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The Prince Regent's Band
'An ensemble so perfect has never been heard': thus spake the composer Heinrich Marschner in 1846 on hearing Britain's Distin family of brass players... It's tempting to repeat Marschner's effusion after listening to this recreation of Distin repertoire played by the historically-inclined Prince Regent's Band. Rounded, velvet tones; impeccably secure intonation; sweetly subtle dynamics.
The playing is uniformly wonderful, and the performances as recorded are inspired, expressive, and indeed virtuosic. They played these works and instruments without hesitation or apparent limitations. Dynamics, registers, intonation, balances, and quality of sound all show the players abilities to be accomplished as well as their mastery of these instruments, all dating from the period.
Quintet - Instrumental
Instrumentation
- Richard Thomas - cornets/trumpets/saxhorns
- Katie Hodges - cornets/trumpets/saxhorns
- Anneke Scott - horns/saxhorns
- Martyn Sanderson - trombones/baritones/saxhorns
- Jeff Miller - tuba/ophicleide/serpent/saxhorns
Repertoire
SOUNDS & ECHOES
Drawing upon music held in the Library of Congress this programme features 1860s transcriptions of vocal music by Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn, Robert and Clara Schumann alongside operatic works of Balfe, Offenbach, Meyerbeer and more.
THE CELEBRATED DISTIN FAMILY
During the 19th century the Distin Family blazed a trail across Europe and North America performing countless concerts and promoting new and exciting designs of brass instruments. This programme recreates their lost repertoire.
BRAZEN HARMONY
Quintets of Jean François Bellon. These works, described as "exceptional sort of symphony" are the earliest compositions for brass "quintet".
Biography
The Prince Regent’s Band was formed to explore the wealth of historic chamber music for brass instruments from a period roughly defined as between the French Revolution of 1789 and the end of First World War in 1918.
The group takes its name from the early nineteenth-century elite wind ensemble known as ‘The Prince Regent’s Band’. This ensemble was 'composed entirely of picked skilled musicians, elected without regard for nationality from any source where good wind players were to be found' (Adam Carse).
Members of the current The Prince Regent’s Band are specialists in the period performance field and perform with regular with internationally renowned specialist ensembles such as the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, English Baroque Soloists, Florilegium, Gabrielli Consort and Players, Hanover Band, Academy of Ancient Music, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Dunedin Consort, The Sixteen,The Kings Consort, QuintEssential,The City Musick, Concerto Copenhagen, Il Giardino Armonico and many more.
2016 saw the release of PRB’s debut disc The Celebrated Distin Family featuring recreations of the repertoire of one of the most famous brass ensemble of the nineteenth century, which was followed in 2017, the centenary of the Russian Revolutions, by the release of Russian Revolutionaries: Ewald & Böhme. Forthcoming releases include "Beethoven for Brass" (early 19th century arrangements of Beethoven's works for large brass ensemble) and "Brazen Harmony" (the complete Bellon brass quintets).
In 2022 PRB were the recipients of Continuo Foundation funding which lead to a series of concerts filmed for future broadcast.
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