Review: Foden's Band at the 2026 RNCM International Brass Band Festival

Fanfare of Bells by Hermann Pallhuber

Originally written in 2012 for the 3BA Band in Germany, this work was (in the words of the composer was written as a ‘Tribute to the wonderful sound of brass instruments, that blend together to create the most subtle sonorities: bells as a symbol of the beauty of the instruments’.

Fitting that this work was chosen to open the weekend’s event with it’s joyous, celebratory nature. It’s an exciting concert opener with it’s determined, syncopated rhymic motifs and a twinkle of percussion.

Lovely melodic solo entry from the band’s Principal Cornet, Mark Wilkinson, supported by solo euphonium, Gary Curtin before he takes the spotlight with a solo featuring lofty interval jumps. Bravo Repiano Cornet who takes over the main melodic line with a lovely tone in this lyrical section.

After that moment of reflection we’re thrown back into the syncopated throes of the opening idea, expanded with running technical undulations frol backrow cornets.

A triumphant, rousing finish, complete with tubular bells and a final thrash of the timp to close.

A sparkling opener!

The Green Chapel (World Premiere) - Claire Cope

Featuring Bones Apart Quartet

The first world premiere of the weekend, The Green Chapel is a work that captures the history, mythology and supernatural superstitions surrounding Lud’s Church in Staffordshire. I love history and, we all know I love banding - so this is exciting!

This incredibly descriptive work is split into three movements.

Tranquil, Hidden and Cool

An atmospheric opening with experimental percussion - rain machines, violin bows on vibraphone and a very interesting looking tuned instrument, again utilising a violin bow (will have to Google that shortly! Eerily seamless transition from band over to the Bones Apart with dissonant chords. Cope’s brilliantly illustrative writing not only paints a crystal clear image of the remote church, but simultaneously captures the eerie, almost foreboding nature of the building, like a musical foreshadowing of the harrowing event that takes place there later in the story. Use of dynamic effects, like an echo in a cave crafted effectively by the composer and executed with precision by both quartet and band. I was hooked within the first 30 seconds of this work!

The Girl with the Unearthly Voice

It is said that the priest of Lud’s Church was the guardian for his orphaned granddaughter, Alice, who was said to have an ‘unearthly’ singing voice.

Gorgeous opening chorale, full of warmth, but melancholy in nature before we head into a rhythmic dance section that is lively, but dark. The movement captures the energy of youth with the sorrowful nature of loss, perfectly personifying the orphaned granddaughter.

The Shot

A shot rings out as the raid on the church begins. Cope’s ability to capture the essence of an emotion within her writing is impeccable. As a listener youi feel the anxiety and terror of the scene. However, it’s not the simple writing of ‘loud dynamics + harsh articulation = scary’ this is a terror that has been sculpted carefully with layers of detailed, rhythmic melodic textures, that grow gradually in dynamic with a tonality that creates an underlying feeling of fear. We retreat dynamically, with the quartet once again muted and the band dies away, as the dramatic history of Lud’s Church fades, but the haunting of its past remains in the form of Alice’s ghost.

Tranquil Abiding - Paul Mealor

Written by the band’s president, Paul Mealor, Tranquil Abiding was written in 2025. Tranquil Abiding (also known as Shamatha in Buddhist traditions) signifies a state of peaceful and calm mental stillness, achieved through focussed meditation, where the mind rests peacefully and without agitation.

We open with a duet from Jonny Bates on Solo Horn and Ashley Jeffers on Solo Baritone before Solo Euphonium and Principal Cornet join. My goodness, this is gorgeous writing. If you remember those ‘Wellness’ CDs from the 2000s that used to feature Enya and ‘Adiemus’ by Karl Jenkins - this is reminiscent of those in the best way! Warm, pensive, calming. Incredible control displayed around the stand, in particular, Gary Curtin on what is quite a lofty, sustained line.

Superb dynamic control from muted backrow cornets (they are but a whisper) which make way for a a couple of lyrical solos before the conclusion of the movement. Beautiful.

The second movenent is a complete contrast from the previous movement with layers of rhythmic percussion underpinning a technically demanding texture of fleeting rhythmic passages from the ensemble. This is musical turmoil.

The opening of the third movement is reminiscent of the second movement of Sparke’s Year of the Dragon. Offstage bird calls floating over a rising three note motif within the band, use of a ‘singing bowl’ (I think they are called) and gong, place us back into that zen state of mind. We’re enveloped in a ‘sound bath’ of warm chords. All the goodness of a wellness retreat wrapped up a lovely work for brass band.

Prelude and Courtly Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten arr. by Paul Hindmarsh

Gloriana an opera illustrating Elizabeth I and her relationship with the Earl of of Essex, Robert Deveraux was described in 1953 as ‘One of the great disasters of operatic history’. After its failure, Britten arranged it as a symphonic suite for orchestra entitled, Gloriana.

This fantastic arrangement by Paul Hindmarsh captures the regal spirit of the origin material and thoughtfully translates it for the brass band sound.

The Courtly Dances burst into view with Elizabethan pomp and features a beautiful flugel duet moment. Soprano kicks off a more driven, severe moment before we dive into a serene, flowing dance once more. A very regal affair indeed!

Variations on the Shining Silver by Edmund Rubbra (World Premiere of a newly re-scored version by Philip Littlemore)

Originally, composed in 1936 by Edmund Rubbra (a pupil of Holst and Vaughan Williams) and is classed as one of the composer's most evocative early orchestral works.

The piece was first arranged for brass band by Frank Wright in 1958 for the National Finals, which Foden’s won.

I admit, this work was new to me prior to my research for the festival (the original, I mean - this was a world premiere of this rescore obviously) and I can see why the original material was classed as this composer’s most evocative work - it’s beautiful. Wright’s arrangement of this piece was said to be a test of musicality and I think Littlemore’s rescoring stays true to this. An absolute classic given a new lease of life for brass banding in the modern era.

Partita by Philip Sparke

This is a work that needs little introduction, as it is known and loved by many of us in the brass band world.

Written in 1989 as a commission from Eikanger Musikklag (Norway), it’s a lively, exciting modern classic. Fantastic energy throughout the first movement with the level of attention to detail technically and dynamically we have come to expect from Foden’s.

The opening solo in the work’s second movement is delivered with ease by Principal Cornet before it is passed around the band’s cornerstone soloists. The stunning, lyrical, hymn-like ensemble writing that is so quintessentially Sparke is brought to glorious life with such warmth.

The final movement is a playful affair. The control and manipulation of dynamics this band is capable of is shown in full force within this final section.

A lively end to the first night of the International Brass Band Festival

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