Mighty sound of the navy band

Music / Band of the Royal Army School. At Llewellyn Corridor, October 1. Reviewed by JAYDEN LOHE. 

FOR two hours on Saturday night, Llewellyn Corridor was full of the mighty sound of the Band of the Royal Army School (RMC) within the second live performance of its collection titled “Masterworks for Winds”.

Presenting quite a lot of usually programmatic and largely modern works, the ensemble, consisting of woodwind and brass devices, performed evocatively and took the viewers on a journey with them because the music explored totally different characters, landscapes, and atmospheres.

The band, performed by Maj. Matt O’Keeffe, is the official ensemble of the Royal Army School, Duntroon, and performs regularly for official authorities ceremonies in addition to for group occasions.

The live performance was delivered in partnership with the Australian Nationwide College (ANU), with the RMC Band complemented by college students from the ANU’s Faculty of Music for fundraising with proceeds from the live performance going to Legacy, an organisation that assists the households of veterans experiencing hardship.

The live performance opened with a 2014 work by American composer Alyssa Morris titled “Cryptids”. Maj. O’Keeffe defined that cryptid is a mythological creature usually referred to in folklore, and Morris’ work was in three actions, every depicting a widely known cryptid – the North American “Bigfoot”, the Scottish Loch Ness Monster, and the Himalayan “Abominable Snow Monster”

The band conveyed the character of every cryptid nicely, particularly “Bigfoot” because of the power of sound from the decrease brass, and “Loch Ness”, the place it was straightforward to think about such a monster rising from the water.

Two extra items adopted earlier than the interval – “Twist” by Australian composer and ANU graduate Jodie Blackshaw, and “Lincolnshire Posy” by twentieth century Australian composer Percy Grainger.

“Twist” was an evocative work impressed by the tales and panorama related to the Murray River, earlier than and post-European colonisation. The work required instrumental strategies to mimic the sounds of birds corresponding to kookaburras and birdsong, and it was evident that the viewers was captivated by the vivid interpretation by the band.

The six-movement piece started by depicting a violent story from the indigenous Dreamtime, earlier than transitioning easily to depicting the calm and circulate of the river with a snaking flute solo, however this was, sadly, one of many areas the place the wind devices corresponding to flutes, clarinets and oboes have been generally overpowered by different devices.

“Lincolnshire Posy” was additionally a six-movement work, which depicted Grainger’s variations of folks songs he heard whereas in Lincolnshire, England, in 1905-1906. A few of the actions have been nearly hymn-like, and the band’s masterful intonation and stability was evident, as have been the candy and melodic piccolo solos.

After the interval, the RMC Band returned with the ultimate work in this system: Symphony No.2 “The Huge Apple” by modern Dutch composer Johan de Meij. This substantial work was written as a quasi-musical interpretation of New York, depicting its vigorous, busting nature regardless of the time of day. It was a bit that at all times pressed forwards, pushed by the band’s percussion part who performed with vitality and vitality all through. There was by no means a second of stagnation, and it was a testomony to the band that it retained the thrill, crispness, and ahead movement all through the relentless 35-minute piece.

It was a pleasure to listen to the sound of a band taking part in so expressively and with a way of unity and camaraderie, and the live performance was a reminder of how fortunate we Canberrans are to be in the identical metropolis because the RMC Band.