The National Band of New Zealand

Conductor: David Gallaher
Aotearoa Maori Cultural Group, Regent Hall Band
Regent Hall,
London,
Tuesday 28th June

There was a buzz of expectation at Regent Hall as people gathered for one of the two English concerts that the National Band of New Zealand was undertaking en route to the World Championships at Kerkrade.  As well as banding personalities including Goff Richards, there were many ex-pat Kiwis to be seen, and barely a mention of the recent defeat of the Lions by the All Blacks!

The host band took responsibility for the first half hour under their bandmaster Stephen Hanover, solo horn player in the ISB.  In recent years they have gained quite a reputation for innovation regarding the presentation of their programmes and this evening was to be no exception. 

With cornets and trombones spread around the balcony they opened with Martin Cordner's "Fanfare and Flourishes", their bright sound contrasting with the opening stroke on the tam-tam and the solid sound from the seven basses.  As the music presented the worship song "The Power of your Love" the voice-over was rather swamped by the sound, making it hard to distinguish the words at times.  The band played with a good, full sound, if a little loud at the climaxes, but which was always tuneful, with Chris Deacon's tasteful Eb trumpet topping things off.

The sound of the band's five trombones was heard off-stage as they moved into Goff Richard's arrangement of "I will follow Him": they then ran into the body of the hall as the band joined in and completed the item with some well-rehearsed choreography and no little humour.  One person near me pointed out that the screens were showing "Sister Act 2" at one stage, rather than the first film, but they can be forgiven for that!

Ray Steadman-Allen's setting of the tune 'Thaxted' ("I vow to thee my country" ) benefited from some fine, sustained playing, with careful placing of the accompanying chords, and displaying the clear tone of Paul Sharman, Principal Cornet.  Then followed music from Canadian Salvationist Lorne Barry, currently living in Australia, whose "Credo" features the old Gospel song "'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus". 

Introducing this item, which somehow seemed more impressive live than in previously heard recordings, Major John Read referred to the title, and its various meanings, drawing from his own experience in New Zealand to compare Christian belief with bungee jumping: it's one thing to believe that it will work, but quite another to actually take your life in your hands and take the plunge yourself.  The chamber music textures of the opening bars proved a little testing on the band's intonation, and there seemed to be a conflict in tuning between band and glockenspiel, but the playing on the whole was very impressive.  With scenes projected onto screens either side of the band illustrating the hustle and bustle and turmoil of everyday life as depicted in the music by intricate rhythms above a bass ostinato, the melody of the chorus gradually came to dominate the texture, culminating in a powerful affirmation of faith.

To close their slot, Regent Hall presented Barrie Gott's "Daniel", showcasing their fine kit player Jonathan Whitmore.  When the drum break came, it was the signal for the Regent Hall bandsmen to spring into action, taking up positions all round the hall, as the National Band of New Zealand occupied the seats on the platform.  After a well-constructed solo, lasting considerably longer than the usual few bars, the two bands combined to bring this section of the programme to a rousing conclusion, in the process having achieved in an instant the sort of platform change that often seems to take an age when bands combine in concert.

It was then the turn for the Aotearoa Maori Cultural Group to bring their first set.  Reduced in numbers due to the financial difficulties that have beset the tour, the five women and two men nevertheless combined to bring the essence of Maori culture, with a combination of the traditional Haka, close harmony singing and action songs. 

Barefoot and wearing matching skirts (the men included), sporting traditional tattoos (mainly the women!) and with extremely expressive eyes, they really drew the audience into their set, which also included pom-pom twirling and songs with guitar and clave accompaniment.  There was certainly no place for undue modesty, particularly as far as the men were concerned, who did not have the benefit of the red dresses the women wore under their skirts, and it is probably the first time that such overt courtship rituals have been carried out in a Salvation Army hall!  They closed their set with the traditional song "Hine e Hine", leaving the arena to tumultuous applause.

Under their Music Director David Gallaher, the first item from the New Zealand National Band was Berlioz' overture "Le Carnival Romain" in Frank Wright's arrangement.  The notorious euphonium solo held no terrors for Riki McDonnell, although his vibrato may not be to everyone's taste, and the horns and baritones provided well-balanced support.  There was a little untidiness at the start of the 6/8 section, and the trombones were a little overwhelmed at times (missing for this concert their Principal, David Bremner, presumably following on later due to professional commitments) but all in all it formed an exhilarating introduction to this talented band, who had only met together for four days prior to departure.

The first soloist to be featured was soprano player Colin Clark, who remained seated to play Howard Snell's arrangement of the 18th Variation from Rachmaninoff's "Paganini Variations".  With the accompaniment sensibly pared down to one on a part the sensitive soloist could be heard clearly throughout, even over some very effective surges of volume from the band.

In total contrast, Principal Cornet John Lewis displayed some real Latin American flair in Goff Richard's version of "El Cumbanchero", with an improvisatory feel to the opening and total control across the full range of the instrument.  It was interesting to note the economy of movement, as his fingers barely left the tops of the valves throughout.

The band presented two items by Philip Wilby (although not, unfortunately, the set piece for Kerkrade, "Music for the Moving Image").  "The Day thou Gavest" once again offered the opportunity to show off the smooth playing of the bottom half of the band, with some delicate soprano work as well and a tightly-controlled ending.

"...Dove Descending" opened with a thrilling cornet fanfare, with the cornets standing in the balcony either side of the platform.  There was some tight work from the percussion and the trombone solos were well-defined.  The various solo contributions were carried off well, although the central "Nativity" section seemed a little lacking in atmosphere and tenderness.   Also, the hall layout meant it was a little awkward and noisy for the cornet players as they moved to and from their fanfare positions, and the pre-recorded contribution from the blackbird seemed more dominant than usual.  Despite these minor drawbacks, it was an accomplished rendition that led high expectations for the final section of the programme.

Much of the concert had taken place in a thunderstorm, and so it was that the atmospheric marimba solo from Roanna Cooper, the 4th movement of the "Marimba Concerto" by Marco Pereira, was punctuated by unexpected thunderclaps.  Although this led to no little amusement amongst the audience it did not seem to bother the soloist, who displayed her artistry both in the faster passages and in some exquisite unaccompanied sections, using four sticks throughout.

"Reverie", by New Zealand composer Kenneth Young, was commissioned to mark Riki McDonnell's 60th birthday.  A lyrical and expressive work, as the title would imply, it exploited well his smooth tone and proved a fitting tribute.

Moving up in size it was the turn for Phillip Johnston on Bb bass to present Kummer's "Variations for Ophicleide".  This proved to be one of the highlights of the evening, as he negotiated this tricky solo, moving smoothly across the range, complete with trills and pedals notes that were part of the melodic phrase, rather than add-ons for particular effect.  As he turned over what seemed to be endless pages of score, the sensitive accompaniment allowed his clear tone to come through at all times.

For their second slot, the Aotearoa Maori Cultural Group was accompanied by the band in a sequence specially written for the tour by Simon Kerwin, recently moved out to New Zealand, entitled "Sirba Floricaca".  Carrying on from where the first slot had finished it contained a similar mix of styles, although from their canoeing action in one of the songs it looked suspiciously as if they would have been going round in circles.  Laudable as it was to present a combined item, the accompaniment did seem to take something away from the simplicity displayed in the first half, and a couple of the numbers were somewhat reminiscent of the music hall rather than the New Zealand countryside.

Kenneth Young has composed "Prelude for Kerkrade" especially for the tour, a bright, attractive piece that featured all the sections of the band, with the horns and baritones coming over particularly well.  As a postlude, Solo Baritone Ross Gerritsen moved into the balcony for a moving rendition of "Pokarekare Ana" (arr Peter Maunder), which would have been familiar to Billy Connolly fans as it ended each programme in his "World Tour of New Zealand". 

It had been an evening of good music and entertainment, well played and presented and with no time wasted.  The audience turnout was pretty good for a Tuesday evening, and no doubt they all wished the National Band of New Zealand every success in Kerkrade (even if they do still want the Lions to beat the All Blacks!).  This bright-toned band is clearly on good form and will benefit from the additional days spent together, and the imminent arrival of David Bremner to strengthen the trombone section.

Peter Bale

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