Expressions

Regent Hall Band and Songsters
With: Don Jenkins Trombone Choir, Kerry Sampson & Nicholas Lester
Regent Hall
London
Thursday 26th October

The opening event of the 2006 Brass Arts Festival at Regent Hall was given by the home team's band and songsters under the title "Expressions". 

The hall was set out with a number of tables, with hazy and subdued lighting designed to give a café effect as Philip Biggs introduced the Festival, paying tribute to the sponsors whose contributions enabled the event to
take place, namely Salvationist Publishing & Supplies Ltd, Yamaha-Kemble Music (UK) Ltd and Besson Musical Instruments.

As the members of the band took their seats on the stage there was an air of expectancy, and one that was to be extended slightly due to an unforeseen technical hitch as the lighting system failed to operate as planned. Soon, however, an introduction from the psalms led into the first section, entitled "Opening Expressions".  William Himes' "To the chief musician" was written to mark the retirement of noted Salvationist composer and leader Commissioner Holz and makes effective use of choric speaking and singing in its three movements.  This proved all the more effective due to the inclusion of the songsters, ranged in the gallery either side of the band, which gave added clarity and power to those elements. 

The band produced a clear, full sound, with appropriate brightness from cornets and trombones complimenting the mellow tones of the middle of the band.  The central movement, featuring the melody "I bring thee all", was particularly striking, with some controlled, quiet playing.  The performance was enhanced both by the projection of relevant texts, and also the use of lighting, especially when the climax in the music was matched by a corresponding blaze of light.  In the third movement, "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness", a solo dancer joined in the paean of praise.

Regent Hall songster brigade, under the direction initially of Stuart Watson, commenced their contribution with the Barry Manilow song "One voice", although on this occasion it was a question of "three voices", as
Kerry Sampson, Nicholas Lester and Marjory Watson were featured in an effective arrangement, despite a few amplification problems and a momentary lack of co-ordination with the accompaniment as the tempo increased. 

Marjory took over conducting duties and Stuart returned to his customary seat at the piano for their second song, "The reason why we sing", which included the words ". . . the reason we sing . . . Is more than just
making harmony, but is to praise the one who gave his son".  Although not a particularly large group, the brigade produced a clear, balanced sound throughout the evening.

The featured instrumental group this year was a trombone choir arranged by Don Jenkins, who had persuaded his brother and nephew to join with himself and the six-strong Regent Hall section to produce a nonet.  Their version of "Thunderbirds" was a good introduction to the group's sound and capabilities, with crisp rhythms and powerful melodic lines.  From there they led into the second segment, "Expressions of Belief", with Dirk Krommenhoek's arrangement of the hymn "From that sacred hill", accompanied by the band.  The unison playing was very effective, as was the opening up of the sound as the harmonies developed. 

Steve Moir then stepped into the body of the hall with his flugel horn to present Robert Redhead's setting of the chorus "He is Lord".  After the unaccompanied start he was joined by the Regent Hall trombones, who had moved to the back of the hall, and then moved to form a line behind the soloist during the band's tutti passage, before making the formation of a cross as the item drew to a close.  The segment ended with the songsters singing the lively song "Church on fire", enhanced by some totally natural and unselfconscious choreography.

"Expressions from the Musicals" featured vocalists Nicholas Lester and Kerry Samson, both from Australia but currently members of Regent Hall corps.  Nicholas brought real conviction to the song "Stars" from "Les Miserables", conveying well the rigid principles that drove Inspector Javert in his pursuit of the hero, Jean Valjean.  Kerry then brought a real sense of fun to Eliza Dolittle's "I could have danced all night", although she could have found her uniform skirt a little restricting on "Strictly Come Dancing"! 

Their duet, "Wheels of a dream" was taken from the musical "Ragtime", and is one of those little known gems from a show that only had a short run in the West End.  Its aspirational lyrics seemed totally appropriate for the occasion.

The trombone choir returned, this time dressed in black, to present a tribute to Glen Miller under the title "Miller Magic".  Don prefaced their performance with a tribute to Don Lusher, whose memorial service had
taken place in the same hall a few weeks earlier.  He spoke of their contact over the years, and in particular of the support he had received in the form of weekly phone calls after the loss of his wife, Ruth.  The arrangement featured the songs "In the mood", "Moonlight serenade" and "Little brown jug", and came from the pen of Dudley Bright, himself a member of the Regent Hall section, and showing no after-effects from his recent heart operation. 

With the addition of bass guitar and drums, there often seemed to be more than nine parts playing as the various elements of the original Miller numbers were transferred to trombone.

Following this "Nostalgic Expression", the next section, "Jubilant Expression" opened with the songsters' "Singing in the heavenly choir", a bright number very much in the American barber shop tradition, and with
the sort of choreography familiar to those who have seen such choirs in the Sainsbury's "Choir of the year" competitions on television.  For Barrie Gott's "Swingtime religion" it was the band's turn for a touch of  movement, as the horns and baritones moved to the body of the hall, leaving the cornets and trombones either side of the platform.  

After the opening bars the cornets and trombones also moved down, as Paul Sharman got into his stride with the quasi-improvised cornet solo.  It was good to see such long-term stalwarts as David Sewell (soprano) and Eric Rapp joining in the fun with their younger comrades.  To close this section, the trombones played a transcription of "On Parade", featuring the Joystrings song "I want to sing it" and "I'll follow".  Complete with the upward octave whoops of the original, and with an extra quotation from "76 trombones" towards the end it was a big hit with the audience.  Talking to Don afterwards he was certainly pleased with the way things had gone, and he hopes to repeat the venture in the future.

"Conflicting Expressions" presented to contrasting duets: Nicholas and Kerry renewed the battle of the sexes in Irving Berlin's "Anything you can do, I can do better", with Kerry definitely winning on the Clapometer" with her highest and longest notes.  Kerry was then joined by Marjory Watson in "For good", featuring the lyrics "Because I know you, I have been changed for good".

"Expressions of Assurance" opened with Nicholas singing Joy Webb's "There will be God", now also available in versions for trombone and euphonium solo, but initially performed by Bill Davidson at the Royal Albert Hall.Despite an unfortunate slip when Nicholas lost his place in the second verse, it was a striking rendition, and presented the message powerfully, as did Major John Read, the Regent Hall commanding officer, in his thoughts.

These led into the band's reading of the Dean Goffin classic "Light of the World", complete with the projection of the Holman Hunt painting which was in part the inspiration for its composition.  Although there could have been a little more separation between the notes in the initial "knocking" figure, it was a moving interpretation, made all the more poignant by the associated images of people in need appearing on the screens.  The quiet playing was intense, if not getting really quiet, but the climax brought a good, full sound, well controlled by Bandmaster Stephen Hanover.  At the end of the piece there was a long pause as the band remained perfectly still, allowing the music's effect to sink in.

After the songster's final song, "Visionaries", the "Final Expressions" came in the form of yet another performance of Ray Farr's "Toccata".  With an imposing sound from the bottom of the band, and in particular from the trombone section, it was taken at a cracking pace, and the absence of a xylophone enabled the brass figures to be heard more clearly than is sometimes the case.  It had certainly been an inspiring evening, a refreshing attempt to be innovative without becoming gimmicky, and all the better for the opportunity to share coffee afterwards in a relaxed atmosphere.

Peter Bale

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