It was very much a night of contrasting styles as a traditional tight knit Scottish Co-op came out ahead of a fly by the seat of your pants Kirkintilloch in an exciting closely fought battle.
Please don't take the description of Kirkie's performance as derogatory, it was as exciting as it was entertaining but for the first half of it at least it was also as mind blowingly loud as the latter description and that was to prove fatal in the 'ears' of Richard Evans. In fact it was the loud playing of both bands that came in for the most criticism from Mr Evans who had this to say when I caught up with him once the dust had settled:-
"Both bands were absolutely fantastic however, I felt the venue acoustic could have been taken into account a bit more, especially since both had played here recently. Scottish Co Op were very loud but Kirkintilloch were even louder, at some points in their set my ears really hurt ! Had my remit been different and I was judging on entertainment alone then the result might have been the opposite but whilst entertainment is one thing, entertainment married to actual musical performance is another and Scottish Co Op found that blend throughout, they provided more of the quality I was looking for"
The pre match hype in truth had Kirkie as favourites but that probably achieved nothing other than encourage the Co-op who took to the stage, in the words of MD Allan Ramsay "really fired up and committed" As it was Co-op played first and the programmes unfolded as follows:-
Scottish Co-Op
March – Keighley Moor
Overture – Ruslan and Ludmilla
Scarlet Ribbons
Ol’ Man River
Rev.Archie Beaton
Slavonic Rhapsody
Solo Secondo
Chanson De Matin
Galaxies
Kirkintilloch
Hallelujah Parade
Malaguena
Me and My Shadow – Horn Duet
Trumpet Blues and Cantabile
Overture – The Beautiful Galathea
Euphonium Solo - Variations
It’s a Lovely Day Tomorrow
Cossack Fire Dance
Finale from Enigma Variations
Keighley Moor as you would expect by now was delivered with style and authority as the band stayed right on the MD's fingertips throughout. So too with Ruslan and Ludmilla however, the overall style didn't quite match the previous heat which actually won the band the Best Overture Award. Then for me the highlight of the night in my opinion, Scarlet Ribbons, Andrew Duncan's arrangement of this beautiful melody drew a stunning performance from all involved. Following on we got Old Man River and The Rev. Archie Beaton, both of these items provided playing of such class with Derek Love proving once more there can't be a finer Kit Player anywhere in the UK and Alison Bonnar, surely up there with David Childs and the rest on the Euphonium Roll of Honour.
Allan Ramsay then pulled the first of two surprises out of the hat with Slavonic Rhapsody number 2. Not very often played but when it is it has to be by a band on form and this certainly was. Full of sound and dynamic movement, really bringing out the style of the old Eastern Bloc Regimes. Probably not a favourite with those in the audience (and I can hear them now) who reckon "yellow music should be left to decompose in the library" but a classic nonetheless.
When I attended Brass in Concert last year Grimethorpe pulled the next number for their second horn but last night it was Co's second cornet Robin Basu who shone in Solo Secundo. This is a marvellous arrangement, full of fun, starting with the eventual soloist challenging Mr Ramsay, square in the face, that he never gets to play a solo, speaking from experience a brave if not suicidal thing to do even if it is choreographed ! Robin gave a spectacular one note performance throughout ending with a dramatic struggle up a scale (remember them) that brought the house down.
To end we got the Elgar piece Chanson De Matin, a little insecurity crept into this one, perhaps tiredness, and, despite some lovely quiet sop work, it also fell foul of Mr Evan's loud playing criticisms, nicely done nonetheless. To end we got the second surprise inclusion, Galaxies, an Expedition in Brass. Written by Carl Davis, former Conductor of The London Symphony Orchestra amongst others, and husband of Ma Boswell from the sadly missed BBC comedy Sitcom, Bread, that's in real life of course, not in the programme ! and arranged by Ray Farr. This was a great finisher, again probably not everyone's cup of tea, loud, aggressive, full of time changes, basically an early eighties short Music of the Spheres. Really well played, especially the huge impressive block chords from the Trombones, a fitting end a very well balanced well chosen programme.
And so to Kirkintilloch and what an entrance, if John Needham wants a new job then the funeral parlours of New Orleans will be lining up to employ him. His solo Brolly, hat and tails performance was quite breathtaking if not scary to those under a certain age in the Hallelujah Parade before the band brightened the mood with Oh Happy Day. This was followed by Malaguena, Me and My Shadow and Trumpet Blues and Cantabile.
If truth be told it was probably in this opening half of the bands programme where most of Mr Evans "Loudness" complaint was placed. Caution was thrown to the wind as the band, mostly standing, delivered a Big Band style set with all the relaxed free flowing improvisation stuff that goes along with it and in all honesty, the listener should have understood why, in view of the style trying to be portrayed, caution did go out of the window . However, like almost every brass band trying to play in a big band style, it never quite happens, remember Jazz a few areas ago ! In most peoples opinion Brass Bands and Swing don't mix 100% and this was alas the case with Kirkie. That said though, what a roller coaster ride they gave the audience, Mr Stewart, as you can imagine, was giving it large on an array of instruments, it was a touch of genius from Russell Gray because it took your mind off what was going on behind. It was good but it was so loud and aggressive. Actually, I loved it, but my names not Evans and perhaps the fact this was a contest was lost in the enthusiasm.
There was one Phoenix that rose from the 'flames' in the shape of the last of the big band number, Trumpet Blues and Cantabile won the band the best ensemble prize. Also slotted in there was a little gem of a tenor horn feature as Alan Wardrope and Chris Ball gave us Me and My Shadow. Both guys turned on the class and the comedy in this witty piece, quite literally Little and Large !
Then, as the audience were bracing themselves for what was coming next, it all settled down somewhat and we were treated to a wonderful overture in the shape of The Beautiful Galathea. All of a sudden Kirkie had gone all traditional and they gave us a fab performance. Next we got a remarkable performance of Andrew Lloyd Webbers Variations from solo Euphonium Neil Philip. This piece was written by Andrew for his Cello playing brother Julian and is based upon Paganini's Theme and Variations, I know this because I have the LP. That's a big round black thing that goes around a turntable 33 and 1/3 times a minute ! Neil was outstanding, Richard Evans summed it up as "just a load of notes" but hey, they were all in the right place. I remember Neil as a 6 stone pencil slim 13 year old trombone player trying to break into Newtongrange and steal my seat, I told him to ' go away and take up Euphonium ' so really I discovered the talent that is Neil Philip, also up there in the Hall of Fame with David Childs and Alison Bonar. However whilst Neil was World Class, there were a few slips around in the cornets as they tried to keep up with the soloist.
Neils' solo was followed by unusually I suppose another solo, this time David Prentice who was quite sublime in It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow, a faultless performance. All hell broke loose after that with Cossack Fire Dance with well rehearsed solo features and a few choreographed antics to boot ! This was really good fun, every soloist did their bit fantastically well but having played this piece, where was the trombone lip trill before the Czardas?
Kirkie ended with their Elgar piece, the noble Finale from Enigma Variations. This is a marvellous arrangement by Eric Ball and it drags every last ounce of energy from players in the middle of a set so top marks for bravery for putting it at the end. There were signs of tiredness but nobody would dare fault the band for that, Kirkie's set was huge, especially the first half which must have sapped the energy from the players.
Summing up Kirkies performance it was probably the most entertaining, certainly visually however Mr Evans had the last word !
Before speaking to Richard Evans I dragged Allan Ramsay from the clutches of his celebrating players, who included principal cornet Jim Heyes who was awarded the overall solo prize for his performance in the first heat of Chari Vari, and Allan summed up his evening with these words:-
"After a difficult week in terms of rehearsal I was thrilled by the way the band reacted on stage. Overall, more time together would have given a slightly more polished performance but over the piece I'm delighted. I'm especially pleased about the way Scarlet Ribbons came across, for me it was the highlight of the performance"
Report by David Frame