PRESENTATION OF SIR MALCOLM ARNOLD SCORE. Wednesday 14th November 2007
A piece of Cornish brass band history was handed over to The Cornish Studies Library last week by The Cornwall Youth Brass Band, when the original hand written score of Sir Malcolm Arnold’s Little Suite No 2 for Brass Band was presented to them. Now recognised as one of the greatest British Composers of the 20th Century, Sir Malcolm Arnold spent seven fruitful years in Cornwall from 1965 to 1972. Whilst living here he became a close friend of the St Agnes artist, Tony Giles. On the occasion of Tony’s marriage to Hilary in August 1969, Arnold presented them with the original hand written score of his Little Suite No 2 for Brass Band, which he had composed for The Cornwall Youth Brass Band. This unusual wedding present was inscribed in his own hand, “to Tony and Hilary with love from Malcolm and Isobel.”
Following the death of Tony Giles, Hilary Giles presented The Cornwall Youth Brass Band with her Wedding Present. In order to make the Score available to anyone wishing to study the work, which has become one of Arnold’s most popular brass band compositions, the Band Trustees decided to pass it on, with the approval of Mrs Giles, to The Cornish Studies Library in Redruth on permanent loan. The presentation was made to Kim Cooper, Principal Library Officer of The Cornish Studies Library by Leonard Adams, Chairman of The Cornwall Youth Brass Band. Also present was Robert Kitchen, the Treasurer of the Band, who along with Leonard was a young player in the Band at the first performance of the work conducted by the Composer. He remembers Malcolm Arnold as an ebullient conductor, but one who took great pains to make every player comfortable and aware of his requirements.
When Sir Malcolm Arnold moved to Cornwall in 1965 he threw himself enthusiastically into the musical life of the County, in particular Brass Bands and specifically The Cornwall Youth Brass Band. The 1966 Annual Course of the Band took place at Fowey with Geoffrey Brand as Course Director. One of the pieces chosen for the course was Arnold’s Little Suite for Brass, which he had written for The National Youth Brass Band of Scotland in 1963. In a Foreword to the Concert Programme he wrote “I have known some of the Brass Bands and Choirs in Cornwall for many years, but it was not until I came to live here that I became aware of what a living tradition of music there is in this part of the world. I am certain that such an organisation as a Youth Brass Band not only does so much good for talented young musicians, but its influence will be far larger in a social sense, than only a musical one”.
So impressed was Malcolm Arnold by The Cornwall Youth Brass Band that he offered to write a work for them for their next Course. Naturally the offer was gratefully accepted and on January 19th 1967 the printed score and parts of The Little Suite No 2 for Brass Band were received by Reg Trudgian, the then Chairman of the Band. The new work was premiered at Fowey on Easter Sunday that year. It was received with great acclaim prompting the Composer to write to Reg Trudgian a few days later that “The Concert was a great experience which I shall never forget. Every player excelled themselves and made me realise what a wonderful thing music is”. The Little Suite was repeated the following year when Malcolm Arnold, to the delight of the Committee and Band directed the whole Course himself. He refused any fee or expenses for his services and was quoted in The Cornish Guardian as saying, “These seventy young people have given me more than I have given them”.