Bliss: Music for Brass Band Black Dyke Band and John Wilson

• Arthur Bliss (1891 - 1975): Welcome the Queen, F 95:
• 1 Bliss: Welcome the Queen, F 95 05:49
• Kenilworth, F 13:
• 2 Bliss: Kenilworth, F 13: I. At the Castle Gates 01:53
• 3 Bliss: Kenilworth, F 13: II. Serenade on the Lake 02:02
• 4 Bliss: Kenilworth, F 13: III. March: Kenilworth 04:47
• Suite from Adam Zero, F 1:
• 5 Bliss: Suite from Adam Zero, F 1: I. Fanfare Overture 01:40
• 6 Bliss: Suite from Adam Zero, F 1: II. Dance of Spring 02:33
• 7 Bliss: Suite from Adam Zero, F 1: III. Approach of Autumn 03:14
• 8 Bliss: Suite from Adam Zero, F 1: IV. Dance of Summer 02:31
• 9 Bliss: Suite from Adam Zero, F 1: V. Fanfare Coda 00:32
• Things to Come, F131:
• 10 Bliss: Things to Come, F131: I. Ballet for Children 03:46
• 11 Bliss: Things to Come, F131: II. Machines 01:33
• 12 Bliss: Things to Come, F 131: III. Reconstruction 02:22
• 13 Bliss: Things to Come, F 131: IV. March 03:50
• The Belmont Variations, F 10:
• 14 Bliss: The Belmont Variations, F 10: Theme 00:58
• 15 Bliss: The Belmont Variations, F 10: Variation I 01:04
• 16 Bliss: The Belmont Variations, F 10: Variation II 00:35
• 17 Bliss: The Belmont Variations, F 10: Variation III 01:52
• 18 Bliss: The Belmont Variations, F 10: Variation IV 02:05
• 19 Bliss: The Belmont Variations, F 10: Variation V 00:45
• 20 Bliss: The Belmont Variations, F 10: Variation VI 01:27
• 21 Bliss: The Belmont Variations, F 10: Finale 02:20
• Music from The Royal Palaces, F 128:
• 22 Bliss: Music from The Royal Palaces, F 128: I. Queen Victoria’s Call to the Throne 01:30
• 23 Bliss: Music from The Royal Palaces, F 128: II. The Ballroom in Buckingham Palace 02:28
• 24 Bliss: Music from The Royal Palaces, F 128: III. Joust of the Knights in Armour 01:18
• 25 Bliss: Music from The Royal Palaces, F 128: IV. Melodrama 01:53
• 26 Bliss: Music from The Royal Palaces, F 128: V. The Royal Palace Theme 01:47
• Four Dances from Checkmate, F 2:
• 27 Bliss: Four Dances from Checkmate, F 2: I. Dance of the Four Knights 03:44
• 28 Bliss: Four Dances from Checkmate, F 2: II. The Red Knight’s Mazurka 02:52
• 29 Bliss: Four Dances from Checkmate, F 2: III. Ceremony of the Red Bishops 02:31
• 30 Bliss: Four Dances from Checkmate, F 2: IV. Finale. Checkmate 03:55
• Total Runtime 01:09:36

Info for Bliss: Music for Brass Band

Sir Arthur Bliss contributed two staples of the brass band repertoire - Kenilworth and The Belmont Variations, whose enduring success inspired arrangers to turn to his other compositions, for example Eric Ball and Four Dances from the ballet Checkmate or Phillip Littlemore's suite from the film score for Things to Come. Three new arrangements have been made especially for this album: Robert Childs' suite from the ballet Adam Zero, and Michael Halstenson's arrangements of Music from the Royal Palaces and Welcome the Queen. Collectively this programme reflects the essence of Bliss's compositional style: the inherent drama of his scores for film, ballet, and television and his flair for the ceremonial, especially in the context of his position as Master of the Queen's Music. Black Dyke Band, tracing its continuous history back to 1855, is the most recorded band in the world, having produced a discography of more than 350 recordings to date. It is also the most successful contesting band in the world, having won the European Championships thirteen times, the British Open thirty times and the National Championships of Great Britain twenty-four times. In 2023, they appointed conductor John Wilson as their Honorary President.

His second work for brass band, The Belmont Variations, did not appear until 1962, again as a test piece. This time Bliss handed arranging duties to the hugely experienced Frank Wright, who of course did an amazing job. Named after the town in Massachusetts were Trudy was born it is a very different work to Kenilworth. It is not a dark work though it is serious in tone, and it is a pity it is seldom played. Variation 2 requires some quick-fire tonguing from the whole group, and some seriously precise ensemble which here is perfect. The finale, a stately polonaise, sounds wonderfully rich, each line beautifully balanced.

The other works are superb arrangements of which the highlights are the selections from the ballets Checkmate, arranged by Eric Ball, and Adam Zero, arranged by Robert Childs, which are breathtaking in their virtuosity. The programme is well put together and demonstrates the essence of Bliss’s style. The Black Dyke Band are one of the finest bands in the world, and under their Honorary President John Wilson it is easy to see why." (Paul RW Jackson)

Black Dyke Band
John Wilson, conductor

Black Dyke Band
In 1816 Peter Wharton founded a brass and reed band in the Yorkshire village of Queenshead – later to become Queensbury. John Foster, apart from being the founder of Black Dyke Mills, played French Horn in this band. It has been said on many occasions that Black Dyke was formed from it; however this is not strictly true, as “Peter Whartons band went out of existence through loss of members”. In 1833 a new band was formed named ‘Queenshead Band’, which may well have contained players from the former band. It is reported that this Band reached its Zenith from 1838 to 1843, at which time it consisted of 18 musicians”.

On the 15th. September 2005 the band were proud to celebrate their 150th anniversary, two of the many highlights were the publication of “150 Golden Years”, a book by Dr. Roy Newsome, in word and photograph, describing the history and the progress of Black Dyke Band from 1855 to 2005. Also a unique ‘triple CD’ covering the recorded musical history of the band from the early days of 1903 to the present day.

Black Dyke Band is the most recorded band in the world with over 350 recordings and growing every year. It is also the most successful contesting band in the world having won the European Championships thirteen times, most recently in 2015, the British Open no fewer than 30 times (most recently 2014) and the National Championships of Great Britain 23 times (most recently 2014). In 2009, and again in 2011, 2012 and 2013, the band became Champion Band at the English National Championships and were named English National Champions in 2014 by virtue of having won the National Brass Band Championships in October 2014.

In August 2007 the Band were invited to take part in the BBC Promenade Concerts, at the Royal Albert Hall, London

In 2006 as part of its initiative to sponsor the work of young people, Black Dyke Band, under the guidance of Dr. Nicholas Childs assisted by qualified members, formed the Yorkshire Youth Brass Band . The purpose is to inspire and motivate young people aged 11 to 21 years to achieve their full potential as musicians, composers and citizens.

John Wilson
is in demand at the highest level across the globe, having conducted many of the world’s finest orchestras over the past 30 years. In 2018 he relaunched Sinfonia of London: described as ‘the most exciting thing currently happening on the British orchestral scene’ (The Arts Desk), Wilson and the Sinfonia’s much-anticipated BBC Proms debut in 2021 was praised as ‘truly outstanding’ (The Guardian) with its ‘revelatory music-making’ (The Times). They are now highly sought-after across the UK, returning to the BBC Proms, Aldeburgh Festival and London’s Barbican Centre among other festivals and venues this season.

Wilson’s large and varied discography with Sinfonia of London has received near-universal critical acclaim, and in the autumn of 2023 they will release their 17th album in five years. Their recordings have earned several awards including, for three successive years, the BBC Music Magazine Award in the Orchestral category for the Korngold Symphony in F sharp (2020), Respighi Roman Trilogy (2021) and Dutilleux Le Loup (2022) recordings. The Observer described the Respighi recording as “Massive, audacious and vividly played” and The Times declared it one of the three “truly outstanding accounts of this trilogy” of all time, after those by Toscanini (1949) and Muti (1984).

Born in Gateshead, Wilson studied composition and conducting at the Royal College of Music where, in 2011, he was made a Fellow. In March 2019, John Wilson was awarded the prestigious ISM Distinguished Musician Award for his services to music and in 2021 was appointed Henry Wood Chair of Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music.

Booklet for Bliss: Music for Brass Band