Cathedral Brass - South Brisbane Federal

The South Brisbane Federal Band held what will hopefully be the first of many formal concerts at St. John's Cathedral in Brisbane last Saturday night, the 23rd of September.

Under the baton of their Music Director Trevor Bremner, the 'Cathedral Brass' concert included a variety of works from the ages, and which also included some wonderfully assured playing from the Cathedral's organist, Christopher Wrench, as well as some fine marimba playing from Fraser Bremner.

South Brisbane Federal in St Johns Cathedral

The opening work was Dukas' fanfare preceeding, La Peri - an orchestral tone poem based on a Persian legend about a quest for the flower of immortality which, unfortunately, doesn't receive as many performances as its fanfare. With the cornet and trombone sections standing across the front of the stage it was unfortunate that the remainder of the band were a little swamped due to the acoustics. I watched the first half of the concert from the sixth row, and it wasn't until after the interval that I found myself further down the cathedral, where the sound was more satisfactory. The acoustics of the cathedral are not particularly brass friendly, with
something of a delay of about five seconds. Despite this, there was a good sense of ensemble with the band's performance of the fanfare, and it was a fitting start to this concert.

Christopher Wrench joined the band for several works, but not before providing us with a sensitive performance of Bach's, Toccata and Fugue in D minor. His choice of stops and dynamics showed a good understanding of the acoustic he was playing in, and at no time did he let the desire to unleash a more 'romantic' rendition get in his way, which would have resulted in a muddy wash of sound. His control left us all waiting to the very last chord of the work for a sense of emotional release. Not quite as well known was Franck's, Piece Heroique, which was unfamiliar to this listener, but was just as engaging as the other solo organ work on the programme.

Christopher joined the band for another of Bach's better known works, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, as well as Walton's, Crown Imperial, and the Finale to Saint-Saens', "Organ Symphony". The balance between both the band and organ throughout these works was well kept. My only criticism was with the arrangement of the, "Organ Symphony", itself, which had omitted anything resembling the piano-four hands, which is in the original, which would have provided a greater contrast between the smoother, floating first appearance of the hymn, and it's more punctuated and heavy repeat, which comes straight afterwards.

Fraser Bremner presented us with a work for solo marimba, A Little Prayer, written by the Scottish percussionist Evelyn Glennie. The softer, tremolo sounds of this wonderful percussion instrument was a great inclusion to the programme, and a joy to experience.

Respighi's, March from the Pines of Rome is, as with the Saint-Saens, a great transcription for band, and is a great display, in terms of both control and ensemble, for both orchestra and band alike. On this occasion, I felt that the band were just a little too loud at the beginning and, now showing my brass player's blood thirstiness for volume, not grand enough at the end. However, when was the last time that a major transcription/serious band work was given the opportunity to be aired in this town, and not for a contest? We need more works of this calibre to be performed in Brisbane - for the benefit of both audience and bands alike. The appearance of more serious works in future programmes should be encouraged, and the inclusion of other heavier, original works for band would be great way of providing Brisbane audiences with a broader appreciation of what their local bands are capable of delivering to them.

It was good to see the inclusion of works by Gabrielli and Palestrina, composers who both pre-date the modern brass band by about 250 years, in the concert. The two anitphonal brass works by Giovanni Gabrielli have close ties with the early sacred choral music of the Italian Baroque, and it was pleasing to see the band not afraid to use trumpets and french horns ('Heaven forbid' I can hear some of you saying), to provide the audience with not only a contrast between ensembles, but also in tone colour and genre. Both brass choirs were separated from each other at the extremes of the performance platform. However, these stirring, inspiring, and pure-sounding works can be even more effective when the choirs are placed at opposing ends of the audience - which some might suggest gives the audience the impression of being bathed in the awesome sound of the almighty.

Overall there was some solid ensemble playing throughout the evening, but I personally was seeking out some of the more finer nuances of each piece, such as a greater contrast in both dynamics and expression. It's worth keeping in mind that all new ventures take time to mature fully, and I commend the Fed's for taking the initiative to realise this concert, which will be hopefully one of many more to come. I'm sure that, with the band acquiring greater strenghts through future performances of this calibre, my own personal seeking will be satisfied, and hopefully surpassed. Adding to that, any acoustic that has such a long delay is a challenge for any ensemble, and further performances (as part of this series, hopefully) will give this and other bands more confidence when performing in this venue.

Apart from the odd gala style concert held by the Brisbane City Council, very few inner-city band concerts of this sort are happening in Brisbane, and hopefully more of these events will be forthcoming in the future. Brisbane concert patrons have more than enough choices when it comes to finding lighter, less formal concerts in Brisbane to attend, and I think that the appearance of concerts such as this one are a welcomed inlcusion to the concert diary of the city. The Feds, and others, should be encouraged to continue programming these types of formal events.

Adrian Head

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