BBC Proms 2007
Brass day: Saturday 28 July
The BBC Proms brings together hundreds of brass players for a day which promises to be
one of the loudest and most memorable experiences of the season.
The day explores the
stylistic range to be found in the world of brass instruments, from two of the finest brass
bands in the world – the Black Dyke and Grimethorpe Colliery bands – to ancient Uzbek
trumpets, from His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts to the Fanfare Trumpets of the band of
the Coldstream Guards, and from star soloists such as Håkan Hardenberger and David
Pyatt, to the youngest enthusiast who has just had his or her first trumpet lesson.
As with Violins!! in 2005, then The Voice in 2006, BBC Proms
Learning has put together a spectacular centrepiece for the
day. A new work, created specially as part of an ambitious
collaborative project, is performed on the high-profile platform
of a main evening BBC Proms concert at the Royal Albert
Hall.
The BBC commission this year comes from Peter
Wiegold, who has created a work for massed brass forces,
part composed and part improvised, involving Manchesterand
London-based students and professionals.
- 200 professional and amateur brass players join the
BBC Philharmonic for two concerts celebrating brass in
all its diversity
- Two world premieres including a huge creative work
by Peter Wiegold for massed forces including
professionals and students, plus a specially composed
fanfare by Judith Bingham
- Open 'come and play' workshop for anyone who plays a
brass instrument at whatever level
The day starts with an invitation for anyone who plays a brass
instrument, from beginners to professionals, to attend a
morning playing session called 'Brass Massive', which culminates
in the first performance of a version of Judith Bingham's
specially created fanfare, Ziggurat, on the steps of the Royal
Albert Hall, announcing that Brass Day has begun.
In the matinee concert, the ancient traditions of Uzbekistani
trumpeters contrast with two of the finest exponents of the
British brass band tradition – the Black Dyke and
Grimethorpe Colliery bands.
Brass has one of the longest of
traditions in classical music, and the earlier end of the
spectrum will be represented by His Majestys Sagbutts and
Cornetts in music by Monteverdi (from his opera Orfeo, 400
years old in 2007) and Giovanni Gabrieli.
By contrast, the
liveliness of modern-day brass writing is represented by the
official world premiere of Judith Bingham's Ziggurat, plus
Henze's Ragtimes and Habaneras, a rip-roaring band work
originally premiered at the 1975 Proms.
Central to the day are the fruits of an ambitious ongoing
collaboration between the BBC Proms and Manchester-based forces including the BBC Philharmonic, the Royal Northern
College of Music, Salford University and London-based brass
students.
At the heart of this collaboration is an ambitious
new piece called He is armoured without created by Peter
Wiegold. It brings together the students from Manchester and
London as well as the Fanfare Trumpets of the Band of the
Coldstream Guards, musicians from the ancient ceremonial
tradition of Uzbekistan, and players from the BBC
Philharmonic.
He is armoured without, written with the spaces
of the Royal Albert Hall in mind, is part composed and part
improvised in workshops and Learning sessions beforehand.
Peter Wiegold himself conducts the giant forces.
Brass students from the Royal Northern College of Music play
'Side-by-Side' with the brass players of the BBC Philharmonic
in a version of Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, arranged
for symphonic brass forces by Elgar Howarth. This will be
conducted by Håkan Hardenberger, making his Proms
conducting debut.
In the evening concert, Sir Charles Mackerras conducts two
works which highlight brass – Schumann's rarely heard
Konzertstück for with four leading British horn players and
Janáček's blazing Sinfonietta, in which RNCM students again join
the BBC Philharmonic. Håkan Hardenberger plays one
of the most successful Proms commissions in recent times,
H K Gruber's Aerial.
Listings for Saturday 28 July, Brass Day
Brass Massive, 10.00am–12.00 noon, Royal College of Music
Anyone with a brass instrument is invited to turn up and join
a team of professionals for a two-hour brass workshop
culminating in a world premiere on the steps of the Royal
Albert Hall.
Prom 20: 2.00pm
Judith Bingham: Fanfare – 'Ziggurat'
(BBC commission: world premiere)
Players drawn from several of the groups participating in the concert
Monteverdi: Orfeo – Toccata; G. Gabrieli: Sonata pian'e forte
Played by His Majesty's Sagbutts and Cornetts
Traditional music from Uzbekistan
Vaughan Williams: Overture 'Henry V'
Hans Werner Henze: Ragtimes and Habaneras
Played by Grimethorpe Colliery Band/Allan Withington
Heaton:Toccata ('Oh! The Blessed Lord')
Philip Wilby: … Dove Descending
Played by Black Dyke Band/Nicholas Childs
Elgar: Severn Suite
Played by Black Dyke Band and Grimethorpe Colliery Band/
Nicholas Childs
Musorgsky (arr. Elgar Howarth): Pictures at an Exhibition
Played by the brass of the BBC Philharmonic, and musicians from
the Royal Northern College of Music/Håkan Hardenberger
(conductor)
Prom 21: 7.30pm
Judith Bingham: Fanfare – 'Ziggurat'
(BBC commission: second performance)
Players drawn from several of the groups participating in the concert
Schumann: Konzertstück
Played by David Pyatt, Michael Thompson, Martin Owen, Cormac
Ó hAodáin (horns); BBC Philharmonic/André de Ridder
H K Gruber: Aerial
Played by Håkan Hardenberger (trumpet); BBC Philharmonic/
André de Ridder
Peter Wiegold: He is armoured without
(BBC commission: world premiere)
Played by Håkan Hardenberger (trumpet); BBC Philharmonic;
Students from Manchester, Salford, London and the South East;
Fanfare Trumpets of the Band of the Coldstream Guards;
Uzbek trumpeters/Peter Wiegold
Janáček: Sinfonietta
Played by musicians from the Royal
Northern College of Music; BBC
Philharmonic/Sir Charles Mackerras
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