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was being modified in the light of actual practice.

      The day-to-day commitment of players to their band was apparently as strong as ever. The common pattern was of one or, more often, two weekly practices of several hours-two weekday evenings or one plus a weekend meeting. Some bands ran training sections on yet another evening, when experienced players joined in teaching the younger members.

      Despite the strong family and personal link in local brass bands, the organisation was quite formal, on the ‘voluntary association’ pattern so common in English society. Bands were formally constituted, had the same kind of committee structure as choirs and orchestras, functioned on the basis of membership fees and audited accounts, and held an Annual General Meeting with formally conducted proceedings. They were also hierarchically organised under a permanent conductor (sometimes with assistant) who directed the practices and the public performances, assisted by a committee. Unlike some earlier brass bands they were not sponsored (apart from the launch money for the new Broseley Brass) and with the partial exception of the Wolverton Town and British Rail Band, who still held meetings in the British Rail Engineering canteen, they were not attached to particular works, but supported themselves as independent bands from their own contributions.

      A great deal of authority lay with the conductor (sometimes entitled musical director), backed up by the committee. The Bradwell Band constitution, redrawn in 1978, stated that the conductor or his deputy had full control of band personnel during engagements with the right to report any irregularity to the committee, who would ‘deal with the offending playing member’. Similarly he was to report any playing member frequently absent from practices or performances without his permission (a more stringent rule than for many other types of local musical group), and in general ‘when in uniform, playing members must uphold the dignity of the Band at all times, and engage in no activity that would bring the Band, Trustees and Patrons into disrepute. The conductor shall refer to the committee any breach of this rule by any member.’ The actual conduct of affairs is of course often less formalised than constitutions suggest, and an atmosphere of camaraderie and enjoyment was one noticeable characteristic of local brass bands. Nevertheless there was also a definite air of authority at band events, and practices were hierarchically directed sessions when people worked at the conductor’s bidding in a highly disciplined setting which players felt strongly obligated to attend.

      In addition to routine practices, the bands all took on performing commitments, especially in the summer and at Christmas (see below). Some also competed, and new local and regional competitions had been developing which several local bands entered. The Woburn Sands Band, for example, after being out of the competition world for a time, had begun competing again about ten years before and was advancing up the national grading system. Stantonbury Brass and the Bletchley Band also entered competitions regionally and the new Broseley Brass were already having success. Other bands concentrated more on local appearances, but the tradition of competitiveness was still a powerful one even for currently noncontesting bands, coupled with an awareness of the distinctiveness and pride of each separate band.

      The competition world also had its own rituals. This made heavy demands on band members, for it meant not only playing at as high a standard as they could possibly achieve, but also the necessary travel and assessment of their own and other performances. The sense of occasion in these highly structured and intensive competitions had much to do with the enthusiasm of brass band players both for the ‘brass band movement’ as a whole and for their strong identification with their own bands.

      Competitions were not the only occasions for band loyalty and sense of performance. Local brass bands had an accepted obligation to play at local events and in the community that they regarded as, in some sense, ‘their own’. Local fêtes, carnivals, outdoor carol services, charity occasions, the big events at Christmas and the Remembrance Day rituals all regularly involved appearances by one or another of the local bands.

      Indeed at some times of the year, they had little respite from playing. Take, for example, the Bradwell Band’s 1980 Christmas events as listed in the local newspaper’s notice (not their only Christmas engagements): Thursday 18 December, Eaglestone Hospital, 7.0 p.m.; Sunday 21st, The Green, Newport, 10.30 a.m.; Monday 22nd, New Bradwell streets, 7.0 p.m.; Tuesday 23rd, Bradville streets, 7.0 p.m.; Wednesday 24th, New Bradwell streets, 7.0 p.m.; Christmas morning, New Bradwell streets, 6.0 a.m. Their very similar programme in the Christmas season in 1982 (out ‘carolling’ every day from 11–25 December inclusive) followed a long tradition in the area culminating in the famous ‘Christians Awake’ at six on Christmas morning in New Bradwell, a tradition which had not been broken for well over fifty years. It caused amusement as well as pleasure – who really wanted to be woken up or out at that time in the dark and freezing cold? – but was close to the hearts of band and New Bradwell residents alike, and players spoke warmly of going out before dawn, being greeted with drinks or gifts or, by the children, friendly abuse, and finding glasses of whisky waiting on the best doorsteps. Similarly, the Woburn Sands Band year’s events in 1982 covered over twenty performances – at local brass band festivals in February and October, the Regional Round of the National Brass Band Championship in March, then the Finals in London in October, local concerts in April and May, appearances at a dozen fêtes, carnivals, fairs and shows in local towns and villages throughout the summer, hymn-singing under the tree at Simpson village in July, Remembrance Day ceremonies in November, and OAP and Women’s Institute parties in December; in addition nearly three weeks in December were committed to carolling around the local areas.

      Given the intensity of such commitments on top of the regular band practices which timetabled their weekly activities throughout the year, it is not surprising that players spoke of the band ‘taking over their whole lives’, with consequences for all their other obligations; but they added that this was well compensated for by the ‘good humour and fun’ of band life. For some, brass playing took a dominant role in planning their lives; at least one player had settled in a particular village because of its band. For others, band commitments had become almost ‘like a job’ – except that they felt less guilty taking a holiday from their paid employment than from the band – and a high proportion of their ‘free’ time was taken up by band obligations: performing and practising, travelling, organising uniforms and music, fundraising, or preparing and transporting instruments.

      The band could be a source of more than just musical co-operation, for several bands had associated groups, and performed social as well as musical functions. The Wolverton Town and British Rail Band had a Ladies Supporters Club which met once a month at the BR Canteen at Wolverton to raise money for the band, while the Woburn Sands Band had its own madrigal society led by a horn player who was also a singer; members met in turn at each other’s houses after Sunday morning band practice. Bands took some social responsibility for their members, marking events like weddings, deaths, departures, successes, and also sometimes co-operating in baby sitting, arranging transport, and other less directly band-related exchanges such as sharing skills or information.

      Participating in a brass band was more than just ‘going along for a blow’. Quite apart from the intensity of the musical commitment, band members – and above all the organising committee – inevitably became involved in a host of social and financial arrangements. Some of these practical aspects are explored further in part 4, but for brass bands particularly there was the heavy cost of instruments and uniforms and the importance of the music library. Brass instruments were not cheap, especially the larger ones, and brass players might find themselves using instruments worth £600, £1,000, £2,000 or more. Bands sometimes undertook to lend out instruments to players, a heavy drain on their resources, for £1,000 or more might have to be expended annually on purchases and repairs with all the fund-raising and background work that entailed. Uniforms too were expensive, and fitting out a band with a new uniform at the cost of many hundreds of pounds often had to be paid for through local fund-raising events and gifts – another way in which a band was bound into the locality in which it both played and raised money. Local people helped the Wolverton Town and British Rail Band to raise £3,000 for thirty-three new uniforms in 1981, for example, and were thanked by a free charity concert. The result was a highly visible group, clearly marked out by their military-style costume, clearly distinguished from other groups in the area (see

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