Brass Band Music from c.1950 to c.1980

Brass Band Music from c.1950 to c.1980 (contiunued)

The 1970's saw further developments in the brass band repertoire. Robert Simpson's 'Energy' was specially commissioned for the 1971 World Championships at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on the 9th of October. The work gradually increases in intensity from start to finish, with there being five main tempi: crotchet=48, crotchet=88, dotted minim=66, minim=108, and dotted minim=126. The work is an essay in the control of small motifs, and is not very popular with bands or audiences, even today.

Simpson also composed 'Volcano', that was used for the 1979 Nationals. The work is in one movement, and just as adventurous as his 'Energy'. In 1973 'Contest Music' by Wilfred Heaton was withdrawn from the Nationals because of the reaction to Simpson's 'Energy' the year before. The piece is a serious work, and a great test technically and musically. However, is was given credit when it was chosen to be the contest piece for the 1984 Nationals.

The 1970's also saw the rise of the prominence of the composer Edward Gregson. In 1971 his first original composition was his 'Concerto for French Horn and Band', and was a British Federation commission. Gregson was born in 1945 and came from a Salvation Army background. He studied quartal harmony, (based on the interval of 4ths as opposed to the traditional 3rds), and his works contain many changes in time signature, chord clusters, mirror harmony, polytonality, lyricism, rhythmic vitality, and a progressive type of tonal harmony.

Gregson's 'Plantagenets' was especially composed for the 1973 Regional Qualifying Finals of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain. The work is a symphonic study for brass band, and portrays the mood and feelings of an Age - The House of Plantagenet, from the middle of the 12th Century, to the end of the 14th Century. The Age of Chivalry is represented by fanfare motifs throughout the piece.

On the 8th of October 1977, 'Connotations' was performed at the National Finals. The piece is a series of linked and inter-related variations on an original theme. Certain motifs occur throughout the work, and percussion is featured in an artistic way, which resulted in less criticism than other works with percussion. The piece is still a favourite among players and audiences today. Other Gregson original compositions include 'Dances and Arias' (Nationals 1984), and 'Of Men and Mountains' (Dutch Championships 1993), which caused controversy because of its length.

Harrison Birtwistle composed his 'Grimethorpe Aria' in 1973. He helped to move 'original' brass band music to new heights, by using dissonant harmonies. He also used a different stave for every instrument in the band and left some sections without barlines, for the conductor and performers to organise the time keeping for themselves.

In 1975 Elgar Howarth compose a piece that was used for the Open. 'Fireworks' is a set of variations based on a theme by W. Hogarth Lear. The piece has been compared to Benjamin Britten's 'Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra', because each instrument's characteristics are shown, and there is a narration (not for contest use). After the main theme one player from each section has a cadenza. Next, each section displays its personality and the piece concludes with a fugue, rounded off with a re-statement of the opening theme. The work has a number of time changes and (for the time), unfamiliar time signatures, and makes use of generous percussion with a lot of activity. This created an amount of controversy in the contest world. The composition is now used often in concerts for educational purposes. Other Howarth compositions include 'Ascendit in Coeli' (1976), and 'In Memoriam RK (1977).

Derek Bourgeois was the next specialist composer on the brass band scene. 'Concerto for Brass Band' was written for Grimethorpe in 1974. The work is amusing and exciting and quotes the 'Jamaican Rhumba' of Arthur Benjamin in the first movement. The third movement is called 'The War-March of the Ostriches'. The piece is vividly scored, and although quite difficult to play, it is very listener-friendly, with substantial use of the percussion section.

'Concerto No 2 for Brass Band' was a Norfolk and Norwich Triennial Festival commission in 1976. The work is a little more serious than his previous concerto, and was performed at the Proms in 1981. Other works by Bourgeois include 'Blitz' (1981 Nationals), and 'Diversions' (1985, Skellerup Band New Zealand commission).

Original music written for brass bands has changed considerably since the war years. Percussion is now widely accepted, and new harmonies and rhythmic features are used to a greater extent. It was the great band composers that made all this possible. The 'greats' being those such as Denis Wright, Eric Ball, Gilbert Vinter, and Edward Gregson, to name but a few. It is hoped that the brass band repertoire will continue to evolve as new compositions are created, as well as remembering the excellent works that the past has produced.

Maria Fricker 1996

Bibliography
'The Oxford Companion to Popular Music', Peter Gammond.
'Beyond the Bandstand', Roy Newsome.
'The Brass Band Movement in the 19th and 20th Centuries', Trevor Herbert.
'What a Performance', Elgar and Patrick Howarth.
'Brass Bands', Arthur R. Taylor.

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Brass Band Music from c.1950 to c.1980 (contiunued)