The Music and Creative Arts team put together a series of videos for Holy week featuring the Band’s CD “An Easter Tale”. The videos speak for themselves and need no further explanation. The first video is the trailer that was produced for the release of the CD.

Near the beginning of my series of music posts I also added the recording of Christ Hymn which was on the Easter Tale CD.

During lockdown times the Band produced a few “record yourself at home” videos in order to help to keep the Band active whilst they couldn’t meet and perform together. These are included on this post alongside a couple of other videos created during that time and soon after.

The first video “Joy Through The Ages” contains a historical record of photos of Boscombe Band through the ages – from the very early days up until the time the video was created in 2020. “Exultation” and the “Soliloquy” were the two recordings that were done in isolation. It could be argued that these are ‘manufactured’ recordings, however they do serve as a record of what the Band was doing during the lockdown.

The next recording “Thy Tenderest Blessing” was recorded at one of the first rehearsals after the restrictions were eased. From the pictures it can be seen that the Band took the distancing requirements seriously, spreading out around the entire hall. The final recording comes from the Christmas concert at Christchurch Priory when the Band finally got back to performing ‘as normal’.

This post features an evening concert which was given towards the start of the Band’s tour of Sweden in 1990. On the first Sunday we visited Jönköping in the evening and the whole event was recorded by the local salvationists who had a video recording set up that was probably ahead of its time. Of course the quality of this has suffered from being originally on a VHS tape before being transferred to digital, but it does offer the opportunity to see and hear the Band as it was then.

I should say that the event went on for so long that it couldn’t be fitted onto a single tape – possibly our longest ever concert!

Jimmy and Carol Owens arranged Philip Harper : In Love For Me

Comments :

David Phillips

Lovely George. Thank you.

In this clip I have editted out much of the ‘pantomime’ that took place before the start of the piece. Geoff had decided that we would quite often start after the interval with this and that it would be a ‘good idea’ if, when he tried to conduct, the Band would tell him that they were missing the percussion section – which is always necessary , but even more so for this.

The excuse (at least to start with) was that we were still outside selling CDs. As these things tend to do – each time we played it, the ‘pantomime’ got more involved, with the percussionists lounging at the back of the hall, claiming that they weren’t going to play until they got paid and generally stringing out the introduction to extreme lengths.

Geoff would then give us a very limited time to get to our places in the Band before starting the piece. I remember when we were in Umeå – the furthest north point of the tour – we were playing in a church that had a small balcony at the back – quite a long way from the Band. Having completed our little act we were led out the door at the back of the balcony by our youngest member – ran down what I remember as a very winding staircase – and in through the door at the bottom of the stairs.

Unfortunately – it was the wrong door and we all piled into a little room that was most certainly not where the Band were about to play – fortunately, the second door we tried was the right one. I think in subsequent performance we made sure that our escape route was well thought through!!

The whole of the evening’s recording has now been added in a separate post.

Las Lluvias Grande : Peter Graham

Comments :

Simon Wright

I would never get lost…….just seeing if you would all follow like sheep!

Rachel Wood

Howard J Evans you could do this one maybe

Gemma Hinchliffe

My Grandad loved to play to the crowd, have fun & make people smile. Love the sombreros! How did you get those in your cases!??!?? Love all these memories Xxxxx Thank you George

Simon Wright

Brian Wright you are younger than I am now! Salt n pepper beards are clearly a family trait!

Brian Wright

I mentioned in one of the comments on the Dag Wirén post the other day that this particular evening had gone down in band folklore – forgive me if you already know this story – have a feeling I have written it somewhere else recently – but for others it is worth explaining.

The tour began in Södertälje and we were up very early on the Sunday morning to travel to Norrköping in time for the Holiness Meeting there. After lunch we set off again to Jönköping where we were scheduled in the evening.

The evening event consisted of a Salvation Meeting followed – at the request of the Corps – by not a ‘normal’ wind-up but a full Band festival. The tape recording is just over 3hrs long and does not include (obviously) the two intervals that we had – one before and one during the festival. Nor does it manage to squeeze in the end of the last march that the Band played.

So – you will understand that this was a rather long evening for all concerned and we were all rather pleased when we arrived – very late – at our billets!!

I have kept Geoff’s introduction in this video (but cut out the Swedish translation that followed) – think this is the first post of a “Band song” that I have shared.

The whole of the evening’s recording has now been added in a separate post.

Mifanwy – Priceless Treasure – Words: Arthur Gullidge, Music: Joseph Parry

Comments :

Hugh Brennan

It was 1960 that Hugh Fraser and I played in Jonkoping band wearing kilts when we were on a hitch-hiking holiday in Scandinavia. Lovely welcoming people!

Hugh Brennan

Should have said how moving to see shots of your dad. A great friend

George R McConnell

Thanks Hugh – it’s amazing to think that it is now 21 years since he passed on

Adrian Whittingham

Nice to see video of dad, and strange to think I’m exactly the age now as he is in this video (give or take a month)

Rachel Wood

I love it when the band do this. So lovely to hear Geoff and see so many of the band

Joy Kerley

Thanks George. Very moving.

Sheila Clapcott

So many familiar faces. Lovely. X

The whole of the evening’s recording has now been added in a separate post.

Dag Wirén : Serenade for Strings – March (arranged Michael Kenyon)

Comments :

David Phillips

Very interesting George.

Adrian Whittingham

What piece is this George R McConnell?

George R McConnell

Adrian – it is the March from Dag Wirén’s Serenade for Strings – arranged by Michael Kenyon for us to use on the tour

Adrian Whittingham

George R McConnell Sounded familiar! I’m guessing the band kept it in the repertoire for a while after

Tom Hinchliffe

Great tour great band great backrow cornets sat next to Andy is Nick Bryant BBC U S news reporter

Kevin Whittingham

George R McConnell would this be at Sodertalje Corps by any chance? Looks familiar from Singing Company tour 2 years later.

George R McConnell

Kevin – no – its at Jönköping which we visited on the first Sunday evening of the tour. They had an excellent in-house TV system and recorded the evening – it also went down in band folklore as probably our longest ever evening event

Joy Kerley

Thanks Rachel. Such lovely memories.

Simon Wright

Stephen Main i was that young once?!?!?!.!

Brian Milligan

I have an lp recording from 1978 of Solna Brass playing it and it is arranged by Rune Froden. It mentions the TV series as “Monitor”.

Glorianna was formed after the Southern Division Youth performed “Glory” at the International Congress in 1978. There were quite a few bandsmen from local corps who participated in the group over the years that it existed – apart from myself the other members of the group in this recording are Roland Wright, Garry Lawrence, Roger Born and Brian Eastment.

The concert was at Christchurch Priory with the Priory Choir. The first half of the concert comprised the Vivaldi Gloria (an excerpt of which I shared some months ago). This piece opened the second half during which ourselves and the choir presented a very varied programme.

I should apologise for the amount of tape wow and flutter on this recording – it is especially noticeable in the middle movement. Hope it is not too intrusive for you!

Eric Ball : The Pilgrim Way

Comments :

John Sampson

Well done!

Fraser Smith

A classic! Thank you George

In any normal year Christmas morning for the Band means a visit to the hospital – touring the wards playing to the patients, staff and visitors before sharing mince pies and coffee. This year, of course doesn’t really count as normal

However a small group of the Band will make a brief visit to the hospital later this morning and another will visit the Macmillan unit at Christchurch hospital – so the carols will still be played.

This carol is always our first one – today we can also play it for all of the www!

Christians Awake

To help you get in the mood I have another old video rescued from a VHS tape. This is from the previous year (1991) to the one I shared in the last post and is the start of the Carol Service (well not quite the start as the first few bars are missing)

An opportunity for you all to sing along

Good King Wenceslas

Comments :

Jonathan Searle

Love watching old videos!

George R McConnell

There were quite a few ‘interesting’ performances that year

Jonathan Searle

George R McConnell put them all on!!! Hahahaha

George R McConnell

Might have a few more – one of the most interesting facts is that it turns out that Good King Wenceslas was actually also one of the three wise men!!

George R McConnell

Not sure that anyone would want to sit through the whole song (and we did it all the way through TWICE!!) but this bit of unrehearsed choral singing from the Band is brilliant – just wait for the gold rings

Five Gold Rings!

Joy Lawrence

George R McConnell think that was the year of the Von Lawrence family’s rendition of starry night?!?

Rachel Wood

George R McConnell awww these make me happy and sad. Lovely to see though

George R McConnell

Can’t find the Von Lawrence’s – must have been a different year I think

Joy Lawrence

George R McConnell phew!!

Jane Alton

Great! Who was singing? Anyone we’d know?

George R McConnell

You would certainly know them – perhaps it should be a Christmas competition to see if anyone can guess

Jane Alton

George R McConnell ooh interesting! My eyesight isn’t good enough to tell!! Come on everyone I need to know

Jane Alton

Is it you George?

Stephen Main

Jane Alton I’ve tagged the little singer.

Stephen Main

Alison Nock

Jane Alton

Stephen I did wonder! Brilliant!

Alison Nock

Wow. That takes me back!

Gemma Hinchliffe

Alison Nock Melissa & you sound so similar! Melissa sang beautifully on Sunday x

Thomas Terry

This is brilliant – thanks for sharing George, many happy memories from years gone by

Wayne Nock

Melissa Nock have a listen, you sound just like your mother which is of course a good thing!!