The first European Brass Band Championships were held in the Royal Albert Hall, in London, in 1978. In the early years it lacked a sense of legitimacy and gravitas, and it wasn't until 1983, where the Championships left London to be hosted by various cities around continental Europe, did it develop into the premier contest that it now is.
Bands from UK have tended to dominate the Championships title over the years, with Cory Band winning 5 times, Black Dyke 12 times, and Yorkshire Building Society Band 8 times, over its 37 year history.
The contest consists of two major works, a set test piece and an own choice. The points awarded are out of a maximum of 100 per work and the winner is decided on aggregate.
The 2012 Championships were held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where 11 bands competed. The winning band was Black Dyke, under the baton of Dr Nicholas Childs.A full list of the results can be found here.
All recordings played on the show tonight have come from the official recordings of the championships.
1. Vita Aeterna Variations (Black Dyke Band)
We start the show with the test piece for the championships. Vita Aeterna Variations, composed by Alexander Comitas. This piece was commissioned by the European Brass Band Association especially for the Championships. The title is in Latin and its English translation is "Eternal Life". It's structured as a Theme and Variations and runs for about 19 minutes.
Black Dyke came first in the Test Piece, with a score of 98.
2. Within Blue Empires (Brass Band Oberosterreich)
Brass Band Oberosterreich, conducted by Hannes Buchegger, play this wonderful test piece by Paul-Lovatt-Cooper. The Blue Empires is a reference to oceans, as essentially this is music about whales, including recordings of whales midway through the piece. It is interesting to note that this piece was judged last in the Own Choice section, with a score of 88, indicating the quality of the bands participating at this level.
3. Vienna Nights (Lyngby-Taarbaek Brass Band)
Philip Wilby pieces were popular as Own Choice works, with Revelation, Masquerade and Vienna Nights played. I have chosen Vienna Nights, a take on the works of Mozart. This piece was used as the Test Piece in the 2011 Australian Brass Band Championships in Adelaide.
The Lyngby-Taarbaek Brass Band is conducted by Selmer Simonsen. The points awarded to this performance was 89.
4. 31342 Feet (Ensemble de Cuivres Valaisan)
This work was composed by Ludovic Neurohr and was written for this band for the Swiss National Championships in 2011. I cannot definitely work out what the title actually refers to, and the only additional information I can find is that the piece is "Willy Wonker inspired".
The Ensemble de Cuivres Valaisan was under the baton of Jean-Francois Bobillier, and received 95 points for their performance.
5. Audivi Media Nocte (Brass Band Schoonhoven)
This piece, by Oliver Waespi, was played by two bands at the Championships. Whilst critics seem divided about which band played this better, the judged awarded Brass Band Schoonhoven 99 points, to win the Own Choice section.
This piece was originally commissioned for the Swiss Brass Band Association for the 2011 European Brass Band Championships.
Google Translate has translated the title to mean I Heard at Midnight, and the piece was originally inspired by a motet by 16th Century composer Thomas Tallis sung primarily on All Saints Day.
Erik Janssen conducted Brass Band Schoonhoven. The near perfect score it received for this work could only get it to third place, after scoring 91 in the Test Piece.
Next week, we will go straight on to the 2013 European Brass Band Championships, held in Oslo, Norway.
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