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God and Country review
2002
ON TRACK
Patriotic Praise for the NYSB
by Rodney Newton, British Bandsman
Copyright © The Salvation Army. All rights reserved.Although aimed squarely at the North American market, this album contains enough international material to attract interest word-wide. Beginning with William Himes' stirring march, God and Country, it is clear that Bandmaster Waiksnoris runs a very tight ship indeed.
The following item, Intrada by our own Ray Farr, is based around the Lutheran chorale Ein Feste Burg. However, the piece begins with dazzling fanfares and concludes with an epic finish. What an entrance! The CD contains a fair number of song arrangements and the first one of these, Stanley Ditmer's Battle Cry of Freedom, includes tunes both from the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement in a positive expression of hope for a better, fairer world. There are a number of solos along the way from Aaron VanderWeele in Erik Leidzen's athletic arrangement for euphonium of Home on the Range, principal solo cornet Gordon Ward in Peter Graham's beautiful version of Swedish Hymn (better known in the UK as How Great Thou Art) and from vocalist Raymond J. Livingston in the song Be Strong and Take Courage. Major Thomas V. Mack conducts the band chorus in Robert Sterling's arrangement of It Is Well with my Soul, and further patriotic song arrangements appear in the shape of God Bless the USA and America the Beautiful.
11 September, 2001 is commemorated in William Himes' sonorous arrangement of Amazing Grace and Albert Jakeway's transcription of Mozart's sublime Ave Verum Corpus, and there are further British connections with Ray Steadman-Allen's idiomatic arrangement of I Vow to Thee My Country, better known as the magnificent slow tune from Jupiter in Gustav Holst's suite, The Planets (although Holst, a Buddhist convert, was said to dislike the addition of Cecil Spring-Rice's patriotic words to his melody!). The album concludes in grand style with Ray Steadman-Allen's 'festival arrangement' of Battle Hymn of the Republic. This colourful album reflects the work of The Salvation Army, not only in the USA, but internationally and will, no doubt, gain many new friends for the NYSB throughout the world.
