East of England Co-op Band
Conductor: Mark Ager
Soloists: Harry Stubbs; Linda Purdy
Doyen Recordings: DOY CD449

As a showcase of joint musical enterprise this cleverly curated release serves its dual purpose very well indeed.

Whoever came up with the idea deserves the plaudits; the 12 works, all from Studio Music,  sitting in neat stylistic contrast to each other, and pitched at a level the First Section ensemble from Suffolk performs with showcase solidity and plenty of finesse.  

Nothing is shoehorned in for an unwarranted sales boost either – the old Mario Lanza hit ‘I’ll Walk with God’,  Toselli’s ‘Serenata’  and Keith Wilkinson’s splendidly orgiastic ‘Bacchanale’  having found their way into concert programmes since Samson was a lad.  

Brushed up

They are brushed up without a hint of tired familiarity by MD Mark Ager, who keeps his ensemble on a taut rein throughout. His featured soloists are excellent – Harry Stubbs a virtuoso euphonium flourish on ‘When You Believe’  fizzed up from a pop version sung by Maria Carey, and Linda Purdy the sprightly horn lead on Darrol Barry’s ‘Arabesque’.   

‘Mountain Day’  by William Himes and ‘Fiesta!’  should also be on any would be composer’s shopping list – perfectly framed examples of how to challenge performers with crafted character and narrative using simple ingredients mixed expertly in blend and time.  

The brace of main concert works in ‘Mountain Day’  by William Himes and ‘Fiesta!’  should also be on any would be composer’s shopping list – perfectly framed examples of how to challenge performers with crafted character and narrative using simple ingredients mixed expertly in blend and time.  

Missing element

That said, there does seem to be a missing element (especially given that it was commissioned by the all-star Brass Band of Battle Creek) with Sparke’s light touch arrangement of ‘Four Dances' from ‘The Nutcracker’.

An added celesta or glockenspiel could quite easily be incorporated (although the original asks for everything from 2 rabbit drummers to cuckoos in places) to bring an extra fairytale sparkle to things. It still makes for a nice Christmas treat though. 

The axe, seemingly wielded by a tom-tom playing Gene Kruper, can’t come soon enough. 

Elsewhere, the idiosyncratic ‘medium swing’ of Neal Hefti’s ‘Splanky’  (originally written for the Count Basie Orchestra in 1957) is captured all the way to the signature end, although Berlioz may just wonder if he is reliving his nightmare execution with ‘Scaff!’,  which seems to be the result of a bad absinthe-soaked idea. The axe, seemingly wielded by a tom-tom playing Gene Kruper, can’t come soon enough. 

It's minor ‘caveat emptor’ warning though set against Rob Wiffin’s evocative ‘Gypsy Dance’, and the fine sense of military rigidity and Grenadier pomp in the opening ‘The Platinum Jubilee March’.

Iwan Fox 

To purchase:

CD: https://www.worldofbrass.com/102396
Download: https://www.worldofbrass.com/102396-download
Wobplay: http://www.wobplay.com

Play list:

1. The Platinum Jubilee March (Chris Shelton)
2. Mountain Day (William Himes)
3. Gypsy Dance (Rob Wiffin)
4. When You Believe (Stephen Schwartz arr. Richard Phillips)
Soloist: Harry Stubbs 

5-8. Four Dances from The Nutcracker (Tchaikovsky arr. Philip Sparke)
i. March
ii. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
iii. Arabian Dance
iv. Trepak

9. I’ll Walk With God (Brodszky arr. Goff Richards)
10. Fiesta! (Philip Sparke)
11. Splanky (Neal Hefti arr. Philip Sparke)
12. Arabesque (Darrol Barry)
Soloist: Linda Purdy

13. Scaff! (Berlioz arr. Alastair Wheeler)
14. Serenata (Toselli arr. Goff Richards)
15. Bacchanale (Saint-Saens arr. Keith Wilkinson)