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Paul Archibald – Sounding Out

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Paul Archibald – Sounding Out

Tag Archives: tenor horn

Arbanista No 1

18 Saturday Apr 2020

Posted by paularchibald in Personal

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Arban, Brass, Brass Bands, cornet, euphonium, Horn, Paul Archibald, teaching, tenor horn, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba

After three weeks of lockdown it’s been a joy to see my social media feed move on from Brexit to (almost) non–stop music making as friends and colleagues turn to performing online.

From solo performances in the garden of Somewhere Over The Rainbow to complex group performances complete with multi-screen images of all the musicians, the range of creativity and ingenuity has been astonishing. It’s heartening to see the important role music still has in our lives and how much pleasure we derive from performing even the simplest of melodies.

I’ve been doing most of my practice with a practice mute (the joys of living in a flat in London) but I have occasionally given the neighbours full blast to record some of my efforts. I’ve rediscovered the joys and complexities of the Jean Baptiste Arban’s Cornet Method, an extraordinary piece of work written in 1864. The method just about covers everything you need in order to master the technicalities of performing a valved instrument.

So, to keep things interesting, I thought I’d give Arban’s Characteristic Study No 1 the Garageband treatment just to liven things up a little. I hope you enjoy this version and apologies to Arban purists. Might be best to turn away now….

https://soundcloud.com/user-849129909/arban-study-no-1

Those Magnificent Men and Women

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Posted by paularchibald in Regent Brass

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Brass, Brass Bands, cornet, euphonium, Horn, Iwan Fox, Paul Archibald, Regent Brass, tenor horn, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba

Like many other brass bands, the Coronavirus pandemic has put paid to rehearsals and concerts for the foreseeable future. Regent Brass, however, are continuing to perform online so as part of our big thank you to the NHS and key workers we decided to offer our version of the classic theme from the film, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying machines.

We’ve adapted the title of course to include everyone who is playing an important role in keeping the country safe and secure during the lockdown We’ve also put together a video that we hope will be both amusing and show off the wonderful players that we have in the band.

To make the recording, each player recorded their part asa video whilst in isolation at home, working alongside a guide track, which was then put together to form a wonderful performance full of energy and vigour.

Please spare a few moments to look at the video and please leave any comments if you have enjoyed our performance.

Regent Brass perform Those Magnificent Men and Women

We’ll be making more videos during the lockdown so stay in touch….

Regent Brass: An English Autumn

11 Thursday Oct 2018

Posted by paularchibald in Regent Brass

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Brass Bands, cornet, euphonium, John McCabe, Noting Hill, Paul Archibald, Regent Brass, Richard Rodney Bennett, tenor horn, Trombone, Tuba

SATURDAY 20TH OCTOBER 2018

St Peter’s Church
Kensington Park Road
Notting Hill
London W11 2PN

TICKETS £10/£5 on the door or online https://www.wegottickets.com/event/451920
regentbrass.com  Facebook: regentbrasslondon

PROGRAMME

Elgar Howarth Music from an Elizabethan Court
Erik Leidzen Happy Day (soloist: Paul Archibald)
Richard Rodney Bennett The Flowers of the Forest
Dean Goffin Light of the World
Peter Yarde Martin Fabulous Gecko (soloist: Adrian Parker)
John McCabe Cloudcatcher Fells

It’s exciting times for Regent Brass at the moment. Based in Wembley the band are now part of the top-tier of brass banding in the UK having been promoted to the Championship section for 2019. This means, of course, the players need to be right on top of their game to maintain consistency at the highest level of contesting but, it also gives us the opportunity to reflect on the direction the band should take in the coming years.

Brass bands are not all about contesting of course. Since the early 19C brass bands have been a vibrant part of the community beginning as part of the effort to provide working class men, primarily in the northern industrial provinces of England, a social and cultural outlet. From these very humble beginnings many of today’s top class bands consist of highly skilled musicians of professional calibre.

As part of the artistic development of Regent Brass the band is focussing on original music by well-established composers and introducing and commissioning new works from young composers who are making their mark as professional writers.

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The programme begins with Elgar Howarth’s treatment of three pieces taken from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, the primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, Music From an Elizabetheh Court. Erik Leidzen’s cornet solo, Happy Day, is a real classic and one of the composer’s most well known works. Originally born in Sweden, Leidzen emigrated to the US where he influenced the next generation of American brass composers including Stephen Bulla and Bruce Broughton.

Richard Rodney Bennett’s The Flowers of the Forest, was commissioned by the BBC for performance by the National Youth Brass Band at the 1989 BBC Promenade concerts at the  Royal Albert Hall, conducted by Sir Charles Groves. The work is based on a folksong, The Flowers of the Forest, believed to date from 1513, the time of the Battle of Flodden, in the course of which the archers of the Forest (a part of Scotland) were killed almost to a man.

Dean Goffin was one of New Zealand’s most prolific Salvation Army composers and spent much of his life working as Salvation Army officer, holding the positions of National Bandmaster and National Secretary for Bands and Songster Brigades, eventually returning to New Zealand as Territorial Commander. He was knighted in the 1983 Queens Birthday Honours List. Light of the World, based on Holman Hunt’s painting of the figure of Jesus preparing to knock on an overgrown and long-unopened door, is perhaps one of the most moving and emotional pieces in the Salvation Army canon.

Peter Yarde Martin is a super-talented young composer whose music has been played by orchestras such as London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Britten Sinfonia. His compostions explore spaces connecting the disparate musical world in which he works: experimental and familiar, old and new, sacred and secular. Fabulous Gecko for solo tuba and brass band (2016) was premiered by Barnet Youth Band with Jonathan Beresford at Moss Hall in 2016 and shows the lighter side of Peter’s writing.

The final work in the programme is perhaps one of the greatest pieces written for brass band, John McCabe’s Cloudcatcher Fells. Commissioned by Boosey & Hawkes as the test piece for the 1985 National Brass Band Championships the work comprises four movements played continuously. Each movement consists of sections associated with mountainous places, mostly in the area of Patterdale in the English Lake District.

English Brass Academy

  • Brass Band Boot Camp June 6-8 2014. Some thoughts… 0
  • English Brass Academy (website) English Brass Academy 0
  • English Brass Academy Wellington School Easter Course 2014 0
  • My Year As A Euphonium Player 0
  • Performamce Anxiety: 4 Bars Rest Hits the Spot 0

English Brass Ensemble

  • English Brass Ensemble Widor Symphony No 5 in F Minor The 30th anniversary of a recording made by English Brass Ensemble in 1990 0

English Music Academy

  • A New Venture in Hong Kong 0
  • A New Venture in Hong Kong 0

Life in Thailand

  • Moving On – A New Life at Shrewsbury International School, Bangkok A new appointment as Head of Woodwind and Brass at Shrewsbury International School, Bangkok offers a great opportunity to focus on teaching and developing new projects at the school 0

London Mozart Players

  • Exciting Changes at the London Mozart Players 0
  • Milton Keynes Marathon vs Me 0
  • Mozart / Stephen Oliver – Goose of Cairo UK premiere of a classical/modern operatic masterpiece 0
  • The London Marathon (and my part in the Milton Keynes Marathon) The LMP Relay Marathon Teams in action… 0

Personal

  • Anna Segal Requiem to the Old World (1st Movt) The first movement of Anna Segal’s Requiem to the Old World. Composed during the Covid-19 pandemic 2020 0
  • Arban Bootcamp Arban Bootcamp: the ideal practice regime for brass players to keep in shape 0
  • Arbanista No 1 A revamp of a classic study by Jean Baptiste Arban 0
  • Ave Verum A rather different version to `Mozart’s original but, hopefully, still the master wouldn’t be too offended… 0
  • ‘Götterdämmerung’ at La Scala 0
  • Bytom High School Paul’s visit to Bytom High School 0
  • Concert: Waterbeach Brass – Carry On Cornets An entertaining concert given by the fabulous Waterbeach Brass 0
  • Following the Science? Or sacrificing the Arts? 0
  • Kolbuszowa Music School 2-day Brass Course at Kolbuszowa Music School 0
  • La Scala, Milan 0
  • My Thank You To Roger Williams A personal reflection of a friend and colleague. 0
  • Toru Takemitsu Paths – In Memoriam Witold Lutoslawski A lockdown recording in memory of the great Japanese composer 0
  • Victor Tam, Chris Moyes and the Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia 0
  • Žywiec Music School Workshop and Recital Workshop and recital at Žywiec Music School 0

Regent Brass

  • Interview on Brass Band Radio Talk Live 0
  • Regent Brass April 26 2014 0
  • Regent Brass – British Open 94th Spring Brass Band Festival 0
  • Regent Brass: An English Autumn 0
  • Those Magnificent Men and Women A tribute from Regent Brass to NHS and Key Workers 0

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