Concert: Black Dyke and Cory

After Valaisia Brass Band made history by winning the British Open crown in Symphony Hall the previous day (9th), two of the perhaps better-known band names, Black Dyke (Nicholas Childs) and Cory (Philip Harper), took the stage for this year’s Symphony Hall Brass Band Gala Concert.

Black Dyke was the featured band of the first half and got the concert underway with an exciting performance of Paul Lovatt-Cooper’s Through the Flames, distinguished by notable contributions from Katrina Marzella and Zoe Hancock, which led to Daniel Thomas’s Bravura by Peter Graham, played with great gusto.

Then using the James Bond selection performed at its recent appearance on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, Black Dyke demonstrated its versatility in the well-known themes and songs from the Bond films. The band completed its concert segment with two contrasting pieces - Bruce Broughton’s Alone, Yet Not Alone featuring the sublime sound of the euphonium and baritone sections,

which really demonstrated the control and poise that the band possesses. Also Paul Lovatt-Cooper’s Fire In The Blood, written originally for The International Staff Band, which featured many of the band’s soloists and brought the first half to a rousing conclusion.

Cory Band began its programme with a delightful nod to Roald Dahl and his Norwegian heritage via Nordic Polska, arranged by Philip Harper. 2016 marked Dahl’s 100th anniversary and, in celebration, Philip Harper pulled together a programme of music linking his life, work and heritage for the band’s performance at the Brass in Concert Championship. Overture to Pique Dame by Franz von Suppé, containing significant contributions from soprano and repiano cornet, as well as a lovely euphonium and baritone feature, followed before a couple of pieces from two of the brass band movement’s most well-loved composers - Gordon Langford and Goff Richards. The first, Gordon Langford’s Rhapsody for Trombone, was originally written for Don Lusher and Isobel Daws’s performance of the work was simply stunning, whilst Goff Richards’s Sweet Shepherdess was wonderfully shaped, demonstrating the artistry of Cory’s soloists.

A most satisfying Cory programme was brought to a close by Tom Hutchinson demonstrating his flawless technique in The Paragon and a final tribute to Roald Dahl in the form of The World’s Greatest Story Teller, before Dyke and Cory massed for Imperial Echoes, Bugler’s Holiday, 1812 Overture and William Tell.

DAVID TAYLOR

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