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Re: Area Pieces (a reply)

To: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Area Pieces (a reply)
From: "David Lancaster" <d.lancaster@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 09:20:44 GMT
In-reply-to: <E11OUQW-0007yi-00@sand2.global.net.uk>
Priority: low
Reply-to: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Colin Randle wrote:

> > I remember playing Variations On A
> >Ninth when it was subsequently used at area level when I was a Tenor Horn
> >Player.  It was modern I suppose because it was contemporary...
> 
but Alec Gallagher responded:

> Contemporary? Hmm.  I reckon if you had to categorise any of Vinter's pieces
> they would come under the general heading of 'romantic'.  The romantic
> period of music came to an end in round about 1920 when the likes of
> Stravinsky, Berg etc. were plying their trade.  A set of romantic variations
> written some 50 years after The Rite of Spring, contemporary?  Not sure I
> agree with you there.

I'm more with Alec on this one although it does highlight the danger 
of attempting to catagorise composers work with a blanket term such 
as 'romantic'.  Vinter's easy-going melodic style certainly doesn't 
conform to my notion of what 'late romantic' music is all about - for 
that I'd look to R Strauss or Mahler.  'Contemporary music' is so 
broad a term as to be almost meaningless.

In fact I'm not sure that Vinter's style doesn't owe more to the 
British light music tradition which emerged from the salon music of 
the early part of this century, from composers such as Ketelby 
though to the likes of  Coates and Addison who wrote such great film 
scores.  The same would seem to be true of much of Malcolm Arnold's 
lighter work and Alan Rawsthorne's music for the Ealing films, for 
example.

In general British music doesn't fall too easily into Romantic, 
Modernist, Postmodernist catagories, and apart from one or two very 
isolated examples (such as the Birtwistle pieces) there isn't really 
a modernist band repertoire.  Yet!

Sorry if I seem to have lost sight of this thread.  My tips for the 
Areas, particularly for Tim:

Champs: Harmony Music 
1st: Leonardo

Year of the Dragon didn't reach me on the grapevine but on current 
form its probably been chosen for the Second Section!

David

'Talking about Music is like Fishing about Architecture' 
(Frank Zappa)

--

References:
- Re: Area Pieces (a reply)
  - From: Alec Gallagher

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