This is a carefully
researched and fully annotated disc.
It documents brass band music from its
beginnings to its "coming of age"
when it had its own genres of music
and important professional composers
writing for it. The last composer featured
here, Percy Fletcher, was a well-known
figure in the field of quality light
music and wrote extensively for brass
band.
We begin with a reminder
that early brass bands played dance
music, such as waltzes and quadrilles,
which were progressively dropped from
the repertoire. Hymn tunes have always
been popular and medleys from well-known
operas have held their own, whereas
variations for cornet solo have faded
from view – here we have a set on Bishop’s
melody "Pretty Jane" from
which, on a less historically-minded
and more enjoyment-orientated record,
a few variations might profitably have
been dropped.
Not that enjoyment
is lacking. The Grimethorpe Colliery
Band is one of Britain’s most famous
bands – maybe the most famous
since its participation in "Brassed
Off". At the time of that memorable
film its future was in doubt so it is
good to learn from the booklet that
it now looks secure. Under the experienced
direction of its Music Adviser, Elgar
Howarth, whose interests range from
the most uncompromising contemporary
scores to the present repertoire, everything
goes with a will and a swing, except
perhaps "Nearer My God To Thee"
which I thought almighty slow. This,
by the way, is not the John Bacchus
Dykes melody used in England but one
by Lowell Mason which tends to be preferred
by American congregations.
In the last resort,
it’s the composers whose names we know
who make the biggest impact. I won’t
pretend I’m going to clamour for the
complete works of Enderby Jackson, but
it’s interesting to take a peep into
our great-grandfathers’ world and see
the genre develop. The "William
Tell" selection is based on single
movements, "neat" as it were
(here we get the Ballet Music and the
Galop") whereas Charles Godfrey
provides a well-crafted medley of the
principal themes of "Hansel and
Gretel". "The Diplomat",
by the gifted amateur George Allan,
is a "road march" and it swings
along amiably enough (and one of the
themes sounds very familiar) whereas
BB & CF, by the professional composer
James Ord Hume, was a "contest
march", and a super one too. This
and Fletcher’s tone poem bring the programme
to a stirring end.
I noted a few moments
of imprecision and doubtful intonation
in some of the less well-known pieces,
particularly the "Yorkshire Waltzes",
but the spirit is always right and the
band gives a magnificent account of
the tried and tested repertory works
at the end. With fine recording this
is obviously mandatory for those with
an interest in brass bands, but others
might enjoy it too.
Just one piece of nit-picking-
The timings given on CDs often prove
to be wrong by a few seconds either
way, but an error of 20% (they claim
79:53) would seem to fall into Lady
Bracknell’s category of carelessness.
Christopher Howell
Grimethorpe Colliery (UK Coal) Band/Elgar Howarth
