The evolution of the brass band and its repertoire in Northern England

The initial English amateur wind bands were reed bands which
developed from the numerous military and militia bands prevalent
during the beginning of
the nineteenth century. These early
amateur bands grew
in numbers as
the Industrial Revolution gave
a new
life to thousands of people
in the northern counties. By
the middle of
the third decade., the bands began to
convert
to all
brass instrumentation
and by mid-century
the brass band was common
to all of
the north of England and began to
spread
to the midlands
and
further south. The first Belle Vue Contest was held in 1853,
and
from that date, contesting has
remained an
important facet of
the
brass band movement.
In the beginning, amateur band music
consisted of popular and
patriotic songs. From the
very popular contests, operatic selections for brass band developed which remained
into the twentieth
century. These operatic arrangements with
their dramatic programme
and soloist-accompaniment design
suited
the brass band. By the end
of
the century, brass bands were an
important entertainment,
if not
cultural media
for the working class bandsmen and
their peer audiences In the twentieth century
the
role of
the bands
reverted
from one of entertainment
for listenerso to its original role
of providing an activity
for the participants. One
result of
this
reversion has been the composition of original works
for
brass banaby
recognized English composers.
The brass band in the span of one hundred and
fifty years
has become well established as an English tradition and heritage.