[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index] Re: Results from Blackpool
Just to clear one possible mis-understanding. When I said that;
> Just about everyone in the hall picked the top three bands . . .
I didn't mean to imply that everyone had them in the same order.
I was also about to have a moan at Tim for saying that Fairey's were
apalling (I wish my band were as bad as Faireys!!) but I've just seen
his latest message and I'm sure we can all forgive him. As for the
crowds reaction to the performances Phil, from where I was sat there was
little to choose between the applause for the first three bands.
I agree that I don't know the piece very well. The first and last
movements are far too complex for someone who hasn't studied the score
to be able to comment on which notes were or were not in the right
place. But, I do know what I like to hear. Yes, Faireys sop missed a
few notes early on in the piece (hardly a nightmare though- he played
some of the more difficult parts very well) and there was a spare entry
from the timp, but for me they didn't spoil the music. The overall
sound of the band was superb with a good warm middle and a nice round
cornet sound which was powerful when required (the fanfare). The band
also showed great control (in the last movement I think) when the theme
is carried by the bass section. I didn't hear that from any other band.
For me, Faireys slow movement was the highlight of the day; I didn't
detect any intonation problems and the ensemble playing was faultless.
Britannia were a little too top heavy in balance for me and in
comparison to Faireys, the slow movement was a bit wooden with a few
lumps and bumps; the last chord in that section was either unbalanced in
the DIM or someone fell off their note. That kind of slip ruins the
whole atmosphere of the music to my ear.
BNFL were faultless (as far as I could tell) in terms of putting all the
right notes in the right places, but that doesn't mean they made the
best of the music on the day. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Richard
Evans conduct the band, but I don't think their performance was
quite as moving as Faireys.
I could be accused of favouritism (a Faireys player conducts Glossop
Band), but some of you may remember that I didn't rate Faireys
performance in the British Open so I'm not always so free with my
praise.
My 1-2-3 was Faireys, BNFL & Britannia, with 1 & 2 fairly evenly matched
but with Britannia a definite 3. With such a strong Championship
Section at Blackpool it's a shame the top three can't all go to London.
Don Cooper,
Glossop Old Band,
cardpc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Don_Cooper/
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