Black Dyke
Conductor: Dr Nicholas Childs
Soloists: David Thornton, Richard Marshall, Brett Baker
Obrasso Recordings: CD941
Total Playing Time: 67.53

It is getting increasingly difficult to be even mildly enthused by this tired series from Obrasso.

Using Black Dyke to try and spark some pep into this particular lifeless body is rather like seeing Pele trying to convince you about the benefits of male enhancement performance pills: Everyone knows he doesn’t need them – and neither do Dyke.

Professional 

As you would expect, the band is admirably professional under Dr Nicholas Childs, the recording engineered with the usual high-class precision by Richard Scott, Roy Newsome’s sleeve notes compact and enlightening. 

There are classy individual performances and plenty of polished ensemble work.

The end result though is still flaccid stuff.

Bargain basement

What Black Dyke is being asked to churn out with their name splashed on the label is bargain basement pap.

Not even the best snake-oil salesman in the world could really convince you that any of these 16 tracks are either spectacular or classic.

Why does Obrasso continue to do it you wonder? Is there really a market still out there for this brass band music?

Quality Street?

Talented arrangers such as Alan Fernie, Sandy Smith, Chris Wormald, Ray Woodfield, Darrol Barry and Howard Lorriman are reduced to providing edible musical morsals of the sweets left in a Quality Street tin - three weeks after Christmas ended; clunking versions of material that has been done before, or new takes on works rescued from deserving obscurity or shouldn’t have been touched at all.

Another variant of ‘The Day Thou Gavest’, a Langfordesque ‘Italian Fantasy’, the finale from Mahler’s colossal ‘Resurrection’ Symphony reduced to user friendly brass band size; what seems the millionth take on Monti’s ‘Czardas’ (the vuvuzela version is surely all that is left), ‘Tritsch-Tratsch Polka’.

For heaven’s sake.

Tarnished

Black Dyke has done more than enough to help raise Obrasso’s recording profile, but who in return seem oblivious that they are beginning to tarnish the world wide reputation of their greatest asset by flogging a series that has long since passed its sell by date.

Just a few months ago, out came ‘Die Alpen’ – a cracking recording that fully deserved the plaudits and critical acclaim: Then this.

It is now almost impossible to see what benefit it does a band with a premium blue chip product name being sold like a bargain basement performance enhancing blue pill.

Iwan Fox

Contents

1. Procession Of The Nobles, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, arr. Howard Lorriman, 4.53
2. St. Clement, Cotterill Scholefield, arr. Alan Fernie, 3.00
3. Armenian Sabre Dance, Gomidas Vartabed, arr. Howard Lorriman, 3.33
4. My Lady Bothwell's Lament, Traditional Scottish Air, arr. Alan Fernie, Euphonium soloist David Thornton, 3.54
5. Italian Fantasy, arr.Alan Fernie, 7.57
6. Core 'ngrato(Catari Catari), Salavatore Cardillo, arr. Howard Lorriman, Cornet soloist Richard Marshall, 5.13
7. Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, Johann Strauss, arr. Alan Fernie, 2.45
8. Tambourin, Francois-Joseph Gossec, arr. Alan Fernie, 1.40
9. Wo unsere Fahne wehht (March), Johann Strauss, arr. Sandy Smith, 2.36
10. Love's Old Sweet Song, James L. Molloy, arr. Alan Fernie, 4.16
Concerto For Trombone, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsokov, arr. Howard Lorriman
11. Allegro Vivace, 2.19
12. Andante Cantabile, 3.50
13. Allegro, 4.46
14. The Lord's My Shepherd, Jessie Irvine, arr. Darrol Barry, 3.14
15. Czardas, Vittorio Monti, arr. Ray Woodfield, 3.34
16. Resurrection, Gustav Mahler, arr. Christopher Wormald, 10.08