CSD Brass Autumn Concert: Variations
In this very varied programme, we present a variety of variations — fast, slow; happy, sad; exciting, thoughtful; traditional, new; famous, waiting to be discovered. Tunes galore, with something for everyone!
- Newton — Cambridge (Variations on an 18th-century hymn tune)
- Gregson — Chorale & Variations (from ‘Partita’)
- Sparke — Variants on an English Hymn Tune
- Elgar (arr.) — Nimrod (from ‘Enigma Variations’)
- Vaughan Williams — Variations for Brass Band
- Newton — The Pilgrim’s Progress (excerpts)
- Rubbra — Variations on The Shining River
- Doughty — Grandfather’s Clock
- Gregson — Variations on ‘Laudate Dominum’
Conductor: Christopher Lawrence
Soloist: Cameron Scott (Euphonium)
Tickets available from the ADC Theatre box office:
https://www.adcticketing.com/whats-on/concert/csd-brass-autumn-concert-variations
The band will present a wide selection of music centred on the idea of an opening theme followed by a series of movements developing that theme in different ways. Some are based on well-known hymn tunes such as ‘Nicaea’ (“Holy, holy, holy”) and ‘Laudate Dominum’ (“O Praise Ye the Lord”), or the lesser-known hymn tune ‘Cambridge’. One is based on the Salvation Army hymn ‘Pilgrim’s Song’ while another uses the Gregorian chant ‘Dies Irae’. These are all works by prominent brass band composers: Philip Sparke, Rodney Newton and Edward Gregson, the latter two celebrating their 80th birthdays this year. And at the heart of the programme are two landmark works in the brass repertoire, based on original themes by their composers: ‘Variations for Brass Band’ by Ralph Vaughan Williams, and ‘Variations on The Shining River’ by Edmund Rubbra. To complete the programme, the band performs the famous ‘Nimrod’ from Elgar’s ‘Enigma Variations’, the official title of which is ‘Variations on an Original Theme’.
