Concert Review: HM Royal Marines Band (Plymouth), Sunday 3rd December 2023

It is a foul December evening on the English Riviera. It's chucking down with rain and I've got a soggy left foot after standing in a deceptively deep puddle as I got out of the car. Around me, as I hurry along Torquay Seafront the 'Bay of Lights' display twinkles merrily, and children delight in their experience in spite of the torrential rain and increasing wind speeds. In the distance, I can see the gathering of umbrellas around the theatre door as people are slowly allowed access to the warmth of the foyer after undergoing a thorough bag check. I don't have any bags to check, just a hood full of water because the wind kept blowing it back so I'm through the gathered crowds swiftly and, programme purchased, heading towards my seat in the stalls. It's a cosy seating arrangement, and you certainly get to know the person you're sitting next to. It's also very full and the temperature is rising as a result. Being firmly wedged in now, I can't take off my jumper so I'll just have to sweat the first half out. 

The presence of the Royal Marines Band is a big draw, and the annual Christmas Concert by HM Royal Marines Band, Plymouth is something not to be missed. Except last year... Last year I did miss it, but that was because I was in bed having caught Covid. Anyway, I'm here this year and very much looking forward to an evening of top quality musicianship and catching up with some of my friends in the Band Service. 

The Review 

Before the concert began, the band made their way on stage to sit down and tune up. For reasons which weren't entirely clear, they received a rapturous applause after they had finished tuning which clearly amused and bemused them. To an even bigger applause, Musical Director Captain Matt Weites entered stage right and the band and audience rose for the National Anthem.

The concert 'proper' began with the band launching into A Christmas Fanfare. This was a rousing opener featuring, as you'd expect, snippets of well known Christmas tunes and nicely set the festive tone among an already excitable audience. For their overture the band performed Bernstein's classic Overture to Candide, one of my favourite pieces of his writing. To borrow a phrase from the legendary Bob Ross, to me this is a 'happy little piece' although it's not little and is deceptively technical so that analogy may need a little work. The running quaver phrases kept the woodwind and trumpets on their toes, and a strong presence from the solitary tuba brought together the rich lower brass sounds. 

For many the highlight of a Marines Band concert is the Corps of Drums and it was at this point they made their appearance to the strains of Johannes Hanssen's Valdres March. Four snare drummers marched onto the stage towards the conclusion or the march, before being joined by two more and a bass drum as the band played  Flight of the Silverbird. This dark, dramatic piece comes from  the album 'Battlecry' by Two Steps from Hell whose evocative music is well suited to the accompaniment of the drummers.  As the piece came to a conclusion the Corps of Drums performed their famous Drum Static, wowing audience members young and old. It was, and always is, spectacular to watch and appreciate. The set concluded with the quick march Cavalry of the Steppes during which the Corps of Drums marched back off stage. 

Bringing the festive feel back to proceedings, was the first solo item of the evening and one which was not included on the printed programme, with trumpet player Musician Josie Cork  coming to the front of the stage and delivered a smooth, lyrical rendition of the ever popular O Holy Night. At this point we then had a change of conductor with Captain Weites handing over the baton to Sergeant Paul Saggers, someone who is making waves in the brass band world at present. The Christmas theme continued as the band accompanied vocal soloist Musician Beth McGregor through a hauntingly beautiful performance of Somewhere Only We Know which, nowadays is most well known for its use in the John Lewis Christmas advert 'The Bear and the Hare'. It was then our turn to be accompanied by the band as they played their Christmas Carol Singalong featuring Away in a Manger and The First Noel before wrapping up the first half with Christmas Classics again featuring Mus. McGregor this time joined by LCpl S Brooks and LCpl H Cox at the microphone. 

The Second Half

The half time break came, and I just had enough time to join the enormous queue for an ice cream and get back to my seat (chatting to a couple of the band members on the way) before the band were back on stage and, under the direction of Sergeant Saggers, swinging their way through a cracking big band arrangement of The Nutcracker Suite. This rambunctious rip-roaring ride through Tchaikovsky's masterpiece was arranged by Brian Setzer for his orchestra and is a fabulously exciting take on one of the most well known compositions in western-classical music. I really enjoyed this piece which was, with it's take on excerpts including the March, Chinese Dance and Waltz of the Flowers (among others), sensational and allowed the band to showcase their ability to perform in different styles and genres. 

The mood then shifted entirely as Corporal Hollie Firth, violin in hand, stood up to perform the Méditation from Jules Massenet's opera Thaïs. It was a mesmeric display of controlled musicianship and lyricism, from soloist and band alike. The subtlety of dynamic range, the stretching of every phrase to it's maximum was breathtaking, and one of those moments that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It was a hauntingly beautiful performance and was my highlight of the evening. 

At this point, we were joined by an elf, wielding a broom. After ushering Cpl Firth off stage, and 'gently' moving Sergeant Saggers out of the way, the elf began to sweep the stage. Gradually more elves came on stage, with various items of cleaning equipment. An efficient team no doubt, in spite of their unconventional uniform. Of course, this was not the cleaning team and was the Corps of Drums, appearing for their second half display and their take on the famous theatre troupe Stomp! It was fun, it was energetic, it got the audience going again. It was, ultimately, yet another demonstration of the virtuosic technicality Royal Marines musicians possess. It also provided an excellent counterpoint to the both the preceding and proceeding pieces, as Captain Weites returned to the stage to lead the band through Morten Lauridsens's O Magnum Mysterium a piece I don't think is unfair to describe as a modern classic. I've already waxed lyrical about the band's ability to deliver quite, atmospheric pieces with style, flare and vast amounts of pathos, and this was no different. 

As the last refrain dissolved into the auditorium, an armchair and table were brought out onto the stage, followed closely behind by Sergeant Saggers, ready for bed in his pyjamas and night cap and carrying a candelabra, which he set down on next to him. As we were all sitting comfortably, he began to tell us a story. To the bands accompaniment we were regaled with Clement Clarke Moore's Christmas classic 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Except for this version, there was a twist however and the words to the poem had been rewritten to play to the local audience, referencing nearby towns and landmarks in a tale that ultimately described the narrator having his house burgled and his car stolen. It was dry, it was witty, it was a little close to the mark on occasion, but overall it was a hilariously constructed, well comically-timed monologue enhanced by the brilliant soundtrack provided by the band. 

And with that, we'd come to the final piece in the programme. What a final piece it was though, with the band delivering a mighty display of Wagner's Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral with technicality, grace and lower brass sound that belied the fact there was only six of them. The weather outside, frightful as it was, couldn't have done a better job in taking the roof off as this delightful performance did. A wonderful end to a wonderful evening. 

Except that this wasn't the end, not yet anyway. Being a Marines Band concert there remained some pomp and ceremony to attend to which began with the 'sunset' evening hymn on this occasion Silent Night with the Corps of Drums back on stage to sound the bugle call. We then heard Rule Britannia before band performed the Regimental Marches Heart of Oak and A Life on the Ocean Wave. Cue rapturous applause and loud calls for an encore and Captain Weites duly delivered, launching the band into crowd favourite Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson for a caper through a winter wonderland. 

To conclude

And that was that, another Christmas concert done. Back outside I went, into a the rain and wind which was stronger and heavier than when we had arrived. The Christmas lights on the seafront swinging from their cables and threatening to come loose are a far cry from the warmth and festive feeling I have just experienced inside. It has been a wonderful evening, I've witnessed some world class musicianship and I'm absolutely in the mood for Christmas.