Bones Apart

Regent Hall
London
Friday 27th October

For the second year in succession, the all-female trombone quartet Bones Apart gave the Friday afternoon concert of the Brass Arts Festival organised by Philip Biggs. 

Their members on this occasion were Becky Smith, Arlene McFarlane, Sue Cordiner (deputising for Carol Jarvis, currently undergoing a course of treatment for cancer) and Lorna McDonald on bass trombone.
They made an immediate impact with "3 dances from the Spanish Renaissance", arranged by Richard Cheetham. 

"Pase el agua" was a bright and rhythmic opener as they set out their stall with a strikingly uniform approach to both attack and dynamics.  "Dios te salve, cruz preciosa" was notable for the homogeneous sound and sustained phrases, as the lower parts provided chordal backing for the expressive melodic line.  "El cervel" marked a return to the lively nature of the first movement, with tight double-tonguing and crisp articulation.

As usual, the introductions were shared between the players, making for a pleasantly informal atmosphere, and it was explained that they had just returned from a series of concerts in Germany, held in such unusual venues as a bus deport and an abandoned bottle factory.  In the more conventional setting of Regent Hall they moved on to a suite drawn from Vivaldi's "L'Estro Armonico".  Arranged by bass trombonist Lorna McDonald, it consisted of movements from concerti for one or two violins, although that seemed to present few difficulties for these talented players. 

In the opening "Presto" phrases were exchanged almost imperceptively between the three tenor trombones, whilst the "Largo" featured each in turn against a sustained accompaniment.  The closing "Allegro" contained prominent running semi quaver passages passing through all the parts, whilst Lorna on bass had a seemingly endless string of quavers to negotiate.

As well as presenting arrangements of earlier music, the group are keen to develop new repertoire and have had a number of pieces written especially for them.  Peter Meechan's "Break it down" was receiving its London premiere.  Based on the Bach chorale "Ein Feste Burg" it opens with a fanfare treatment, with each part sustaining its note from the melody, producing a tone cluster, the effect a little reminiscent of Ray Farr's arrangement for band. 

Following a fairly conventional treatment of the chorale, it is then, in the words of the composer, "funked up": a rhythmic pattern is established as snippets of the tune are played, sometimes in tempo and sometimes as percussive interjections.  The piece includes some very effective sounds, particularly in the quiet, more reflective passages, and is a fine example of modern music that is challenging yet accessible. 

It is certainly very demanding on the players, who explained in the interval that the original first trombone part was divided amongst the players after the first performance in an attempt to share the load a little more evenly.

"4 Ballet scenes" led up to the well-deserved interval.  Lorna McDonald's arrangement of "Dance of the Drayman" from Shostakovich's "The Bolt" featured the bass trombone as soloist, and showed Shostakovich in true laconic form, with short glissandi adding to the dry humour.  The familiar "March from the Nutcracker" started very quietly, with the running quaver passages tucked in very neatly, and the bass trombone part nicely understated. 

The short "Love Scene from La Source" (Delibes) was played with a very delicate touch, with the emotions held back until the sudden climax.  Kabalevsky' "Comedians Gallop" featured Becky Smith on alto, and called on her to come in cold with an extended double-tonguing passage, a challenge that she took in her stride.

After the interval, and with Becky still on alto, they presented Helen Vollam's transcription of Rossini's "Overture to The Barber of Seville".  With the occasional lip trill, and tricky grace notes and turns to negotiate, this was also a test of stamina, as there was little opportunity to rest throughout.  The passage in octaves between tenor and bass trombone were most effective, and the group caught the cheeky aspect of Rossini's humour well.  The tempo picked up considerably towards the end, but with no lack of clarity in the playing.

The "Carmen Suite", a six-movement collection prepared by Helen Vollam, is included in the group's new cd, which they unashamedly plugged.  They included three movements in their programme, commencing with "Les Dragons D'Alcala", although the introductions could have led one to expect dragons rather than dragoons!  The "Habanera" was something of a tour de force for Lorna, as she kept the distinctive bas part going throughout.  Lastly, the "Seguidille", played in a fine, lilting style, featured some particularly high-lying writing above the melodic line.

A sequence of film music commenced with music from James Bond.  Whilst Lorna disappeared off-stage to retrieve a missing piece of music, they recalled having been taken to task for wrongly ascribing the original "James Bond theme" to John Barry, who had provided the incidental music.  Asking if anyone knew who had in fact written it, Rodney Newton, covering the event for British Bandsman, not only offered the name in question, Monty Norman, but also the guitarist who performed it in the original film! 

Following Lorna's return, and with little chance for her to recover her composure, the music was marked by dynamic contrasts and even rises and falls, with some especially effective glissandi falling of the notes.  Following the theme itself, Lorna was featured in the theme of "From Russia with Love", the tenor trombones conveying the bleak and sinister atmosphere before the soloist's entry.

"The Way We Were" found the players blending so well that one was not always aware of the melody moving from one player to the next, and the close harmony writing was most effective.  The final programmed item was a new arrangement by Lorna of "Strike up the band".  This really tested all four players as they were all kept extremely busy.  Complete with a quotation from "Soldiers in the Park" it went down very well with the audience, which was a little larger than usual this year.

Having left the stage and returning to enthusiastic applause, it was clear that the audience wanted an encore, and the group duly obliged with a beautifully laid back version of "Here's that rainy day".  Opening very quietly with a close-harmony setting, the accompaniment was largely sustained, with the bass just providing a gentle pulse to maintain the momentum.  It was an ideal encore, ending with an intriguing final chord which seemed to leave things in the air.

Peter Bale

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