Cory brought a memorable 2017 Festival to a close with a virtuosic performance that underpinned their status as the world’s number one ranked band.

There was also no mistaking the pride on show either, as the display of their accumulated silverware provided a timely reminder of what others will have to do if they are to also challenge their contesting supremacy.

Flamboyant

Howard Snell's sparkling arrangement of the overture to 'Candide' was a flamboyantly polished opener, setting the scene for pianist Benjamin Powell to perform Ellerby's intoxicating 'Cabaret Concerto'.

In a quirky link to Howard Snell’s ‘Gallery’ heard the previous day, the eight movements were inspired by paintings - this time with musically suggestive titles by one artist, James Abbott McNeil. It was a wonderfully entertaining work and performance, brilliantly capricious from start to finish.

Stature enhanced

The first half closed with 'Freedom' by Hubert Bath; a compact symphonic suite rather a mini-symphony, packed to the gunnels with detailed ambition. It still asks a great deal of the performers with its timeless qualities, although there was little doubt its stature was further enhanced in a reading of breadth and understanding. 

Following the interval, Gustav Holst's ‘Capriccio’. Originally written in 1932 in response to an American request for a short radio piece, it has been splendidly resurrected for a second time by Paul Hindmarsh (Imogen Holst undertook the first in 1967). The exquisite colourings and textural balances were lithe and light - the performance the same.

Compositional fray

Philip Harper has recently voiced his concern about the current state of test-piece repertoire. In response he has bravely entered the compositional fray with ‘Cantabile’ - a substantial work that attempts to link the sound of a brass band to that of the varied timbres and styles of the singing voice. Transparent, expressive and more than a little intriguing, its thoughtfulness triggered many questions in the listener’s mind.

Stunning conclusion

To close, a tour-de-force 'Ravelling, Unravelling' - the work that secured Cory the European title in Lille last year. Sparke's weaving, intertwined homage to Ravel's ‘La Valse’ became a masterful display of technical artistry, compelling in its controlled momentum that inexorably led to a stunning conclusion.
 
The lollipop encore of a perfectly ‘thunderous’ bit of Sousa, aided by the generous invitation to members of the James Madison University Band to join Cory on stage, was a star-spangled way to round off a superb weekend of ‘Transatlantic’ music making.

 Malcolm Wood