UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL

Den 5. november går høstens høydepunkt av stabelen. Da er det tid for Siddis Brass 2022. Og vi er godt i gang med forberedelsene.

Korpset ledes som vanlig av vår maestro Allan Withington på konkurransen, som har jobbet tett sammen med komponist Daniel Hall med musikken til årets program.

Vår egen Ulf Rosenberg har skrevet følgende omtale av Allan som dirigent:

Allan Withington has the last 30 years been one of the leading conductors in the international brass band movement. He has been musical director of several of the world’s best bands in all major brass band countries, such as Norway, England and Switzerland.

Brass bands are also about contesting, and with his deep musical understanding, strong motivational skills and impressive strive for innovation, he has lead bands to victories in all the important contests, including the European Championships and the national contests in Switzerland, Norway, England, Great Britain and USA.

Allan has earned reputation for his ground breaking concert concepts and projects with new commissioned contemporary music both in the classical and entertainment genre. He also carry, through his upbringing in the heart of brass band environment, a deep commitment to the tradition, ethos and style which has made brass band a cultural heritage, a tradition Allan continues to lead forward.

Allan Withington og Stavanger Brass Band, fra korpsets 40-års jubileumskonsert. Foto: Trine Nessler Wichmann.

I tillegg til å være en av verdens aller fremste brassbanddirigenter har han hatt en lang karriere som trompeter, med blant annet 40 på trompetrekka til Bergen filharmoniske orkester.

Allan om stykket og samarbeidet med komponisten og SBB:

It is definitely a plea for a United Europe but also a celebration of the different identities of the various countries whilst keeping this “felleskap”.

For me, Siddis Brass is a chance , through an artistic vehicle, to actually say something whilst at the same time promoting and developing new repertoire.

Stage presentation is also very important for us so we have a couple of surprises there also.

It has been a pleasure to work with Daniel on this and I think we have a very exciting programme to perform.

Komponist Daniel Hall gikk ut fra the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama med first class honours i samtidskomposisjon. I 2019 vant han European Composers Competition i Montreux, Sveits, for sin brassbandkomposisjon A Dialogue of Transmogrified Souls.

På oppdrag fra the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama skrev han to fanfarer, den første til ære for skolens rektor, Dame Hilary Boulding, og den andre i anledning skolens president King Charles III sin 70-års dag. Sistnevnte dirigerte han under seremonien.

Daniel har etter hvert blitt en prisvinnende komponist og arrangør. Verkene hans har blitt fremført og spilt inn av ledende ensembler både i England og internasjonalt.

Daniel om samarbeidet med Allan og Stavanger Brass Band:

Allan got in contact with me last year to discuss the possibility of writing the programme and it was an offer I couldn't refuse! Stavanger have a reputation for being an innovative and forward thinking ensemble in the brass band movement, this really appeals to me as a composer.

It has been great working with the world class conductor Allan Withington and the way in which we created the programme felt very organic. I am very much looking forward to attending the final rehearsal the night before the festival and hearing the band put my musical ideas to life. I hope that I can work with this organisation again in the future.

UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL

Verket reiser på kryss og tvers over Europa og setter fokus på uenigheter og politiske debatter som har pågått i 2022, som har ledet frem til krigen i Ukraina.

1. Left and Right of Centre - Based on Germany's economic prosperity, the piece begins with a septet performing an arrangement of the Tyrolean folk song, Wenn ich auf hohen Bergen steh. This is then amalgamated with a sudden march. The two themes fight for tonality, before ending with a large harmonious chord.

2. Town and Country Planning - A Marimba and Euphonium duet, inspired by the French Presidential race between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Penn. The theme evokes third stream music in order to produce an online call dialogue betwen Le Penn and Macron with a juxtaposing medieval theme representing Le Penn's right-wing political views.

3. There Are Tanks But There Is Also Folklore - Is a rhythmically driven Balkan Fire Dance based on the continued pressure enforced by Putin's invasion of Eastern Europe. The piece features extensive percussion throughout as well as solos for Trombone, Euphonium, Flugel, and Solo Cornet.

4. Identity... Mille Grazie Paganini - A manipulation of the theme from Italian composer Paganini's lesser known Sonata No. 6 for V iolin and Guitar, featuring the tenor horn as soloist.

5. Beautiful Balticum - This wistful melodic piece encaptulates the serenity of the Baltic states, but also reminds us of the fragility of this area.

6. Valour - A driven tribute to the bravery of the Ukrainian people. This finisher uses themes from earlier movements, as well as the Ukrainian National Anthem, in order to represent the united European front against the Russian onslaught.

Kommer du?

Stavanger Brass Band spiller i elitedivisjonen, og er på scenen i Fartein Valen lørdag 5. november klokken 16:30. Vi håper å se deg der. Se Siddis Brass sin nettside for informasjon om billetter og spillerekkefølge. Får du ikke anledning til å komme? Det blir mulig å følge konkurransen digitalt.

Festkonsert: BrassVors

Louis Dowdeswell i kjent stil - denne konserten vil du ikke gå glipp av!

Og du… etter en lang dag med korpsmusikk på høyt nivå byr vi på muligheten til å løsne snippen og slippe løs hoftekammen. Det blir et forrykende show på BrassVors, der vi spiller konsert sammen med fantastiske Louis Dowdeswell! Les om konserten på Siddis Brass sine sider.

Cover photo by Artion Vallat. Foto SBB: Hans Lie