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The Rotary Club of Nuneaton
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Peter Graham's Celebrate Rotary is in the traditional brass
band march style, cleverly creating its primary material from the rhythm of
the word 'rotary'. This is followed by a bright rendering of Glinka's
overture, Ruslan and Ludmilla, in the Walter Hargreaves arrangement.
A famous opera singer once remarked to me on the
similarities between singing and solo cornet playing and this is exemplified
on the next track by Roger Webster in a most sensitive performance of
Schubert's lovely song, Du Bist die Ruh. The German word 'ruh' can mean calm,
peace and rest and all of these words spring to mind when listening to this
solo.
Elgar Howarth's effective arrangement of a suite of pieces
from the court of Queen Elizabeth I comes next with stylish performances of
William Byrd's Earl of Oxford's March and two pieces, Pavane and Hunting Jig
by John Bull. These pieces are performed in an authentically 'straight'
manner, with little or no vibrato, but with a wonderful warmth that envelopes
the listener. Great stuff!
David Thornton is the effortless soloist in Simone Mantia's
variations on Auld Lang Syne (in an adaptation by Peter Meechan). Mantia was
solo euphonium with Sousa's band, assistant principal trombone to Arthur Prior
and principal trombone at the New York Metropolitan Opera. His variations are
inventive in the style of the Herbert L. Clarke solos, with plenty of
fireworks for an able soloist. Needless to say, David Thornton gives of his
very best.
Michael Ball's '...all the flowers of the mountain...' was
the demanding Championship Section test-piece at the 2004 National
Championships and Black Dyke demonstrates its mastery of the music throughout,
especially in the cruelly-exposed 'stratospheric' writing for soprano and solo
cornet (superbly handled by Dr. Webster and Alex Kerwin).
Mike Hopkinson's arrangement of the finale of Mendelssohn's
Violin Concerto (here transcribed for tenor horn) receives a fleet-footed
rendition from Lesley Howie with the accompaniment a model of discretion.
However, I can't help feeling that the performance just errs a little too much
on the side of caution.
Goff Richards arrangement of the Romance from Shostakovich's film score, The
Gadfly, finds an eloquent interpreter in Nicholas Childs and flugel horn
soloist, John Doyle, makes the most of Chuck Mangione's haunting theme to the
1978 film, The Children of Sanchez.
The 'grand finale' is Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, in a new
arrangement by Robert Childs. The band seizes on this with relish, although a
few extra canon detonations seem to have found heir way into the score at the
end (Tchaikovsky notes his 'canonade' meticulously).
There is a sense of enjoyment in the playing throughout this eclectic collection and, as a celebration of 150 years of Black Dyke Band, it 'hits the right note'. If you like a varied programme performed by one of the world's finest brass bands, then you will not go wrong with this release.
Rodney Newton
This review by Rodney Newton is reproduced here by kind permission of British Bandsman.
