Brighouse & Rastrick and The Fairey Band

Conductor: Geoffrey Brand

Huddersfield Town Hall
Saturday 22nd March 2003

The organisers of Brighouse & Rastrick's massed band concerts must have some big smiles on their faces.

Preparations for these events are made in advance, and last March, they invited the newly crowned North West area champions, The Fodens Band. Last October was the big reunion of the Brighouse band of 1977 and Spring 2003, B & R invited (what turned out to be) the National Champion Band of Great Britain, The Fairey Band as their guests, in an evening billed as 'East Meets West' Guest Conductor, Geoffrey Brand had selected a programme of music (with the exception of the three solo pieces) which had a connection with Russia.

The evening commenced with Mr Brand's arrangement of March:Opus 99 by Prokofiev. The march was written around 1942/43 and was intended to 'stir' the Russian troops, and this performance made sure that everyone would pay attention as to what was to come before them. Mikhael Glinka it is said was the true founder of Russian national music Until his appearance, Russian musical life, including opera, was dominated by such Italian composers as Cimarosa and Paisello, who had spent part of their careers in St. Petersburg. Many Composers inspiration to write can come from hearing/and or seeing something. The inspiration for the virtuosi overture Russlan & Ludmilla came to Glinka during a court wedding dinner celebration, with a chorus and orchestra providing the entertainment. The sheer noise of everything around him made such an impression on him, that he just wanted to imitate them in the prelude to the Opera. This is something Glinka did wonderfully well, and the brass band arrangement came from Walter Hargreaves. Mr Hargreaves had association with both bands on stage and he would have been extremely proud to have heard such a performance.

The first soloist of the evening was Morgan Griffiths of Fairey's. Morgan accompanied by his own band, demonstrated his virtuoso skills with The Allegro from Mozart's Bassoon Concerto. As in his rendition of the aforementioned solo at the RNCM in Manchester, the performance was of the highest calibre, so lyrical and eloquent, and with beautiful tone. An evening of music linked with Russia would not be complete without some Tchaikovsky and the audience was treated to four separate offerings during the concert.

Mr Brand chose music from two dances from Sleeping Beauty. Firstly, his own arrangement of Panaroma and then, Dr Roy Newsome's arrangement of The Waltz. We then moved from the ballet to the circus with Dance of the Tumblers by Rimsky-Korsakov. As this was being played,someone muttered behind me 'this is what Grimey played at the Granada back in the 80s when they won without a conductor'. Indeed this piece was featured in that never-to-be-forgotten performance which gave them the Granada Band of the Year title in 1985, and Grimethorpe's Principal Cornet back then was the man now wearing the purple and black of Brighouse, Alan Morrison.

The first half concluded with more Tchaikovsky. In 1880, the composer was in Italy and having heard, various bugle calls and some delightful folk songs, he was inspired to write Capriccio Italian. The brass band arrangement is by Denis Wright and it is terrific music which certainly suits massed bands.

The second half opened with another classic overture. Festive Overture by Shostakovich. Without doubt, this is one of the composer's most frequently performed works.The piece was commissioned for a gathering at the Bolshoi Theatre in November of 1954, celebrating the 37th Anniversary of the October Revolution, and was written inside three days. The performance given by Brighouse and Fairey's certainly grasped the sense of occasion and requirements implicit in the commission. The brilliant orchestration, the exuberant mood, and the infectious high spirits of the overture were all in evidence.in this brass band arrangement by P.Kitson.

Alan Morrison was the next soloist of the evening, and for his first massed band concert with Brighouse chose some non-Russian music. Satchmo is the Kenny Baker tribute to the great jazz trumpeter, Louis Armstrong, and Alan has arranged his very own version. The ovation Alan received at the end was simply magnificent. The jazz style suits Alan Morrison's cornet playing and encourages a touch of swagger and show-boating. This performance was top draw and as Geoffrey Brand said at the end 'as the saying goes................follow that'.

Both bands joined forces again and changed the mood completely with music written for a string quartet, Tchaikovsky's ' Andante Cantabile'. Having heard an up-tempo solo, this piece of music provided some of the most beautiful and controlled playing of the night, with some delightful moments in the cornet and horn sections. Throughout the evening, you could see just how much Geoffrey Brand was enjoying himself. He has of course had associations with both bands, and remarkably, was on the podium in 1978, in Kings Hall when Brighouse won The British Open playing Benvunuto Cellini. Its amazing to think, but that was the last time the men from West Riding won the Open. On the evidence of recent contest and concert performances, it would not be a surprise to see them back in Huddersfield Town Hall for their next concert in November with more than one trophy on show. That said, bands such as Fairey's will be doing their best for contest glory as well, so we will have to wait and see.

After a brisk Sabre's Dance by Kachaturian, Brighouse's Principal Horn player, Melvyn Bathgate, came forward to play the very traditional Lark of the Clear Air arranged by Gordon Langford. Having had a concert of predominantly Russian music, the night's entertainment could only finish with some more Tchaikovsky. His symphonies have stood the test of time and the finale from Symphony number four epitomises the Russian master at his best. The banding version is arranged by Derek Ashmore and is superb. It is one of the pieces where speed can sometimes take over and you can lose detail - not on this occasion, this was well-controlled and directed by Geoffrey Brand and it lost none of its excitement.

The encore that was given was once again total contrast to the Tchaikovsky. Any piano players out there reading this will be familiar with Melody in F by Anton Rubinstein. Eric Ball arranged it for brass band and in a year where his life and his music are to be celebrated, this was a fitting tribute.

Malcolm Wood

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