20009 – London Pride - a medley of London songs

Various

Arranged for large brass ensemble by Roger Harvey

(4 trumpets (1st + picc; 4th + flugel), 4 horns, 3 trombones, tuba, 3 perc

Difficulty: Medium to difficult

Price: £45.00

 


Maybe it's Because I'm a Londoner - Hubert Gregg

Knocked 'em in the Old Kent Road - Albert Chevalier/Charles Ingle

Let's All Go Down the Strand - Harry Castling and C. W. Murphy

London Pride - Noel Coward
London by Night - Carroll Coates

Burlington Bertie from Bow - William Hargreaves
Westminster Waltz - Robert Farnon
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square - Manning Sherwin/Eric Maschwitz

A Foggy Day in London Town - George Gershwin

Programme notes:

This light-hearted medley of London tunes begins with Maybe it's Because I'm a Londoner but soon launches into a couple of old music hall favourites, Knocked 'em in the Old Kent Road and Let's all Go Down the Strand. This subsides into the gentle Noel Coward melody, London Pride and continues with three waltz-style tunes (with a gentle nod to Haydn's London Symphony) , London by Night, Burlinton Bertie from Bow and the Westminster Waltz. The tempo then relaxes and by way of some allusions to Vaughan Williams' London Symphony, we hear A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square. A touch of Elgar's Cockaigne gets us into an up tempo finale number, A Foggy Day in London Town.
This arrangement was made for a concert by the brass department of London's Royal College of Music in October 2012.

Performance notes:

Trumpet 1 will need a small trumpet for some passages.
Trumpet 4 requires a Flugel.
Play all the tunes with considerable style.
The opening can be hammed up as much as possible.
Plenty of swagger and panache is required from A to E.
Play London Pride with tenderness but don't linger too much.
The waltz section should have a lightness of touch, plenty of character but never heavy.

The tuba solo in Burlington Bertie, though, can have a touch of eccentricity. A Nightingale Sang in Berkely Square should begin 'misterioso' but can then become warmer in the tutti section. The kit should have a gentle lilt. A Foggy Day needs to be very rhythmic and tight in the accompaniment and well phrased in the melody. The kit should begin in a 'Latinesque' manner but then go into more of a big-band swing feel.