Black Dyke Mills Band - Rhapsody In Brass (Masterworks For Brass Band Volume 1) [Full Album]

Описание: SIDE ONE
0:00 The Frogs (Bantock)
8:42 Academic Festival Overture (Brahms/D. Wright)
19:02 Rhapsody In Brass (Goffin)

SIDE TWO
30:34 Prometheus Unbound (Bantock)
39:39 Symphonic Suite (Lucas)
50:21 Resurgam (Ball)

Conducted by James Watson

"MASTERWORKS FOR BRASS BAND is a series dedicated to important works for the medium, most of which will be 'test pieces' - works composed or arranged for brass bands to use in competition. Those selected for Volume One are classics of the genre and were set at Championsip level between 1933 and 1960.

The advance in playing techniques since that period has lead to Championship bands programming more and more difficult music and rarely performing or recording these 'easier' works. It is apt, then, that a band of the status of The Black Dyke Mills Band should be the first in tis series to put the situation to rights.

THE FROGS (of Aristophanes)
Sir Granville Bantock; arr. Frank Wright
Granville Bantock was a champion of British music and dedicated much of his life to promoting concerts as showcases for himself and his contemporaries. Although he wrote some original brass band music, The Frogs was an orchestral overture (1935) which was arranged for the 1952 National Finals, won by Fairey Aviation conducted by Harry Mortimer.

ACADEMIC FESTIVAL OVERTURE
Brahms; arr. Denis Wright
Written in 1880 and dedicated to Bresslau University where Brahms recieved a doctorate, Academic Festival Overture is based on German student songs. The band arrangement was set for the 1937 British Open Championship, won by Besses o' th'Barn.

RHAPSODY IN BRASS
Dean Goffin
Written in Syria and Egypt in 1942, Rhapsody in Brass was ser for the 1949 British Open and the victors on that occasion were Fairey Aviation under Harry Mortimer - their third win in the competition in five years. The three movements are tightly constructed and unified through the use of a modal three-note pattern.

PROMETHEUS UNBOUND
Sir Granville Bantock
Composed in 1933, Prometheus Unbound was later arranged for orchestra and used as the prelude to a larger choral work with the same title. It was set for the 1933 National Finals when Foden's Motor Works Band and Fred Mortimer were in the middle of the first of their famous 'hat-tricks'.

SYMPHONIC SUITE
Leighton Lucas
Leighton Lucas started his career as a dancer with the Diaghilev Russian Ballet and later turned to conducting, again in the world of ballet. He joined the RAF during the war and began composing for films. Symphonic Suite (1960) was his first original piece for brass band and is a powerful work with robust outer movements surrounding a beautiful central one.

RESURGAM (I shall rise again)
Eric Ball
Perhaps the best-known test piece of all, Resurgam was set for the 1950 British Open when harry Mortimer and Fairey Aviation, in the middle of their most successful period, gave a performance which is still remembered to this day. It is a deeply spiritual work and the first to be considered so important that it was played by both secular and Salvation Army bands.

JAMES WATSON
James Watson, one of the world's finest trumpet soloists, became principal conductor of the band in 1992 and has brought them success on the contest and concert platform. He is currently professor of trumpet, and a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, London. He has been principal trumpet at the Royal Philharmonic and at the Royal opera House, as well as leading the famous Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. He now combines his work as a soloist with a flourishing conducting career." (cont. in comments)

Recorded at: Dewsbury Town Hall, July 1993
Producer: Philip Sparke
Engineer: Michael Moor
Digital Editing: The Audio Workshop
Art DIrection: Hilary Scudder
Made in England by: Digital Duplication

CPRL 061D