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Re: European test piece

>Edy Van Asch wrote:
>
>I just read this morning in the bandsman Kevin Norbury's Odyssey would be
the test piece at the coming European championships held at Munich, Germany.
IMHO a very fine piece of music, while bands tend to like more technically
challenging pieces, which this one is certainly not.  Now it's up to the
conductors to find the difficulties, while apprarentely there are no ones.
>

Edy:

You are certainly entitled to your opinion regarding this work and its
technical challenges, but IMHO, I feel that you are mistaken in your overall
assessment.

Odyssey may not be on a par with the most technically difficult test-pieces
ever written, but it certainly does have its technical challenges and is on
a par technically with some of the pieces written for the U.K. National
Finals over the past couple of years, including Isaiah 40 and On Alderley
Edge.

As you indicated, the most important factor by far is - is it a fine piece
of music?  And if bands did have at least some difficulties with the two
other test pieces that I mentioned,  do you really think that there are "no
ones" that are to be found in Odyssey?  The I.S.B. is probably the closest
thing that the S.A. has to a championship section contesting band, and I'm
sure that they were very much challenged when they recently recorded this
item.  Actually, contesting bands in the European would do well to listen to
this splendid rendition on the ISB's latest recording, appropriately
entitled, "Odyssey".

Tom S.
New York Staff Band


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