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Re: Narnia

To: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Narnia
From: "Mac" <mac@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 00:51:17 +0100
Priority: low
Reply-to: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

>From: "David ROBERTS" <d.roberts@xxxxxxxxx>
>Date: Tue, Oct 26, 1999, 2:30 pm

> I haven't played this yet either, although I'm in the process of
> learning the score. I think that after last year's choice of Main
> Street (a piece that IMHO was ridiculously difficult for 3rd section
> bands -

No argument there, outside the top six in the Midlands Area most bands
struggled.

> I'm looking forward to trying it - although individual parts may not
> be quite as exciting as they could be, I think the overall effect
> will be good. There as some rather beautiful and haunting melodies,
> particularly in the 1st and 3rd movts that will challenge the bands
> ability in ensemble playing, and the conductor's ability to balance
> the band!!

Oops - not that I'm the weak link at Warwick or anything... No - I agree
there are some nice passages, I just don't think they sound right for brass,
and the over-scoring and over-reliance on cornets is inappropriate for a
test piece. As for balancing - forget the score, I guarantee you 9 out of 10
bands will re-arrange parts all over the place (like the baritone parts in
the 12/8 movement) because it's so badly scored originally - I don't think
that should be necessary in a test piece and it leaves conductors like me
with a dilemma (so far I've been a purist where contest scores are concerned
- and two of our results have undoubtedly suffered because of it).

> It appears to me to be a piece of real music rather than something
> that could be taken straight out of a technical exercise book.

Er - I wouldn't ever want a technical exercise - I just think if you're
going to test a band then you should test the whole band - not the
conductor, or an individual section.  The band that wins should have the
best possible balance between musicianship and technical proficiency, and
this will not be the case with this piece, because it will all come down to
who sounds the sweetest, which I don't think is enough.

Anyway - I suppose we all know what's required - good luck to us all...

Cheers,
Mac

--
Director and motivational strategist, Warwick Uni Brass Band,
http://www.warwickbrass.co.uk


--

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