Review: The British Open 2019 (What does the Fox say?)

Brass band lovers from far and wide descended on the Symphony Hall, Birmingham on Saturday to hear eighteen bands tough it out to be British Open Champions for 2019. As always there was a sense of excitement in the air as people looked forward to one of the highlights of the banding calendar. Could Cory retain the famous shield? Would Black Dyke mount a long overdue challenge to their Welsh rivals? Would one of our overseas visitors go home with the grand prize? One thing was for certain, with Peter Graham’s ‘Dynasty’ as the test piece and the biggest names in banding on the draw sheet, we were in for a treat.

A Champion Performance

From the moment Tom Hutchinson began the opening solo, the gathered audience knew they were about to witness something special. Cory delivered a masterclass in musicianship and ensemble playing with a performance blending subtle colours and light and shade, with impactful controlled explosion of dynamics that filled the venue. 

And so it proved that Welsh giants became the first band since 2006 to retain their title, clinching victory from Fodens in third place, and a rejuvenated Black Dyke who came a not-too-distant second. The band’s recent form at this competition has been nothing short of remarkable, as David Childs took to twitter to point out. Cory have achieved eight victories and ten second or third place finishes in the last twenty years, never finshing lower than sixth in that time.  

Speaking to 4barsrest.com after the presentations, the adjudication panel were full of praise with Stephen Roberts declaring “Every section of the piece came to life”. Concurring, Stephen Cobb described it as “a stunning performance” and felt that “every single moment in the music had something about it that set it apart from the other performances. It was extraordinary”  

The platform for the win was laid down by the magical opening cornet solo, performed with subtlety and a finesse that further confirm Hutchinson as one of the finest cornet players of his generation. The transition into 'War' caused goose bumps in the auditorium and transitioned into a fine interpretation of ‘Theatre’, showcasing the bands detailed ensemble playing. Glyn Williams was in fine form as he poured heart and soul into 'Together' and the quartet was delicate and powerful in equal measure. Philip Harper displayed his musicianship immaculately in his well-judged decision to rein the tempo in for ‘Farewell’ enrapturing all that listened. Rounding off the piece, the sheer size and weight of sound the band produced was nothing short of remarkable and left nobody listening in any doubt as to who would be taking the win.  

Two, three, four… 

It’s arguable that Black Dyke have not been themselves of late, with a few surprise results here and there causing some questions to be raised. Boy did they answer them in style today, just losing out to top spot to Cory’s sheer brilliance as opposed to flaws in their own performance. Beautiful solo lines from Richard Marshall and Katrina Marzella in particular contributed to strong, confident performance from the Queensbury band demonstrating technical prowess and culminating in a majestic finale.  

With a strong, emotional performance, in third place came the Fodens band under the leadership of Russell Gray. Packed full of emotion, their effortless playing cast a spell over the audience leaving them favourites as the contest moved into lunch. Only outstanding performances from Black Dyke and Cory kept them off of the top step.  

Under the baton of Michael Fowles, the Desford band proved to be today’s dark horse. Unfancied by many at the start of the day, they certainly gave the adjudicators something to think about with a wonderful performance featuring passion and musicality. Only the smallest errors prevented them from attaining a higher place, but the band should be rightly proud of this result.  

The Top Ten 

Of the remaining bands, Flowers band made the biggest impression coming a creditable fifth with an admirably, high octane performance balancing nicely their technical skills and solo playing. The current West of England Champions beat larger name opposition Brighouse & Rastrick and Grimethorpe into sixth and seventh places respectively with the two Yorkshire heavyweights not quite having enough on the day. In eighth place were Fairey under Garry Cutt who had thrown down an early gauntlet with a rendition that excited, but at times also frustrated. After a strong debut last year, Aldbourne returned with hope of another solid performance and can be rightly proud of a strong ninth place finish ahead of the cooperation band who rounded off the top ten with a strong demonstration of lyricism and musical understanding.  

Best of the Rest 

Tradegar narrowly missed out on a top ten finish despite the current Welsh champions being the first band to really show their potential which, whilst not perfect, certainly had a lot of positives. Last year’s runners up Valasia showed in parts just why they have come to garner such respect in banding circles of late. Unfortunately they were undone by a lack of control in the louder dynamics with errors and nerves which ultimately cost them. In thirteenth place were Hammonds who gave it their all on a piece which was clearly a challenge for the band, but placed ahead of Carlton Main in fourteenth and Leyland in fifteenth.  

Relegation Candidates  

It was not to be on this occasion for Wingates and Whitburn who, finishing sixteenth and eighteenth either side of debutants NASUWT Riverside, suffered relegation to the Grand Shield. With both relegated bands being undone by a high error count, NASUWT Riverside gave a bold and battling display in their first Open appearance, whilst lacking the style and panache of the higher placed bands.  

To wrap up 

As the crowds melted away into the Birmingham evening we were left to reflect on an outstanding day’s banding once again. Ahead of the results, the discussion were all similar: “these are my top six, but I couldn’t say which order”. It really did highlight just how closely fought the contest had been. In the end, nobody was surprised with the result, but this surely bodes well for the National Finals fast approaching in October. Roll on The Albert Hall.

Oh, one last thing…

 Ok, so it's time to come clean with you. When I first decided to start a blog dedicated to brass banding, I thought it would be a good starting point to make my first post a review of the British Open. But there was one snag: I didn’t actually manage to get a ticket for this year’s sell out event. 

And so, after a lot of deliberating as to whether to kick off with something else (a piece currently sitting in my draft folder) a seed of an idea planted itself in my brain. Do you need to be present at something to write an accurate review of it? Could I not simply follow the contest as I normally would do on various social media and online platforms and base my review on all the comments I read? Yes, there was the online stream of the day, but having recently welcomed a new addition to our family, I couldn’t guarantee that I would have time to sit down and watch any of the bands. And, in the interests of fairness, it was therefore better to listen to none of them instead of some. And as it turned out, World of Brass encountered a number of issues with their broadcast and issued this statement the following day. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my take on things. I believe it was a good writing challenge with the disadvantage of not being present, the inability to soak in the atmosphere, interview people from the competing bands and otherwise chat to anyone and everyone. Despite this though, it is my intention that this review will be the first of a number in a series I am considering calling ‘articles I wrote based on tweets I read’. But maybe I need to work on that.

Full Results:  

1. Cory (Philip Harper)
2. Black Dyke (Prof Nicholas J. Childs)
3. Foden's (Russell Gray)
4. Desford Colliery (Michael Fowles)
5. Flowers (Paul Holland)
6. Brighouse & Rastrick (Prof David King)
7. Grimethorpe Colliery (Dr David Thornton)
8. Fairey (Garry Cutt)
9. Aldbourne (Ivan Meylemans)
10. The cooperation Band (Phillip McCann)
11. Tredegar (Ian Porthouse)
12. Valaisia Brass Band (Arsene Duc)
13. Hammonds Saltaire (Morgan Griffiths)
14. Carlton Main Frickley Colliery (Luc Vertommen)
15. Leyland (Thomas Wyss)
16. Wingates (Paul Andrews)*
17. NASUWT Riverside (David Roberts)
18. Whitburn (Florent Didier)* 

*Relegated to Grand Shield  

Stanley Wainwright Memorial Trophy: Richard Poole (Soprano Cornet, Foden's)
Brian Evans Memorial Trophy: Tom Hutchinson (Principal Cornet, Cory)
The Geoffrey Whitham Memorial Trophy: Daniel Thomas (Principal Euphonium, Black Dyke)