Colonel Bogey March

[RickF]

I like this march for several reasons. It's a familiar melody from the movie, "Bridge Over the River Kwai" that most of the audience has seen. It has nice counter melody for the euphoniums AND it has 3 parts in places for the euphoniums. (Some arrangements only have divisi notes for the first 2 phrases I think).

[blueeuph]

Colonel Bogey March

I just had my first community band rehearsal for this season. Colonel Bogey March is in our folders, the Andrew Glover arrangement of it. This arrangement seems a touch different of what little I know about Colonel Bogey as in at measure 5 to 37, there's two different lines that are different. The 2nd time at 5 is the actual counter melody which is also in the alto sax part. There's 2 euph parts at times.

This will be the first time I will be playing it oddly enough.

[bearphonium]

Colonel Bogey March

Our community marching band played Col. Bogey this year. At the start of the summer, our two euph players were on 3 valve, bell fronts. Mid season, One got a Yammi 321 and the other a Yammi 642. What a difference!! They had such fun with the piece, I was jealous. (the tuba line is what it is). Since they are both super nice people, they each let me play a bit on their new horns--and both were surprised when I was able to play the first counter (5-37) pretty well...for a tuba player!

The other piece we played was Imperial March, by Karl King. That also had a great euph part. (the tuba line is pretty cool in that one, too!)

Ally"embracing the tuba with only an occasional look over her shoulder at the pretty new euphoniums"House

[MarChant]

I have fond memories of this march. I played it with the Royal Dutch Military Police Band at the 2006 International Police Tattoo in Adelaide (Australia). Shamefully I must admit I messed up some high notes...you might hear them on youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvWLMkxSwIo

[RickF]

Welcome to the forum. Nicely done, Thanks for sharing.

[davewerden]

Welcome, MarChant! That's a nice video - there is a certain "feel" necessary to play this march, and European bands such as your seem to have it! You folks really look elegant on the move, too. And I love seeing all those flugels on the field.

[MarChant]

Thanks guys. This was 10 years ago, I've left the military (and the band) since then. In the meantime the band improved and got more professional.

[RickF]

I just recv'd a new CD entitled, "The Very Best of Grimethorpe Colliery Band". It's new to me, but was published in 2004. It has a number of pieces the band did for the movie, "Brassed Off". My favorite is still "Colonel Bogey March", by Kenneth Alford. The jacket on the CD does not list the arranger and that's unfortunate because I really like this arr. It's better than I've played in wind bands. Really like the way the band gets quiet for the euphoniums counter melody through most of the piece.

I found a YouTube video of Grimethorpe playing this, although I think it's from a live performance since I hear one euph miss a note in the strain before the trio (not heard on the CD). It's still very good though. Does anyone know who arranged this for brass band? I think that's Michael Dodd on first euph, but not sure.

Grimethorpe Colliery Band - Colonel Bogey

[bbocaner]

Most of those marches include parts for all the brass band instruments as well as concert bands and are playable by brass bands just by omitting all of the non-brass-band instrument parts in the original -- it's not an arrangement. I'm pretty sure that's what you're listening to. It's usually pretty nice because most of the parts are there, but it's quite a bit more transparent without all those woodwinds. I think there's a Fennell edition which is what most concert bands these days would have which omits some of this, but if you have the original you're good to go.

http://www.justmusicuk.com/publications/details/JM30291

[davewerden]

Regardless of the arrangement/piece, one thing I've notice for decades about the British brass bands is that terrific sense of what's-important-when. You always hear the important line, and usually are hearing multiple things at once without having to strain. In this way, I often think they out-perform our best service bands. Certainly some of has to do with the smaller numbers, but it is also part of the culture. Check out this band, doing a march outdoors. There is still that transparency:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2DiufMqZ2w

[RickF]

You're probably right Barry. No ww to get in the way.

Knight Templar, great piece! You can hear all the parts very well balanced - even outside. Thanks for sharing.

[davewerden]

Truth be told, part of the reason I shared that particular video is that the band is not (as far as I know) a top-level competing band, and it was obviously not done under ideal playing conditions. Even so, some of the characteristics I love about brass bands came though.

[ghmerrill]

Regardless of the arrangement/piece, one thing I've notice for decades about the British brass bands is that terrific sense of what's-important-when. You always hear the important line, and usually are hearing multiple things at once without having to strain. In this way, I often think they out-perform our best service bands. Certainly some of has to do with the smaller numbers, but it is also part of the culture. ...

Interesting observation about service bands -- particularly in light of my recent attendance at the Great American Brass Band Festival. Jim Williams was also there and I got to meet and talk with him for a while, which was great.

One of the major performers was Pershing's Own (US Army Concert Band). I had heard them previously at the Army Tuba/Euphonium Workshop where they were just excellent. This time they did two performances, and it was -- to both me and my wife -- quite disappointing.

The skill level of this band is unquestionable. But I found the performances themselves to be mostly boring and to some degree tedious.

Let's concede from the outset that this is a large "concert" or even "symphonic" band. Let's concede that they have various requirements and duties for a spectrum of performances at numerous types of events. Still, I feel that they've lost the "band" sound and approach in favor of an attempt to imitate an orchestra.

In terms of the two programs we sat through at GABBF, here is the speculative list of principles I abstracted that I think must be used to design a program by this organization:

1. About 40% of the pieces should be "popular" or "show" arrangements featuring one or more singers. Duets by a male and female singer are to be favored, but larger ensembles of singers are encouraged as well.
2. About 25% of the pieces should feature a solo performer. In such cases, the performer is required to perform a highly technical "show off" piece that most of the audience will feel painful to listen to -- but which they'll feel obligated to applaud heavily at its conclusion (perhaps simply because it's over). In the case of GABBF these pieces involved solos by trumpet, trombone, and euphonium players.
3. Devote most of the rest of the program to arrangements of orchestral works for "band".
4. Throw in a couple of marches or similar patriotic pieces (if these involve vocals, that's even better).

Now what's this a description of? Pretty much, it's a description of the Lawrence Welk Show, and I was really struck by the similarities in terms of the content, pace, and announcing. And Pershing's Own took the opportunity of a BRASS BAND FESTIVAL to unload two lengthy performances of this sort? Really?

I haven't had this experience with other "lesser" service bands such as the one at Ft. Bragg (which is apparently disappearing at the end of this year). It hasn't been my experience with the Marine Band (though I haven't seen them in a number of years). But in order to go to another performance of Pershing's Own, I'd want to see the program ahead of time -- and at this point I'd be reluctant to attend. It seems to perform as a kind of pop orchestra without strings. Maybe that's its charter now, or maybe that's the vision of its current director. And, again, the skill level isn't in question. But it is in fact easy to think of organizations that -- as bands -- "outperform" this service "band". And that's pretty disappointing.

[davewerden]

Very keen observations, Gary. Without commenting further right now, your post scratched an itch for me.

[adrian_quince]

1. About 40% of the pieces should be "popular" or "show" arrangements featuring one or more singers. Duets by a male and female singer are to be favored, but larger ensembles of singers are encouraged as well.
2. About 25% of the pieces should feature a solo performer. In such cases, the performer is required to perform a highly technical "show off" piece that most of the audience will feel painful to listen to -- but which they'll feel obligated to applaud heavily at its conclusion (perhaps simply because it's over). In the case of GABBF these pieces involved solos by trumpet, trombone, and euphonium players.
3. Devote most of the rest of the program to arrangements of orchestral works for "band".
4. Throw in a couple of marches or similar patriotic pieces (if these involve vocals, that's even better).

That's a depressing formula if I ever saw one.