Philip Jones Brass Ensemble

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The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble (PJBE) was a brass ensemble that was founded by Philip Jones in England in 1951 and had a great influence on brass music. It formed the basis for the development of similar, high-quality ensembles such as Canadian Brass , Empire Brass , German Brass , Swiss Brass Consort and many more. It was dissolved in 1986, but the ensemble London Brass was formed from its members .

History and repertoire

Philip Jones (1928-2000) was a trumpeter who played with major London orchestras. He began his career with the Covent Garden Orchestra in 1948. The idea of ​​founding a brass ensemble came to Philip Jones while, as a young trumpeter, he was counting the countless bars in this orchestra in which he had nothing to do.

“I sat in the orchestra pit at Covent Garden for about two years after I left college. I was really bored of sitting in the background and playing at most 15 minutes in the evening, and only if the composer meant well to me. "

- Philip Jones

1950s and 1960s

In 1951, Jones founded the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble named after him. At the beginning the PJBE consisted of a quintet (two trumpets and three trombones ) for renaissance and baroque music as well as a quartet (two trumpets, horn and trombone) for new music. The PJBE was formed from members of the leading London orchestras.

From 1961 Philip Jones and Elgar Howarth (trumpets), Ifor James (horn), John Iveson (trombone) and John Fletcher ( tuba ) formed a brass quintet. At the beginning of the 1970s, the PJBE was invited to a concert tour in Switzerland (Philip Jones' wife Ursula Strebi was Swiss). The concert organizer, however, was looking for something bigger than a quintet, after which other musicians were brought in: Michael Laird (trumpet), Roger Brenner, Eric Crees, David Purser (trombone) and Raymond Premru ( bass trombone ). John Iveson was not on this tour in Switzerland.

After this tour the PJBE was supplemented by a fourth trumpet. Since then, the PJBE has played in its typical line-up with four trumpets, one horn, four trombones and one tuba. However, the ensemble was flexible in its line-up for any type of music. It played for Mussorgski's Pictures at an Exhibition in a cast of over thirty or for the CD with marches by the well-known American composer John Philip Sousa in a specially put together "Philip Jones Wind Ensemble" ( wind orchestra ).

The ensemble played mainly baroque music for brass, especially works by Giovanni Gabrieli and Johann Pezelius . During the first few years - the 1960s and 1970s - the ensemble was in great demand for performances of choral works by Monteverdi and other composers. During this time there was a lively collaboration with the London Bach Choir.

1970s and 1980s

Since hardly any literature was available for this line-up, the repertoire from the Renaissance to contemporary music had to be arranged or composed. The composers and arrangers for the PJBE include: Ray Premru, Elgar Howarth, John Iveson, Stephen Dogson, Jan Koetsier, John McCabe and Victor Ewald.

One of the most important commissioned compositions of the PJBE was the work "Divertimento" by the American composer and bass trombonist of the PJBE Raymond Premru from 1976. Chris Hazell's four-movement work "Brass Cats Suite" is also known, in which the composer musically portrays each of his four cats.

A large part of the PJBE's repertoire were transcriptions of well-known classical works, including Elgar Howarth's arrangement of Modest Mussorgski's “ Pictures at an Exhibition ”, which the PJBE premiered and recorded in 1979. However, the ensemble also commissioned composers such as Hans Werner Henze , Richard Rodney Bennett and Toru Takemitsu with new works. Toru Takemitsu's work "Garden Rain" was the first work for the typical PJBE instrumentation (four trumpets, horn, four trombones and tuba). "Garden Rain" was later rewritten for brass band and recorded for the first time by the Grimethorpe.

Compositions and arrangements made for the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble were edited and published by Elgar Howarth and Philip Jones in the “Just Brass” series at Chester Music London. With this series an instrument for development and dissemination for wind ensembles was created.

Successful tours through Japan , the Middle and Far East , Australia and Europe testify to their activities and left a large fan base. The ensemble regularly toured Europe once a year, every other year to the USA and Japan, and performed at major international festivals. The ensemble played for Pope John Paul II on his visit to England in May 1982 at Canterbury and Westminster Cathedral . The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble was the first brass ensemble to perform in the world's most famous and largest concert halls and thus achieved worldwide fame. In addition, the PJBE was the first brass ensemble to register recordings with the most famous record labels. A total of over 60 photos were taken.

After Philip Jones accidentally rolled over his trumpet case with his car in 1986, he decided to say goodbye to the concert stage. As a result, the ensemble disbanded.

Continuation as London Brass

Roger Harvey and David Purser decided to fill the gap and in 1986 founded a successor ensemble under the name London Brass . The founding members of London Brass included:

  • Rod Franks (trumpet)
  • Nigel Gomm (trumpet)
  • Mark Bennett (trumpet)
  • Robert Farley (trumpet)
  • Frank Lloyd (horn)
  • Roger Harvey (trombone)
  • David Purser (trombone)

Members

Conductor (only for larger projects)

  • Elgar Howarth
  • John Iveson

Trumpet

  • Philip Jones
  • Elgar Howarth
  • John Wilbraham
  • Michael Laird
  • Howard Snell
  • Norman Archibald
  • Lawrence Evans
  • Graham Whiting
  • Peter Reeve
  • John Wallace
  • James Watson
  • Maurice Murphy
  • Stanley Woods
  • William Houghton
  • Paul Archibald
  • Harry Dilley
  • Joseph Atkins
  • Nigel Gomm
  • John Miller
  • Rod Franks
  • Graham Ashton

horn

  • Ifor James
  • Anthony Randall
  • John Pigneguy
  • James Buck
  • Julian Baker
  • Anthony Chidell
  • Christian Rutherford
  • Frank Ryecroft
  • Patrick Steevens
  • Frank Lloyd
  • James cell phone

trombone

  • Raymond Premru
  • Raymond Brown
  • Roger Brenner
  • John Iveson
  • Harold Nash
  • David Purser
  • Eric Crees
  • Denis Wick
  • Peter Gane
  • Peter Harvey
  • David Moore
  • Derek James
  • Colin Sheen
  • Stephan Saunders
  • David Stewart
  • Roger Harvey
  • Christopher Mowat
  • Christoph Steele-Perkins

tuba

percussion

  • James Holland
  • Alan Cumberland
  • David Corkhill
  • Carry Kettel
  • Michael Skinner
  • Norman Taylor
  • Stephen Henderson
  • David Johnson
  • Robert Howarth

Discography

  • 1965: The Glory of Venice
  • 1965: Brass (no.3 in Families of Orchestra series)
  • 1968: Voices and Brass
  • 1968: Glad Tidings
  • 1969: Henze : Essay on Pigs
  • 1969: Strings and Brass
  • 1970: Brass now and then
  • 1970: Music for the Kings and Queens of England
  • 1970: Just Brass
  • 1970: Protection: The Christmas Story (Motets for Double Choir)
  • 1971: Henze : The tedious Way of the Place of Natasha Ungeheuer
  • 1972: Christmas in Venice
  • 1972: Robert Suter
  • 1972: Hymns for all Season
  • 1972: Justin Connolly
  • 1972: Classics for Brass
  • 1973: Bruckner Mass in E-Minor
  • 1974: Monteverdi : Vespers (1610)
  • 1974: Golden Brass
  • 1974: Gustav Holst : Choral Music
  • 1974: The Art of Toru Takemitsu
  • 1974: The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble plays
  • 1974: Stravinsky
  • 1975: PJBE in Switzerland
  • 1975: Renaissance Brass
  • 1975: Purcell
  • 1976: Divertimento
  • 1976: Carols for Choirs
  • 1976: Fanfare
  • 1977: Anthony Payne: Phoenix Mass
  • 1977: Pictures at an Exhibition
  • 1978: Barouque Brass
  • 1978: Easy Winners
  • 1979: Modern Brass
  • 1979: Festive Brass
  • 1979: Romantic Brass
  • 1980: Bach Choir Family Carols
  • 1980: Langlais: Mass
  • 1980: La Battaglia
  • 1980: Hindemith: Concert Music
  • 1981: Focus on PJBE
  • 1981: Tug of War - Paul McCartney
  • 1981: Toccata and Fugue
  • 1981: trade
  • 1982: Noel
  • 1982: The Gabrielis in Venice
  • 1982: Celebration
  • 1982: John Paul II the Pilgrim Pope
  • 1983: PJBE French Collection
  • 1983: Sousa Marches [Philip Jones Wind Ensemble]
  • 1983: Gloria - Sacred Music of John Rutter
  • 1983: I was glad
  • 1984: Brass at Walhalla
  • 1984: Music in the Ittingen Charterhouse
  • 1984: Give My Regards to Broad Street
  • 1985: Lollipops
  • 1985: International Marches
  • 1985: West Side Story
  • 1986: Gabrieli
  • 1986: Renaissance and Baroque Music
  • 1986: PJBE finals
  • Greensleeves
  • British Music for Brass
  • Baroque brass
  • Festive trumpet music
  • Renaissance Concert
  • Music of the Courts of Europe
  • Great Marches
  • French Concert
  • Encores
  • Baroque Concert
  • The Glory of Venice (with Kings College Chor)
  • PJBE edition
  • Stereo Laboratory: Philip Jones Brass Ensemble
  • Weekend Brass: Trumpet Voluntary
  • Greatest hits
  • The 20th Century Album
  • PJBE Live
  • PJBE Live 2 (Pictures at an Exhibition)

literature

  • Donna McDonald: The Odyssey of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble . Editions Bim, Bulle 1986, ISBN 2-8803-9006-0 (English).