On Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 February 2024, the Brass Band de Charente was delighted and honoured to welcome to Jarnac Atsutaro Mizunaka, principal tuba with the Orchestre national de Bordeaux-Aquitaine, and Antoine Ganaye, solo trombone of the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France. These two renowned soloists were our guests for an exceptional weekend.
This weekend was co-organised with the Charente Departmental Music School. It was aimed at young brass students from Charente (and beyond). We'll have more to say about its content in a later article. We'll just mention the first highlight of the weekend, the concert given by the Charente Brass Band and its two prestigious guests on Saturday 10 February at the Maurice Ravel auditorium in Jarnac, which included four pieces for soloist.
The tuba and the trombone: two brass band essentials
The tubas, remarkable for their size, are four in number (two in Bb and two in Eb). They very often support the main theme and the intermediate accompaniment played by the orchestra. If we were talking about a house, they would be its foundations.
But the image of the tuba playing low, repetitive notes on each beat (sometimes referred to as "hammering nails" in musician's slang) is a gross oversimplification of what these instruments can produce. While carrying the orchestra at arm's length remains one of their specialities, they can also play melody and even be soloists on occasion.
Accompanied by the brass band, Atsutaro performed Edward Gregson's 'Tuba Concerto' magnificently, as well as a solo piece by Allen Vizzuti entitled 'Cascades'. This extremely difficult piece, originally composed for trumpet ... and dreaded by trumpet players, is an etude often imposed in competitions. Playing it on the tuba requires even more technique. The audience were able to appreciate Atsutaro's virtuosity and musicality, and discover, if need be, all the possibilities offered by this beautiful instrument.
There are three trombones in brass bands: a bass trombone, which sometimes doubles as a tuba, and two tenor trombones, slightly smaller than the bass trombone. Trombones are just as versatile as tubas. Powerful instruments with a brilliant sound, they are no less at home in softer registers and can easily adapt to all styles of music.
All we had to do was listen to Antoine Ganaye for a fine demonstration of this. Antoine began with a brilliant rendition of 'Rhapsody for Trombone', a highly demanding classic by Gordon Langford, then enchanted an already captivated audience with a spirited version of 'Star Dust', the famous jazz standard composed by Hoagy Charmichael.
To round off the concert, our two guest soloists joined forces for a duet on an adaptation of 'Softly As I Leave You', a song from the 60s that is very well known across the Atlantic, and of which there are a multitude of versions, including those by Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, to name but a few.
We would like to extend our warmest thanks to the many people who turned out for this concert. Thank you for continuing to come and listen to lively, original music. Without you, all orchestras, and therefore all musicians, would lose their raison d'être!