Review | Cory Band at the RNCM International Brass Band Festival

A Bright, Bold Offering from Cory Band at the RNCM Brass Band Festival

The Cory Band’s performance at the RNCM International Brass Band Festival showcased their powerhouse sound and their ability to bring robust, dramatic and exciting works to life. 

Storm! By Thibaut Bruniaux

This piece was the winner of the 2023 RWCMD Cory Composition Competition in 2023 and I can see why. Storm! is an electrifying, energetic work that certainly blew away the cobwebs with its thunderous opening, clever sound effects and an absolutely epic moment when the band builds to this loud, rhythmic whirlwind driven by a rock beat on kit - it was wicked. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a bit of drum kit in a piece - it is what it is. I can see why this won the composition competition; it’s action-packed and just plain cool. 

Amaia, Concerto for Tuba by Ricardo Molla, arr. and performed by Tommy Tynan

This work was a festival highlight for sure. The work, originally written by Ricardo Molla tells the story of Amaia and her dreamlike journey across the Cantabrian coast of Northern Spain. During her journey, she learns to control the four natural elements of water, earth, air and fire. Throughout her adventure she encounters mythical beings from Basque mythology, who teach her valuable lessons about the elements and life. 

I’ve simply never heard a solo for tuba like it, it was absolutely glorious; brilliantly arranged and delivered by the band’s featured soloist, Tommy Tynan. It’s quite a long work, each movement could be a piece in its own right, so props to Tommy for delivering this within the band’s hefty programme. The power of this piece’s storytelling, its cinematic nature and memorable melodies made it so engaging. Tommy’s performance was absolutely spellbinding and a real demonstration of outstanding technical ability. However, for me, it was in the slower lyrical moments that this performance was so impressive. I felt that Tommy showed a completely different side to this instrument; taking it out of the engine room and giving it the spotlight it deserves. It also has to be said that this was thoughtful arrangement for accompaniment with brass band from the soloist himself. Simply outstanding. 

Freedom by Hubert Bath

We then went back in time to a piece that was written over 100 years ago. Hubert Bath’s Freedom was initially categorised as the first brass band symphony, however it would be more accurate to describe it as a suite in three movements. 

The first describes how enjoying the beauty of nature is freedom. It is traditional brass band writing that I absolutely love with the upright, resolute pomp of a march undertone throughout this first movement. The second movement highlights romance and how love is freedom, with a beautiful melodic solo moment from the brass band’s principal cornet, Tom Hutchinson - it was so expressive and absolutely effortless. The third and final movement is laughter and how joy is freedom with a jaunty theme that repeats throughout the movement. This is quintessential British brass band writing and I loved this moment to discover a beautiful work of our heritage - it’s a lovely diamond of a piece. 

Ensemble Mécanique by Viskamol Chaiwanischsiri

This was an exhilarating work that combined a wide range of musical styles. Ensemble Mechanique was originally written by Thai composer, conductor and educator, Viskamol Chaiwanichsiri in 2019 for an ensemble made up of percussion, piano, clarinet and cello, before he arranged it for brass band in 2022. Influenced by the use of rhythms and folk elements in the compositions of Stravinsky and Bernstein, this work is fantastically inventive. Chaiwanischsiri said he had the sound of machinery in a factory in his mind as he composed this piece and you can hear this idea along with the influences of the two aforementioned composers. 

From the first note, I could hear Bernstein's influence, reminiscent of the fiery Mambo! in his score for West Side Story. There are layers upon layers of rhythms that cross over and work together like cogs in a giant machine. There was then a more serene moment with a beautiful, almost romantic solo from the band’s flugelhorn, Helen Williams that was then passed on to the band’s solo euphonium, Glyn Williams - a gorgeous display of sonorous sounds and musicality from both musicians. It isn’t long before the tide starts to shift and we were thrust back into the vibrant energy of the opening of this piece. It was such an intelligent piece and in the words of Miranda Hart, ‘such fun’ to listen to!

Dances and Arias by Edward Gregson 

Well, the band didn’t have any chance to relax in this programme, as they finished off with this year’s set work for the Grand Shield at the Spring Festival, Edward Gregson’s ‘Dances and Arias’. The solo performances in this work were simply exquisite and a real highlight of the whole programme. The flugel duet between Helen Williams and the band’s guest Repiano cornet for the day, Stephanie Binns was simply gorgeous and it was a real treat having the opportunity to hear these incredible musicians play together. 

It was an action-packed concert that demonstrated the versatility of the band with many different styles, technical elements and stamina-draining dynamics throughout the programme.