Enfield Citadel Band

Conductor: Andrew Blyth
Royal College of Music
Soloists: Steve Sykes
London, Friday 27th October

Enfield Citadel Band has used various venues for its pre-contest festivals, most recently St Johns, Smith Square, but this year they moved to the Royal College of Music for their first full pre-contest under the leadership of  Andrew Blyth, who shared last year's event with Bandmaster James Williams. 

Reinforced by six young people recently moved up from the Young People's Band - including, quite encouragingly, two bass players, one EEb and one Bbb - the general atmosphere around the band seems particularly buoyant. 

The band was joined by Steve Sykes as tuba soloist, and celebrity chef Brian Turner, once a bandsman at Chalk Farm Corps, as compere. William Himes' lively march "Motivation" made for a bight opener, with crisp playing and well-controlled syncopation.  The percussion were given their head at one stage, which threatened to drown out the band, but things soon settled down, and there was some particularly fine playing by the horns in  their melody "This is why I love my Jesus". 

The band then moved almost without a break into New Zealander Thomas Rive's arrangement of the hymn tune "Colne", associated with the words "Make in my heart a quiet place . . . "  The band responded well to the bandmaster's expressive direction, and this led effectively into the prayer, brought by Lt Col Lincoln Parkhouse.

Dudley Bright's overture "Excelsior" was originally written to be performed by a showband at a youth celebration at the 1990 International Congress.  Subsequently reworked for band, it features a number of familiar songs associated with the church's mission, but not necessarily presented in a familiar guise.  "The world for God", for example, is given an up-tempo treatment, followed by Andrew Justice's classy playing in "Happy Day". 

The accompaniment to the euphonium solo "At thy feet I bow adoring" was especially sensitive, notably the quaver arpeggios in the bottom half of the band.  Scott Garman on flugel was given his head in Ray Steadman-Allen's setting of "Glory to His name", followed by "World Army Youth" - the theme song written especially for the event - and finally "The Army flag is flying", which brought the piece to an exhilarating finish.

Steve Sykes is no stranger to the band, having shared the concert stage with them before, as well as a recording in the company of Sheona White.  His first item, Darrol Barry's "Impromptu for tuba", got things off to a flying start with its fast and rhythmic opening, constantly pushing the tempo on. 

Ralph Brill on Principal Cornet joined in duet in the central section, which was notable for Steve's breath control and sustained phrases.  The cadenza explored the full range of the instrument, particularly the pedal
register, whilst the final section, with a Latin American feel, kept the two percussionists fully occupied.

Sandy Smith's arrangement of "Valero" proved an effective, if somewhat unexpected, interlude before Steve returned to play Richard Phillips' setting of "Meeting of the waters", first heard with piano accompaniment at the Albert Hall a year or so back.  This was one of the highlights of the evening, showing once again how adept Steve is when presenting a slow melody.

The final item in the first half was Kevin Norbury's overture "Truth Aflame", featuring two tunes associated with the words "Send the fire", and originally written for the New York Staff Band.  The tricky opening passage with muted cornets was nicely balanced, as it was at its later un-muted appearance, whilst the rhythmic challenges were taken in their stride. 

The cornet presentation of "Tucker" was notable for its calm and confidence, and the music was kept well under control, making the climax all the more effective when the brakes were taken of.  The cornets and trombones turned sharply outwards to present a blaze of sound, and the rousing conclusion was topped by some fine soprano playing.After the interval, during which there was plenty of catching up to do as current band members met up with former comrades in the audience, the band commenced with Len Ballantine's up-tempo version of "Joyful, Joyful", a reworking for band of a vocal piece based on Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" from the Choral Symphony. The band caught the relaxed style of this number well, with the six bass players providing a solid foundation, and the full sound being reserved for the final chorus.

Steve Sykes brought a unique approach to Les Condon's "Celestial Morn", taking time over many of his entries, and not afraid to make extensive use of rubato.  The centre section was taken very slowly, and was again complimented by the solo playing of Ralph Brill.  Steve played his own extended cadenza, but eschewed florid display in favour of reflective extemporisation, and it was a very satisfying rendition.

Ray Steadman-Allen's "Roman 8 - a brass celebration" is perhaps one of his most under-rated works, Whether due to its title, or to its quiet ending, it rarely seems to appear on concert programmes.  Drawing inspiration from the 8th Chapter of St Paul's Epistle to the Romans, and written in conjunction with a series of Bible studies at one of the Territorial Schools of Music, it uses hymn tunes to illustrate the various themes, including "This joyful Easter-tide", "Slane" - "Lord of all hopefulness", an original theme "We are one in the Spirit" and John Stainer‘s "Cross of Jesus".  The powerful writing is at times reminiscent of "The Holy War", complete with a quote from "Ein Feste Burg", and the band's reading was full of assurance, with more fine work from the trombone section.  The quiet coda led naturally into the scripture thoughts brought by Lt Col Parkhouse, who drew comparison between Madonna's adoption of a boy from Africa with the scriptural pledge that all can be adopted into God's family.

Goff Richards' arrangement of "Crimond" was marked by excellent solos from cornet, horn and euphonium, with fine, subdued playing through the first two verses, followed by a majestic start to verse 3, with its noble
presentation of the theme led by the trombones.

When Steve Sykes stepped forward to introduce Monti's "Czardas" and said he had considered playing it on violin it was clear that this was unlikely to be a straightforward performance.  This was followed up with the comment "They're very good, aren't they" after the band's first tutti, even before he had made his first entry.  The audience was then treated to an excellent demonstration of circular breathing as Steve's sustained note kept coming, despite attempts on behalf of Andrew to bring the band in, including Steve
wandering over to the music stand to inspect the score for himself. 

Next it was the turn for the unsuspecting soprano player to find a tuba suspended over his head, and the timpani player, having made a forte-piano entry, to be reminded that it was Steve's solo, not his.  Eventually, Andrew Blyth decided he had had enough, and said he was going to bring in another tuba player to take over.  This was the cue for Brian Turner to appear with a bass and set up at the opposite side of the platform.  There followed a mini duel, exchanging phrases of "Carnival of Venice" until Steve produced a
particularly florid variation, whereupon Brian conceded defeat, with the parting question: "Can you cook?"  Steve then brought the piece to a triumphant conclusion, and they both received enthusiastic applause
from the appreciative audience.

The band's final item was William Gordon's transcription of the "Finale from Symphony No1" (Tchaikovsky).  The runs across the band were neatly managed, and the chords accompanying the cornet and trombone duet were carefully measured.  The tuba and trombone figures were powerfully presented, and the band as a whole showed considerable stamina at the end of such a substantial
programme.

The traditional "Red Shield" encore was played with much verve and enthusiasm, ending with the whole band on their feet.  The new venue proved quite successful, with the band commenting that they could hear
themselves better than at St Johns', although it did seem a little reverberant for the percussion at times.  The band are clearly getting used to their new conductor, and with the arrival of the new players it bodes well for the future.

Peter Bale

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