THE word ensemble in the name of the Irish Youth Wind Ensemble suggests something other than a concert band - what used to be called a military band. In size and forces it was of course just that - but much more.
A Wexford Rhapsody by T C Kelly and Holst's Suite in F one of the archetypal works of the wind band repertoire were in the programme but the Concerto for Saxophone by the American composer Paul Creston and Karel Husa's Music for Prague 1968 were something different.
A bleak sounding flute followed by piccolo underscored by almost subliminal timpani suggested imminent menace at the outset of the Husa's music. Exploding into violence it brought the excellent percussion section to the forefront. Kevin Hanafin was the soloist in
Creston's Saxophone Concerto. His playing seemed effortless. It was beautifully sustained against stabbing trumpets in the first movement and the consistently muscular playing of the Ensemble.
Soundshock by Eibhlis Farrell was totally different from what the title suggested. Thundering drums to start with, but harmonies that had a hint of Gabrielli or Schutz to them. Here the playing of the Ensemble was at its more subtle although the finale of the Holst suite came pretty close.
The Ensemble played just four of Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. These were approached from an altogether rumbustious direction along with a wholehearted set of Irish dances complete with rattling bodhran. With a programme that was challenging as well as entertaining this is a wind band that is not content to ''play second fiddle'' to the symphony orchestras.
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