Once Upon a Time in Leeds …

BY PETER CHESTER

In the last week of November 2022, I was privileged to be present at an event that at the time was doubtless unique on the planet. It took place in the comfortable surroundings of the Mantle House Studio, the new rehearsal space in Leeds for the Orchestra of Opera North. What probably made the occasion unique was that not one but two trombone concertos were recorded, plus a new work for three trombones and orchestra, along with a nearly-new trio for trombones –that’s two concertos and two world première recordings in three days! All the music was composed by British composer Benjamin Ellin, who also conducted the Orchestra. As for the soloists, we had none other than Joseph Alessi, the distinguished principal trombone of the New York Philharmonic, flown in especially for the session, playing alongside Opera North's own Christian Jones and Blair Sinclair.

To add to the pleasure, the three recording days were preceded by an afternoon session on the day before, some five hours long, when Joe Alessi kindly presided over a masterclass, listening to and providing thoughtful comment on the performances of a number of students and trombone ensembles. This event was generously supported by Leeds Conservatoire and Chetham’s School and some 100 performers and spectators were treated to a fascinating start to the week, a full report of which appeared in the last BTS magazine, Winter 2022.

It has to be said, the credit for organising the recordings goes to Christian, working very closely with composer Ben, and Philip Boughton, the Orchestra Director, who is himself an ex-trombonist. In the mid-1990s bass trombonist Christian and Ben, who plays the tuba, were colleagues in the National Youth Orchestra and they have remained good friends ever since. That friendship contributed to a commission from Opera North, in 2020, for Ben to write a Concerto for Bass Trombone, the first ever commissioned by a British orchestra, which Christian premièred in Huddersfield, on 7 October 2021, with the Orchestra of Opera North. The concerto is called Gresley, as it is partly inspired by the life of the famous engineer, Sir Nigel Gresley.

A report of the première can be found in The Trombonist, Winter 2021.

However, this was not Ben's first foray into writing a concerto for trombone. Back in September 2009 he had been awarded a prize for composition from the Barlow Endowment, a philanthropic Foundation linked to Brigham Young University in Utah, USA. He was only the second British composer ever to win such a prize and, as he recalled, he did not believe it at the time and nearly deleted the email. However, the prize gave him the chance to write a concerto for Joe Alessi, then as now, one of the greatest trombone players alive today. That concerto was called Pandora and it was premièred by Joe, with the Brigham Young Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2012. This work has since entered the trombone repertoire and has been performed by a number of soloists across the world since 2012, although it has not been recorded. Ben has even rescored it for wind band accompaniment, a version premièred by Brett Baker in March 2022. Once again, a back copy of The Trombonist has its uses – a report on Ben and Pandora can be found in the Spring 2013 edition.

The artistic objective of the current project was to get these two concertos, along with Ben’s Stow Sketches unaccompanied trombone trio, written for Blair, Rob Burtenshaw and Christian in 2015, definitively recorded for the first time. This requires significant organisation and hard cash: hiring an orchestra, booking a number of guest players, with an appropriate recording space, along with an experienced recording and production team, as well as arranging cross-Atlantic travel, for example, does not come cheap, and that is apart from coordinating the diaries of numerous very busy people. But the spirit was willing, optimism was high and a number of significant sponsors came forward to support the recording project, notably Opera North, Samantha Lane at S. E Shires Company, Conn Selmer, the RVW Trust, the Svetlanov Legacy Charity, the Opera North Future Fund and the British Trombone Society. The most innovative source to complete the final budget was a crowdfunding campaign in the spring of 2022, which BTS members certainly heard about and to which individuals may well have generously contributed. Certainly, I know Ben, Joe, Christian, and Blair were very pleased with this level of support as it gives everybody a sense of involvement.

So, what happened on the recording days?

As Ben said to me during the week, in composing both Pandora and Gresley he was trying to write serious concertos for the trombone, substantial pieces of music, challenging yet musically satisfying to perform, which could also be seen as a serious offering to the entire concerto genre. In writing Pandora, before he had ever put pen to paper, Ben had long conversations with Joe, about music and performance so that he could understand Joe as a musician and as a man. As Ben has written elsewhere, this ‘helped create a distinct image of a character I wanted to have within the composition and within the solo part itself’. What emerged was the age-old image of Pandora's Box which, when opened, allowed many different things to escape. And so, the concerto not only allows the soloist to display significant technical capability but also reflects Joe’s fluency in all aspects of trombone playing, for example, in jazz styles and smooth melody.

What I heard in the first movement was an opening eerie mood created by shimmering strings and woodwinds. Warm stabilizing chords from the orchestral heavy brass followed before rising tension in the lower strings led to a climactic ‘swoosh’ from the tam-tam, over which the solo trombone voice entered. This initial declamation subsided into a recitativelike section, with a dialogue between trombone and woodwinds. Strings and horns took over the support for the trombone before statements from timpani, bassoon and solo violin underlined the serious mood. The end came with tam-tam and bass drum strokes fading to silence.

Pandora’s second movement was a livelier affair, with lots of percussion giving, at times, an almost Latin feeling to the music. Significantly vigorous playing was called for from the solo part, often against spikey off-beat rhythms from the orchestra. The orchestra brass provided some drama to change the mood and the movement finished quietly with a cup-muted solo trombone playing a very long note indeed.

In concert performance, the third and fourth movement, Nocturne and Finale, are played segue, meaning, in simple terms – slow then fast! For me, the opening themes of the Nocturne had an oriental feel and there was some lovely interplay between the trombone and flutes. However, the addition of a harmon mute to a singing melody for the solo trombone, complete with slide vibrato, could only be described as ‘Dorseyesque’. I later learned that this little detail was one that particularly attracted Joe to the concerto, as the sound and the light scoring at that point were such a contrast to much that is often written for the trombone. As Joe said, ‘(Ben) really cleared out the space so that I could just play comfortably with a smaller group of musicians.’ In the concluding passages, the music allowed Joe to display the rich tone for which he is famous, before the mood darkened again with a gradual descent into the orchestral lower registers.

What followed could only be described as an explosion. Musically it was a huge entry from the orchestral brass and percussion that opened the Finale, Allegro Molto, with lots of virtuosic display from the solo part, flawlessly executed by Joe. Out of nowhere came a fugue section in the strings, joined by the solo part, then more exceedingly rhythmic interplay across the Orchestra, a strong soaring violin theme, dazzling trills from horns and the solo trombone, and a lovely round bang of a pedal Bb to finish – all somewhat exciting.

With Pandora ‘boxed’ on the Wednesday and, most importantly, Joe returned to his family in New York in time for Thanksgiving, attention was turned to Gresley on the Thursday. To be clear from the start, Ben had said ‘This is not about trains!’ Yet, somehow in the initial discussions he had had with Christian, the subject of engineering and machines had come into their conversations about music and constructing new ideas for a concerto. In those discussions, Ben had been struck by the importance of the two valves to the sound and tessitura of the bass trombone, and that led on to thoughts about engineering, air, tubing and machinery –not that far away from a steam engine perhaps? That in turn led to an exploration of the life of Sir Nigel Gresley, which revealed that he had faced a life-changing tragedy with the death of his beloved wife, and yet he had gone on to rebuild his own spirit and energy to create some of the most famous machines, both aesthetically and mechanically beautiful, in his field. Thus, the story of Sir Nigel Gresley is one of the triumph of the human spirit. As Ben remarked, ‘Quite amazing what the human spirit can do’.

As sad chance would have it, Ben found himself composing Gresley during the time when the Covid pandemic struck. This clearly changed the lives of many people, forcing almost everyone, particularly those in the Creative Arts like musicians, to wonder what the world would have in store in what seemed a very bleak outlook. And yet, like Sir Nigel Gresley, the human spirit has prevailed and creativity has returned, and perhaps even to stretch a point, has been strengthened when one considers the new on-line creativity that many musicians, like Joe and Christian, for example, have embraced during the past couple of years.

A small but very appreciative audience was present at the recording session for Gresley and what they heard was a beautifully crafted piece of music, effortlessly performed by Christian. The solo part allowed him to demonstrate the warmth of his sound as well as its power and the inventiveness of the orchestration, along with its superb execution by the Orchestra of Opera North, was a revelation. One onlooker made the appreciative comment, ‘what an astonishing level of detail’, which was something that really came through in listening to the recording process.

The concerto had three parts, the first opening with a deeply resonant chord and a melancholic theme centred on the cellos and bassoons, perhaps signifying Sir Nigel Gresley’s despair, before the first bass trombone entry arose from a shimmering tam-tam – a lovely effect and one of several imaginative percussion effects in the piece. The mood of this movement overall can best be described as sombre, with declamatory motifs, ‘crying out’ as it says on the score, and there was huge climax when Christian played down to a resounding pedal F at one point. That said, the use soon after of a bucket mute produced a velvety tone, very suited to the meditative final passages, which had lovely delicate support from the harp, piccolo and glockenspiel.

Part Two opened with a lightly jaunty start from Eb clarinet and tambourine before Christian joined in with a rhythmic melody. What impressed was the sustained warmth of his tone despite the rapidity of some of the passages. Part way through, with the solo trombone bucket-muted again, a very smooth interplay with the horns was noteworthy. A new mood was created by the triangle at one point and before long there was another intriguing sound, Christian using a practice mute, playing almost without tempo, recitative-like, over shimmering lower strings. This quiet and controlled playing led to a perfectly judged tonal handover to the bassoon, which in turn was supported by some very eerie high-note harmonics on basses and cellos. Yet another mute, this time a harmon without the stem, appeared on the bass trombone, to colour the final gentle passage. This movement really did explore some very interesting sounds from the trombone and the orchestra.

Crunchy low chords from the Orchestra’s trombones, bassoons, tuba and horns were a feature of the third movement, as were percussion instruments, such as granite blocks and bongos. There was lots of rhythmic playing for everyone, often with the solo part playing smoothly on the top. At one point Christian had to master powerful arpeggios from pedals upwards, and there were the occasional aggressive glissandos required. It was perhaps musically fitting that the solo bass trombone should join with the orchestral trombones and tuba in a powerful low note unison phrase just before the final stab of a very satisfying concluding note. Our spirits were well and truly lifted!

One of the pleasures of the final CD, when it comes out, will be the two trios. The first had an intriguing title, ‘Stow Sketches, and had actually been performed at the start of the masterclass on the first day, although it was first heard at a recital by the Opera North trombone section at Leeds University in 2015.

The inspiration for ‘Stow Sketches came from Walthamstow, where Ben used to live and it fell into three contrasting movements: (i) Hoe Street (ii) William Morris Nocturne (iii) Pound a Bowl. What was interesting to witness was the interaction between the players, the composer and Mike Purton, the producer, as the recording was created. It was clearly an evolutionary process and small details like agreeing on breathing points and balance between the players echoed precisely the points made previously at the masterclass. As for the music, the first movement had some very lively writing with, at one point, ‘sleazy’ being the instruction for Joe on the top part. The Nocturne had some beautiful chord shifts, almost Brahmsian, requiring some very controlled breathing and playing, not least to achieve a very long perfect final diminuendo, something which pleased Ben no end. The final movement, inspired by a lively market stall, had contrasts of tone, volume and mood, with some mute work and every part taking a lead at some point. A surprise quiet moment came before a fiendishly frightening ending, requiring total control and fearlessness. Needless to say, that is what the players delivered and this piece is bound to become part of the repertoire of many trombonists.

The new composition for trombone trio and orchestra is in effect a mini-concerto. Ben has given it the name Windows and it requires a full orchestra, although minus a trombone section (!), but with a particularly full percussion section once again, with woodblocks, shakers, chimes, cajon, triangle and several other instruments all playing their colourful part. The single movement piece lasts a little under seven minutes and after an attractively discordant opening, a real melodic rhythmical line develops across the three soloists. Three trombones make a powerful statement early in the piece, with ‘whoops’ from the horns bringing an exciting touch. Overall, this is very rhythmic music, almost jazzy at times and certainly with syncopated themes, often contrasted with smooth playing from one or all of the solo players riding over the top. The music allowed each player to demonstrate technical skills as well as play in close harmony, as trombones can do, and these three players certainly did. Mutes were used at one point to vary the tone, but the final section produced a very powerful sound with each part having an independent line, improvising within the mode Ben stipulated, yet still carrying across the orchestra. The final climax and cut-off ending was, to say the least, exhilarating. Soloists, composer, orchestra, and producer were all very pleased and Windows will almost certainly creep its way into the lives of trombone sections everywhere.

So, for this writer at least, what will I be left with?

For me, it was a most memorable occasion and experience. It was both a pleasure and a great privilege to watch the entire process and certainly to learn from it. I had not fully appreciated how much the recording process was like completing a jigsaw, but a jigsaw in which the pieces had to be made before they could be put together into the finished article. The interaction between soloists, conductor, orchestra, recording engineer and producer was fascinating to observe and indeed the recording team of Michael Purton and Ben Connellan fell in for particular praise all round during the project. As Joe said, ‘the recording team were a great mix of people … the complete team, we worked great together (Mike) was very discerning with what we recorded and gave us some good directions and talkback, so I believe the results should be wonderful.’

Joe also remarked on the Orchestra of Opera North, full of praise for their sound and precision and their responsiveness, as well as their patience. He had felt ‘warmly welcomed by a very friendly bunch such a positive atmosphere great people all the way round’.

For this writer, listening to a symphony orchestra is always exciting but it was clear that the Orchestra was enjoying these sessions and the warmth of the reception they gave to the soloists was very evident. I sense the Orchestra was very proud of its own trombone players, Christian and Blair, and individual players commented to me on how much they were enjoying the whole experience. Fiona from the violins thought it had been a great week, with most enjoyable music to play, and she was not the only one in complete awe of Joe Alessi’s playing. Oboist Cathy was full of praise for the achievement of getting it altogether as much as the music-making; guest leader Melissa, who in fact had studied at Juilliard and knew some of Joe Alessi’s students, had a ‘fantastic week’. On the day when Christian was otherwise engaged with Gresley, a certain Josh Cirtina from the RPO was also spotted, guesting in the trombone section, where he too was ‘thoroughly enjoying the experience’.

As for Christian’s reaction to the week:

‘If you’d told me last May that within 6 months, we would pull off this album project from nothing, with all the scheduling, practical and financial challenges that immediately became apparent, I genuinely wouldn’t have believed it! Blair’s expression was one of disbelief then delight as I reported the initial discussion between Ben, Phil (orchestral director) and I, plus Joe’s game-changing willingness to fly over. At least providence might be on our side, as we chatted either side of the Holy Grail during a break in rehearsals for Parsifal!

‘In return for Opera North’s very generous – and crucial – opening offer of the contract players and recording studio for five already-scheduled but repurposed sessions, Ben and I would be acting like any third-party promoters. In short, this involved sorting everything from the funding shortfall of nearly £20,000, to checking that recording cables running through a fire door were removed during each break!

‘Having now spent 23 professional seasons witnessing a wide variation in the way that orchestral musicians are treated, the pressure was on for us to ensure that both guests (I refuse to use the word ‘extras’) and members were fully briefed in advance, with parts available weeks beforehand and bowed where necessary. The result, I feel, was a studio full of happy colleagues, who knew they were a vital part of a unique project.

‘It was the pleasure of a lifetime to bring together so many people from different stages of my life: I’ve known Ben since NYO; first performed to Joe at The Valve trombone shop opening night masterclass in 1999; met Blair on Carmen Jones in the refurbished Royal Festival Hall in 2007; worked with Mike Purton on Symphonic Brass of London recordings; taught my star pupil, Josh Cirtina, at RNCM after Benny Morris passed away. The whole project was exhausting and stressful, with the final accounts settled only in March, but having heard the latest edits, I know it’s been worth it.

‘As a footnote, it is worth saying that orchestral recording is an inherently expensive process, and will become increasingly rare without action on fair remuneration of performers via streaming services.’

Perhaps the final words should go to the composer, Ben Ellin:

‘It's something of a dream really isn’t it, to have your music played by an orchestra like this, with these soloists? And I didn't know Michael and the recording guys before this but they've been absolutely terrific as well. I've been very humbled by the response from the musicians about the music and it is such a real joy. I think in this day and age the making of recordings like this, especially like this, with people like Joe, Christian and Blair, it is a legacy project and hopefully one that will inspire trombonists, and hopefully composers as well, to get stuck in. As you can hear, none of the music goes to the stereotype for a trombone we might have expected. It’s funny but when I was talking to Christian about the concerto, we were both very clear that we were not interested in that – in writing something with lots of ‘lollipop licks’ – that’s fine and it has its place in the pantheon, but that’s not really why I’d be interested in writing a trombone concerto, to conform to the stereotype. And it’s a credit to people like Joe, who’s been doing it for years, and now Christian, in giving the trombone a sort of full 360-degree vantage point as a solo instrument.’

I sense that many people will look back on these days in Leeds with immense pleasure and satisfaction for a long time to come.

The recordings are due out in the summer – I have every confidence that Ben and Christian’s original vision of a legacy will come true and the trombone’s position in the concerto world and beyond will be further strengthened. ◆

BY BECKY PEPPER

Iwasvery excited to receive my CD of BONEAFIDE’s second album release, Brukdown. I had followed the process of rehearsal and recording on their social media (check them out @bone_afide –they are an absolute masterclass in social media for chamber groups!) so I was really excited to listen to the finished product. Then, I realised I don’t actually have a CD player in my house! Happily, the album is available to stream on Apple Music and Spotify too! The CD is a beautiful thing however, with lovely photos, and I know many people prefer to have the physical article for the programme notes – they provide so much background information on the pieces and how they fit into the album as a whole.

From the first piece, an arrangement of Kodály’s The Peacock, we know we are in for a lot of beautiful warm playing of a high quality. Loch Lomond is the emotional heart of the album, sounding like a love letter to Scotland and the folk music of the U.K. Errollyn Wallen’s commission, the titular track Brukdown, is fun, catchy and full of life, a great addition to the repertoire.