Grimethorpe Colliery Band are delighted to announce the release of our latest recording entitled “Postcards from Grimethorpe”. It features music written specially for the band and includes several world premiere recordings.
When the American composer Jack Stamp was appointed International Composer-in-Association to the Grimethorpe Colliery Band in 2019, he conceived a recording project focused on works specifically written for Grimethorpe, including compositions by himself and Liz Lane, our other Composer-in-Association, alongside other pieces which have played a prominent role in the Band’s recent activities.
“Upon my appointment as International Composer-in-Association to the Grimethorpe Colliery Band in 2019, I envisaged a recording project focused on works specifically written for Grimethorpe. Not only would it feature works from the past but also recent works, including compositions by myself and my cohort, Liz Lane, Grimethorpe’s other Composer-in-Association. This album features three works commissioned by the legendary Elgar Howarth, chief conductor from 1972 to 1979, who embarked on an unprecedented series of commissions for the Band.”
Jack Stamp
“Postcards from Grimethorpe displays a kaleidoscopic range of styles displaying the extraordinary virtuosity of one of the world’s best-known brass bands.”
British Music Society
The recording includes world premiere performances of new works by Michael Halstenson, Ben Gaunt and David Hackbridge-Johnson.
A highlight of the CD is a live performance of Harrison Birtwistle’s legendary Grimethorpe Aria, conducted by Ben Palmer. There is also a work by the great American Brass Band champion Robert Bernat. The recording ends with the title track in a reworking of an original miniature by Edward Gregson, updated and extended for this recording, Postcard to Grimethorpe.
The recording is released on the Toccata Next label and is available as a digital download or from the band’s website.