Fairey Band

Champion Brass
Conductor: Philip Chalk
Uppermill Civic Hall
Saturday 9th February

Those of you who are avid readers of the site may recall the Christmas Countdown news items last December?  Once such item was a light-hearted comparison between the teams in the English Premiership football teams with Championship Section bands. 

Faireys were deemed to be the Manchester City of banding, but in the short time MD Philip Chalk has been at the helm there has been a very good show at the Open followed by an impressive display two months down the line at Brass in Concert was matched on the concert stage at Uppermill. Even old Sven would have been pleased with that.

Philip Chalk has started to mould his ‘blue team’ the way he wants them to be:  There’s plenty of experience within the ranks, but with one or two exceptions (long-standing stalwarts like Brian Taylor, Gary Parker and James Leggatt), Faireys is a young band nowadays.

At times on the night not all of the pieces started together but when they settled down the band came into its own; the cornets were like City’s performances at home earlier in the season – solid and secure.

On a balmy evening with the central heating inside the hall making the atmosphere feel like a Turkish bath, the programme wasn’t overly strenuous to listen too, but it was still a lip sapping one for the players.

In their first appearance at this venue for around a decade and in front of a healthy (but at times subdued) audience, the opening ‘Olympic Fanfare and Theme’ saw them come out of the starting blocks in fine form, before an impressive performance of ‘The Corsair’.

Laura Hirst deputising in the Principal Cornet seat for Mike Eccles was the first featured soloist of the evening. 

Laura deserves praise for her performance during the evening, especially in her solo performance of William Himes’ ‘Jubilance’, which was an impressively assured and highly sensitive rendition.  Meanwhile, the rest of the cornet section joined Laura for Bach’s ‘Air on a G String’ in Howard Snell’s enchanting arrangement.

Mike Eccles led the way from the repiano seat in ‘Bess You is My Women’ that also featured notable contributions from Mark Bousie and Lisa Sarrasini. 

A change in mood came with the upbeat ‘The Lady is a Tramp’, which showcased the horn section of Chris Pannell, Andrew Outegenn and Ian Howarth before flugel Lucy Murphy delightfully played the old pot boiler ‘Concerto D’Aranjeuz’.

Bernstein’s ‘Candide’ was dusted down leaving the audience the chance to get some refreshment, fresh air and catch up with old friends before the second half got going.

This was lighter but enjoyable fare for the audience.  ‘Malageuna’ and Torstein Aagaard-Nielson’s ‘Norwegian Dance’ took no prisoners at all, whilst another Rat Pack tribute piece, ‘Luck be a Lady’ was equally as impressive.  The traditional ‘Just A Closer Walk With Thee’ also featured some fine ensemble playing all with the added bonus of the excellent Brian Taylor on cornet. What a fine musician he remains.

Lisa Sarasini enhanced her growing reputation with ‘Londonderry Air’ whilst Chris Pannel had the unenviable task of being the final soloist of the night, really digging deep to pull out the stops in the ‘Rondo’ from Mozart’s ‘Horn Concerto Number 3’.  Prior to this, Philip Chalk featured the band’s new Principal Euphonium, Mark Bousie in Frode Rydland’s ‘Michaelangelo’ where the soloist displayed some outstanding lyrical playing.

‘Reunion and Finale’, and despite a bit of tiredness in the ranks, the obligatory encore, Strauss’s ‘Trish Trash Polka’ brought the evening to a close.

After a very enjoyable concert, Fairey’s showed plenty of evidence that they are very much on the same track as their football counterparts in the blue half of Manchester. The good times could well be returning to this famous outfit too.

Malcolm Wood

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