A4's mammoth new music venture

Over the past 12 months, the A4 Brass Quartet have embarked on a mammoth new music venture, teaming up with World of Sound and working alongside composers such as; Thomas Doss, Oliver Waespi, Edward Gregson, Martin Ellerby and Nigel Clarke to name but a few, to provide the quartet with brand new repertoire for their debut CD recording.

The group, consisting of Grimethorpe's new co-principal cornet Jamie Smith, Black Dyke Principal Horn Jonathan Bates, fellow Grimethorpe Solo Baritone Michael Cavanagh and Wingates' Principal Euphonium Chris Robertson, were the first brass ensemble to win the Royal Northern College of Music's overall ensemble award, the Christopher Rowland Ensemble of the Year, in 2014, following on from their win in the Philip Jones Brass Chamber Music Award earlier in the year. In the final, A4 performed the CD's title track, 'Mists of the Mountains' by their horn player Jonathan Bates, coupled with Bates' 'Toccata' and Euphonium player Chris Robertson's arrangeement of the traditional 'My Wild Irish Rose' in the earlier qualifying round.

Following their success in mid 2014, A4 decided to set out on this project, working with many of Europe's leading brass composers to provide new music for the disc. Thomas Doss composed 'Moskito' especially for the group, a lively, entertaining and virtuoso concert work, whilst Oliver Waespi revisited his 'South Uist Variations', the set work for the 2004 Swiss Quartet Championships, in a reworking especially for this recording. 

Perhaps one of the most intriguing works is that from Martin Ellerby, with a new large-scale adaption of his 2012 British Open test piece 'Electra' here for 4 players, simply entitled 'Electra Dances'. Edward Gregson also reworked and expanded his 'Second Quartet' to provide A4 with 'Brass Quartet No.2', featuring new material from the original 1969 edition, and Nigel Clarke provides a tongue-in-cheek 'A Musical Murder Mystery', combining the shower scene from Psycho with Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Flight of the Bumble-bee' in a musical 'who-dunnit?'!!

As the recipients of the Ensemble of the Year Award, the group received and premiered a number of works from RNCM composition students in the college's Gold Medal Prize. The winner, Tom Harrold's energetic 'Craze' is featured here also, alongside the group's first ever externally sourced new work, '...and has forgotten the gift' by Rob Bushnell.

A4 will be releasing 'Mists of the Mountains' at their appearance as part of the 2016 RNCM Festival of Brass Bands on Saturday 30th January, where they will appear in the morning performing 5 new works in the John Golland Trust award, before their own spotlight recital in the afternoon, showcasing a number of the new works from the CD, and a world premiere of 'Insomniac' by Paul McGhee.

To read more about the A4 Brass Quartet in 2016, including a review of their debut CD release, subscribe to Brass Band World here.