In a welcome initiative sponsored by British Bandsman magazine, the British Open Championship weekend was given an additional musical boost by persuading the reigning champion to showcase their concert talents less than 24 hours before taking to the Symphony Hall contest stage.

It was also a brave approach by both parties - a bit of an unknown financial punt by the former as well as a musically exhausting one for Tredegar (fresh from their ‘Pride’ film premiere trip to London). 

Although the hall was by no means full, the result of a great deal of hard graft and commitment from all concerned ensured that musically it was an undoubted success.    

Demanding programme

Hats off then to the Welsh band, who certainly delivered on a demanding programme that included a finely worked performance of the Open test piece ‘Vita Aeterna Variations’ in the presence of the composer Ed De Boer to close the first half: If only they could have bottled it for the next day they would have been very happy indeed.

The world premiere of Daniel Hall’s highly effective ‘Colours in Rain’ - all shimmering droplet motifs that broke into a forceful spectrum deluge, opened proceedings, before an excellent rendition of Heaton’s ‘Toccata - Oh the Blessed Lord’, was relayed with a finely balanced tension between dark undercurrents and bright surface slickness; the MD keeping its essential drive without losing elegant finesse.

Neat detour

Kenneth Downie’s bucolic ‘Sunset over the River Exe’ was a neat musical detour, whilst it was good to hear a contemporary percussion solo with the pulsating ‘Raise the Roof’; played with remarkable cephalopodic dexterity on seven timpani, bongos and cymbals by Gavin Pritchard.   

Relaxed

With the serious content completed, the second half was relaxed fayre - Ian Porthouse leading his band through slickly delivered concert repertoire that featured classy soloists in principal cornet Dewi Griffiths (who was on superb form all evening) with ‘People’ and Matthew White on ‘Neath Dublin Skies’, which bowled along with the fleet footed gallop of a fancied Irish thoroughbred at the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

‘All Night Long’ with its heel clicking memories of the Commodores in finest crimpoline suits was a cracker, balanced by the ornate red blooded gypsy passion of ‘Damba’, and ‘The Heat of the Day’, which was driven inexorably forward with an intoxicating pulse of sticky humidity. 

Clever reworking

In contrast, the quintet-led ‘A Time for Us’ and the clever reworking of The Carpenters hit, ‘Close to You’ were subtle, reflective interludes, before the evening was rounded off with a thumping ‘Glorifico Aeternum’ and the encore of the joyfully choreographed ‘Can’t Nobody do me like Jesus’.

Even a band of Tredegar’s well honed stamina may have been left blowing a few fumes to close, but it would be great if this excellent concert initiative returns next year with another band that provides such commitment and well rehearsed music making as the 2013 Open champions.

Malcolm Wood