Canadian Brass

St John’s, Smith Square
London
Monday 7th November

A packed St John's, Smith Square was buzzing with anticipation prior to Canadian Brass's London concert.  There were only a handful of empty seats, the audience made up of people from a wide range of backgrounds:  brass bands, orchestral and chamber brass, young and old, including many of the students who had spent time with the group at the Royal Academy of Music earlier in the day – even better when they were able to get in for free by assisting with selling programmes!

Following the now customary reminder about mobile phones, alarms and pagers – which thankfully everyone seemed to take heed of – Canadian Brass entered from the back of the hall, strolling through the audience as they played "Just a closer walk with thee", just as they had done at their appearance at Regent Hall a few years back.   Since then, there have been a number of personnel changes, including one very recent arrival, trumpeter Justin Emerich, who has only been with them since September, but it was clear from the outset that they retain their ability to entertain, and to play to a very high standard.

Tuba player Charles ("Chuck") Daellenbach undertook most of the compering duties during the evening, and he very quickly established a good rapport with the audience with his light-hearted asides and comments, explaining that they had just played their first encore, as there may not be time at the end of the concert!

The first item proper was "Toccata" (Frescobaldi arr Mills), featuring Justin Emerich on piccolo trumpet.  The precision of the playing around the group was stunning, although it was a noticeably less homogeneous sound than many similar groups, with the individual voices retaining their own characteristics, rather than blending into one.  The robust sound of horn player Bernhard Scully – technically secure throughout the evening and more in the Barry Tuckwell mould than that of Dennis Brain - was matched by the trombone playing of founder-member Eugene Watts, whilst the two trumpets exchanged some very florid phrases.

As a prelude to Bernhard's rendition of the "Rondo" from Mozart's "Quintet for horn and strings, K. 407" they presented a madrigal by the English composer John Wilbye, which produced some ravishing playing, with lilting, singing phrases and crisp rhythms, the changes of rhythmic emphasis being handled deftly and naturally.  Melodic lines were exchanged between the players, and the combination of trombone and the two trumpets for one section was most attractive.

They said they had tried the Mozart with strings instead of brass, but as they couldn't play the instruments it was not very successful, and anyway they felt the brass sounded more correct.  Bernhard stood at the front of the stage, enabling his sound to project more clearly, and he produced a virtuoso performance, with clean articulation in the runs and secure pitching, complete with a lip trill in the brief cadenza.  The transcription of the accompaniment was effective, although the overall effect was naturally a little heavier than the original.

Introducing the "Canzona" by Giovanni Gabrieli, it was explained that he wrote much of his music with the special possibilities offered by the churches in Venice in mind.  To take advantage of the space available at St John's, Canadian Brass played with the trombone and horn one each side on the stage, and the two trumpeters half way down the auditorium.  As for Chuck on tuba, "since Gabrieli didn't write for the tuba, he could sit where he liked", whereupon he made his way to a vacant seat in the middle of Row F, getting the person in front to hold his music.  They kept together remarkably well in the circumstances, through both the faster and slower sections.

Explaining that Bram Tovey was "a Canadian composer who happened to have grown up in London", some background was given to his four-movement "Santa Barbara Sonata".  It was written for Canadian Brass after they had spent time together at the Music Academy of the West, at Santa Barbara, California.  The first movement, "Cakewalk on a Tight Rope", alludes to the fact that there are so many talented musicians on the threshold of their musical careers, with difficult decisions to make. 

Opening with very precise, rhythmic figures, it was certainly a cakewalk with a twist, with carefully placed accents and lyrical interludes amid the more spiky sections.  One of the features of Santa Barbara is its pier, and "Preacher on the Pier" presented the piccolo trumpet declaiming "Nun danket alle Gott" over playful figures from the remaining players, with a particularly wide-ranging tuba part.  "Magic Horn" is, as might be expected, a horn solo, with a sustained melody being presented over a tango-like accompaniment, with the solo line becoming more elaborate as the music progresses, and one trumpet shadowing the soloist as if leaving "magic dust" behind.  The finale, "State Street Stomp", depicts the excitement and revelry at the end of the week, with the trombone, clearly influenced by the preacher's earlier ministrations, standing up to add "Nun Danket" over the boisterous12/8 rhythms, and all the players were on their feet by the end joining in the general revelry.  This is a most attractive suite and was acclaimed by the group as a major addition to the brass quintet repertoire.

Luther Henderson has provided Canadian Brass with many arrangements of American popular music, and they closed the first half with three of his Fats Waller numbers, choreographed and presented with no copies and considerable humour.  This included Bernhard, horn soloist in "Lookin' good, but feelin' bad", suddenly spinning round so as to project his sound better towards the audience, and finishing his solo feature with a spectacular upward glissando. 

The title "Loungin' at the Waldorf" refers to the custom of dressing up and gate-crashing functions at the top hotels, before eventually falling asleep in the hotel foyer, which the players depicted as they slumped into the chairs at the end.  "Handful of keys", written as a showcase for Fats Waller himself on the piano, featured piccolo trumpet again, although there were a couple of raised eyebrows and shrugs from Justin as the occasional note failed to sound as intended.  This bright and breezy item included each player bobbing up and down in turn, first for individual phrases and then as each note of the spread chord was sounded.

Following a short interval, during which it seemed as if the players would barely have had time to get their breath back, the second half opened with one of Canadian Brass's classic arrangements, the Beatles' "Penny Lane", arranged by Christopher Dedrick.  Justin was the featured soloist in the notorious piccolo solo, and he even managed to incorporate a smear or two in the opening bars.

The audience was informed solemnly by Chuck that the ‘"Adagio in G minor" by Albinoni proves that the more beautiful a piece of music is, the more likely it is that it will become a french horn solo'.  Again, Bernhard's full sound was heard to good effect, and it provided a reflective moment before Canadian Brass turned to the music of Piazzolla, with three tangos, arranged by Josef Burgstaller, a trumpeter with the group from 2001 – 2004.  "Contrabajeando", originally written as a contrabass feature for the bassist "Kicho" Diaz, transferred well to the tuba of Charles Daellenbach, opening with a free recitative before slipping into the familiar tango rhythm. 

"Oblivion", described as a love song, featured Justin, this time on Bb trumpet.  Despite some effective passages, including half-valve glissandi up to the notes, the occasional wry smile seemed to indicate that he was not fully comfortable with his performance. Following a horn opening culminating in a high trill, "Libertango", described by Piazzolla as an "international" tango, focused on trumpet and trombone and provided an exhilarating end to the set.

The finale was their ever-popular presentation of Bizet's "Carmen", the story condensed to less than ten minutes, with each of the players representing a different character: Justin Emerich (long, dark wig) – Carmen; Bernhard Scully (military style cap) – Don Hose; Stuart Laughton (short blond wig) – Micaela; Eugene Watts (bullfighter's head-dress and red cape) – Escamillo . . . . . . . and Charles Daellenbach (with a set of horns and tail) – as the bull!

After a little fill-in music while Chuck got ready, the Overture saw a crisp marching display before the romantic side took over with the "Habanera" (complete with castanets provided by Stuart) as Carmen was wooed by Don Hose.  Then it was Micaela's turn, with a big laugh from the audience when "her" wig went flying across the stage as "she" threw "her" head back at the end. 

For the familiar "Toreador's Song" Eugene played with a comedy vibrato that George Chisholm would have been proud of, holding his cape in his slide hand as he did so.  As the bull was chased and ultimately killed, Chuck slumped to ground, finishing on his back and all the while continuing to supply the bas line to the music.  It was an effective piece of music theatre, and clearly as much fun for the players as it was for the audience.

There was time for one encore, and it took the form of an arrangement combining the "Hallelujah Chorus" with "Oh when the saints".  There was ample opportunity for all the players to display their talents, with an extended duet for trombone and tuba, egged on by the others, complete with vocal additions.  It provided an apt conclusion to a fine evening's musical entertainment, and left the large audience wanting more.  It was clear that the new members are fitting in well, and the rapport between them will grow as they are able to spend more time together.

They had provided an object lesson on how to build and maintain a rapport with an audience, the introductions giving them a much-needed breather but maintaining the interest of the listeners throughout.  It was the second day of a gruelling programme of master classes and concerts, with other performances taking place in Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Cardiff.  Let's hope it is not too long before they return to the UK, when I am certain they can be assured of another full house.

Peter Bale

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