New Forest Brass

Nick Grace:

1. Slightly untidy at the start and intonation could be better. The baris melody at A is too detached and lacks consistency. Well done sop before C and thereafter. Excellent sop playing before F but the rest of the band need to support and balance out. Strong final section and ending. Well committed.

2. Cornet and euph not always together in melody. Intonation falls off at end of phrase. Tending to rush the tempo now going into B. Nice transition into C where cornets are a little nervous. Some good playing at D in the cornet quavers, well done. A little agressive in the Bari melody but good commitment. Some very good elements, but a little rushed.

3. A very bright tempo for the march that leads to the band rushing too much. Nice phrasing through A, just needs plenty of breath control. Quite well balanced though. Good dynamic at C. Too agressive 14 before D that doesn't allow room for 'ff'. Running out of breath 15 after D. Good committed finish. Well done and good sop playing. Thank you.

Alan Bourne:

Chaconne - Rather lumpy to start. Intonation issues across all entries. A is effective and bottom end sound great at B. 'Pesante' noted. C - loud for 'p'. C + 8 triplets well handled. Some odd percussion noises - tambourine? Bass drum into F? Maestoso builds well - great trombones. Why crescendo into last chord?

Intermezzo - balance between p and mf not effective. A rushes. B - lower band quavers not together. C is loud for 'p'! D8 not together - quavers dominate the texture. Sop does well. F - melodic line needs to be smoother. Detail in semiquavers needs to be clearer. Good final quaver!

March - Please contrast the 'ff' opening with 'f'. 25 crescendo works well. Tuning troms/bari/horns at A. Horns/bari do well. Basses pulse well. B18 a little loud. More contrast at C please. D starts well but you struggle to maintain the intensity. Effective close. Thank you