Judd: The Armour of God

Steven Ponsford

Judd: The Call of The Righteous

Judd: The Challenge

Originally written for trumpet and piano in 1935, this solo exploits the character of the trumpet to good effect. It is a measure of the quality of Eric Ball's music that 'The Challenge' stands up today as fresh in its brass band guise as it did in its first published version.

Judd: The Covenanters

In 1638, many members of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland signed a document called the National Covenant. By doing so, they were declaring that they acknowledged only Jesus Christ as the spiritual head of their church, and not any king or queen. This had become necessary because the Stuart kings believed in the Divine Right of Monarchs and saw themselves as head of the church. In the previous year, Charles I had forcibly introduced the Book of Common Prayer, invoking the wrath of the common people who faced the threat of torture, transportation or execution if they did not use the new liturgy and worship at their local church. The net result of this was that many met illegally in the countryside or in barns and large houses. These meetings became known as 'conventides' and many took place in the south-west of the country. Anyone caught attending was at risk of execution by the muskets of the dragoons who were employed in the area for that specific purpose. This music was written to honour the bravery and loyalty of these Christians to their faith, in the face of extreme danger, in the hope that it will inspire us also to be faithful. There are overtones of military threat, secrecy and solidarity. An old pentatonic tune is used, which the composer heard as a boy being sung to the words The Lord's My Shepherd.

Judd: The Ellacombe Chronicles

Judd: The Eternal Presence

Judd: The Father's Blessing

This music is a treatment of the tune that William Tomer wrote for the words 'God be with you till we meet again'. In recent years, Ralph Vaughan Williams' tune 'Randolph' has often been the preferred choice to accompany these words although this composer was drawn to the original tune. Serenity is the prevailing mood of the piece although there is chance for the band to 'open up' in the link passages.

Judd: The Festive Season

A Christmas suite in 3 movements by Morley Calvert of Canada. Based on the carols 'Christ was born on Christmas day', 'The Holly and the Ivy' and 'Good king Wenceslas', this should be accessible to bands at most levels of capability.

Judd: The Fruit of the Spirit

The song 'The fruit of the Spirit' first appeared in the 1973 musical 'Spirit', which became one of the most popular musicals by the celebratedpartnership of General John Gowans and General John Larsson. The musical tells how the Spirit-led disciples established the church after Pentecostand this song appears as the disciples are imprisoned for preaching about Jesus. They are understandably worried but comfort each other by remindingthemselves of the apostle Paul's words to the Galatians; 'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.' (Galatians 5:22-23)

Judd: The Gathering - Festival Prelude

'The Gathering' was written at the request of Canadian Staff Bandmaster John Lam. The composer was asked to write a concert opener for the Canadian Staff Band's trip to Holland, Germany and London as part of the ISB120 Celebrations in 2011. The well-known Dutch hymn, 'We gather together', was chosen as the source material for the piece. The melody goes through a couple different settings before a rousing conclusion.