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Free on Fridays - Vaughan Williams and Holst: Academy Symphonic Wind and Brass Ensemble, Keith Bragg, Duke’s Hall, Royal Academy of Music, London, 28.11.2008 (BBr)

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Toccata Marziale (1924)

English Folk Song Suite (1923)

Gustav Holst: Hammersmith, Prelude and Scherzo, op.52 (1930)

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Scherzo alla Marcia (Symphony No.8) (1953/1955)


This was a concert with a soft outer coating and an heart as hard as diamond. The VW works are all light in feel and are real audience pleasers, there’s little of substance to any of the works – and the final piece is an excerpt from a bigger work, where it sits much more comfortably – but the band played them for all they were worth. The Toccata Maziale is a short, but energetic, piece giving everyone something to do and it makes a splendid concert opener. VW isn’t as subtle as Holst was in arranging folk songs for band – Holst’s 2^nd Suite is much more successful in this respect – but it’s rumbustious and great fun. It was a mistake to end the show with the scherzo movement from the 8^th Symphony for two reasons – it simply isn’t strong enough to stand alone and it didn’t use the full ensemble and the proceedings ended with a whimper not a bang.

But the real reason for attending this concert was to hear Holst’s masterpiece Hammersmith. Commissioned by the BBC, but not performed by them at the time – it had to wait until 1954 for its premiere in its band version (Holst also prepared a version for orchestra, which is good but looses the hard edges of the original) – it was, according to Imogen Holst, "... the outcome of long years of familiarity with the changing crowds and the changing river. Those Saturday night crowds, who were always good natured even when they were being pushed off the pavement into the middle of the traffic. And the stall holders in the narrow lane behind the Broadway, with their unexpected assortment of goods lit up by brilliant flares. And the large woman at the fruit shop who always called him 'dearie' when he bought oranges for his Sunday picnics at St. Paul's ..." Despite its short playing time – about a quarter of an hour – it’s a big piece with big intentions. The slow and quiet Prelude is as sinuous as the course of the River Thames itself, and this music returnes at the end to bring the work to a quiet, if not peaceful, conclusion. The Scherzo is hell–for–leather and, despite being based on the most innocuous ideas, contains two huge, and very disturbing, climaxes. Bragg and his young players rose to the challenge and gave a magnificent performance, realising every nuance and bringing out the fact that sometimes, at night, the city can be a scarey place. This was as fine a performance as any I have ever heard – including those on LP and CD. I’d now love to hear this group give Holst’s two Suites for band.

A very enjoyable lunchtime’s music.

Bob Briggs


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