'Echoes of the North' — the evocative archive film backed by a soundtrack provided by Brighouse & Rastrick Band has been made available to watch online for free.

As previously reported on 4BR the hour-long project brought together more than a hundred fragments of archive film with a brass band score specially written by the acclaimed composer, musician and BBC presenter Neil Brand.

It was created in partnership with Yorkshire Film Archive, North West Film Archive, North East Film Archive, and London's Archive Film Agency, and edited by Andy Burns.

Early 20th century

It takes viewers back to life in the north of the country in the early 20th century — its industries and rural life, wartimes and festivals, holidays, family excursions and city-wide occasions.

The accompaniment breathed musical life into the rare images and was premiered by the Yorkshire Silent Film Festival in Morecambe in November, with the British Open champion conducted by Ben Palmer, who also orchestrated the score.

Resonant images

Speaking about the partnership at the time, Neil Brand said: "The wonderful, resonant images of people in the first 30 years of the last century spring to life with the timeless beauty of the brass band sound.

I was thrilled to have had the opportunity to create scores for these images, and to work with one of the greatest bands in the world."

'Echoes of the North: Four Chapters in Time' is now available to watch online for free until March 2023

Enjoy

You can watch the film here: https://youtu.be/TnloFHin-K0