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new Polyphonic CD's

Hi All!

Nowadays so many compact discs of brassband are given birth, that it is hard
to choose when you want to buy one or two. So maybe it's a good idea to
share our views on brassband compact discs. This is my first attempt in
sharing my view, in this case, on three new Polyphonic productions. Please
notice that this is my personal opinion. Further I hope you will understand
that my English might not be perfect.


Eric de Cloe - Rotterdam, The Netherlands

(euphonium player "Fanfareband of the Royal Landforces", "Brassband
Schoonhoven" and "Andels Fanfare Corps")

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Recently the recording company Polyphonic released three new albums:
Anthology - Nick Hudson and Britannia Building Society Band
By Request - BNFL Band 
Far and Away - Yorkshire Imperial Band

Anthology is a well produced recording. Nick Hudson is in good form and
plays a varied programme with some "heavy" compositions as "White Knuckle
Ride" by Philip Wilby with exciting accompaniment by Britannia conducted by
Howard Snell, the well known "Morceau Symphonique" by Alexander Guilmant
and, from the Salvation Army repertoir, "The Eternal Quest" by Ray
Steadman-Allen. There are also a few pieces played by trombone quartet such
as the divers "Four pieces for four trombones" by Gareth Wood. And there are
some easy listening numbers,  tastefully approached by Nick Hudson. The
overall playing of the soloist and the band is very good, the only critic I
have is, that the tuning of the soloist is a bit weak at some passages,
especially in "Eternal Quest". The sound and balance are fine.

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By Request is the new CD of the famous BNFL Band conducted by Richard Evans.
This recording marks the golden jubilee of the band. They are doing this by
playing 19 popular concert items: 

  1. FANFARE from 'Carmina Burana' (Orff, arr Pearson)
       2. THE ARMY OF THE NILE (Alford)
    3. CANDIDE OVERTURE (Bernstein, arr Snell)
  4. THE LARK IN THE CLEAR AIR (Trad., arr Langford)
       Soprano Comet: Alan Wycherley
5. LET'S FACE THE MUSIC AND DANCE (Berlin, arr Richards)
	6. BOLERO(Ravel, arr Snell)
    7. CHANSON DE MATIN (Elgar, arr Wright)
  8. LIGHT CAVALRY OVERTURE (Suppe, arr Greenwood)
       9. LUCY LONG (Godfrey, arr Herbert)
       Euphonium: Stephen Singleton
10. DANCE OF THE COMEDIANS (Smetana, arr Newsome)
11. MARCH from 'The Pines of Rome' (Respighi, arr Snell)
12. DEEP INSIDE THE SACRED TEMPLE (Bizet, arr Wilkinson)
Euphoniums: Stephen Singleton and Bill Millar
       13. ON THE QUARTER DECK (Alford)
    14. SWITCHED ON SWING (arr Jeffries)
   15. LOVE'S OLD SWEET SONG (Molloy, arr Snell)
	  Flugel Horn: Gary Lord
       16. CZARDAS (Strauss, arr Snell)
	17. LIGHT WALK (Barrie Gott)
  18. 1 HEAR YOU CALLING ME (Marshall, arr Ord Hume)
	  Comet: Russell Gray
  19. PROCESSION TO THE MINSTER (Wagner; arr Snell)

The dangerous side of recording much played music is, that it is hard to
meet the expectations of the public. When I listened to this CD I wondered
if they were not trying to reach the ultimate performances too much. In my
opinion the band did not succeed in giving "special" renditions. The
dynamics are sometimes overdone, the cornet-section sounds sometimes as 10
individual players (not as a section), the percussion section is in most
pieces a bit loose, etc. I think that much of the sound and balance problems
are due to the work of the recording engineers. The recording sessions took
place at the same location (Zion Arts Centre in Manchester) as where
"Anthology" has been done by the SAME recording engineers (Philip Sparke and
Michael Moor!!). I wonder how it is possible that the recording quality of
these two discs differs so much. It's a pity for the BNFL Band that after a
great number of good albums they made a bit of a disappointing celebration disc.

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Finally I would like to discuss the latest Polyphonic release, "Far and
Away" with the David Urquhart Travel Yorkshire Imperial Band. This band has
been gone through difficult times after loosing sponsorship of the Imperial
Metals. Maybe their recent win at the Spennymoor Brass in Concert
Championships and the release of this CD will mean the beginning of a new
successful time for the band. The programme on this disc is a reflection of
the usual brassband concert repertoir. Something new, something old.... with
some solos, marches, hymn tunes, film music, etc.


1. IMPERIAL ECHOES (Safroni, arr. Ord Home)
	 2. THE KEEL ROW (Arr. Barry)
    3. NONE SHALL SLEEP (Puccini, arr Hanmer)
      4. FAR AND AWAY (Williams arr. Harper)
5. SOMEWHERE, OVER THE RAINBOW (Arlen, arr. Richards)
	    Horn solo: Nigel Barker
      6. THE THUNDERER (Sousa, arr. Mortimer)
    7. THE NUNS' CHORUS (Strauss, arr Stephens)
	    Comet solo: Alan Fowler
    8. JAMES BOND COLLECTION (Arr. Richards)
      9. INDIAN SUMMER (Herbert,arr. Muscroft)
	    Flugel Horn: Neat McNulty
10. LET'S FACE THE MUSIC AND DANCE (Berlin, arr. Richards)
    11. WITH ONE LOOK (Lloyd Webber, arr Himes)
12. MACK AND MABEL (OVERTURE) (Herman, arr. Wilkinson)
      13. GRANADA (Lara arr. Broadbent) 3:38
14. DEEP INSIDE THE SACRED TEMPLE (Bizet, arr Wilkinson)
    Euphoniums: Steve Stockwell & Howard Lorriman
   15. BOYS OF THE OLD BRIGADE (Arr Denis Wright)
	 16. CRIMOND (Arr. Richards)
    17. WILLIAM TELL (Finale)(Rossini, arr. Grant)

For me, "Far and Away" and the "James Bond Collection" are the only two
pieces which drew extra attention. The John Williams soundtrack of "Far and
Away" is much better than the film itself, fortunately. And in the "James
Bond Collection" we hear again that Goff Richards is one of the best
arrangers for brassband. Again I have doubts about the skills of the
recording engineers, because the sound and balance are very unusual at
times. Moderate...

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