Toccata ‘O THE BLESSED LORD’ By Wilfred Heaton • The Enfield Citadel Band + James Williams (1980)

Toccata ‘O THE BLESSED LORD’ By Wilfred Heaton • Performed Here By The Enfield Citadel Salvation Army Band Conducted By Bandmaster James Williams • From The Band’s 1980 LP Record To Commemorate Their 1980 Tour Of Australia & New Zealand • This LP Record Was Recorded And Produced By Brian Culverhouse For EMI Studios New Zealand And Was Produced With LP Record Ref: PRA 1026.

For those interested….The Work Was Originally Conceived As A Brass Sextet And This Recording, For Full Band, Was First PublishedIn 1973. The Basis Of The Music Is The Verse Of An Adaption Of The Old Spiritual ‘Oh Dem Golden Slippers’, With The Text Beginning ‘Oh The Blessed Llord, HeHas Saved My Soul’.

This Is A Magnificent Reading And Recording Of The Work, Which WasRecorded Some 43 Years Ago!! And Interestingly, Was Recorded Some 11Years Before What Many InThe Brass Band World Regard AsThe ‘Definitive’ Recording Of The Work,Played By The Black Dyke Mills Band Under The Baton Of David King For Their ‘Essence Of Time’Recording In 1991.

The Selection Of Music Chosen By Bandmaster James Williams For This LP Recording Is Representative Of Music From Very Best Of The Salvation Army Band Repertoire, With Compositions From Composers Such As Edward Gregson, Robert Redhead, Wilfred Heaton, James Curnow, Robert Redhead, Norman Bearcroft, Bruce Broughton, Herbert Rive And James Anderson.

In 1980 The Enfield Citadel Band Under The Baton Of Bandmaster James Williams, Was At The Height Of It’s Playing Prowess, And Was Regarded As One Of The Finest Salvation Army Corps Bands Not Only In The U.K, But Also The World At This Time (Next To The International Staff Band), With The Enfield Citadel Band Always Providing The Highest Standard Of Music, Playing And Deportment Whenever They Performed, Be It In The Weekly Sunday Church Services, The Recording Studio Or In The Open Air Meeting.

This LP Record Commemorating The Band’s 1980 Tour Of ‘Australia & New Zealand’ Was Recorded By The Band Some 45 Years Ago, And Even Today, Is A True Gem Of Not Only Salvation Army Recordings And Band Playing, But Also In Regard To General ‘Brass Band’ Recordings And Brass Playing As Well.

The Enfield Citadel Band Has Given Us Here A Wonderful Programme Of Music That Is Superbly Played By Both The Band As Well As All The Soloists, Peter Wise (Euphonium), Keith Hutchinson & Richard Martin (Cornet) And Michael Savage (Trombone).

All The Music Performed On This LP Record Is Published By, And Is Available From Salvationist Publishing & Supplies Ltd. (SP&S) And Can Be Bought Today Via The Salvation Army Website, The ’S.A Music Index’ Which Is Managed And Run By Dale Caffull.

I hope You Will Enjoy Listening To This Superb Salvation Army LP Record Commemorating The Enfield Citadel Band’s Tour Of Australia & New Zealand Conducted By Bandmaster James Williams.

The Recording Process:

This LP Was Played Via A ‘Rega Planar 3’ Turntable And ‘Marantz PM6007’ Integrated Amplifier Into My iMac Computer And Each Track Was Then Cleaned Up, As Best I Could, To Remove ‘Pops And Click’ etc. The Sound Was Then Enhanced Via Various Specialist Computer Programs Like 'Final Cut Pro' And Apple’s 'Logic Pro X' To Get The Best Sound I Could, And To Try To Be As Near ‘CD Quality’ As Possible. This Was All Done And To Make This Superb Salvation Army LP Record Available To Not Only Original Listeners Again, But To Also Hopefully Find A Newer Audience Now Via The Internet.

** The Artwork For This CD Has Been Designed And Set Up To Be Best Viewed In HD 1080p, Which Can Be Set In The Main Video Settings (See The Cog-Wheel Icon Above)