Concert Review: Cory Band, Saturday 11th November 2023

The Methodist Central Hall, Plymouth, Saturday 11^th November 2023. A miserable, November evening and a contrast to the last time I was in this building in June of last year (2022). That was a hot, sticky summers evening made worse by the fact that my Dad and I had got lost in Plymouth and undertaken what was, essentially, an unplanned walking tour of the city before discovering that the concert venue was in fact just over the road from where we’d parked. We were in Plymouth that night to listen to the incredible Cory Band (and you can read more about that here) and were, as coincidence would have it, back in town to hear the World’s number one band again.

Before I continue, those of my regular readers (if indeed I have any) will know that it has been a long time since I wrote on this blog. There are a variety of reasons for this, most of which I will not go into for the benefit of my wordcount. It is, however, reasonable to suggest that having a baby in the house hasn’t helped my creative writing skills.

Anyway, Plymouth, The Central Methodist Hall, and a rainy November evening.

As I assume is commonplace with all Cory concerts there was a palpable sense of excitement in the air on arrival at the venue. I love it when big bands come down to the southwest, if for no other reason than they draw audiences from across Devon and Cornwall and I get to see people I only ever see at such concerts, or the Areas. There was a buzz in the hall and pockets of people enjoying good catch ups everywhere I looked. I myself enjoyed several such catch ups, and despite arriving at the venue almost an hour early (lesson learned from 2022) so engrossed in conversation was I that I was caught slightly by surprise as the band began to file into position. 

Act I 

Cory had shared their programme in advance and so we knew that they would be starting with Birdland. And what an opening it was – full of fizz, panache, style, energy and so many other adjectives. It is a piece that has become a classic of the genre but delivered with the flair that, arguably, only Cory have at present and was the start to a concert that grabs and holds the attention of an audience.

The concert, pleasingly, also featured several pieces that I was not familiar with, the first of these being Howard Lorriman’s arrangement of Verdi’s Sicilian Vespers from his 1855 Opera. It is a dark, dramatic, and enthralling musical telling of the story of the 1282 uprising of the same name and works perfectly for brass band. I absolutely loved it. The first solo item of the evening was also a piece unfamiliar to me, but another one that could be categorised as ‘wow’. Tom Hutchinson is one of the finest cornet players the movement has produced and duly delivered a technical masterclass with his rendition of Mendelssohn’s Allegro from the Violin Concerto in D Minor. The mood then relaxed as the band swung their way through William Broughton’s classic Deep River before Helen Williams brought us the second solo item.

For the third time already this evening I was hearing a piece that was totally new to me and Helen’s delivery of Philip Harper’s Beneath the Willows was simply breathtaking. Smooth, sweet and lyrical it was a direct contrast to the band’s next piece Malambo from the ballet ‘Estancia’ by Argentine Composer Alberto Ginastera. In my rough draft of this review, I described it as a ‘technical boom’. Now I’m typing this up for publication I’m not entirely certain why I opted for that particular choice of words, but I do agree with myself. It was incredible. It was my personal highlight of the concert and further reinforced, if it was needed, the technical brilliance of the band.

The first half closed off with Fučík’s classic Florentiner March arguably the Bohemian Sousa’s most well-known work (possibly thanks to it’s inclusion in ‘Brassed Off’). It was a rousing finish to what had been an excellent first half performance, and as the punters headed off for their half time tea the conversations around us focused on the brilliance of what we had witnessed. 

Well, almost. In an interview I ran with him last year, I described Philip Harper as ‘The Greatest Showman'. I still hold that opinion as he delivers  his concerts in a way that enthuses and engages with an audience like no other MD I know. He is captivating. He is not a politician. Before the break the band had taken a photo of the audience to put on social media and had invited those present (and those not) to engage with them by commenting an answer to a specific question. Last year it was "who has travelled the furthest to be here" with Lee Harrelson from Kansas winning quite easily. I think this is a brilliant idea and one other bands should adopt. Where the idea perhaps needed refining on this occasion was Mr Harper’s choice of question: “why is Devon better than Cornwall?”. The responses were, as you might expect, interesting. 

Act II 

So, half time entertainment complete and half the audience suitably offended, we began again. Certainly not to be labelled as ‘music I’d not heard before’, the band opened with John Williams' classic march Midway from the 1976 film of the same name. It's a personal favourite and was a rousing start to the second half. We were then treated to our third soloist performance of the evening as Chris Thomas brought us two movements from Bert Appermont’s Colours. As a trombone player myself I always enjoy listening to top class trombone players and Chris never ceases to amaze me. His performance of Red and Yellow was virtuosic, elegant, and emblematic of a master of his craft.

It's important to note now that this concert was taking place on Remembrance Day, Saturday 11^th November and the band marked this with a beautiful performance of Elgar’s Nimrod. There's not much to say really about such a well known and emotive composition, so I will just say that it was very good music, played very well. 

The final solo item of the evening followed, and it was another classic - the euphonium solo Those Endearing Young Charms performed by the inimitable Glyn Williams. It is a solo that was probably familiar to most in the audience, and yet they’d probably never heard such a performance as this. Glyn didn't do anything particularly different, but it was just obviously 'Glyn'. In fact, it was sublime. And from the sublime we then moved to, well… Banana Island by Etienne Crausaz. This pleasing number was light hearted and fun but still a demanding showcase for the band's technical prowess. For a short while, we were borne away from the grey, wet Devon evening and to sunnier, more tropical climes. Somewhere in Cornwall perhaps...

The next item on the programme was an intriguing one. As mentioned, the programme had been released pre-concert and there had been much debate beforehand as to what the ‘mystery piece’ might be. During the course of the evening it had been explained that this was linked to a raffle the band were running whereby one lucky winner would get to conduct the band in said mystery piece. Tonight’s winner was Tina from Saltash who had the amazing opportunity to lead Cory, and the mystery piece was revealed as the band launched into a bombastic rendition of Rossini’s Finale from William Tell. I thought this was a brilliant idea and Tina did an excellent job. 

And so the finale had arrived, for which the band had decided to perform selections from their 2022 Brass in Concert programme Doctor Who Fantasy. I still haven't seen last year's Brass in Concert, so haven't heard this before but was very impressed. This seems an odd thing to say in a review where I've done nothing but write about what an amazing evening it was, but let me clarify. Everybody (I would guess) recognises the theme tune to Dr Who. It's iconic and one of, if not the, most recognisable theme tunes on British telly. What as impressive was the way Philip Harper had taken this tune, expanded it and interwoven it with other themes from classical and film music to create a resounding finale that ended a brilliant concert in tremendous style.