Live

Published on March 7th, 2020 by gavin

LIVE: Yorkshire Regional Brass Band Championships 2020 – 2nd Section

Results:

1. BD1 Brass (Lee Skipsey)
2. Hebden Bridge (David Hamilton)
3. Hade Edge (Jamie Smith)
4. Dronfield Genquip (Damian Wileman)
5. Rockingham (Adam Whittle)
6. Barnsley Brass (William Rushworth)
7. Meltham & Meltham Mills (Tom Haslam)
8. Slaithwaite (Matthew Hindle)
9. Wetherby & District Silver (Derek Warley)

Best Instrumentalist: Matt Douglas (trombone) — BD1
Youngest Player: Solomon Woodcock (Hade Egde ) — aged 11

Predictions

Well, what a great contest here in the 2nd Section today. Every band gave us a sterling performance, but there wast just one that really stood out. Special mentions to the Solo Trombone players with each band who all did a brilliant job on their solo in the Dolente at T. Not easy stuff that!

It’s a really hard one to call today, with 1 clear winner and 8 bands who all gave us something different, but we’re going to have to go for a top 3 of:

BD1
Hade Edge
Rockingham

Dark Horse: Barnsley Brass

Band #9 – Hade Edge

Slightly loose opening. Watch the intonation cornets. Interesting balance here. Nice transition into C. D/E works well, pretty stylish. Lovely cornet sounds. Great band sound before G. Watch the tuning at G. Transition into I works well.

Lots of detail on display here. This has a good flow to it. K through to M works well. M flows well. O could have a bit more dynamic contrast. Good basses at P. Q works well. Good balance through S. Nice transition into T. Well done Trombone. Lovely flugel before U. U works very well. V is nice and tight. Watch the intonation in Sop before X.

Watch the cornet tuning between Z and AA. Watch the trombone tuning before BB. BB motors on effectively. Good effects at DD. GG is slightly subdued perhaps. II works well. KK just looses a bit of energy to finish.

Overall

A good one to finish the contest here in the 2nd Section. Again, just tuning detracts from the performance. Some stunning individual performances in a very stylish, but unique, take on this piece. Another performance that will probably feature in the results here in Huddersfield.

Band #8 – Meltham & Meltham Mills

Good opening! Watch the intonation in the basses. Lovely horn feature. Watch the intonation at C. Nice band sound at D. F works well. G slightly loose in the triplets. Transition to I works well.

I is good. Plenty of detail can be heard. J/K works well. Watch the lower end doesn’t sound too harsh at L. Giocoso at M has a light feel to it, this is nice. Basses a bit heavy at P. S is nice and jolly. Nice sop! Too much euph sound before T for me. Trombone does well at T. Nice band sounds follow. U works well. V is good. X is good.

Z/AA work well. Sop does well. Watch tuning at BB. Settles quickly though. CC is good. DD doesn’t quite have the same energy as previously, but still flows well. Good bass sounds! FF is very good. HH/II good band sound and balance. JJ a little loose in places. KK takes us home nicely.

Overall

A solid one from Meltham. There was definitely something about this performance that grabbed me, just a few too many odd moments that spoilt it for me. Will it be up there? It could definitely feature!

Band #7 – Rockingham

Solid opening. Tight Percussion. Good bass sound. Nice horn & flugel playing. Nice transition into the Grandioso at C. The Calmato at E works well. Lots of clarity at F. G works well. Just watch intonation into I.

Lots of details here. Intonation isn’t always brilliant however. K works well. Watch lower end tuning at L. M has a good feel to it. O works well, good dynamic contrast. Q isn’t always rhythmically accurate. Nice drive into S. Watch Horn intonation at S. Excellent Trombone at T! Well done. U is nice, just watch the triplets at V. X is maybe a little underpowered.

Nice into Z. AA has a good pesante feel to it. Could maybe sit back a bit. The misterioso flows well. Odd moment of tuning in CC. Lots of detail in DD. Watch Horn tuning in EE. GG/HH good band sound. II motors along. This is exciting stuff. JJ percussion maybe a bit loud. Great stuff to close.

Overall

A good show this. Lots to enjoy for sure! The horns certainly had a good time, and well done to the Solo Trombone player! Best one so far for me. This should definitely feature up there.

Band # 6 – BD1

Bold opening this. Excellent percussion. Lovely playing from the Horn and Flugel. The music flows nicely into the Grandioso. Nice big band sound! The Calmato is well played. All the detail can be heard cleanly in the Risoluto. Excellent stuff at G. Nice transition into I.

The ritmico motors on with excitement. This is tight stuff! Great dynamic contrast, just the odd bit of intonation through L. Some tasteful playing from cornets at M. Excellent stuff through to Q. The spiritoso works so well at S. Nicely done Trombone at T. Odd moment of off tuning between U and V. All the detail can be heard around X. Just be careful not to let the sound get harsh before Z.

Good dynamic contrast between Z and AA. BB works well. CC has a great feel to it. Excellent stuff between DD and GG. What a sound at II! Huge – Wow! KK works so well. What an ending!

Overall

Well, that was definitely something. What a performance from BD1! From start to finish everything just worked. There was odd moments of tuning, but it certainly didn’t detract whatsoever. This is the performance to beat so far! Just wow. What a sound…

Band #5 – Wetherby & District Silver

Slightly nervous opening. Lower end intonation suffers slightly, but quickly settles. Nice flugel! Good band sound overall. All the detail can be heard. Could do more with the dynamic contract for the Calmato perhaps. G is good. Bass intonation suffers after H ever so slightly.

The Ritmico at I is a bit slow and changes the feel of the music. All the detail can be heard, but this lacks excitement sadly. Could do more with the dynamic contract through O. The Risoluto is mostly accurate. Q works well. This tempo allows all detail to be heard at the Ritmico. Just watch the intonation at the Spiritoso through to T. Trombone does well at T. Nice band sounds through U into V. Just watch the tuning in cornets at V. Nice Sop between W and Y. Z could be a little softer perhaps. AA has a nice pesante feel to it, just watch the upper register as gets louder!

The Misterioso just lacks a bit of clarity. Good into the Ritmico at DD. Slightly loose into EE. FF has a nice bounce to it. Just watch the accuracy of rhythms at HH. Good band sound at II. Watch the intonation and don’t overblow from KK onwards.

Overall

One that grew in confidence as it progressed this. The slight difference in tempo’s gave the piece a completely different feel at times. This has thrown a spanner in the works as technically it was very good, but perhaps lacked that bit of magic some of the other bands have had so far.

Band #4 – Barnsley Brass

Confident opening from the cornets. Watch the intonation in the basses. Good interjections around the band. Good louder dynamics. Triplets are slightly loose in the cornets from time to time. Good melody in Horns/Euph. Watch the tuning at the Deciso (G). Tuning before I.

Good start to the 10/8. This has a good feel to it. Good euph into K. Watch L isn’t too heavy. M dances along nicely. Just the odd moment of tuning. O – P works well. The ritmico works well. Watch the balance at S, we’re loosing some of the parts. Nice transition and opening at T. Well done Trombone. Watch the intonation at U cornets and into V too. Z works well.

The pesante has good dynamic contrast. The misterioso at BB works well. Most of the detail can be heard. CC into DD is effective! FF just the odd bit of tuning in the upper register playing. HH onwards is nice and bold! Big sound, but too much. The intonation suffers slightly from KK to the end. Nice ending to close.

Overall

Another solid performance, this time from Barnsley Brass. Lots to admire in the playing and things to think about also. Lots of style pumped into this one. Is this the one to beat so far?

Band #3 – Dronfield Genquip

Slightly loose opening. Percussion is slightly overpowering. Nice bass melody followed by good horn/flugel. Just watch the tuning. Watch the intonation in the louder dynamics. Cornets watch intonation at the Deciso (G). Into I a little scrappy.

The 10/8 has a nice feel to it. Watch intonation in Trombones at L. Rhythms not always accurate at M. Good transition into O. P to R works well. S melodic lines not always together. Trombone does well at T. Cornets nice balance at U. Could have more accent at V. Good sop at X. Triplets a little scrappy before Z.

The pesante is good, but watch the sound doesn’t become harsh. The Misterioso at BB motors on well. Slightly loss of detail between CC and DD. FF works well. Trombones overblowing slightly, watch the intonation! II works well, just watch the balance. Effective into KK. Good ending, just watch the tuning on that last note.

Overall

This was a brilliant account from Dronfield. Lots of energy and what a sound! Just moments of overblowing spoilt what could most definitely be a performance right up there.

Band #2 – Slaithwaite

Slightly loose opening. Just watch the intonation in the cornets. Nice bass sound. The melody doesn’t quite have the right flow. Odd moments of tuning are creeping in. Good balance in the louder dynamics. Watch the intonation in the lower end of the band, just starts to rub slightly here and there. Cornet triplets and accents maybe a bit too much. Good into I.

The ritmico works well but there’s a slightly frenzied feel at moments. The rhythms are mostly accurate, just the odd bit of looseness. The balance isn’t always good and we loose the melody. Slightly loose before T. Good effort Trombone. Bit of intonation in the following melody lines. Basses keep the pulse going well.

Cornets good at V. Watch the balance before Y. Z works mostly well. Little scrappy into and through BB. DD t0 FF works well. FF euph and Sop aren’t always together. GG not all the detail is heard, and be careful not overblow. KK onwards just watch tuning.

Overall

A solid performance from Slaithwaite. Just spoilt by moments of loose playing and slightly poor intonation. Still, it was a good performance that had lots to enjoy! Still too early to know how to place this yet.

Band #1 – Hebden Bridge

Confident opening. Great percussion. Lovely lower end sound. Excellent balance in the bigger dynamics. Triplet semi-quavers ever so slightly loose in cornets.

The 10/8 – 6/8 section works well. Nice interjections from Cornet & Euph. The Giocoso could be a little lighter in dynamic perhaps. Careful not to overblow in the lowever end. Sop could be louder at the Spiritoso. Slightly loose before T. Well done Trombone, nice sound! Good cornet at U. Accents at V could be more for me. The flowing melody in the lower end is lush!

The deciso works well, brilliant percussion. Effective into the Pesante. Slightly loose into the Misterioso at BB. Basses slightly scrappy at BB. CC isn’t delicate enough for me, good dynamic contrast though. FF slightly loose between euph and cornets.

HH works well. Be careful not to overblow trombones! KK watch tuning in Cornets. Effective ending.

Overall

A good opening performance from Hebden Bridge. Lots of drama and excitement throughout. Odd bit of overblowing and some loose moments here and there just detract from the excellent solo lines. So, the bar has been set!