Fairey FP (Music) Band

Conductor: Simon Stonehouse
The Anvil, Basingstoke,
Saturday 14th May

In the absence of any programmes, there was a certain element of  ‘Name That Tune' as the Fairey FP (Music) Band took the stage at The Anvil, Basingstoke.  As they struck up the opening bars of the march that was to commence proceedings, there was no little speculation amongst those who did not recognise it - Elgar? - one of the lesser known Pomp & Circumstance Marches? 

Those in the know soon identified it as the band's signature tune, Maurice Johnstone's  ‘Beaufighters' , benefiting from a finely judged account, with a wide dynamic range, and some excellent horn playing at the start of the trio.  In many ways it set the seal for the whole evening, with the emphasis on attention to detail, under the direction of their recently appointed conductor Simon Stonehouse.

Gilbert and Sullivan's ‘Yeoman of the Guad'  (coming to prominence in 1888, not 1988 as Simon mistakenly announced!) contains some fine music, and the Overture was given a sympathetic reading.  Setting a steady tempo at the outset, articulation was very clean, with trills and runs carefully placed, and solo parts dovetailing nicely - sop and flugel in particular.  

Steve Wilkinson, the band's Principal Cornet, had chosen to play William Himes'  ‘Jubilance' , placing demands both on the soloist and also on the accompaniment with its intricate rhythms.  The various sections of the band contrasted well, with the trombones in good form, as they were all evening.  Steve's smooth sound in the slower sections was especially praiseworthy, and he seemed to grow in confidence as the piece progressed.  The accompaniment to the cadenza was particularly impressive, and the central section, where the lower end of the band comes to the fore, was most effective.  Steve's performance, if not without the occasional slip, certainly won over the audience, and showed him to be someone to watch in the coming days.

Moving back a few decades, and changing styles to the music of Irving Berlin,  ‘Cheek to Cheek' showed the versatility of the band, as they adjusted to a different genre of playing.  The kit player in particular got things just right, with none of the anachronisms, which so often creep in and spoil things, and the muted sections were also very effective.

Andrew Duncan's ‘Cartoon Classics' has been taken up by many bands and is a selection that generally works well, although the jury is still out on the vocal contributions!  The basses and trombones were first class in ‘The Pink Panther' whilst the muted back row and trombones in  ‘The Flintstones' also came across well.  There did seem to be a little uncertainty at the start of  ‘The Simpsons' , but things soon came back together.

In addition to the main band set up in the centre of the stage, six stands had been waiting at the side of the platform: now the audience found out why, as three flugels and the three trombones stepped forward to play Goff Richards' recent arrangement of  ‘You are the Sunshine of my Life'.  Led by Lucy Murphy on flugel this attractive number worked very well with the concertante group set against a mainly muted band accompaniment, as well as featuring in sections on their own.  The three flugels in particular blended very well together, even when playing in unison.

Next followed the  ‘Elegy' from John Ireland's ‘Downland Suite'.  This gem from the past brought out some fine, sustained lines, with the light and shade emphasised, and made one wish they were playing the whole suite rather than just the one movement.

Soprano player Rebecca Cranshaw has been with the band for nearly a year now, and seems to have grown greatly in confidence over that period.  During the whole evening she barely put a foot wrong, and her rendition of  ‘Silver Threads' demonstrated her clean, open sound effectively.  The band accompanied her sensitively, paying due attention to matters of detail and style, with the tutti sections kept well under control.

Weber's overture ‘The Ruler of the Spirits' made for a rousing conclusion to the first half of the programme, showcasing all the sections of the band in turn.

The second half opened with John Williams' ‘Olympic Fanfare and Theme', written for the 1984 Olympic Games.  With the cornets arrayed either side of the band, and the trombones standing behind, the spatial effects worked well, although for those seated right at the front of the auditorium the trombone sound was a little muffled.  Also, the side drum sound was rather brittle.  Instead of returning directly to their seats, the back row cornets came to the front of the stage for Harry James' ‘Trumpet Blues & Cantabile' which, for this listener at least, was not so successful, with the sound a little too straight and rather lacking in warmth.

Faireys' solo horn, Chris Pannell, has already developed quite a reputation, and his warm tone was shown to good effect in the ballad ‘One Day in your Life' - and incidentally, there cannot be many pieces that open with a phrase on solo baritone!  As for the solo line, Chris made the most of the opportunities for expression, and showed a good rapport with the audience.

Goff Richards'  ‘Breezing down Broadway' draws together a number of show tunes such as ‘Another openin', another show',  ‘I'm getting married in the morning',  ‘Oklahoma', ‘That's Entertainment', ‘76 Trombones' and ‘There's no Business like Show Business'.  At the end, the bass section were called up for a special round of applause for their sterling work, including the rare opportunity to play a tune!

Following on from this exuberant playing, Morricone's ‘Gabriel's Oboe' provided a total contrast, and it was illuminating to watch bumper up Brian Taylor as he supported Steve, as he did throughout the evening - what an asset to the band he has been over the years.

Principal euphonium Brendon Wheeler (guesting from the Hepworth Band) had not seemed totally at ease at times, his head buried in the copy, but with his solo contribution, the old favourite ‘Jenny Jones' , he really came in to his own.  Seeming very relaxed and confident, he demonstrated his considerable skill as he negotiated the different variations, proving that his recent success in the Radio 2 Young Brass Soloist competition was not just a flash in the pan.

Phillip Wilby's ‘The Day Thou Gavest' found the band playing as a single entity, rather than individual sections, with a full, rounded tone, with the restful ending especially telling.  The calm did not last long, however, being broken by a sparkling performance of  ‘Helter Skelter' by xylophonist Chris (couldn't catch the surname I'm afraid!).  With a suitably light accompaniment, he caught the spirit of the music beautifully and communicated well with the audience.

Shostakovich's ‘Festive Overture' opened well, with clear fanfare figures, but there seemed to be a couple of gaps in some of the running figures at times, and the band seemed to be showing signs of tiredness.  They rallied well, however, and brought it to a rousing conclusion.  Simon had announced that sufficient applause could lead to an encore, and so it was that the evening ended with a brisk reading of JJ Richard's sparkling march ‘Midwest', with the trombones once again in fine form.

The band is clearly developing a rapport with their new conductor, which showed in their deportment on stage - even if there were a couple of occasions where individuals or sections jumped the gun slightly in raising their instruments - and in the way in which they responded to his lead. 

Simon Stonehouse made an affable compere, although microphone problems had apparently found some of the audience somewhat left out of things in the first half.  If it was not a particularly ambitious programme, it was well-prepared and, as stated previously, showed much attention to detail, especially in matters of style.  A very good evening's music-making, which seemed to please the majority of the audience, which cannot be a bad thing! 

Peter Bale

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