Connect

Brass of Praise
Conductor: Phillip Manger
Hadleigh Temple
Thursday 29th May

As the audience gathered for the opening concert of Brass of Praise’s brief trip to the UK it was clear that the evening was going to be rather unusual. 

The members of Brass of Praise are drawn from various parts of Switzerland, coming together to make music and proclaim the gospel, and several years ago they took the decision to move away from being a traditional brass band to encompass the use of vocalists and lighting effects to enhance their ministry. 

Bright colours

The band was set out at the front of the hall, with bass guitar and percussion on a small platform at the rear, whilst there was a considerable array of projectors, spotlights and other equipment that would play a part in the programme. On the stands were plain backing cards in a variety of bright colours, and a row of four microphones stood to the right of the band.

The programme had been prepared under the heading “Connect”, aiming to unite people with one another, and to combine the tried and tested with the new. A narration linked all the items, reflecting on the activities and thoughts of the players as they met to rehearse, prepare and perform together. 

Hubbub

The players entered the hall to a hubbub of conversation, chatting with one another before they gradually took their seats. The screen behind the band showed just two words: “Warm up”, and that is precisely what they did, until a cymbal gave the signal for them to gradually settle into regular patterns of sound, accompanied by vivid projections of geometric patterns onto the walls behind and to either side of the band. 

With the entry of conductor Phillip Manger the transformation was complete, and the music emerged from the earlier confusion.

The Gift

“The Gift” saw the introduction of the vocalists, first a solo voice then a male quartet with more than a passing resemblance to the BeeGees, at least in respect of the high-pitched singing! Most of the music for the programme was either written or arranged by Marcus Frei: born into a Salvation Army family he studied piano, composition and arrangement at the Swiss Jazz Centre in Bern, and since 1993 he has worked at the Salvation Army’s Headquarters. 

The arrangements, mainly in a big band style, showed off the sound of the band to good effect, and the amplification system ensured that the vocalists could still be heard. Mirjam Holdimann was featured on trombone, and the repeated chorus affirmed that “Jesus showed me the way”.

Another arrangement by Marcus followed, with “007 Light”, commencing with the familiar James Bond theme, before introducing the song “This little light of mine” – an unexpected combination but one that worked remarkably well, with prominent passages for the horns and cornets.

Solo

The first instrumental solo was brought by flugel player Barbara Kuenzi with a fine rendition of Robert Redhead’s “He is Lord”. Starting unaccompanied before being joined by the five-strong trombone section, she displayed a full, warm sound. In contrast to the mellow tones of the flugel, the full band sound was quite bright, with a trumpet-like quality in the cornet section, and they made the most of the crunching chords and close harmony writing.

The first verse of “Open your eyes” was sung by euphonium player Daniel Maegli, the only one of the vocal quartet who also played in the band, and the song was accompanied by the projection of faces of various ages, races and backgrounds. The accompaniment was predominantly by the saxhorns, with the cornets and trombones only being used sparingly, but to good effect. 

The words emphasised the need to be sensitive to what is going on around us in the world, and the song led up to the interval, when audience and band were encouraged to mingle together and get to know one another a little better.

Minus tunics

Following the interval the band returned, minus tunics this time on what was a very warm evening in the hall, to a welcome from Hadleigh Commanding Officer Major Noel Wright and further words of explanation from their own Major Herve Cachelin, who had himself previous spent some time working within the London Northeast Divisional Headquarters. He introduced the theme song for the evening, “Connect”, which featured solos from various players, and phrases in canon around the band, building in intensity. 

Marcus Frei produced an effective range of tone colours as the music developed from the chaotic coming together, the related texts referring to Christ’s suffering on man’s behalf, with the hammering of the nails at the crucifixion being portrayed in the music. A calmer central passage led to a reprise of the earlier material, and the main tune was played quietly on solo euphonium as a background to spoken prayer.

Brighter

Major Cachelin then explained it was time to move to the brighter part of the programme, commencing with “King”. Opening with muted cornets over percussion riffs, the vocal was sung in German – somewhat redolent of the recent Eurovision song contest, but definitely deserving much more then “Nul points”, with its vibrant and enthusiastic singing and playing.

Simon Walther is the band’s Principal Cornet, and he presented James Curnow’s setting of “Be thou my vision”. Treating it very much as if it were a trumpet feature, with a full-throated sound which dominated the ensemble even at its loudest, it was greeted with a few moments’ reflective silence before the applause broke out.

William Tell

“Little sunshine in Switzerland” started off as a swing version of a vocal item by Richard Phillips entitled “Let a little sunshine in your heart”, with solos from flugel and cornet, euphonium and horn. Then came an interlude which sounded a little like the Cantina band from Star Wars, to which the band carried out some choreography, a section at a time, turning round and raising instruments in the air whilst the rest of the band kept playing. 

Gradually, however, the realization dawned that the interjections were in fact references to “William Tell”, adjusted to fit into the swing setting! With further solos from soprano cornet, bass trombone and tenor trombone it was greeted with the loudest applause thus far.

Audience participation

It was time for some audience participation, and the vocalists set out to teach the chorus of their next song, “Love can build a bridge (between your heart and mine)”, whilst the percussion section kept up the rhythmic pulse. After some enthusiastic singing and clapping Major Cachelin remarked that one thing had been missing from the programme – a march. What followed, however, was not a conventional march, but a swing-style reworking of Ivor Bosanko’s “Marching Onward”, with the title “Marching Onward 2007”. 

On the whole, Marcus Frie’s adaptation worked well, although some of the linking passages in the second half, introducing the song “I’ll go in the strength of the Lord”, seemed a little too contrived to be really convincing. The performance was enhanced by the addition of extra Latin-American percussion provided by the band’s vocalists.

Thanks

Major Cachelin thanked the audience for coming – and staying! – and for making the band so welcome, and the hundred and fifty or so in the audience expressed their gratitude to Peter Edwards and his team, who had organised both the evening concert and made the necessary arrangements to provide overnight accommodation for the band.

The final item, “Deep Gratitude”, made use of two well-established hymns, “O sacred head sore wounded” and “Now thank we all our God”, but in a very contemporary setting. As glockenspiel, drums and basses established the opening rhythm, a dancer, dressed in black, proceeded to illustrate the various moods of the music. 

Passion Chorale

The “Passion Chorale” entered over an ostinato figure, and a sustained pedal on bass guitar and tubas led into the next section, a reprise of the chorale, with “Now thank we all our God” superimposed. This was then developed into a march-like form featuring the saxhorns before a more majestic statement of the tune, accompanied by triplet figures moving round the band. 

The tension gradually increased, the dancer becoming more energetic and the lighting effects more intense, with repetitive, driving rhythms giving something of a “Riverdance” effect, bringing the evening to a rousing climax.

Some years ago, the Cambridge Heath Band produced an lp entitled “Music you can’t buy with the War Cry”: similarly, this may not have been a traditional brass band concert, but it was certainly full of innovative elements, with professional standard lighting and striking communication and interaction between band and audience. 

One could not help but feel fully part of what was going on, with the visual element ever-present, and it will be interesting to see how that atmosphere will transfer to the much larger spaces of the Royal Albert Hall when Brass of Praise participate in the forthcoming Gospel Arts Concert

Peter Bale

^back to top