© 2003–2004 WASBE

Photographs © 2003 Anthony Reimer or Egil & Brith Gundersen (used with permission)

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herein are those of the
authors and not
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of WASBE.

Guildhall School of Music and Drama Symphonic Wind Ensemble

by Timothy Reynish

Five major works on this programme, including a world premiere from New Zealander Christopher Marshall. I have always in the past found Saxton's Ring, Time a little confusing and tough, but in this very convincing performance the control of the final quiet resonances of the bell sounds made complete sense. On first hearing, the Finnissy is challenging, not as immediate a piece for clarinet and wind ensemble as McAllister's Black Dog, which we heard the previous evening, but quirky, disruptive, jokey, always fascinating. I need to hear it and the Saxton again.

I was delighted to commission the first work, L'homme armé - Variations for Wind Ensemble, since I enjoy the composer's orchestral music and our first WASBE schools commission, Aué. In our discussions of programming, we never considered serendipity. It was by chance that Chris developed his work as a set of variations on a 15th century tune, and we opened the second half with Bennett's set of variations on a 16th century tune. It is also fascinating, but I suppose not totally unexpected, that David Del Tredici and Christopher Marshall both turned to the theme of war in their major new works for our medium.

I must confess a bias toward the very beautiful Reflections on a Sixteenth Century Tune by Richard Rodney Bennett. I love his music and was sorry that he felt that he had to cancel the commission of a Trombone Concerto. He feels that his wind music represents some of his best artistry, and he did not want to risk writing anything inferior. His Reflections is originally for string orchestra, but he has transcribed it effortlessly for double wind quintet, including piccolo, cor anglais, bass clarinet and contra bassoon. The four variations and finale display Richard at his most inventive, and like so much of the repertoire of all types in this conference, it moves with a sureness and inevitability. It is for sale from Novello/Musicsales and is a wonderful training work for your wind soloists. I am happy to conduct it anywhere.

The pairing of the Tippett and the Saxton is natural, with their exploration of bells and their resonances. When I met Michael Tippett and suggested that he might write a work for us, he recommended the first movement of his Concerto for Orchestra, scored for wind and brass in pairs, and re-titled Mosaic. It is now over ten years since Meirion Bowen and Tippett developed Triumph, described as a nineteenth century operatic overture, in that it incorporates some of the most important motifs and episodes from his chorus/orchestra work, The Mask of Time, which is based on the writings of the English poet Shelley. At the same time, it is a piece in its own right, conceived for concert band.

This was a wonderful performance of a major work. The Guildhall players are first rate, and they and Peter Gane rose to this challenge. I would recommend that any serious musician who conducts bands and wind ensembles purchase the score from Schott and the disc of this from Mark Records and grow to know and love it. It is hard to play. Tippett's music is difficult, more difficult than that of his contemporaries such as Walton, Britten, Shostakovich, Messiaen, (not as tough as Carter or Boulez), since it is cast in free harmonies and rhythmic phrasing which often transcends all barrings. His own conducting of his music was extraordinary, a kind of dance that showed these crazy lines but did not help much with first beats. The imagery of the work is extraordinary too. A grotesque vision of the "triumphal" progress of a chariot throwing bodies off in all
directions is complemented by the depiction of Shelley's own death (drowing at sea in an attempted defiance of a storm), the burning of the poet's body and a final triumphal section based on fanfares. As the poet Siegfried Sassoon writes in a poem of the First World War: “The singing will never be done.”

Christopher Marshall's work is more straightforward, a set of variations in which he pays homage to Dvorak in the Symphonic Variations by using simple canonic devices and also incorporating elements from popular idioms with jazz inflections.

An aggressive opening gesture of wailing trombones ushers in the main theme.
Variation One is allegro con brio, a rather jazzed up version of the theme which later becomes an accompaniment to the theme in augmentation. In performance this seemed very loud and aggressive, but with the benefit of hindsight and a score in front of me, it turns out to be all scored at mezzo forte, apart from the cantus firmus. Variation Two fared better in this performance, presenting a spritely leggiero—a medieval gigue for the double reeds. This joins straight into Variation Three, a religioso version of the theme, again in augmentation, shadowed by the woodwind at three quavers distance creating an extraordinary muddy echo effect. This whole passage becomes accompaniment to a duet for alto saxophone and piccolo. Variation Four is more complex, with a syncopated version of the theme set against a Maori war cry. Marked feroce, this variation resulted in premature applause from the audience. Variation Five again explores the jazz potential of the medieval theme, offering gently syncopated with elements of bitonality, while Variation Six uses simpler harmonies, clear scoring on high woodwind, and later becomes almost an Austrian Ländler against little chirrups in the high woodwind. This mood changes eventually into Variation Seven, an ironic death march reminiscent of Mahler or Kurt Weill. This is short lived and gives way swiftly to Variation Eight, another slow section with a duet between trumpet and euphonium. Variation Nine is a romantic, richly scored, lyrical and peaceful section, soon interrupted by Variation Ten, a joyous celebration of canonic devices. Variation Eleven is built on canons, this time in the minor and with more extensive entries that boil up to a quick march version, itself replaced by a 12/8 that turns into 2/4, a jazz version and finally an crazy Ivesian version, with the different treatments forced closer and closer together.