The London Brass Symposium

Guest Conductor: Don Jenkins
Regent Hall
London
Sunday 8th March

Brass players from across London came together at Regent Hall for an evening of classic Salvation Army Brass Music.  

Clarence Adoo Trust

The concert had been arranged by trumpeter Stuart Jenkins to raise money for the Clarence Adoo Trust, and he had invited his uncle, Don Jenkins, with his vast experience of conducting within The Salvation Army, to conduct the London Brass Symposium.  

Stuart had selected the music to be played, in what was at one stage envisaged as his farewell appearance, as he had been given only months to live following a diabetes-related medical condition which had led to stomach problems which were preventing him from playing.  

Double celebration

Fortunately, following a lengthy appeals process, funding was agreed for a stomach pacemaker to be fitted, and so it was suggested by Simon Gunton, the lively compere for the evening, that it was a double celebration, both of Clarence’s life and also of Stuart’s return to health.
 
Simon, a professional trombone player who began his playing in Leicester Castle Salvation Army Band, was a fellow student with Clarence at the Royal College of Music, and proved an inspired choice to pilot the evening through.  

His brief introductions to the music – even if not always entirely accurate! – were delivered with great enthusiasm and verve, and the two interview spots with Clarence were most illuminating.  

Looking well

Many of those present, both on stage and in the audience, had known Clarence for some time, and were happy to be able to play their part in making up for the lack of financial support from either the insurance companies or the state following his accident in 1995.  

As for Clarence himself, it was good to see him looking so well, demonstrating the movement he now has in his head, shoulders and left arm, and describing his busy and fulfilled life.
 
Interesting

As for the music, it was interesting to hear scores originally scored for brass band played with trumpets replacing the cornets, and French horns covering both the tenor horn and baritone parts.  

This is not a unique idea, with both the Salvation Army’s own Red Shield Band (made up of forces personnel) and Edward Gregson’s Collegiate Brass Ensemble having had a similar set-up, but it does offer some very different effects, both in terms of the quality of sound and also due to the differences in articulation and attack.
 
Good introduction

The programme commenced with “Intrada: I know a Fount” by New Zealander Thomas Rive.  This joined together the opening and closing sections of the original, and was a good introduction to the full sound of the group, most of whom are professional musicians.  

The mellow sound of the opening contrasted with the bright tone of the trumpets, whilst the six tuba players provided a solid foundation – at times a little too solid in the somewhat unrelenting acoustic of the hall!  

The two sections were linked by a thunderous roll from the four-man percussion section, after which the sound was even more impressive, topped off by the piccolo trumpet, although the addition of tubular bells and glockenspiel seemed a little over the top, somewhat reminiscent of the Goossens arrangement of “Hallelujah Chorus” that Sir Thomas Beecham was so fond of.
 
Well defined

Following the introductions, and a prayer offered by Commissioner Bill Rivers, the band launched into Leslie Condon’s fine march “Celebration”.  The playing was well-defined, if a little strident at times, with some fine horn playing in “The Army flag is flying”, and with the trumpets in sparkling form in the final section. 
 
The Salvation Army flag also featured in the next item, “Lift up the banner”, by the Dane Erik Silfverberg.  This is something of a miniature showpiece, calling for great clarity as the various sections of the band each chip in, and it needs controlled playing if it is not to sound fragmented.  

The group’s reading was full of excitement and energy, with the horn trills and trombone glissandi being particularly effective.
 
Worked hard

The “Marche Militaire Francais” from Saint-Saens’ “Suite Algerienne” exists in a couple of arrangements for brass.  That published by The Salvation Army was prepared by Michael Kenyon, who was a member of the Music Department as well as serving as Bandmaster at Hadleigh and Southsea.  

One sensed that the horns had to work particularly hard for clarity at the opening, but they successfully overcame the problems, whilst the unison runs were very effective.  In this item, the basses did come into their own, maintaining the volume and tone quality right into the bottom register, and the trumpeting passages at the end stood out clearly.
 
Joybringer

In Kenneth Downie’s “The Joybringer” (described as a “march fantasy”) the percussion was a little too prominent in places, and some of the light and shade was lacking, although the players did catch the sense of joy and exuberance, particularly with the composer’s own setting of “Jesus wants me for a sunbeam”.
 
After the first of the interviews with Clarence, the first half closed with Robert Redhead’s “Quintessence”, written for the Melbourne Staff Band, and introduced by them at the time of the 1978 International Congress.  

The composer attempts to capture various aspects of Australian life, with a combination of original themes and Australian melodies, including references to “Advance Australia Fair” and the tune “Ring the bell, watchman”, associated with the words “The Salvation Army is marching along”.  

At the emotional core of the work is a setting of “At thy feet I bow adoring”, scored for horns against a background of rippling cornet figures, and whilst the horn melody was quite impressive, the trumpets were not so effective, despite the best efforts of the players.  

Some sections did work particularly well, however, vividly portraying the broad expanse of the opening, for example, and the fierce horn trills towards the end as the various musical elements are joined together.
 
Deserved break

After a well-deserved break, during which players and audience mingled freely and shared refreshments together, the second half was dominated by music from across the Atlantic, commencing with William Himes’ lively march “Motivation”.  

If one felt that the trumpets had been rather restrained at times during the first half, here they really came into their own, making the most of the contrasts in the writing, rather than having to blend in with the ensemble.  

The melody “Would you know why I love Jesus” really cut through the texture, with solid shot chords from the rest of the group, and there was some beautifully smooth playing form the horns. It was also interesting to note that, in passages originally written for euphoniums and baritones, here it was the horn sound which dominated.
 
King Swingers

More Himes followed, with his “Three Kings Swing”, a big band arrangement in the style of Stan Kenton based on the “Three Kings March”, a 13th Century carol from Provence, possibly better known as the “Farandole” from Bizet’s “l’Arlesienne”.  

The trombones brought an authentic jazzy fell to the opening – their playing was excellent throughout the evening – and Martin Bunce put down his flugel to take up the trumpet for the improvised solo which earned him warm applause.
 
Big band

Following the second interview with Clarence, the group continued in big-band style with William Broughton’s “Deep River”, written a la Count Basie.  Here the tubas provided a beautifully laid-back tread, and there was some effective writing for muted trombones and trumpets.  

Don Jenkins ensured that all the nuances of the scoring were observed, making the most of the contrasting dynamics in particular, and the sustained playing from the middle of the band came much closer than usual to imitating a saxophone section.
 
Trilogy

A trilogy of swing numbers was completed with Barrie Gott’s “Lightwalk”, opening with a bar from the drums and featuring some enthusiastic playing all round.  Martin was again the featured soloist, this time on flugel, whilst the walking bass kept things moving along nicely.
 
Simon Dunton explained that he was particularly looking forward to hearing Peter Graham’s “Shine as the Light”, and especially the aleatoric section, illustrating Joy Webb’s words “a myriad of tiny flames expanding to a whole”.  

The opening of the piece was full of energy, with the chording in the lower brass coming over especially clearly, whilst Stuart Jenkins brought an almost jazzy touch to “The Candle of the Lord”, his vibrato warming the sound effectively, and carrying on to soar over the euphonium and horn melody.  

Striking

There were some striking interjections from the xylophone and the aleatoric section, when it came, was more drawn out than is sometimes the case, allowing the trumpet, bell and glockenspiel figures to make their effect before introducing the “Light me” phrases, darker-hued than usual, and given additional emphasis.  

The entry of “The light has come” exuded confidence and assurance, and there was a really triumphant feel to the ending, with the “soprano” player switching from Eb trumpet to piccolo for the final chord.  At the conclusion, having brought the players to their feet, Don turned round to greet the audience with finger pointing heavenwards in the traditional Salvation Army salute.
 
Best hymn tune

The final programmed item was the only one not from the Salvation Army repertoire, but was described as one of the best hymn tune arrangements around: Philip Wilby’s setting of “The Day Thou Gavest” featured the dulcet tones of Charley Brighton on euphonium, and the ensemble revelled in the subtleties of the scoring, with well-balanced playing and a massive climax before the music died away once more.
 
The evening closed with an encore in the form of James Curnow’s march “Faith is the Victory”.  Typically American in style, with echoes of Osterling’s “Bandology”, with effective use of mutes for the trumpets and trombones, it made for a fine finale, with Don pulling things right back for a swaggering concluding section.  

It seemed to sum up the whole event which, as well as providing excellent musical fare, had raised an estimated £1,385 for the Clarence Adoo Trust. 

Peter Bale

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