RNCM Brass Band & Brass Ensemble

Conductor: Dr Nicholas Childs
Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
Thursday 29th June

This final concert of the academic year by the College's Brass Band and Brass Ensemble certainly didn't have that end of term feel about. The level of commitment and desire to perform to the highest standard was as fresh as when the academic year had commenced and was made possible in no small part by the direction and setting of standards by Dr. Nicholas Childs.

The MD had chosen a programme predominantly of music by George Lloyd – a somewhat neglected composer for brass over the past few years whose many fine works, including Royal Parks, English Heritage and Kings Messenger are some of the most intuitive compositions for the mediom.

None of these were performed on the night, with just one of his test pieces being selected along with a march and a symphony to be heard along with RNCM student, Ben Thomson playing the only non-Lloyd piece of the whole evening.

Lloyd's style of writing fits easily into the brass idiom providing an educative and enjoyable musical experience for both performers and audience alike. It is very much an ‘English' style, but one that does not feel claustrophobic in outlook in any sense. 

The opening music of the night was Benjamin Britten's Fanfare for St Edmundsbury written for three trumpets, each of them playing one single musical statement in turn.  These were performed by Laura Hirst, Richard Ponder and Thomas Osborne and were different in style and approach. With the longer notes coming at the end of their individual contributions, it was music that built structurally until they all join forces at the end to play triumphant style block chords. It was very enjoyable, and different.

The main offering of the first half came in the form of Lloyd's Tenth Symphony that was completed in March 1981.  The Symphony is scored for one Piccolo trumpet, three B flat trumpets, one Flugelhorn, three Horns, three Trombones, one Euphonium and one Tuba. It is subtitled November Journeys, a reference to the visits to various cathedrals the composer made about the time he received a commission from the BBC for a piece for the Northern Brass Ensemble.

From your reviewer's perspective (and from the audience's reaction at its conclusion) the performance turned out to be an enjoyable experience with the second movement (which in effect is a carol without words) being exceptionally well performed as were the solo contributions on euphonium by Daniel Hunt and a cracking solo trumpet cadenza performed by Andrew Lofthouse.  

The brass band took the stage in the second half that was top-and-tailed with the music from Lloyd.  The ensemble opened some very tight and precise playing in the march, HMS Trinidad, a personal musical portrait of the ship the composer found himself part of during his war service in the 1940s, with the composition written at the request of its Bandmaster.

Ben Thomson, a student at the RNCM became the BBC Radio 2 Young Brass Soloist of the Year in April performing Rodney Newton's Capriccio.  Success of course breads confidence and this talented player seems to have grown exponentially since that victory and here he gave another fine account of a work. It was mature and intelligent and spoke volumes of his ability to craft a wonderful tone form the instrument without ever losing the ability to make the most of even the tinniest of articulated detail.

Finally, back to the music of George Lloyd and his popular Diversions on a Bass Theme written for the Mineworkers Contest in 1986 and a piece that has since been used at the British Open in 1998. The title itself is rather incongruous as it can be both seen as a reflection of the thematic passagaglia or of the more prosaic response to the brewery that sponsored its commission.  Either way, it is a most enjoyable work for brass and was given a very broad and lyrical reading from the MD and his players.

A special mention must go to those players, all of whom displayed a great deal of musicianship and understanding that the material asked of them. Fairey's Stephen Wilkinson on principal cornet in particular was a shining example of security and musicality.

Not the longest of concerts, but certainly an enjoyable one.  Concerts such as this seem to be the ideal opportunity to invite students from the local schools and colleges who have an interest in brass to give them a real insight into what they can aspire too in the future.  Unfortunately, this event wasn't well advertised outside the college and when you consider the preparation that had gone into it, let alone the level of performance from everyone involved it was a real shame more people were not present.

Malcolm Wood.

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