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Friday 15th. May saw another unusual enterprise for our music society when we hosted a concert by five students from London`s Guildhall School of Music and Drama brass department.

"Stratus Brass" was a completely different ensemble from those to which we are accustomed, and it was splendid to hear how mellow and sensuous this combination of five brass instruments could sound thanks to the excellent acoustics of the sanctuary.

A short " Sonata" by an anonymous German composer got the concert going in fine style with two trumpets,one trombone, one horn and mighty tuba fitting together in shining harmony.

Brahm`s Christmas carol, meaning "A spotless Rose," followed showing the more expressive abilities of this ensemble and next we heard what was perhaps one of the most enjoyable items in the recital----the arrangement for brass of the Bach G minor Fugue in G minor BWV 578. This was terrific fun with the" entries" clearly defined by individual instruments, so that anybody who was a little doubtful about the construction of this musical form could no longer be puzzled. The beauty of Bach, is that it sounds just as good played by any group of instruments, and this arrangement was no exception !

The second and shorter part of the programme started with a suite from Bizet`s "Carmen", enthusiastically played and ending appropriately with the "Toreador" song. Two quieter pieces followed-- Samuel Barber`s well known "Adagio" originally written for strings and Bach`s choral prelude "Sheep May Safely Graze" providing a fitting contrast. Maybe these latter pieces did not lend themselves so well to this combination owing to the difficulty of obtaining sufficient softness of tone with these instruments.

However, balance was restored with a rollicking performance of the Beatles` "When I`m Sixty Four", to conclude a most enjoyable,and for us, unusual, concert performed by five very able and versatile young musicians.

PB

Stratus Brass

Stra­tus Brass are a fresh, new group who are all extremely keen to play and pro­mote their music.

James Foun­tain, Oscar Whight, Matthew Horn, Andrew McCoy and Tom Steer are all currently studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Between them they have covered many orchestras across the country including several national groups.

Although only formed this year, they have cov­ered a wide range of repertoire, includ­ing music arranged by their horn player.

After a very suc­cess­ful year, they have been given the oppor­tu­nity to widen their reper­toire even more and plan on work­ing to cover more and more pieces as this year goes on and look for­ward to a bright future.