WIMBORNE METHODIST CHURCH Friday 24 February 2017

Peace in Our Time O Lord
To all the People’s Peace
Peace that shall build a glad new world

Charity Concert in aid of the Wimborne Salvation Army and the
Wimborne Bus on the Square.

Solent Fellowship Band [Dan Redhead]:
Bournemouth Area Fellowship Band [Stan Randell]

Crammed into a tiny space in the Church in a configuration previously unknown in the history of brass banding, the Band shared a concert with the Bournemouth Area Fellowship Band.

Despite the cornet section being seated a metre or more above the rest of the Band and Bandmaster Dan standing on a triple height rostrum in order to be seen by the distant tubas in the far reaches of the elongated configuration, the Band was on outstanding form throughout its varied contributions to the evening.

In turn throughout the concert The Bournemouth Fellowship Band [Stan Randell] played Trevor Davis’s “From Earth’s Confusion”: Robert Redhead’s Suite “Shout Salvation”: Ray Steadman Allen’s “Spirit”: a very well received jaunt through Barrie Gott’s “Daniel”: and “People Need the Lord” also arranged by Trevor Davis.
The Solent Band’s contribution started with an exciting, controlled performance of Barrie Gott’s march “Collaroy” that revealed the excellent acoustic of the Church: followed by John Hanchett playing Richard Phillips’ arrangement of Keith Getty’s and Stuart Townsend’s “In Christ Alone” for solo euphonium. John played it quite beautifully, demonstrating his consummate musicianship, sensitively reflecting the inspiration of the lyricist.

The Interval came with SFB playing a sparkling performance of Peter Graham’s “Dance before the Lord” capturing the essence of the composer’s stylistic reference to the Shostakovich Jazz Suite.

After summoning the congregation back from its Interval tea and cakes, with Richard Phillips’ “Joy Peace and Happiness”, another happy and delightful interpretation that had the re-assembled audience clapping along, SFB led into the “Time of Reflection” with Roger Trigg’s “All to Jesus”.

In his well-prepared, succinct, homily Colonel Willie Main spoke of people needing the Lord whatever their position in life and he was followed by the combined Bands singing Isaac Watts’ hymn “When I survey the Wondrous Cross” to George Marshall’s “Harton Lea”.
An experienced choral singer in the congregation found remarkable that from a single note on a cornet the Bands, unrehearsed, and unaccompanied, sang four verses in four part harmony, perfectly in tune, and thought it one of the highlights of the evening.

In the traditional massed ending to a joint concert Bandmaster Dan led the Bands’ exuberant romp through Barrie Gott’s arrangement of Dick and Melody Tunney’s “Let There be Praise”, Bandmaster Stan, took an expressive interpretation of Dean Goffin’s “Light of the World” and Dan returned to conduct a stately performance of Arthur Gullidge’s march “Emblem of the Army”.

All that remained was for Major Katrina Greetham of the Wimborne Corps to say “Thank you” to the Bands: and for the 80 plus bandsmen to receive the very considerable and appreciative applause of the congregation.

At the conclusion of “Time for Reflection” Dan had introduced Eric Ball’s 1938 written “Triumph of Peace” in which the composer, personally burdened by the thunderclouds of a terrible war on the near horizon, describes in his music the coming turbulence of conflict and, in his setting of John Oxenham’s hymn “Peace in Our Time O Lord”, expresses his longing for a peaceful settlement of Europe’s then many international controversies that sadly, unresolved, eventually led to devastation and ruin.

Post-concert audience comment was that the Band had so captured the composer’s thoughts that the playing became a deeply moving experience and that any applause would have been totally inappropriate.

And so a deep silence followed inspired playing with the Band’s final statement of the hymn filling the huge Church with the great sound of Eric Ball’s magnificent setting.

Peace in Our Time O Lord
To all the People’s Peace
Peace that shall build a glad new world [DD]