Expressions 125

Regent Hall Band
Conductor: Stephen Hanover
Regent Hall Songsters (Marjorie Watson), Regent Hall Young People’s Band, Brad Turnbull (trombone), Eric Rapp (cornet)
Regent Hall
Thursday 18th October

Over the past few years, the band and songsters at Regent Hall, under their leaders Stephen Hanover and Marjorie Watson respectively, have pooled their resources in developing Expressions into a unique evening of praise and worship, unified by a single theme and with slick narration, scripture and prayer linking all the elements together.  

When presented in their own hall, the lights are low, and tables are set out downstairs to give the atmosphere of a café cum cabaret, with smoke being generated to add to the effect.  This last factor caused a few problems during the preparations, with the smoke causing the newly-improved censors of the fire alarm system to be activated: fortunately there were no problems during the evening itself, which was presented before an almost full hall.

As Regent Hall Corps is this year celebrating its 125th anniversary, it came as no surprise that they would reflect on the past, present and future.  The band opened the evening with the old favourite “Montreal Citadel”, the flag entering from the foyer and the players marching out from either side of the platform.  The cornets stood at the front of the platform whilst the band formed three rows in the body of the hall below.  The bass solo was very impressive – well controlled and balanced – as was the way the music was held back at the last section.

Mention of Regent Hall’s origin as a roller-skating rink led into the songsters’ first contribution, “We’ve come this Far by Faith”, sung without the use of copies, and accompanied by piano, bass guitar and two percussion, who gave excellent support throughout the evening.  Also included in the opening section was Brad Turnbull’s rendition of Terry Camsey’s “This I Know”, a lively solo based round the Gowans/Larsson song “Hundreds and Thousands”.  Brad demonstrated some nifty slide work, particularly in the schottische-like second verse.

For the look into the past, a sequence was presented under the heading “Salvation Army Patrol”.  The screen depicted scenes of Oxford Street in Victorian times, and a violin intoned “I have not much to give thee, Lord” in homage to Salvation Army musical pioneer Richard Slater.  This moved into “You must be a lover of the Lord”, initially on a solo cornet, heralding the entry of a group of eight brass players and a drummer, dressed in old-fashioned uniforms.  

A vocal rendition of “Bright Crowns” was followed by “The Old Drummer”, complete with fancy stick work on the bass drum.  Four timbrellists, in long skirts and bonnets, gave a short display to “Down the Street” before the item closed with an up-tempo version of ”Bright Crowns” and an exit to a reprise of “You must be a lover of the Lord”.

The songsters continued looking back, with four songs taken from the much loved “Gems for Songsters”.  “Travel along in the Sunshine”, “Into thy hands, Lord”, Eric Ball’s “In the Secret of thy Presence” and “Step out on the Promise” were joined together by Stuart Watson’s tasteful piano links, and the music was sung with obvious affection and attention to detail.  

To close the retrospective review, Bandmaster Eric Rapp (bandmaster from 1960 to 1982, and currently playing first cornet in the band) presented Joy Webb’s “Share my Yoke”, as the screen displayed pictures of some of the Rink’s bandmasters down the years.

The first of two looks at the present commenced with the songsters singing “For your Glory”.  This impressive number opened in the style of an anthem before changing to a more contemporary style, with rhythmic backing and close harmonies.

Brad Turnbull produced a virtuoso reading of Les Condon’s “Song of Exuberance”, showing great control and commanding the stage.  First performed by Staff Bandsman Malcolm Carter on the ISB’s 1967 World Tour, the solo was really ahead of its time, with its Latin American influences and unusual treatment of the song “Trusting Jesus Now”.  From the sparse opening, through the challenging cadenza to the light-hearted melody and the almost sleazy muted section, and complete with lip trill at the end, Brad brought the music vividly to life, although there were moments when the accompaniment was a little unsteady.

Following the earlier, old-fashioned timbrel item, nine players presented a more modern choreographed display to William Himes’ march “Motivation”.  Dressed this time in black jumpers and skirts, with white gloves and with thin white ribbons attached to their tambourines, they made good use of the syncopated passages.

Following an interval, and the launch of the DVD version of “Expressions”, the second look at the present opened with Martin Cordner’s “The Name”, an upbeat setting featuring the worship chorus “Blessed be the name of the Lord”.  Stephen Hanover joined the band on horn for this fully choreographed number, which also featured solos from Paul Sharman on cornet and Ken Bonser-Ward on euphonium.

The songster’s “Revival in the Land” was marked by the driving piano part and several changes in key, the barbershop style harmonies and enthusiastic presentation encouraging the audience to clap along.  In total contrast, Les Condon’s “A gift for his altar” emphasised the devotional nature of the piece, with the associated words “I have not much to give thee, Lord”.  The playing was enhanced by John Hooper’s violin and Emma Scott’s dance, and the band made much of the darker elements of the writing, with a particularly telling moment when the trombones joined the final chord. 

Brad Turnbull demonstrated his versatility with two contrasting items: firstly, he played John Iveson’s take on “Londonderry Air”, starting unaccompanied as he wandered across the floor of the hall, the band gradually joining in and providing a sympathetic backing.  Secondly came a romp through Goedicke’s “Concert Etude”, although he was a little overpowered in places by the band, conducted in this item by Paul Sharman.

Looking to the future, it was the Young People’s band to participate, under the title “Mission Himpossible”.  As the figure of Stephen Hanover appeared, dressed as the hall-keeper, complete with broom, “Mission Impossible” style instructions were heard, before the YP band members, dressed in camouflage jackets, made their way into the hall by various means, a number crawling along the floor, instruments in hand.  They proceeded to give their own choreographed version of the “Mission Impossible” theme, which brought the house down.

“Wonderful Grace”, presented by the songsters with a tasteful violin obbligato, was followed by the band playing Peter Graham’s “Shine as the Light”.  This was prefaced by scripture references exhorting the believers to “shine like stars in the sky”, and by the story of Father Maximilian Colby, who gave his life in Auschwitz by offering to take the place of a Jewish family man who was due to be killed.  

The accompanying power point display moved from scenes of space to the hustle and bustle of modern life, matching well the changing moods of the music.  Scenes of war, famine and hardship were juxtaposed with the lyrics of Joy Webb’s “Candle of the Lord”, with Emma Scott’s dance serving to add further emphasis.  With the confident entry of Chick Yuill’s song “The light has come”, songsters and YP band members lit candles from a central source, and moved to various positions around the hall.

After an expression of thanks and a benediction, the band ended the evening with William Gordon’s bright march “Salvation’s Song”, a fitting choice, leaving the audience with the words “We’ll sing in the morning the songs of salvation, we’ll sing in the evening the songs of His love, and when we arrive at the end of our journey we’ll sing the songs of Zion in the courts above”. After 125 years of service in Oxford Street, Regent Hall seems well equipped for whatever the future days may hold in store.

Peter Bale

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