Champion Brass: Brighouse and Rastrick

Phil Beck Promotions
Conductor: David Hirst
Uppermill Civic Hall
Saturday 6th November 2004

This latest concert in Phil Beck's Autumn Series had that 'If only' feeling.  If only Brighouse could produce the type of performance given here (and apparently a week earlier in a massed band concert with YBS in Huddersfield) on the contesting platform, then they would have given the judges in London a few headaches when awarding the prizes at the National Finals.  This certainly wasn't the Brighouse that been heard at the Albert Hall three weeks earlier, where they were very much below their usual par.

Alford's March 'On The Quarter Deck', got things off to a sparkling start.  Balanced and some great work from the cornets and soprano, the band were quite at ease, with the aim of entertaining the packed audience. David Hirst chose a relaxed tempo and it was a performance of real swagger.

It is twenty-five years since 'Le Carnival Romain' was used as the British Open Test Piece, at Belle Vue.  Fairey Engineering took the title that day under Walter Hargreaves and the former Brighouse MD would have been mightily impressed with this performance.  Steve Miles was a delight in the euphonium solo, and David Hirst gave the players real freedom and space to express themselves within the overture.  This is one of those pieces where the tempos can be taken at a very quick pace, but not on this occasion.  The detail from within the band was clean and extremely clear with some fine cornet work from John Lewis.

The New Zealander deputising in the principal cornet's chair for Alan Morrison (who was at the US Championships) was the first soloist of the night.  John chose William Himes' 'Jubilance'.  All good principal cornet players acknowledge the work that their assistants do, and Alan Morison is a great fan of this young man; and in this performance he showed why.  Throughout the eight minutes or so of the solo the player is required to perform in a variety of different styles, and John coped with the challenges of the solo with a fine tone and secure technique, that produced a great round of applause from the audience.

B & R have released a CD in the summer called 'On a World Tour'; music from different parts of the world with a lighter feel to it.  On the disc is the traditional 'Just a Closer Walk With Thee' that commences with some laid-back flugel playing (on this occasion from Brian Winter) before Alan Fernie livens it up in an up-tempo fashion.  The audiences in Uppermill like to be entertained, and that's what the men from West Riding were doing.

Before another jazzed up arrangement from Stephen Roberts in 'Puttin on the Ritz', one of the finest voices of the soprano around at the moment, Alan Hobbins rolled back the years with a performance of 'Solitaire'.  The Neil Sedaka hit was initially arranged for Brian Evans by Stephen Corbett and it is a solo that is close to the heart of the band.  Alan certainly let his instrument do the talking with a performance that the great Mr Evans would no doubt have been proud off himself.

Six soloists were featured during the whole night, providing variety and a demonstration of the quality around the stand, and James Stockdale as Principal Trombone performed one of those lighter solos from Cole Porter, 'All The Way' before the band brought the first half to a conclusion with a lively 'Polotsvian Dances'.

A 'Fire Dance' from Armenia commenced the second half before what was the nicest bit of playing off the whole night from the full band in 'Pière à Notre-Dame' from 'Suite Gothique' arranged by Eric Ball.  This was followed by the popular 'Tocatta', which can sometimes be over-blown, but on this occasion the band gave enough without the sound coming across as harsh.

'Hymn to the Fallen' from the film, 'Saving Private Ryan' was quite an appropriate choice for some reflection as we headed towards Remembrance Sunday, and with the Iraq conflict never far from the news at the moment.  Once again there was some balanced and warm playing from the bass, horn, baritone and euphonium sections, and in particular, Brian Winter on flugel.

The solo slots in the second half featured David Hebb on bass in 'Largo al Factotum', Mark Wagstaff moving through the gears pretty swiftly on xylophone in 'Helter Skelter', and finally the impressive, Steven Miles on euphonium in an arrangement by Leigh Baker of the hymn tune, 'All Things Bright and Beautiful'. 

Steven wasn't finished though as he then performed 'Zeibekikos' from Philip Wilby's 'Euphonium Concerto' written in 1995.  This was the individual performance of the whole night, as Steven made light work of the fiendishly demanding writing from the composer, with lip-slurs (and the odd pedal note or two?) and we even got the infamous plate-smashing effect at the end. A couple of minutes of absolute sheer brilliance!

John Lewis featured once more in Goff Richards' 'Shepherd's Song', before the band concluded the concert (minus the obligatory encore) with Howard Snell's cracking arrangement of 'Entrance of Gods to Valhalla'

The fireworks were going off inside as well as outside the hall, but Brighouse just relaxed and brought the house down with this popular arrangement and concert finisher.  Some lovely trombone work from James Stockdale and a busy time for percussion (the gong will just about have finished vibrating a week later) added to the quality of the performance.

For anyone that has never attended a Brighouse concert, you are educated very quickly as to where they come from and what they are about.  They top-and-tail'' concerts with the march 'West Riding' by Sam B Wood and encore with the tune, 'Floral Dance'.  It just wouldn't be a Brighouse Concert without it.

This was the best concert that Phil Beck has promoted in Uppermill that 4BR has been in attendance at this year, and Phil's philosophy of crowds wanting to be entertained when they go to a concert, continues to pull the crowds in.  Brighouse duly obliged and as was said right at the beginning, 'If only…'  Brighouse had performed like that on the contesting stages of Birmingham and London this year.

Details of all Phil Beck's concerts can be found at www.championbrass.co.uk

Malcolm Wood

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