Fantasia on a Lancashire Hymn Tune
This work was commissioned in 2005 by Graham Helme to mark the 40th anniversary of the 2nd Rossendale Scout Group Band (the only brass band in the Scout movement), which is based in Bacup, Lancashire. It was originally scored for two brass bands and first performed by Rossendale Scouts and Black Dyke Band on 2nd July 2005, but the composer later arranged it for a single band.
The work is based on the hymn tune, Bacup, written by Rev. James E. Roscoe (1880-1951) who was vicar of Christchurch, Bacup, and originally used as a setting for Henry Francis Lyte’s well-known hymn, Abide with Me.
The present work begins with the band intoning the first two phrases of the tune. As the music swells, we hear the hymn tune played in its entirety. This leads to an animated section followed by a slackening of the pace and a slower central section, based on an inversion of the melody and featuring the trombones. This is taken up by the full band and the music builds to an emotional climax, before subsiding and giving way to a lively version of the tune. The original melody is played underneath at half the speed and the work ends with Roscoe’s hymn tune sounding out majestically on the full band.