Program No. 78 - 2013 European Brass Band Championships

Last week we played music from the 2012 European Brass Band Championships. Tonight we look at this year's Championships, held in Oslo, Norway on 3rd May 2013.

Of the 11 bands that played at the 2012 Championships, 6 bands - Cory Band (Wales), Eikanger-Bjorsvik Musikklag (Norway), Brass Band Schoonhoven (Netherlands), Black Dyke Band (England), Brass Band Oberosterreich (Austria) and Lyngby-Taarbaek Brass Band (Denmark) have returned in 2013.

They have been joined by Brass Band Buizingen (Belgium), Windcorp Brass Band (Sweden), Brass Band Fribourg (Switzerland), Paris Brass Band (France) and Leyland Band (England).

The contest was won by Cory Band on countback (Cory scored more point in the Test Piece) after it and Eikanger-Bjorsvik Musikklag both scored 191 in aggregate. Black Dyke Band came third on 186.

As per last week, all recordings on tonight's show have come from the officially released CDs of the event.

1. When Thunder Calls (Black Dyke Band)
We will be opening and closing the show tonight with music from the Gala Concert, held as a finale to the Championships. This first number is composed by Paul Lovatt-Cooper and performed by Black Dyke Band, with Robert Childs as conductor.

2. Myth Forest (Cory Band)
Myth Forest is composed by Norwegian composer Stig Nordhagen and is about a pond near the composer's home, called Hestefallstjonn. The work is split into various sections:

1. Sunburst: The sun rises and rays of light shatter the morning mist
2. Bugs and Birds: Insects, small and large, come to life; birds are seeking water
3. Black Water Abyss: The black and abysmal water holds many secrets
4. Water Lilies: Water lilies are rising from the murky water, stretching for light
5. Echo from the Other Side: The echo does not always send back the answer you want
6. The Creatures of the Forest are Dancing Into the Night

Cory's performance was the winning one of the Championships. They are conducted by Philip Harper.

3. Extreme Makeover (Brass Band Oberosterreich)
This major work was composed by Johan de Meij in 2004. It has been used a Test Piece in the 2005 European Band Championships, as well as the 2010 Australian National Band Championships in Hobart. The work is based on Tchaikovsky's String Quartet No. 1 - the second movement.

The performance by Brass Band Oberosterreich - with Hans Gansch as conductor, earned the band 89 points, which was ninth in the Own Choice Section.

4. Fragile Oasis (Leyland Band)
This work was commissioned by Leyland Band specifically for this Championships, and was composed by Peter Meechan. The work is based on observations from the International Space Station by American astronaut Ron Garan.

Michael Bach conducted Leyland Band. This performance was scored at 93, or fifth in the Own Choice Section.

5.  When Worlds Collide  (Brass Band Buizingen)
 The work was composed by Nigel Clarke and is a homage to the bizarre 1950s sci-fi B Grade movies. Reading from a 4barsrest review, the work has an alternate title - Little Green Men in Intergalactic Spaceships with Rayguns and Phasers.

Brass Band Buizingen was conducted by Luc Vertommen. This performance received a score of 95, making it third in the Own Choice Section.

6. Spiriti (Eikanger-Bjorsvik Musikklag)
The publisher describes this work as follows:

A Bach chorale stands at the centre of this work (Für deinen Thron tret´ ich hiermit).
Anton Bruckner was one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s great admirers. His work is full of the spirit of that musical genius. For Thomas Doss, it was Bruckner’s spirit that always seemed to be with him while working on Spiriti. Bruckner’s spirit is captured in this composition by a quote from the chorale of his Fifth Symphony at the end of the piece.

The introduction, written in the style of a funeral march, already displays the first fragments of the chorale. Like splinters they are strewn throughout the first Allegro, combining and recombining in turbulent, powerful tutti passages. As the music becomes more rambunctious, the Bach-like fragments begin to swirl around each other, only to be scattered once more.

The middle-section is of a more pensive nature. The Religioso character gives the audience time to reflect. The music is meditative and the quarter-note (or crotchet) elements mimic a soul that is yearning and crying out.

The third part of the piece finally leads, by way of minimalist elements and the fragments mentioned earlier, to a magnificent presentation of the Bach chorale. As the church bells ring out, one can almost hear the great masters presiding at the organ.

Eikanger-Bjorsvik Musikklag was conducted by Australian David King, and this performance earned the band first place in the Own Choice Section.

7. Finale from Symphony No. 3 - Organ (Massed Bands)
We close tonight's program with a massed bands performance of this famous work by Saint-Saens, and arranged by Willby.  It was performed at the Gala Concert and conducted by Dr Nicholas Childs.

I hope you enjoyed our two part program on the 2012 and 2013 European Brass Band Championships.

We'll be looking at something completely different next week, as in honour of the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday 5th November, we feature movie music about horses and horse racing.

See you then.