© 2023 West Oxfordshire Winds

West Oxfordshire Winds

 

WOC’s Programme:

Papillons de Nuit - Lyons

 

Wachet Auf - Bach arr. Marks

 

The Magic Flute Overture - Mozart

 

Minstrels - Debussy arr. Brady

 

 

WOW’s Programme:

Dance of the Mirlitons - Tchaikovsky
arr. Marks

 

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly -
Morricone arr. Der Goot

 

Happy - Williams arr. Sweeney

The West Oxfordshire Clarinets clearly enjoyed their pieces, and their rendition of Papillons de Nuit, with its marvellous Gallic motif, captured the whiff of Gauloise and late night coffees on the streets of Paris. The familiar melody of Bach's Wachet Auf was played with fluency & depth.

Arrangement of pieces for one instrument are not always successful, but their Magic Flute Overture was joyous and beautifully synchronised. The group ended their performance with Minstrels by Debussy, and the genuine applause was well deserved.

 

The West Oxfordshire Windband illustrates perfectly the coming together of all ages and skill levels to play for their own and their audiences' pleasure. Pulling their various talents together, the conductor led the opening piece, The Dance of the Mirlitons (well known as the music for the Cadbury's Fruit and Nut advert) through a joyful and accomplished rendition, building quietly to its final crescendo, followed by great applause. Needing little introduction, the film music of Morricone conjured up the wonderful spaghetti western images in The Good, The Bad & The Ugly so well. The concert drew to an end with music from the film Despicable Me, entitled and sounding Happy - which indeed created a musical smile. The audience left the hall buzzing and full of praise for the effort and commitment of the musicians, and especially for Wendy, who had been instrumental (pun intended!) in the success of the evening.

 

(Kate Lowe)