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In May last year, Birmingham Citadel was blessed by the music and worship of Hendon Band as they visited our corps for a weekend of music and fellowship.  This year, it was the turn of Birmingham Citadel Band, to spend a weekend at the Hendon Corps, once again sharing in music-making and fellowship with those in attendance.

The Saturday included an excellent 'fish and chip' faith tea on arrival, before the evening concert.  The first half of the concert featured BCB's more 'traditional' repertoire including Prelude on Tallis, Servants of God and the Euphonium Solo 'Vallflickans Dans' showcasing Principal Euphonium David Taylor.  The major work for the first half was Leslie Condon's 'The Present Age'.  This well-known SA band classic tells the story of a youthful Christian, stepping out into the world aiming to  'serve the present age, my calling to fulfil...'.  Over the course of the piece, the young Christian pledges 'I'll follow thee...' numerous times, only for the troubles and strifes of life to mock and distract him from his path.  The young Christian soon contemplates, 'Be still and know that I am God' after which his spirit is calmed and he reaffirms, 'it is well with my soul.'  With renewed heart he strides into the challenge of the present age with, 'Courage, brother, do not stumble' as his impetus.

The second half featured mainly new and unpublished music, including 'Undefeated!', 'There is room' and 'Risen Today'.  It also included soloists Neil Blessett (Tenor Horn) playing the beautiful arrangement of 'King of Kings' and Deputy Bandmaster Mark Sharman (Trombone) with the lively 'On the lighter side'.  The major work for the second half was the Martin Cordner composition 'Aftershock'.  Originally written for a non-SA band, this composition nevertheless features a number of well-known religious tunes and refers to the 'Aftershock' caused to the early church by Jesus's life, death, resurrection and his final ascension to Glory.  

The Sunday morning meeting was led by Corps Officer Adrian Allman.  The pre-meeting music featured soloists Matthew Frost (Cornet) and Craig Hughes (Euphonium) who performed the Ivor Bosanko Duet 'I'll not turn back', as well as the middle movement of 'Faithful' by Roger Trigg, written especially for the Corps for its 125th Anniversary Celebrations.  During the meeting the band featured 'People need the Lord' and 'His Strength is Perfect' to support the words and message of Major Allman.

 

After a short coffee break, the band concluded the weekend with a final, short concert.  The concert featured a number of soloist items: Oliver Ridley (Soprano) and Andrew Dickinson (Tenor Horn) performed the duet 'Gabriels Oboe'; Nicola Redhead, Matthew Frost and Harry Browning played the traditional Cornet Trio 'The Heralds'; and Principal Euphonium David Taylor was again featured in the solo 'We'll all shout Hallelujah'.  Other items included 'Telling it' and 'Beside the sea of Galilee' while the major work was the William Gordon's arrangement of the exciting 'Finale from Symphony No. 4' by Tchaikovsky.  After an excellent weekend of music and fellowship, BCB headed back to Birmingham with belief that the band's message will have been received by those in attendance.

Programmes

Saturday Evening
1. Prelude on Tallis (Peter Graham)
2. Be Still (Dorothy Gates)
3. Servants of God (Steven Ponsford)
4. Euphonium Solo: Vallflickans Dans (Hugo Alfven; arr. Frode Ryland)
Soloist: David Taylor
5. Any Time (Sam Creamer)
6. Water of Tyne (Philip Harper)
7. The Present Age (Leslie Condon)
8. Undefeated! (Paul Sharman)
9. Tenor Horn Solo: King of Kings (Gavin Lamplough)
Soloist: Neil Blessett
10. Hold that Fort (Sam Creamer)
11. Trombone Solo: On the Lighter Side (Paul Sharman)
Soloist: Mark Sharman
12. Glory to His Name (Joel Collier)
13. Risen Today (Marcus Venables)
14. There is Room (Andrew Mackereth)
15. Aftershock (Martin Cordner)
 

Sunday Morning
1. Cornet/Euphonium Duet: I’ll Not Turn Back (Bosanko)
Soloists: Matthew Frost & Craig Hughes
2. Middle movement from Faithful (Roger Trigg)
3. His Strength is Perfect (Noel Brooks)
4. People Need the Lord (Howard Davies)

 

Sunday Afternoon
1. Temple 125 (Kevin Larsson)
2. Soprano Cornet & Horn Duet: Gabriel’s Oboe (Dorothy Gates)
Soloists: Oliver Ridley & Andrew Dickinson
3. Cornet Trio: The Heralds (Phil Catelinet)
Soloists: Nicola Redhead, Matthew Frost & Harry Browning
4. Telling It! (Sam Creamer)
5. Finale: Symphony No. 4 (Tchaikovsky; arr. Gordon)
6. Euphonium Solo: We’ll All Shout Hallelujah (Norman Audoire)
Soloist: David Taylor
7. Where I Love to Be (Kevin Larsson)
8. Beside the Sea of Galilee (Andrew Mackereth)
9. On the King’s Highway (Erik Leidzen)

Prelude on Tallis

Be Still

Anytime

Saturday Night Second Half Excerpts

The Water of Tyne

Euphonium Solo - Vallflickans Dans

Trombone Solo - On the Lighter Side

Undefeated

Tenor Horn Solo - King of Kings

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