Kapitol Brass in Concert

Black Dyke Band
Conductor: Dr Nicholas J Childs
Mnozil Brass
The Band of HM Royal Marines Fanfare Team
Capt. R P Long
Compere Sheila Tracey
The Royal Albert Hall
Saturday 15th October

'Prepare to be Entertained! '– that was the strap line on the advertisement across the banding media for this year's Gala Concert.  Without question, those who went to the post-contest concert got their monies worth, and for a number of them, they were left almost speechless at what they'd listened too.

Thomas Gansch, Roman Rindberger, Robert Rother, Gerhard FuBL, Leonard Paul, Zoltan Kss, Wilfried Brandstotter make up Mnozil Brass.  These gifted musicians (and that's almost an understatement) came to prominence in the UK last year (on the recommendation of Steven Mead) when they performed before the announcement of the results at last year's National finals.

Quite literally they were an instant hit; the audience loved it, and so they were invited back this year to appear along with Dyke at the Gala Concert.  Once again, their brand of humour and musicianship was nothing short of superb, with some very clever choreography, let alone playing.

These players are all graduates of the Vienna College of Music and accomplished brass players in their own right – the trombone contingent amongst them would have undoubted relished the challenge of ‘Eden' for sure. They must also be secret members of the college footlights comedy club as well, because they certainly know how to make people laugh with intelligent slapstick humour.

You had to have eyes in the back of your head watching everything that was going on; subtle movements, visual gestures, almost reminiscent at times of the silent movies, that only fine comedic talent could bring off. One such item was ‘Abgesang', a farewell song where the coffin was carried across the stage. In addition, not content with being exceptional performers, one of the things that enhance their performance on stage is the ability to arrange the pieces performed. 

Throughout their two sets, almost all of the music played was original music for them or arrangements that demonstrate their talents at their best.  One such item was the arrangement of ‘Light Cavalry' whilst in total contrast the audience was treated to a performance of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody', performed in  accapella that was never out of tune. 

Every single item performed was done continuously so you weren't completely sure they'd finished their set till they had actually gone off stage. They fooled the audience with clever repetitions of final chords, but the final couple of numbers demonstrated not just their versatility, but their professionalism in rounding things off in grand style. 

Firstly, a delightful duet before everybody came back to perform a send up of modern music whilst being introduced one-by-one to the audience – magical stuff, and for any organiser anywhere in the world, these guys are guaranteed to provide some ‘alternative entertainment' that would easily blend in with a traditional brass band on the concert stage. They were well worth the admission fee on a night when the attendance at the concert was slightly down from what we have seen over the past few years.

Black Dyke's contributions to the night mixed entertainment with selections of music that have been a feature of their 150th Anniversary Year. Having heard Dyke on superb form in concerts throughout this special year, on this occasion they were not quite up to their usual standard.

Whether this was due to the disappointment at missing out on the National title itself was debatable, but they seemed tired and rather flat and whilst the music chosen was right for the occasion, it never quite raised itself to really stir the audience. It is not often Dyke are upstaged by a support act, but on this occasion they were.

It was Dyke whom commenced the night's proceedings after an opening fanfare from the HM Royal Marines Fanfare Team with Philip Sparke's ‘Jubilee Overture'.  Whilst this piece is celebratory in style, Dyke certainly didn't sound in a celebratory mood – they just wanted to drown their sorrows, but at the end of the day, they had a job to do and the professionalism of the players never allowed it fall below expected standards.

Roger Webster was then the featured soloist in the finale from Howarth's ‘Cornet Concerto' before the remainder off the cornet section joined him centre stage for ‘Hora Staccato' – a piece that goes down with audiences everywhere, whenever performed by any band.

Dyke returned on stage after Mnozil's first ‘mind-blowing' spot to feature Peter Roberts in a lovely arrangement of ‘The Lord's Prayer' giving everyone a chance for a moment of calmness and reflection. This was a lovely understated performance from the great man and was the pick of Dyke's contribution on the night.

The first half concluded with Professor Wilby's ‘Northern Lights'.  The World Premiere was given at the Bridgewater Hall in June and it comprises of a set of Dance Variations, led musically by the bands soloists, whilst towards the end the music features a recording of ‘Deep Harmony' from Black Dyke in 1938.  One this occasion though, there were no dancers in attendance from the Ludlow Dance Company who appeared in Manchester, and whilst written to include them along with the musicians, this performance gave anyone who'd been present in June and here to concentrate fully on the music.

Of particular interest to this reviewer in advance of the concert were the items selected from the DVD ‘Heritage' that includes actors and interpreters from the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. 

Elgar's ‘Nimrod' was poignantly played whilst Richard Hollick gave a narration of how things must have felt for anyone that had endured the war-time battles on the front line, before a sword fight took place behind the band as they performed ‘Clash of Steel'.

The final selection from ‘Heritage' came in the form of ‘Popular Song and Polka' from Facade, featuring Kate Vigurs - although her narration did sound a little quick at times in keeping with the music.

To conclude the night's entertainment, the European and British Open winners performed Howarth's arrangement of ‘Baba Yaga and Great Gate of Kiev' that had a real sense of tiredness about it, before encoring with an up-tempo version of ‘Bach's Toccata in D Minor' featuring some fine playing by percussionist, Anne Armstrong.

Philip Morris & Nicola Bland deserve congratulating for putting on a concert with a difference; a concert that raised a few eyebrows as to whether the combination of musicians would work.  It certainly did, and it is understood a CD of the Concert (along with the winning performance of Eden) is to be released.

Malcolm Wood

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