With the sound of celebrations finally dying down from the Cheltenham weekend, bands from all over country will soon be forming their first opinions about the selection of set works chosen by the Kapitol Promotions National Finals Music Panel for the 2015 Regional Championship qualifying series.

The Torchbearer

After the immense difficulties faced by ‘St Magnus’ this year, Championships Section bands will perhaps be a little more relieved when they start work on Peter Graham’s ‘Symphonic Variations on a Theme by Eric Ball — The Torchbearer’.

Written as a joint commission between Kapitol Promotions and the Federation of Australasian Brass Bands for the 2009 National Finals and the FABB Open Contest respectively, it commemorates the 20th anniversary of the death of the great brass band composer.

Based upon the first phrase of Ball’s Salvation Army march, ‘Torchbearer’, Peter Graham stated that he tried to ‘retain the main compositional characteristics and harmonic flavour of Eric Ball’s Salvation Army and contest music’.

Oddly, it rather polarised opinions of both Salvationist and secular fans of Ball when it was played at the Albert Hall, with it echoes, ciphers and indirect quotes of many of his most famous works, in what Graham describes as ‘my efforts to pay musical tribute to the 20th century’s most influential composer of brass band music.’

A London Overture

The First Section bands will be given a stern test of their overall qualities with Philip Sparke’s ‘A London Overture’, which has enjoyed a widespread contesting pedigree ever since it was commissioned for the 1984 Dutch National Championships.

Most famously, it was used as a late replacement as the set work for the 1991 European Championships, where its difficult set of cadenzas (especially for trombone) caused all sorts of problems for the competing bands on the day.

It has since proved to be an immensely popular own choice and set work choice, utilised all over the banding world from Australia to North America, Pontins to the National Championship First Section Finals in 1992.

Variations on Maccabeus

There is an interesting work by a significant Salvation Army composer to be tackled by the Second Section bands, with Kevin Norbury’s ‘Variations on Maccabeus’ — originally written for the International Staff Band’s tour to Australia, New Zealand and Japan in 1995.

It takes its inspiration from the biblical character Judas Maccabeus, the third son of the Jewish priest Mattathias, whose exploits have led to dramatists such as William Houghton and writers such as Marrano Miguel de Silveyra to retell his story.

The most famous interpretation came with the 1746 oratorio written by George Frideric Handel, in the context of the last Jacobite Rising of 1745, and which ended in bloody massacre at Culloden.

With its rousing chorus ‘See the Conquering Hero Come’, it was also seen as a very crafty piece of political propaganda in its celebration of the victorious Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, although others associate it more with the Christian Easter hymn ‘Thine Be The Glory, Risen Conquering Son’.

It will be the first time Norbury’s work has been used as a major championship set work.

Evolution — Five States of Change

Philip Sparke’s typically engaging, expertly crafted musical style, will be enjoyed by the bands in the Third Section, with his 2011 composition, ‘Evolution – Five States of Change’.

Commissioned for the Fourth Section Dutch National Championships, it is dedicated to Jappie Dijkstra and the Music Information Centre (MUI), Arnhem, Holland, in acknowledgement of their outstanding work in developing brass band repertoire.

It takes its inspiration from a branch of Chinese philosophy ‘Wu Xing’ — essential, five elements, five phases or five states of change — from science, philosophy, medicine or astrology, which create various cyclic relationships — in this case, emotions: Meditation; Sorrow; Fear; Anger and Joy.

As the composer writes; “Evolution has five equal sections which loosely characterise this emotional cycle.

I have tried to make the music grow organically, with minimal repetition, and each movement evolves from the musical elements at the end of the previous one, with the opening material appearing, transformed, at the end of the piece to complete the cycle.”

The work has been used at the 2012 French Open and more recently as the set work in the Championship Section of the 2014 National Youth Brass Band Championships.

An English Pastorale

The Fourth Section bands have been given an extended work by well known composer Salvationist composer Dean Jones — the man whose ‘Glorifico Aeternum’ has proven so popular as a concert and entertainment contest work in recent years.

At close on 12 minutes in duration, ‘An English Pastorale’ it is made up of a noble introduction, ‘Heralding the Dawn’, which develops into easily accessible, highly melodic sections that reflect his vision of an ‘English’ countryside through its changing seasons — ‘Autumn on the Plains’, ‘Winter in the Dales’, ‘Spring on the Lakes’ and ‘Summer the Quays’.

Peter Graham stated that he tried to ‘retain the main compositional characteristics and harmonic flavour of Eric Ball’s Salvation Army and contest music’4BR

2015 Set Works:

Championship Section: ‘Symphonic Variations on a Theme by Eric Ball — The Torchbearer’ (Peter Graham)

First Section: ‘A London Overture’ (Philip Sparke)

Second Section: ‘Variations of Maccabeus’ (Kevin Norbury)

Third Section: ‘Evolution – Five States of Change’ (Philip Sparke)

Fourth Section: ‘An English Pastorale’ — Dean Jones