DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS PERFORMANCE PORTFOLIO ...

The exception, of course, was Musicfor a Festival and the National Anthem,
which required the addition of a seven-piece brass choir.
THE RECORDING SESSIONS
The production team for the recording came from SRC London. Mike Purton
was the producer and, Martin Atkinson the engineer. Ile recording took place in the
Chapel at Chelsea Barracks, London on 24/25 November 2004, recorded in 24-bit
sound.
A detailed recording schedule was put in place based on the need to record
twenty minutes of music in each three-hour session with the fmal session being
allocated to the brass choir for their performances of Musicfor a Festival and the
National Anthem. The acoustic at the Chelsea Chapel was ideal for recording Jacob; it
is lively enough to make the performers feel comfortable
-without becoming too lively
to allow the nuances, intricacy and delicacy of Jacob's score to be fully realised.
SUMMARY
. This project was ajoy to work on. Most of the music was new to the band, as
is all too often the case; great music sometimes goes out of fashion because
of a trend
to always play the latest compositions. Whilst I fully support the performance of new
music, I also believe that there is much to be learnt from the great pioneers of original
wind band music. One should not forget that Jacob only passed away in 1984. His
music provided the greatest development ever in wind band music.
Jacob's orchestration and compositional techniques are still studied by
composers today. %ilst his book The Elements of Orchestration" may have been
15 Gordon Jacob, The Elements of Orchestration. (Londqn: Herbert Jenkins, 1962).
15