The lifeblood of music clubs such as Inverurie Music is top quality chamber music, often played by some of the finest ensembles from this country and beyond, and the 2024-25 season is no different, featuring a wonderful array of instrumentalists, pianists and groups. However, there was something a little different, a little grander and possibly a little more special taking place in the Garioch this Friday night as one of the largest ensembles the society has ever featured filled the Town Hall with powerful, colourful and dramatic music on an unforgettable night in Inverurie.

The Wallace Collection are one of Scotland’s premiere brass ensembles, renowned for their thoughtful programming, idiomatic arrangements and seamless blending of brass instruments old and new – and this concert was no different. However, it was different, as well as the five musicians of the Collection, we welcomed five brass players from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS), two percussionists and a narrator for an incredible, bravura concert of brass music from across the ages – some of it quite old, some of it very, very new. Even before a note had been played, the stage looked amazing, resplendent with a cornucopia of percussion, gleaming brass instruments and the promise of sonic exploration – it did not disappoint.

The concert began with just the quintet of the Wallace Collection performing a quirky arrangement of Haydn’s ‘Rider’ String Quartet, an unlikely transfiguration on paper but one that the group realised with precision and panache. Hearing the dynamic interplay of Haydn’s string lines transposed onto the much less agile, but somehow more characterful brass instruments took a moment of adjustment, but once this was achieved this arrangement highlighted different colours, shades and nuances in this effervescent music. The piece was followed by music of a similar cast, Auguste Mimart’s Quintet No 5 written during the boom in romantic brass music in France during the nineteenth century. This was beautifully crafted music for the quintet from a composer who obviously knew the instruments intimately and the Wallace Collection responded with some detailed but expressive playing, fully bringing this joyous music to life.

The first half of the concert was brought to a close with music much more of our time, John De Simone’s Trope, originally written for a larger brass ensemble in 2013, but arranged for dectet for the concert especially by the composer.
And for this, five wonderful young players from the RCS were welcomed to the stage to bolster the sounds of the Wallace Collection. This was music designed to thrill and excite, harnessing the repetitive power of American minimalism with cinematic flourishes and more than a nod to the British brass band tradition. The music washed over the audience in waves of intense climaxes and sudden changes of texture, the composer keeping the audience on the edge of their seats until the huge, euphoric chords that ended the work. It was a fantastic way to usher in the interval.

The second half began with another foray into eighteenth century classicism, with the Wallace Collection’s founder John Wallace’s (who sadly couldn’t perform with the group this evening) arrangement of Beethoven’s Rondino in E flat Major. This simple but charming music was performed with style and poise from the musicians contrasting with Trope, but again showing the surprisingly lithe qualities of the brass ensemble. This was followed by more Beethoven arranged by Wallace, with a short tour of the country via different folksongs, some extremely well known, others less so.

The most substantial piece in the programme was local composer John Hearne’s The Four Horsemen written in 1985 and presented in Inverurie for the first time. For this behemoth the percussion was finally engaged with two percussionists required to harness the power of Hearne’s arsenal, including drums, cymbals, bells and a rather large car spring, rasped for full effect. The piece also required a narrator to introduce each horseman in oracular and declamatory style. Hearne’s work was incredibly dramatic, theatrical at times as the brass and percussion sparred with each other across the hall as the music processed from fanfare to dirge and back in thrilling fashion. The intensity of the music was almost too much in places, especially in the final movement (‘The Pale Horseman’) as this dark voyage of the soul finally reached its shattering climax in music of emotional and sonic weight. It was one of those performances that had to be seen and heard to be believed.

So, an amazing night of music making came to end, but not without a final short encore to leave the good people of Inverurie with something more optimistic for their journey home – a reprise of one of the folksongs to ameliorate, somehow, the drama of what we had just heard. It was a truly memorable night, congratulations to all involved.

PAC (17 October 2024)

The Wallace Collection
John Miller (Trumpet, Cornet), Al Douglas (Trumpet, Petit Bugle, Bugle), Fergus Kerr (French Horn, Alto Saxotromba), Nigel Cox (Trombone, Euphonium, Bass Saxotromba), Tony George (Tuba, Ophicleide, Saxhorn Basse)

Royal Conservatoire Brass with Callum Spiers (Percussionist – RCS)
Leo Brychta and Gregor Koziel (Trumpet), Gregor Dowall and Aaron Singh (Trombone), Mark Gammon (Bass Trombone)

Chris Overton (Percussionist: The Four Horsemen)

Alistair Gibson (Conductor)

Stewart Aitken (Narrator: The Four Horsemen)