Fodens Richardson

RNCM Festival of Brass
Conductor: Garry Cutt and Bramwell Tovey
Soloist: Leslie Neish
Sunday 27th January

Taking to the stage in the wake of a highly impressive morning programme from Leyland (although it was noticeable that the Haden Freeman Hall was considerably fuller for the afternoon session), Foden’s Richardson had the joint benefit of Garry Cutt and Bramwell Tovey to lead them through another demanding programme, albeit one that had been altered from that advertised by the inclusion of 'Contest Music' at the expense of Bruce Broughton’s 'Masters of Space and Time'.

With a second half wholly devoted to the central theme of the Festival in Vaughan Williams and his contemporaries, the first half saw Foden’s contribution to this year’s impressive list of Festival premieres in the form of Andy Scott’s Tuba Concerto - “Salt of the Earth”, with the band’s principal bass Leslie Neish in the hot seat.

Getting things off in rousing fashion though and with Garry Cutt at the helm, William Rimmer’s March from 'Salomé' saw the band immediately settled and composed. This with playing that clearly pointed towards a band on top form with panache and swagger in lorry loads, allied with a delicacy and control in the trio that was a joy to behold.

As incredible as it seems, it was twenty five years ago in 1983 that Philip Sparke wrote his 'Jubilee Overture' for the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the GUS Band, the days when the Granada Band of the Year was still with us and Keith Wilkinson was the man with the baton in Kettering. It is to Philip Sparke’s credit then that in 2008 the piece still retains its freshness, aided as it was here by a performance of real spirit and rhythmic energy.

There are not too many bands around that can match Foden’s for quality of sound at present and it was evident from the opening fanfare and the sonorous organ like quality from the middle and bottom of the band in the passage that followed that there was going to be plenty to look forward to later in the programme.

As a much sought after saxophonist Andy Scott has spent much of his life in the big band world. As a composer however he is largely self taught. His double concerto for two saxophones and wind band, Dark Rain, earned him a British Composer Award in 2006 whilst his new 'Tuba Concerto' - 'Salt of the Earth', represents his foray into the brass band repertoire.

The concerto’s title is a double-entendre, partly derived from the salt mines near the composer’s Cheshire home and partly, as he mentioned in his introduction prior to the performance, from the “down to earth nature” of the bands people he had so far encountered.

Scott’s trade mark language is a driving fusion of big band sounds, funk rock rhythms and cutting edge cross-over harmonies. On the evidence here it’s a hugely involving and exciting mix and Les Neish and the band simply revelled in it all.

Launching with a daunting unaccompanied cadenza, the opening movement soon gathered momentum, combining the big band influence with ryhthems and time signatures derived from Bulgarian folk music and giving the soloist ample opportunity for multiphonic pyrotechnics. 

Charles Mingus was the inspiration for the laid back slow movement, played with a great feel for the lyrical melodic line by Neish whilst the final movement tested both band and soloist, the band responding in magnificent style with tremendous work from the cornets and trombones in particular. This was one of those pieces that left the feeling of immediately wanting to hear it again; fortunately the forthcoming Radio Three broadcast should give an opportunity for just that.

Heaton’s 'Contest Music' saw Bram Tovey take up the baton, proving as is so often the case that his mere presence can prove inspirational to a band. Garry Cutt had directed a top draw performance of Contest Music with the band at the European Championships in Birmingham but here Tovey put his own stamp on the music in impressive fashion. 

With stand pushed well into the centre of the band allowing him space to walk around (or dance on one leg as he did on several occasions) Tovey is a man that can even appear stylish turning over a page of the score, such is his technique and sheer panache. This was a magnificent performance, immense in its character, powerful and austerely beautiful in the haunting, yet very English sounds of the slow movement; yet more evidence of a band at the top of its form.

And so to a second half that will no doubt have pleased the traditionalists in the audience. It is all too easy to take a work like Holst’s 'A Moorside Suite' for granted such is its familiarity. Yet here is a work that besides being the first original masterpiece for band also retains the ability to test the best exactly eighty years after it was written.

With Garry Cutt back in charge the atmosphere of the opening 'Scherzo' was well captured, as was the spirit of the final 'March'. But it was the central 'Nocturne' that was the real joy; sustained and controlled playing of the highest quality throughout and finely judged and paced by the conductor.

The music that Vaughan Williams wrote for the 1941 film 'The 49th Parallel' was his first score for the cinema and is best known for its majestic 'Prelude'. Paul Hindmarsh has edited the original suite to create around eleven minutes of continuous “highlights”, the results skilfully scored by Philip Littlemore. 

Again the quality of sound produced by the band shone through in music that captures the essence of Vaughan Williams language, with excellent solo contributions from all quarters.

Despite its place in the hearts of many bandsmen and women, Cyril Jenkins’ 'Life Divine', as Paul Hindmarsh rightly pointed out beforehand, cannot be thought of as a masterpiece in the way that we can justifiably attribute that much overused description to 'A Moorside Suite'. 

There’s not a lot that can beat it for sheer drama though and Jenkins’ Rimsky-Korsakov overdosed score was here brought vividly to life by Foden’s and Bramwell Tovey in a way that breathed real fire into an old warhorse…by heck did it have some guts.

Even more so than in 'Contest Music' Tovey here put his own slant on the music, pulling out every last ounce of emotion from the score, particularly in the slow music at the heart of the piece. The sense of respect from the band was once again tangible and Tovey rightly brought individual players to their feet at the end, fittingly making the first of those players the band’s solo baritone.

It was Wilfred Heaton that had the last word though as Tovey led the band in a moving encore of 'Just as I Am', a solemn yet uplifting conclusion to a concert that was one of the undoubted highlights of the 2008 Festival of Brass and which could well point the way for Foden’s Richardson in the coming year.

Christopher Thomas 

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