Scottish Championship Test Pieces Announced
The speculation and rumour can finally stop. The titles of the test pieces that will be challenging bands at next year‚Äö?Ñ?¥s regional contests, and therefore the Scottish Championships, have been released. The Championship section will have to get to grips with Robert Redhead‚Äö?Ñ?¥s ‚Äö?Ñ??Isaiah 40‚Äö?Ñ??. Scottish Co-op band will have fond memories of this piece having won the second of their National Championship titles on it in 1996.
The 1st section will have Eric Balls ‚Äö?Ñ??Sinfonietta - The Wayfarer‚Äö?Ñ??. After much discussion in online forums about a possible selection of ‚Äö?Ñ??Year of the Dragon‚Äö?Ñ?? there will be many trombone players breathing a huge sigh of relief this morning. This piece was used as the National Finals Championship section test in 1976 and is regarded as one of the most tuneful and lyrical works in the contest repertoire.
The 2nd section piece is Helen Perkin's work, ‚Äö?Ñ??Carnival‚Äö?Ñ??, which was first used at the 1957 British Open. Set in three movements, the second, the "Pavanne", is melodious with ample scope for developing its beauty.
After two years of somewhat difficult choices the 3rd section will have to deal with ‚Äö?Ñ??Prelude and Jubilate‚Äö?Ñ?? from the pen of Darrol Barry. The piece is described as ‚Äö?Ñ??rhythmically demanding for all sections of the band, yet always melodic and pleasant music‚Äö?Ñ??.
Finally, the 4th section will be playing Philip Wilby's "Suite: The Seasons‚Äö?Ñ??, which traces the changing seasons of the year. Used in the 2000 National Finals, the composer has said that his aim with this highly successful piece was to produce an ‚Äö?Ñ??enjoyable work to rehearse and perform, but not forbiddingly difficult to play.‚Äö?Ñ??
Details of the test pieces were announced in British Bandsman newspaper and in the 4brasrest.com website today as well. The Regionals 2007 CD is available from 4barsrest at https://www.4barsrest.com/shopping/default.asp?id=639
The test-pieces selections are:
Championship Section: Isaiah 40 (Robert Redhead)
First Section: Sinfonietta, 'The Wayfarer' (Eric Ball)
Second Section: Carnival (Helen Perkin)
Third Section: Prelude and Jubilate (Darrol Barry)
Fourth Section, Suite: The Seasons (Philip Wilby)
