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Brass only ensembles :
The main reason for the absence of all-brass groups early in the early 19th. century was probably the lack of chromatic flexibility in many brass instruments. Keyed bugles, such as Halliday's (1810), could provide a certain amount, however there was a heavy reliance upon clarinets and flutes to provide the lead melody lines. Even into the first half of last century, it was not unheard of to have clarinets adding flexibility to the lead lines of a "brass" band, as indicated by some published repertoire of the era. The invention of the piston valve around 1815 by Blumel, and it's subsequent development by Stolzel, led to considerably greater flexibility in playing. Original documentation for this period is sadly lacking, but it appears that the first mixed bands to convert to brass only did so in the early to mid 1830's. Even then, standardisation of instrumentation is something that was not achieved until very late in the century. Furthermore, not every isolated, non-contesting band played with standard instrumentation, a situation that probably continued well into the first half of the 20th. century.
Mid 19th. Century Instrumentation :
By the standards of today, early brass band instrumentation seems rather weird............early cornets and trombones would be easily recognised; however the presence of such items as the french horn, valve trombone, cornopean, ophicleide, bass horn and serpent would be very much out of place in the modern brass band! Arguably, the biggest contribution to modern band instrumentation was made by Belgian-born Adolphe Sax, who patented the Saxhorn in Paris in 1843. This proved to be quite controversial when he became "...ruinously embroiled in litigation..." in defence of his patent. John Distin and his five sons were largely responsible for the introduction of the Saxhorn into Gt. Britain, where it quickly became popular thanks to it's use by Louis Jullien's orchestra. It showcased the Distins in 1844 on a set of Saxhorns newly acquired from Sax in Paris. Distin had commissioned Sax to make a set of instruments of differing sizes and pitches after seeing a concert organised by Hector Berlioz which featured Sax's invention. The family ultimately gained the British agency for the distribution of Saxhorns. These instruments also created considerable interest at the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in 1851. Although virtuosic brass performance would have possible on valves soon after their invention, valve skill was not widespread until the 1840's. Indeed, the best British players gained their reputations with the use of keys and slides between the years of 1800 to 1840.
Brass instruments became very popular in Britain around this time. As for today's young learner, brass provided a sturdy, easy to hold instrument that provided durability and comparative ease of mass production. This led to the availability of reasonably cheap equipment. Costs fell in partly due to the removal of tariffs associated with the Cobden-Chevalier treaty of 1860 and increased volume and competition among retailers and manufacturers. Large scale production was indeed in place by the 1850's, as indicated by the early success of Manchester maker Joseph Higham. Also, given the increasing numbers of music teachers and a new social environment, brass went through a boom that showed no signs of slowing until after the turn of the century.
Repertoire :
Obviously, no specialised, commercial music was available for these early bands. In the 1830's, the first journals appeared which would provide the subscribing band with several pieces per annum. Bands would subscribe on an annual basis and receive an agree number of transcriptions which usually allowed for the non-standard instrumentation of the day. Richard Smith's 'Champion Brass Band Journal' appeared in 1857. In 1875, Thomas Wright and Henry Round founded a journal in Liverpool. Both companies survive to this day. It is not unreasonable then to propose that the journal publishers probably had a long term influence upon the standardisation of instrumentation, given that it was commercially more viable to produce set print runs for standard instruments. Aside from commercially available music, bandmasters probably did their own arrangements from piano reductions that were comparatively cheap and readily available; this pre-dated the journals and is a practise which still exists to this day and usually reflect the musical ability of the band. These home-grown, specialist arrangements would grow in the form of a manuscript book for each instrument grouping.
For a greater examination of this topic, please refer to the paper by the same author, published at www.testpiece.i8.com
Further development :
Bands flourished in this exciting climate of growth. Three types of bands began to emerge mid way through the 19th. Century. The first tended to be on a 'paternalistic' basis, linked to a single workplace or beneficiary. The second were subscription bands which usually enjoyed the support of the wider community, temperance societies or mechanics institutes. After 1859, a third type, being bands of the Volunteer Movement, came into existence. That is not to say that all three types of bands evolved and existed in isolation from each other.
To the contrary, there was much cross-polination between them, probably typified by the fact that some Volunteer Bands were merely former subscription bands with a changed name. Probably the most famous of the paternalistic grouping is Black Dyke Mill Band. When taken over by John Foster in 1854, the old village band of Queenshead was provided with valved instruments, a rehearsal venue and a 'band teacher'. Another of these bands was the Cyfartha Band of Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. It formed in 1838 under the direct patronage of industrialist Robert Thompson Crawshay. Some players for these 'private' bands came from travelling shows such as Wombwell's Circus and Menagerie, Batty's Menagerie, Howe's Great London Circus and Cooke's Equestrian Circus. One can understand the attraction for these itinerant musicians of not having to travel the length of the country to earn their living. Astute industrialists and mine owners, perhaps noting the violent social upheavals of Europe and closer to home, felt it prudent to "...keep their workers happy".
For a reasonably short time, the Volunteer Movement witnessed a proliferation of bands. With the British Empire ever expanding, authorities became fearful that, with the cream of the nation's forces scattered around the globe, the circumstances would be right for a foreign army to invade. Parliament enabled the setting up of a network which would encourage able-bodied males to train as reserve militia. Soon, the advantages of a resident band to provide appropriate music for drill and special parades became apparent. Some bands, probably lured by the prospect of secure funding, equipment, uniforms etc., simply changed their name and transferred in their entirety to the local Volunteer unit. Military bandmasters ultimately had a lasting influence upon the brass band movement as musical directors, adjudicators or music arrangers. |
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The first Temperance band appeared in 1836. This was the Bramley Band. The first musically successful group of this kind was the Mossley Temperance Saxhorn Band that did well at the Belle Vue (Manchester) contest in 1853.
Encouragement for the fledgling movement came from an unexpected source. According to Herbert, an attitude of "rational recreation" was proposed by some in the upper-middle and upper classes. It was a concern of some in these higher classes that the working class was susceptible to "many ills" and that banding, as well as hand bell and vocal choirs, would provide a "panacea". One W. H. Wills wrote in an 1859 edition of Household Words, "....the habits and manners of these men appear to have been decidedly improved by these softening influences".
Another great standardising influence upon both instrumentation and repertoire was contesting. One early contest (1821) was of an impromptu nature and saw Besses o' th' Barn Band win by simply playing the anthem God save the King! By mid century, the need for a common testpiece in higher profile competitions, such as the British Open, resulted in the first of such pieces, this being Orinthea by James Melling (1855). Contests themselves appear to have been around almost as long as bands. Elgar Howarth is not far wrong when he states that "contests are the lifeblood of the band world". He proposes that they probably started through "natural rivalry" and appear to have been partly influenced by similar European events witnessed by key British persons of influence, as in the case of Lady Chichester, who encouraged the Burton Constable contest of 1845. It is speculated that that Her Ladyship had some contact with France where contests of this nature were popular.
Contests in general, especially events such as "The Open", grew quickly in popularity, thanks in part to the expanding rail network throughout Britain at that time. Railway companies found it commercially attractive to offer special group concession rates which allowed not only bands, but also their supporters, to travel long distances in pursuit of their hobby. James Melling and John Jennison promoted a fife and drum contest at Manchester's Belle Vue Zoological Gardens in 1852 and added a band contest the following year. Despite the late arrival of some excursion trains, approximately 16,000 attended the 1853 contest.
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