet and soprano, and some good, tidy playing from the horns.  When the tempo was held back the band responded as one, and the cornet solo was very carefully placed, with a sensitive accompaniment.  The other solos followed suit, although occasionally the players' breathing was a little intrusive - not that many in the audience could have done any better!  Following a smooth transition into the final section the band pursued its journey confidently, ending loudly, but with a good, balanced sound.

In his closing remarks, Frank Renton warned his listeners "If you're walking, be careful . . . I'm driving!"  It was clear from the movement in the percussion ranks that an encore was on the cards.  When it came it was the Rimmer favourite, "Slaidburn", and how refreshing to hear a march that many of the audience would know well, and had probably played themselves, treated seriously as a proper concert item.  With the bass solos notable for their very sustained sound, and full-length notes where appropriate across the band, it made for a toe-tapping conclusion to an afternoon that had contained something to suit most people's tastes.

Peter Bale

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