Black Dyke in Knighton

Black Dyke Band
Conductor: Dr. Nicholas Childs
Knighton Community Centre
Knighton, Mid Wales
2nd October 2004

The small mid Wales market town of Knighton in Powys may not on the face of it be a traditional mecca for brass band enthusiasts, but for the past 11 years it has hosted nearly all the very best bands in the UK twice yearly in its Festival of Brass series of concerts.

The latest, and unfortunately it seems, the last of these, saw Black Dyke make their fourth visit to the town which has a population of just over 2,500, but who have supported these events so well over the years that the organisers can lay claim to providing brass band entertainment to over 10,000 hardy souls from the 23 concerts they have put on. Dyke of course have a loyal and enthusiastic following of supporters all over the world and quite a few Welsh "Pondashers" were to be seen in the capacity audience of 600 who were shoe horned into the village hall.

Dyke are a band playing with a great deal of concentrated purpose at present; there is a real sense of commitment to the cause - accentuated by their determination to put right the perceived wrong of the Open at the Royal Albert Hall maybe, but they are performing at the top of their game for sure.

This was a welcome chance for the band to prepare themselves for that challenge with a showcase performance that limbered them up for the serious task ahead in Kensington, and the good burghers of Knighton certainly had their money's worth. The town in turn provides a superbly organised event; the band is fed and watered with a tremendous farmers spread, whilst over the years a few of the more famous local residents turn up and enjoy themselves as well -"Boycie" from "Only Fools and Horses" fame, and Alan Turner (currently being poisoned to death by the Campari girl in Emmerdale) are regulars.  The band were also presented with a lovely cut lead glass bowl to commemorate this final concert and their contribution to the event over the years. 

Of the 23 concerts previously put on here, Dyke has appeared four times, (five if you include a concert they gave here in 1905 - even before long serving tuba player Phil Goodwin was in the band!) but the likes of Williams Fairey, YBS, BAYV, Leyland, Tredegar, Yorkshire Imps, Brighouse and Rastrick, Fodens and Grimethorpe have all made at least one appearance here - a tremendous line up and a credit to the organisers. This may on paper be the last event to be held, but as was said at the end - "Never say, never", and as the local authority has just found £30,000 to pay consultants so that they could hire a retired Rear Admiral to become their Chief Executive (in a land locked county at that), the hope may be that the event could saved if pressure is put to bear - lets hope it is.   

Back to the concert though, and Dr. Childs had picked a programme that was easy on the ear for the audience, but still quite demanding on the lips of the players, and so each of the principal soloists had a chance to show why they are held in such regard, and the band had plenty of opportunity to extend themselves when required as well.

Roger Webster, David Thornton, Brett Baker and Joseph Cook were all on top notch form, and all gave their usual suave and highly polished accounts of themselves, but the pick was Lesley Howie on horn who produced a cracking account of the "Mendelssohn Violin Finale" that was of impeccable clarity and detail. These five (plus John Doyle on flugel) will shortly be joined by Peter Roberts don't forget on soprano, so Nick Childs may feel hard pressed to include any band numbers on future programmes when he will have this soloists line up to choose from. What a headache though eh?

The band themselves enjoyed the chance to let their hair down a bit on favourites such as "French Military March"(full of the right mix of Gallic bluff and self importance), "La Corsair" (taken at a fairly wicked speed), "March Slav" (with the bass earning their money pumping it out in an acoustic nearly as dead as Alan Turner in Emmerdale), "Peer Gynt" (which was enhanced by some lovely flugel horn playing from John Doyle), "Hora Staccato" (which featured the unsung heroes of the back row playing from memory) and "Pines of Rome" to finish - which was specially requested by the organisers as it featured in the very first concert in 1993 when Major Peter Parkes took the baton with the then, Williams Fairey.

The most interesting piece of the night though was the second chance to hear Paul Lovatt - Cooper's Trombone Concerto: "Earth's Fury" which Brett Baker premiered at the Bridgewater Hall a few weeks back. On this occasion only the last movements were played, but once more it revealed itself as a work of considerable musical intelligence and artistry. There is a clear, and original compositional thought process at work from the Bolton man (who also happens to be Dyke's principal percussionist), and the work has an easy accessibility to the listener that draws them into the musical picture created around the coming of a natural disaster to a small non-descript middle American town. Brett Baker must be congratulated for the way in which he developed new repertoire for the instrument over the years, but this a composer to keep an eye out for sure.

Black Dyke certainly enjoyed themselves in preparation for perhaps a sterner test ahead, but with the addition of players of the calibre of Alex Kerwin and Jamie Prophet to join their ranks for London, and with the band playing in a vein of such rich form at present they should be one of the favourites to put the disappointment of Birmingham behind them and possibly bring back the old silver pot to the Queensbury bandroom for the first time since 2001. If that is the case, then they may be getting another welcome from this lovely part of Wales and its friendly and supportive brass band lovers as well.    

Bev Rowson. 

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