November 9, 2014
Las
Vegas Brass Band presents A Salute to the
Veterans at Clark County Library
On November 9, 2014 I
attended the Las Vegas Brass Band’s Salute to the Veterans at the Clark County
Library directed by Dr. Richard McGee. Dr. McGee is also one of the two authors
of the class text. The performance selection included mostly secular pieces
with the exemption of How Great Thou Art
played in the second portion of the show. The instrumentation was in the
British traditional style, which included nine Cornets, a Soprano Cornet, two
Percussionists, a Bass Trombone, two Euphoniums, two Baritone Horns, two
Flugelhorns (though traditionally there’s one), four Tenor Horns (traditionally
there are three), two Eb tubas, two Bb tubas, and three Tenor trombones
(traditionally there’s two) totaling 30 people. Usually a British-style brass
band is 27-29 but this rule is not very strict, simply an old tradition.
The program begun with a
rendition of Semper Fidelis,
originally composed by John Philip Sousa in 1889, a song about the U.S. Marine
Corps. What was very profound was hearing a song that became so notable for its
lyrics being played with no vocalist allowed all of those in the audience to
absorb the full gravity of the composition.
As the band moves to John
Williams’ Concert March from 1941, the
entire tempo changed to a much more allegro tempo with several crescendos that
left the listener feeling awake and interested. No opportunity for pesky
nodders here!
Now, as the band moved
into Jerry Bilik’s American Civil War
Fantasy, the tempo dials down to a much mellower but not quite slow
moderato tempo. The crescendos very strategically cause one’s heart to race and
reminisce about the simpler times. What made this refreshing to hear is the
fact that entirely brass family instruments played it. When one thinks of the
American West, horns don’t exactly come to mind. This was almost more of
Hollywood’s version of the American West, but hey that’s the version everyone
remembers right?
Abide
with Me as composed my William Henry Monk came shortly
afterwards. This, composition seemed to be very well placed in the program as a
break before the intermission. The tempo was a nice smooth lento that was
almost grave in nature. This interested me because I never envisioned brass
instruments as “gentle,” but this definitely corrected that thought! Such grace
and elegance! The work felt totally new played on this instrumentation.
After the intermission,
the band played a piece called The Great
Revival, an original work for this band. Much like American Civil War Fantasy, it let the listener feel that sense of
Americana in that it had big vivace sound with lots of big flourishes and
almost gave the sensation of a chase on a horse in some movie. A magnificent
piece, indeed!
Billy Strayhorn’s Take the A Train followed, a much
jazzier piece that had a more Southern feel. Having heard this piece before on
a string quartet, this version left a very stark contrast to what I had
previously heard. After looking up on of the original performances by Strayhorn
with Duke Ellington I saw that it’s meant for more of a concert band. This
didn’t take away from the experience in any way, though. The musicians were
very talented and also felt like a song for the musicians to take a breather in
with its adagio pace and generally relaxed tone.
I’m not entirely certain
as to why How Great Thou Art arranged
by Eric Ball and Amazing Grace arranged
by William Hines were being played, given that it seemed very inappropriate for
the venue (a public library theater) but the tunes were nicely played, and
mostly decrescendos throughout. Personally they were was my least favorite
pieces, but I commend them for playing something unexpected.
The West Side Story medley was my favorite! I loved the film and Broadway
renditions, and naturally enjoyed hearing the familiar tune in the midst of all
of this unfamiliar much older music. The melody of America! is so easily identifiable, I wasn’t surprised to see a few
children wiggle in their seats as well as several adults tapping toes, mine
included!
As the program winded down to a close, the familiar tune known as “Taps,” was played. This is a solemn song I generally hear played by a single trumpet, but on this occasion the whole band played, and with the percussionists’ supplemental cadence you could help but shed a tear as the effect of the tune intensified.
As the program winded down to a close, the familiar tune known as “Taps,” was played. This is a solemn song I generally hear played by a single trumpet, but on this occasion the whole band played, and with the percussionists’ supplemental cadence you could help but shed a tear as the effect of the tune intensified.
The band program was to
end on a more positive note, playing the Armed
Forces Salute, having each group of veterans stand up for applause for
their service. This portion of veteran’s events always intrigues me because I
like to see how many served. Most were Army and Air Force, but there were
several Navy and Marines as well. The military marches are all meant to build
morale before battle, so naturally they were all big, forte pieces with defined
duple meter patterns meant to march along to.
The John Philip Sousa
classic, Stars and Stripes Forever,
was the closing piece. A big, fortissimo piece like this is an excellent closer
because it leaves the listeners feeling positive and patriotic. All in all, the
program was a nice diversion for an hour or so. I felt I received enough old
mixed with the new to leave feeling nourished yet content.
