World Tour
This work was commissioned in 2006 by Besses o’ th’ Barn Band to mark the centenary of its 1906 World Tour, the first ever by a brass band. The band visited North America, Canada, Hawaii, Fiji, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia and was welcomed by enthusiastic crowds of thousands wherever it went. Travelling was largely by sea, allowing the conductor, Alexander Owen, to arrange and rehearse fresh material for every place visited.
The first movement, The Leaving of Liverpool, describes a great ocean-going liner ploughing the waves, carrying the band to its first destination. There is a central section depicting a short concert the band gave on the dockside prior to its departure when it played the march Punchinello and the National Anthem.
The second movement, Chicago Rag, finds Besses in Chicago where it gave a series of concerts to packed houses. Whilst in the ‘Windy City’, the musicians might have had the opportunity to hear some ragtime, which was all the rage in those days. Performers should take note of Scott Joplin’s admonition, ‘It is never correct to play ragtime fast.’
On its way to the Antipodes, the band visited the Hawaiian Islands where the musicians were greeted as honoured guests. Pacific Paradise imagines them relaxing on a golden beach with warm Pacific waves gently lapping against the shore.
Once in Australia, the band caused a sensation. In Melbourne it is said that nearly 100,000 people packed the streets in an effort to get a glimpse of the visitors. Australian Walkabout has a little fun with Australia’s ‘unofficial national anthem’, Waltzing Matilda, before the sea music from the first movement returns as the band sets sail for a triumphant return home.