Above: Trumpets and cornets from the SSO brass section. Featured image: members of the SSO brass and percussion sections performing for this concert.
This blat- I mean blast- of a concert introduced us to the many sonic and dramatic possibilities present within the orchestral brass choir when supported by varied percussion colour.
The subtitle of the recent SSO Brass and Percussion concert was ‘Exhilarating and Inspiring’. No less than five suites of dances and music for opera plus grand outdoor event entertained us.
This diverse programme offered up brackets of music conceived from the last six hundred years to the last century. Music from huge names and some lesser known composers was heard in skilled and interesting arrangement from brass players and arrangers.
A thrill during this event was the chance to hear several SSO brass musicians taking turns give passionate, intelligent and humorous introductions to each arrangement. The speakers’ words emphasised the variety of instruments, skill and years of experience currently within the featured orchestral sections.
Special mention should definitely be made of the arrangement project by Associate Principal trombonist Scott Kinmot. His approach to bringing ancient manuscripts to life for brass and recreating musical ideas from Juan Del Encina (born in 1468) was innovative and meticulous.
The three movements for this arrangement allowed an equal contribution across the chosen ensemble, with intelligent timbral and textural choices by Kinmot for the modern brass instruments.
Above: SSO brass and percussion members perform trombonist Scott Kinmott’s arrangement of Three Villancicos by Juan del Encina. Photo credit : Craig Abercrombie.
The concert began with the intensity and joyous familiarity of dances from Borodin’s opera Prince Igor The full ensemble sound and characterisation was a thrilling way in which to begin this showcase of brass and percussion.
We then were swept forward to the twentieth century and swept up in a very different national accent. For this bracket the group did a quick switch in style, accent and country to give a well-nuanced unison voice to three Norwegian dances by Mogens Andresen.
The ultimate take-home from this event was the penultimate bracket. We were introduced via Stephen Verhelst’s atmospheric brass arrangement to Piazzola’s tango opera, Maria delBuenos Aires.
Sans bandoneon, the sensuality, grit and otherworldly charm of this opera’s narrative, dance outbursts, locations and charcter shimmered from the approach and articulation of the tango flavour by these SSO musicians. The contribution by percussionists was a key part of this bracket’s inimitable sizzle.
Elgar Howarth’s clever arrangement of Hanel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks took us back to the Baroque for a sumptuous finale to the event. Back to the Fireworks music in its original form , without strings, and with tender treatment of the brass to suggest the delicate voices of woodwind parts.
As we had heard in the four brackets preceding this final and best known music, the SSO brass with Rebecca Lagos on timpani spoke to us in a jubilant range of spiralling effect, respectful gesture, fine integrity and keenly contrasted colours.
This fabulous finish to the journey through several sound world and geographical parts of our world celebrated Handel’s use of brass and wind, the demonstrated power of good arrangements for brass ensemble, and the talents of the SSO brass and percussion stables. We await the next showcase of these orchestral teams with baited, well-directed breath.