Hendon Highlights

Hendon Band & Dervy Central Songsters
Conductors: David Rudd & Ian Hammond
Soloist: Sheona White
Cadogan Hall, London
Saturday 7th February

Listed on the programme simply as ”Fanfare”, Hendon Band opened the concert with “Summon the Dragon” (Peter Graham), which was commissioned by James Watson for the National Youth Band of Wales. 

Birthday inspiration

Taking its inspiration from the ceremonial fanfares of John Williams, it suited the band well, with bright sounding cornets and a six-strong trombone section, and crisp work from the percussion section, with Stephen Yalden standing in for Steve Moulton, whose wife was about to give birth!

This was followed by an arrangement of “In the Love of Jesus” by Kenneth Downie, who was present at the concert. This popular Salvation Army song was written by William Hammond, the father of Ian Hammond, the leader of Derby Central Songsters, the guest section for the evening. 

The setting displayed many of the arranger’s familiar footprints, not least the chromatic inflections in the harmony. The interludes between the verses juxtaposed descending chromatics in the lower band against the rising melodic line, and the final bars reminded one of Delius with a sequence of flattened notes colouring the chords.

Gentle sound

Following a prayer by Colonel Bill Cochrane, the gentle sound of tam-tam and side drum introduced Kevin Norbury’s “Gaudete”. The band did not seem totally comfortable with the syncopation and irregular meter in the opening sections, the music sounding a little too intense, but things soon settled down, with the cornets sparkling and snippets of melody being passed neatly from section to section. 

With echoes of “Riverdance” and the Shostakovich “Folk Dances”, and including a lively version of “Unto us a boy is born” the performance developed considerable excitement but always stayed under the Bandmaster’s tight control.

Guests

Colonel Cochrane then introduced the guests for the evening, also pointing out that it was the first Hendon Highlights to be led by the band’s recently appointed Bandmaster, David Rudd.

Derby Central Songsters, under the leadership of Ian Hammond, began with a setting by David Willcocks of the hymn “Christ the Lord is risen again”, with a first-class trio of cornets adding colour to the accompaniment. 

It was well-controlled choral singing, albeit with some uncertainty in the middle parts, but it seemed rather restrained, which could have been at least partly due to the amplification system and the location of the piano behind the singers.

Convincing

Alan Fox then stepped forward to sing one of Norman Bearcroft’s arrangements, the testimony song “Couldn’t Stay Away”. Harking back to the early days of The Salvation Army, the soloist sang of being attracted to the Army, with the remaining songsters reacting to him, both vocally and by means of simple choreographed movement, which for once appeared totally spontaneous and convincing. Diction by both soloist and choir was excellent, with all the words coming over clearly and distinctly.

Confidence

The songsters’ third song was a lively setting of the spiritual “Ride on, King Jesus” (arr Moses Hogan), featuring two soloists in call and response passages, and with the brigade adjusting well to the frequently changing rhythms. 

Much of the vocal writing was independent of the piano, and the unaccompanied passages were secure and well balanced, the singers having seemingly gained in confidence as they progressed through the three songs.

No stranger

The instrumental soloist in this, the 24th Hendon Highlights festival, was tenor horn virtuoso Sheona White, who is no stranger to The Salvation Army having appeared on a recording with the Enfield Citadel Band. 

Her first item – wrongly attributed in the programme to Goff Richards! – was Margaret Antrobus’s transcription of “Variations on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” (Mozart). Sheona displayed considerable expertise as successive variations became more and more intricate, with crystal clear articulation and maintaining a light, delicate touch. 

There was some fine work from the band, as horn and baritone in particular had some tricky interplay with the soloist. The chamber music textures of some of the slower variations were handled well, with some sensitive bass playing in particular.

Perfect

Her second piece allowed full rein to the more extrovert side of her personality, with Goedicke’s “Concert Etude”, arranged for her by the late Stuart Pullin when they were both members of the YBS band. 

Originally written for trumpet, it worked perfectly well on horn, the arrangement dealing effectively with the problem of how to ensure that an alto pitch soloist can be heard clearly against band accompaniment. This was helped by Sheona’s full, warm tone, with crisp double tonguing and trills, and a delicious throwaway ending.

Up beat

The songsters continued with the up-beat “I’ve got joy” (Williams, Starnes and Borop), featuring two female soloists and with the addition of a drum kit. 

There then appeared to be some confusion leading to an abortive piano introduction before they moved into “We are not alone” (Pepper Choplin), sung unaccompanied, with the lower parts providing a steady rhythmic backing to the soprano line. 

There were a couple of moments of suspect intonation in the melody, with voices not always blending well together, but the uniform application of the soft “t” in the repeated phrase “We are not alone” was most impressive.

Complete set

Their set was completed by “Resurrection”, another lively offering from R Wolaver and B Wolaver, possibly best known for “Make His praise glorious”. With the cornets and percussion making their presence felt, it was a positive statement of the power of the risen Christ, incorporating the words “Rejoice, the Lord is King” (to the tune of “Gopsal”), although the songsters’ attempts to encourage the audience to clap along fell rather flat.

At the heart

At the heart of the evening was Hendon Band’s rendition of Eric Ball’s “Song of Courage”. The programme gave a helpful synopsis covering the background to the piece, referring to the turmoil of both 1939, when the original vocal piece “Prayer for Courage” was written, and also of 1961, when the selection itself came into being. 

The duets between Philip Cobb and Paul Hopkins on trombone were nicely pointed each time, and there was some excellent euphonium playing to be enjoyed, whilst the trombones made the most of their entry with “Stand like the brave”. The band’s performance seems to grow in stature with each hearing, even if it lacks that final spark that transforms a good reading into an electrifying musical experience. 

It can be a problem controlling such a large band as Hendon, and it may be tempting to err on the side of caution, but a little risk-taking may pay dividends.

Not planned

The interval was announced as being only 10 minutes long, which meant that the first bell was being sounded while many were still negotiating the stairs to the refreshment areas. Also, the idea of Derby Songster’s singing “Down by the riverside” as people took their seats did not quite work as planned, as it seemed to start well before the audience was ready for the second half. 

The arrangement (by John Rutter) was effective enough, with a small group starting off and the remainder gradually joining in, but much of the impact was lost as people were still milling around.

In position

Most people were in position in time for the congregational song, a setting of “And can it be” to the tune of “Sagina”, written by former Hendon bandsman Andrew Wainwright. Following an extended introduction, three verses followed, with a change of key before the last one, although it seemed to be pitched a touch too low for comfort. 

Also, whilst the screen was cleared before the song was sung, no words appeared, possibly excluding anyone who had not purchased a programme from participating.

Mastery

Kenneth Downie penned “The Piper o’ Dundee” during his spell as Composer in Residence with the YBS Band, Colonel Cochrane making much of the Scottish connection. Once again, Sheona White showed her complete mastery of the instrument, with fluent playing and making light of the syncopations and wide-ranging phrases. 

There was a relaxed, laid-back feel to the middle section, with some neat interaction with euphonium and flugel. An un-programmed encore followed in the form of “Demelza”, written by Goff Richards under the nom-de-plume of Hugh Nash. Sheona’s smooth, sustained melodic line was matched by a very warm accompaniment in what proved to be one of the highlights of the evening.

Final spot

For their final solo slot, Derby Songsters turned once again to Norman Bearcroft, and his setting of “Jesus, the very thought of thee”. A solo soprano led into some effective, well-balanced male-voice singing, and it was good to hear them, as they had been somewhat over-powered by the women’s voices for much of the evening. 

There were a few tuning problems when the full chorus entered, but on the whole they coped well with the complexities of the writing.

More at home

Nevertheless, the brigade did seem more at home with the more straightforward musical language in Benjamin Harlan’s “Know my heart”, and this also applied to Mark Hayes’ arrangement entitled “Swingin’ with the Saints”, which incorporated a little Swingle Singers style “dooby-dooing” in the middle. 

It made for an exuberant close to a most enjoyable musical contribution, and on this showing the audiences who attend their series of concerts in the USA in April are in for a treat.

In tempo

Staying in up-tempo mood, Hendon launched into Barrie Gott’s “Lightwalk” taken, if anything, a little on the fast side. 

Nick Toplady produced an excellent performance of the flugel solo, which in a more intimate setting would no doubt have generated more of a response than the little smattering of applause heard during the performance, and the band as a whole certainly seemed to be revelling in the swing style.

Marriage

Sheona White’s final selection, which led into the Reading and Comment by Colonel Cochrane, was James Curnow’s solo “The Depths of His Love”. The marriage between soloist and band was most successful once again, with a long pause held on the well-balanced final chord which was followed by a moment’s reflective silence before the applause broke out.

Mixed results

The finale brought band and songsters together for a vocalisation of Paul Lovatt-Cooper’s “Vitae Aeternum”. It has been common practice over the years for vocal parts to be added to established Salvation Army band compositions, and it has to be said the results can be somewhat mixed. 

On this occasional it was fairly successful in presenting the words of the songs used, being coupled with the use of a Powerpoint presentation. On occasions, however, the sopranos especially seemed to be straining at the top of the range, and the magical effect of the muted cornet passages was rather masked by the added voices. 

Nevertheless, it made for a powerful and committed statement of faith at the end of what was a carefully planned and well-balanced programme.

Extreme weather

The concert took place following some of the most extreme weather London has experienced for some time, and this might have accounted for some of the empty seats. Although most of the stalls seats were occupied, there seemed to be a lot of empty spaces in the gallery, where the wooden benches are not particularly comfortable either! 

The 2010 event, which will be the 25th Hendon Highlights, as well as marking the 125th Anniversary of Hendon Band, moves back to its former home at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and will no doubt offer another musical feast to look forward to.

Peter Bale

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