Enfield Citadel Band

Conductor: Jonathan Corry
Soloist: Philip Cobb
St Johns Smith Square
Friday 10th October

There was a buzz of anticipation as the audience gathered at St John’s Smith Square for the annual pre-contest festival given by Enfield Band. 

Familiar return

Returning to the familiar venue after a couple of years when the concerts had been held at the Royal College of Music, it was to be the band’s first public outing under the leadership of Jonathan Corry. 

Jonathan, a noted trumpeter and the conductor of Fuoco Brass, has recently moved from his native Belfast to take up employment with Brent Music Service, joining Enfield on solo cornet. 

Support

There seemed to be plenty of Ulster folk present to support him, including the young composer Roger Trigg, who had written a concert opener especially for the occasion. 

“Battle Ready” featured the tunes “From Strength to Strength” and “St John” and it received a sparkling premiere performance, the band responding well to Jonathan’s clear and precise direction.

After the bright opener, the mood was changed as they presented Trevor Davis’s “From Earth’s Confusion”, displaying a delicate touch and with carefully measured crescendi. Following a prayer by Lt Col Lincoln Parkhouse, he introduced the soloist Philip Cobb, and the compère for the evening, former bandmaster Andrew Blyth.

Inspired

Bandmaster James Williams was also on the platform, and Andrew Blyth explained that it was a performance of Leidzen’s “None other Name”, conducted by the Bandmaster at the Star Lake Music Camp, that had inspired Peter Graham to write “Ad Optimum”, the title being the band’s motto, which translates as “To the Highest”. 

Opening with fanfare figures from cornets and trombones, the busy writing is typical of the composer, who uses three tunes, “When Morning Gilds the Skies”, “The Name of Jesus” and closing with a majestic rendition of “Richmond”. 

There was some excellent solo work from Keith Loxley and Ralph Brill on euphonium and cornet respectively, and the carefully-judged balance in the band allowed all the themes to come through clearly, although the horns sounded a little under-powered at times.

Sparkling rendition

Philip Cobb’s first contribution was Erik Leidzen’s “Songs in the Heart”, written for Derek Smith. Backed by a smoothly flowing accompaniment, Philip played the opening muted before a sparkling rendition of the first wide-ranging cadenza. 

He went on to convey a real sense of exuberance – almost skittishness – as he made light of the technical difficulties. The typically complex accompaniment was well-controlled, never overwhelming the soloist but bringing out all the detail, with some nicely balanced chords from the bottom of the band.

Fully occupied

The band continued with the finale of Brian Bowen’s “Kaleidoscope”, a transcription of music by Rimsky-Korsakov. The particular extract chosen was a blistering account of the “Dance of the Tumblers”, featuring some especially fine work by the trombone section, and keeping the two-man percussion team fully occupied.

There was then an abrupt change of style as Philip stepped forward to play “Concerto for Trumpet” (Harry James arr Howarth). It was a commanding reading from the start, with glisses and smears in abundance and phenomenal fingering and articulation in the fast passages, with both band and soloist producing a nicely relaxed interpretation of the slower sections. 

As for the band, they adjusted well to the swing idiom, complete with additional percussion spread around the band.

Centre piece

The centre-piece of Enfield’s adventurous programme was Leslie Condon’s “Song of the Eternal”, a staple of their repertoire over the years. This depiction of the Creation, the Coming of Christ and the Atonement commenced with a striking opening statement, and there was some sensitive flugel playing before the trombones cut through the texture. 

The bell effects accompanying “Come and Worship” were nicely judged, and there were some almost Tristanesque passages on euphonium. Once again, the bottom half of the band came over particularly well, the building’s fine acoustic probably contributing to the fullness of the sound. 

The almost sotto voce entry of “From that Sacred Hill” was well controlled, and a slight stutter on euphonium did little to detract from the overall effect. The reprise of the opening led neatly into the final triumphal statement “Praise to the Lord”, with strident trombone figures set against the familiar melody.

Deserved break

Following a well-deserved break, the second half of the concert opened with “Just a Closer Walk with God”, the younger members of the band starting off, and the remainder gradually joining in, with Andrew Justice receiving spontaneous applause for his solo contribution. 

Staying on a youthful theme, the band then played the march “Able”, written by the then 16-yearold American Salvationist William Turkington, and masterfully rescored by Bill Himes. With close attention to the varying dynamics, a well-marshalled bass solo and restrained playing from Ralph Brill on cornet, it was a scintillating rendition, with an effective pulling back of the tempo towards the end.

Pure clear tone

Philip Cobb’s presentation of Leonard Ballantine’s “Don’t Doubt Him Now” was notable for his exceptionally pure, clear tone, and for the simplicity of the sustained solo line – nothing complex or intricate, but beautifully played, and with a seemingly endless final note.

Stephen Bulla has contributed several works for trombone ensemble to the repertoire, and Enfield’s four players were featured in “The Cleansing Power”. Their playing was confident and assured, with strong, unison lines splitting off into often grating harmonies, with no room to hide for any of the players, and the quartet was carried off with great panache, with a clear, bright sound.

Sensitive

This was followed by a sensitive reading of “Spirit of Life” (adapted by another Ulsterman, David Catherwood, from his own vocal composition), the long lines and soaring euphonium leading neatly into the message from the scriptures.

Philip Cobb turned to Stephen Bulla for his final item, the arrangement of “Blessed Assurance” which he wrote for the Principal Trumpet of the New York Philharmonic, Philip Smith. 

Written in mind

As well as his prowess on cornet and trumpet, Philip Cobb produces a beautifully rich and warm sound on flugel, and this setting could have been written with him in mind, as he added embellishments to the reprise of the tune, before switching to trumpet for the final section. 

It was an electrifying moment as he held back the first trumpet entry, proceeding to ring out over the band, and finishing on a thrilling top F. As the applause erupted from the large audience, the self-effacing soloist seemed almost reluctant to accept the acclaim which was well-deserved following another first-class offering from a very versatile performer.

Finale

The finale chosen for the band was Robert Redhead’s “Quintessence”, written for the Melbourne Staff Band to play at the 1978 International Congress and included in the programme for Enfield’s tour of Australia two years later. 

Depicting the expansiveness of the country as well as the arrival of the Salvation Army, it incorporates both original material and traditional Australian folk tunes, to which the early Salvationists added suitable lyrics. After the broad opening bars, the band set off at a frantic pace, with incisive playing and driving rhythms, and neat interplay between the solo cornets. 

The horn and percussion sections also had their chance to shine, and the central setting of “At Thy Feet I bow Adoring” was quite atmospheric, if not quite producing the frisson achieved by the Melbourne Staff Band in the Brangwyn Hall the first time this reviewer heard the work. 

As the music came to a climax, all the elements combined effectively, the faster figures set against the majestic presentation of the main theme, culminating in a thrilling final chord.

Encore

The evening ended with Enfield’s traditional encore of the march ”Red Shield”, and even this seemed to be played with more attention to detail, with finely-graded ups and downs and absolute precision. 

It was an impressive debut in a demanding programme, albeit with one or two deps helping out – including David Daws sitting amongst the back row cornets - and augurs well for the future of the band.

Peter Bale

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