CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

1. Soldiers of Christ ©SP&S George Marshall 4.13 Massed Bands conducted by Lieut-Colonel Bernard Adams Centenary Festival of Praise, LRZ4010, 1965 2. Happy Song ©SP&S Fanny Crosby/William Bradbury 4.14 United Chorus with ISB Ensemble conducted by Captain Norman Bearcroft Centenary Festival of Praise, LRZ4010, 1965 3. The Present Age ©SP&S Leslie Condon 12.22 The conducted by Lieut-Colonel Bernard Adams Brass International, LRZ4019, 1968 4. Magnificat©SP&S Eric Ball 7.34 The National Songsters with Songster Marjorie Ringham at the pianoforte conducted by Songster Leader Muriel Packham The Holy War, LRZ4013, 1965 5. Fantasia for Pianoforte and Band - Christ is the Answer ©SP&S Ray Steadman-Allen 11.09 Captain Ray Steadman-Allen with The International Staff Band conducted by Lieut-Colonel Bernard Adams The Holy War, LRZ4013, 1965 6. A Song of Praise ©SP&S Catherine Baird/Leslie Condon 5.27 The Chorus, ISB, Fanfare Trumpets & Organ conducted by Major Dean Goffin An Evening at the , LRZ4014, 1966 7. Song of Courage ©SP&S Eric Ball 9.29 Citadel Band conducted by Bandmaster John Gibson An Evening at the Royal Albert Hall, LRZ4014, 1966 8. Great and Glorious ©SP&S George Marshall 7.14 Massed Bands conducted by Lieut-Colonel Bernard Adams An Evening at the Royal Albert Hall, LRZ4014, 1966

Total CD Playing Time 62.22

Executive Producer: Trevor Caffull Project Manager: Kevin J Coates MBE Production Manager: Julian Bright Design & Artwork: Andrew Wainwright

Compiled & Remastered by World of Sound SPS 251 CD

Code No. Booklet-Outside CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

As the 1950s gave way to the 1960s so too did 78s acquiesce to LPs. The legendary Regal Zonophone label Arriving at the Royal Albert Hall first thing on the Saturday morning for rehearsals, I remember, in that synonymous with Army recordings remained but as part of EMI Records. Improvements in much simpler age, just being completely amazed that I was sitting on the same platform as bandsmen sound recording technology heralded the advent of live performance recordings and hand in hand to this from and New York. People from the other side of the world to me, and to a young man who was a series of mammoth Salvation Army events at the magnificent Royal Albert Hall, devised by Messrs had never set a foot outside of , might well have come from another planet. I also wasn’t prepared Goffin, Boon, Bearcroft, Condon and Adams. for the proximity in which these bandsmen from a different hemisphere would be sitting. The ISB sat centre stage, the New York Staff Band on a specially built rostrum behind us and the bands of Portsmouth Citadel and Wellington Citadel squashed either side of us. As we played I sensed them breathing down These were great Salvation Army musical events in themselves but the vibrant crystal clear recordings my neck and reading the manuscript copy over my shoulder, within the cavernous acoustic that gave the preserved them for posterity and took this music into thousands of Salvationist homes around the world. impression of you being the only one playing. This series of CDs seeks to recapture that age all taken from the original master tapes. The incredible ovation confirmed what the band already knew. This was a special piece of music and, So... thrilling massed bands, landmark premiere performances, the National Songsters, massed chorus from that premiere performance, has continued to encourage, challenge and inspire each subsequent and even congregational singing featuring bandsmen from Amsterdam, Tranas and Leopoldville (Congo) generation of Salvationist bandsmen.' singing in their own languages. David Woodrow, Norwich Citadel Band, Song of Courage 1966 writes: These recordings satisfy a nostalgic yearning, even for a comparatively young man as myself but, don’t just take my word for it, hear now from some who were there on stage... 'It has always been deemed a privilege for a corps band to be invited to play at the Bandmaster’s Councils Julian Bright Festival at the Royal Albert Hall. This was certainly the case for Norwich Citadel Band in 1966. Although we had already been there in 1954, by the mid-60s Bandmaster John Gibson has made his mark with Robert Foster, The International Staff Band, The Present Age 1968 writes: this band of largely average players from Norfolk, and we were beginning to get ourselves known around the ‘army’ banding world. Eric Ball’s tone poem Song of Courage was the chosen solo item. As the Bands’ 'I joined The International Staff Band in February 1968, proudly taking my place as the bottom second Department of the day had not informed us of their choice until only a few weeks before the event, rehearsal was intense for the limited time we had. cornet, within a section that contained such luminaries as Roland Cobb, Terry Camsey, Ray Bowes, Ron Harrison (soprano cornet), and Brian Bowen (flugel horn). Even to be spoken to by some of these men We had limited space on the front of the stage of London’s Royal Albert Hall - joining Chalk Farm, that I held in such high esteem could be a nerve-wracking experience. In those days I would even refrain Memorial Halls and The International Staff Band, as well as massed chorus. from warming up in the bandroom before practice for fear of anyone hearing me.

'Take it easy in rehearsal' was John Gibson’s instruction to us, and when we learned that we were the first Leslie Condon was also a member of the band and every week brought to the practice maybe just 40 to ‘solo’ band on the programme we were told 'Let’s show them what we’re made of!' 50 bars of the wonderful piece we now know as The Present Age. Even with music that was being pieced together snippet by snippet, it was obvious to the band that this was going to be something very special. We made a confident start, and throughout the cornets hit all the high Ds ‘as clean as a whistle’, and with The full complete version only appeared the week before the Bandmaster’s Councils festival, and the the scintillating finish merging with the rapturous applause, we felt that we had had a good night. What a finishing touches were applied through our intensive programme of daily lunchtime rehearsals. performance! What a memory! I hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we do - over and over again!'

Code No. Booklet-Inside