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Re: Arrangements and original music



Your thesis is well stated David. The fact is that even among dedicated band enthusiasts, very little of the serious music written for bands is played or even requested after the contest for which it is written. Some of it is too difficult for many bands to play; not necessarily a good reason for not doing it but a constraint that means that people do not hear it enough to become familiar. Year of the Dragon is a classic example. It has a
great trombone solo, one of the highlights of brass band literature but very challenging to say the least. But even if the band has a trombone player who can pull it off ( not the same as playing it), the technical demands of the rest of the music are horrendous. We played it at Weston a few years ago and the 2nd movement was as good playing as Weston has done in a while but the 1st and 3rd were another story. My wife said that I should stop
playing after that as I would never play as well as I did that night. Too stubborn to take her advice but I would like to get a chance to play it again. As you say, it probably would transcribe well for orchestra as long as they didn't give the trom solo to a cello.

Some that have had a long life among band enthusiasts are Resurgam, Journey into Freedom and others which David Lancaster can name better than I.. These are pieces that I enjoy hearing over and over just as I enjoy many symphonies but there are not a lot of them.

Don't know the answer however. Hannaford Street Silver Band in Toronto programs lots of original music some of which is quite interesting but I have not heard of many bands trying to get copies of that rep to play.

Weston played a concert Sat night which, except for 3 pieces, was all transcriptions. The capacity audience loved it. Would they have loved Year of the Dragon as much?

Maybe brass banding really is a fun thing for the players, a true amateur activity, where we can strive to do our best and hopefully find at least a few people willing to pay to listen.

Regards.

Dave.



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