Paul Hindmarsh and Michael Fowles on Heaton Legacy

An interview with Paul Hindmarsh and Michael Fowles about upcoming project 'Heaton Legacy'.

Wilfred Heaton is admired throughout the brass band world for the quality of a small body of published work. There can be hardly a brass band enthusiast in the World who has not heard or played the march Praise. His only ‘test piece’ Contest Music remains a favourite of that genre. For over half his life he composed very little, but in his final years he returned to composition, repurposing early, unperformed pieces and occasionally writing brand new work. Among them are two substantial items he almost completed before he died in May 2000 - a light hearted hymn tune based suite, which he referred to as a waltz for band entitled Beulah Land, and a 30 minute magnum opus entitled Variations. Some ten years in the making, Variations is a semi-autobiographical work.

The 2021 and 2022 National Champions, Foden’s Band, and musical director Michael Fowles have recorded a selection of late Heaton, including an authorised short version of Variations, his ‘battle of the bands’ march Glory! Glory!, a set of mini variations from the 1940s entitled The Children’s Friend, based on Sullivan’s hymn In Memoriam, and a sequence arranged by Paul Hindmarsh from Heaton’s incidental music Pilgrim’s Song, discovered in 2012. During a recent recording session Musical Director Michael Fowles spoke to Paul about this exciting project.

Coming soon to watch and listen at:
www.worldofbrass.com
www.worldofsound.uk.com

----

www.fodensband.co.uk