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RE: Contest Music by Wilfrid Heaton

To: <brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: Contest Music by Wilfrid Heaton
From: "GYoung" <gyoung@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2000 15:55:12 -0500
Importance: Normal
In-reply-to: <280C5332B19@RIP-STAFF1.UCRYSJ.AC.UK>
Priority: low
Reply-to: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 I was chatting to him about this
> some twelve months ago and he felt very strongly that they had found
> his work 'despicably modern' and loathsome'; he still remembers the
> rejection with some bitterness, it would seem.
>
> Certainly WH's scoring is very thin in places - it's a characteristic
> of his style that he doesn't write a note which is not absolutely
> essential - no 'padding' whatsoever!
>
> >
This is very interesting in that Morley Calvert who hated padding
held Wifred Heatons music in high regard. The spareness of the scoring
is one of the best features. The problem with brass band can
be the "sameness" of the tone colours. When my wife first started to
attend brass band concerts her comment was that all the peices
sounded the same and they all sounded like marches.
 Bare scoring as well as "not much to play"
also means "no place to hide".

In Introduction Elegy and Caprice there is as unprepared
entry on a Bb above the staff for soprano. Even on a BDM recording
the note is chipped. I asked him why he stuck it in there.
With a big grin he told it was so he could see if the sopranos could
play it. No place to hide on that one.

Some test pieces are one unending blast from start to finish.
Good for marking, bad for listening.
When done properly as in Contest Music or Year of the Dragon
and others a great piece of music can result instead of a "test piece".
Hats off to the committee that commissioned Severn Suite and also
to the one who commissioned Contest Music.Not every test piece
will likely be a classic but even if it's one out of ten
it is worthwhile to produce that one.

That said I think I'll go put Contest Music on the stereo
pour a nice Islay dram.

Graham Young
gyoung@xxxxxxxx
Symphony Hamilton
Weston Silver Band
Celebration Brass


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- Re: Contest Music by Wilfrid Heaton
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