THE HISTORY OF THE MOUNTBATTEN FESTIVAL OF MUSIC Pt1

by Marcher

The Bands of the Royal Marines are not only well known for the immaculate marching displays that are epitomised by their white helmets, straight blue lines and Corps of Drums but also for their concert performances that feature the Corps of Drums, the Fanfare Team and soloists. The annual high point of the concert year is undoubtedly the massed bands' appearance at the Royal Albert Hall for what is now known as 'The Mountbatten Festival of Music'.

These concerts began on the 6th February 1973 when the bands of the Royal Marines School of Music, Commander-in-Chief (CinC) Naval Home Command and HMS Ganges, assisted by Junior Musicians from the Music Wing, all under Lt Col Paul Neville, Principal Director of Music Royal Marines, were massed for a performance given in aid of the Royal Academy of Music's 150th Anniversary Appeal. Richard Baker was the compere and the concert featured the bass-baritone Owen Branigan. The concert raised £1740 for the appeal.

In 1973 the Royal Marines Museum launched an appeal to raise the funds necessary to allow it to move into the building that once housed the Officers' Mess at Eastney. The pattern set by the Royal Academy of Music was used and on the 5th February the massed bands of the Royal Marines School of Music, Commando Forces, Commando Training Centre RM and CinC Naval Home Command gave a concert at the Royal Albert Hall that raised £2800 for the Museum.
The musical programme for the 1974 Royal Albert Hall Concert:

The soloist was John Lawrenson and the compere was, once again, Richard Baker. A fitting tribute was paid to Captain A C Green, composer of the famous setting of Sunset. Having received news of his death earlier that day the Band Service dedicated this performance to him.

In 1975 the concert was given in aid of the Malcolm Sargent Cancer Fund for Children, which the Corps continues to sponsor, and Royal Marines Charities. (Sir Malcolm Sargent was Honorary Musical Adviser to the Royal Marines for more than twenty years prior to his death in 1968). This concert followed a similar format to its predecessors featuring a mixture of marches and fanfares, film and classical music as well as opportunities for soloists. Guest soloist was Alan Civil, Professor of Horn at the Royal College and an ex-Royal Artillery Bandsman. Richard Baker played an even greater part in this concert as not only did he act as compere, but helped produce the show and also narrated two items. One was 'Tubby the Tuba' which featured Band Corporal David Cole on Tuba. The other was the first playing of Albert Elms' 'Battle of Trafalgar' with a narration written by Richard Baker and spoken by himself and the fine actor, Kenneth More. Since Kenneth More had been a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy during World War II and Richard Baker was still a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve this seemed entirely appropriate! Bands involved, in addition to the Royal Marines School of Music, were from CinC Fleet and HMS Ganges plus, taking part in the finale, the Corps of Drums from Deal.

The 1975 concert set the pattern for the next five years in terms of beneficiaries. The concerts became known, albeit colloquially, as the 'Sir Malcolm Sargent Fund Concerts'. However, the structure did not become rigid, for the hallmark of these concerts has always been their progress and development in terms of content and entertainment. 1976 gave the principal Director of Music, Lt Col Paul Neville, the opportunity to introduce a theme; the year marked the 200th Anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence and the programme consisted entirely of music by composers from the United States (with the exception of the National Anthem and the Regimental Marches). The Bands of CinC Naval Home Command and HMS Ganges and thirty members of the Junior Band combined with the School of Music Band. Lt Col J T Kline, twenty-fourth Director of Music of the United States Marine Band 'The President's Own' was a guest conductor and Master Gunnery Sergeant Erdman from the same band was featured soloist for Bellstedt's 'La Mandolinata'. Leading pianist Philip Challis was featured playing 'Rhapsody in Blue' whilst Derek Dempster and WO2 Bandmaster T Williams wrote a finale called 'The United States of America 1776-1976' which once again featured a narration from compere Richard Baker.

1977 was the Silver Jubilee of the Queen's Accession and the programme reflected this with Steck's regal march 'Royal Review'; music by Purcell; Coates' concert march 'Queen Elizabeth' and Lt Col Neville's arrangement of Walton's 'Coronation Music'. One of the high points of this concert was the entrance of the Corps of Drums at the beginning of the second half which caused an "immediate feeling of pride and affection which was exhilarating" according to the Commandant, Royal Marines School of Music. The massed bands from the Royal Marines School of Music, CinC Naval Home Command, CinC Fleet, Flag Officer Naval Air Command and a forty strong Corps of Drums were the largest provided to date.

Two anniversaries were celebrated in 1978. The Royal Marines Band Service celebrated its own 75th Anniversary whilst the Corps celebrated twenty-five years of the Duke of Edinburgh being Captain General. It was also the first occasion upon which the Queen and the Captain General had attended. The Life Colonel Commandant of the Corps, Earl Mountbatten, also attended as usual. The joint winning entries of a march competition held to mark the Captain General's Anniversary were played during the concert. One of these was 'Royal Salute' by BdSgt Richard Waterer. BdSgt Jan Parik, principal flautist with the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy was a guest soloist and Richard Baker shared the compering with Angela Rippon - the daughter of a Royal Marine. An additional item was a parody on 'I am the Ruler of the King's Navy' from 'HMS Pinafore' which was sung by the two comperes. One of the nine verses was:

"A Prince called Philip he went to sea
And became a Lieutenant in the Royal Navee
He married a Princess who became a Queen
And now he's Captain General of the Royal Marines"

This was to be Lieutenant Colonel Neville's last MFM concert and having inaugurated the concept he could look back with pride upon its strong development over the previous five years. An emerging trend was the number of items in the programme written or arranged by members of the Band Service. This was also the first concert to be broadcast on BBC radio.

Lieutenant Colonel Mason assumed responsibility for the 1979 concert to which he invited the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy under Captain Koops. Selected items from a fine mixture of music were used to produce the first live recording of such a concert. Lt Col Mason was able to announce that because of ticket demand this concert would, from 1980, take place on two nights. On August the 27th 1979 their much respected Life Colonel Commandant, Admiral of the Fleet Earl Mountbatten of Burma was brutally murdered. The 1980 concert programme included a finale dedicated to the great man. Mountbatten's friend Sir Vivian Dunn, the first Principal Director of Music Royal Marines and Founder President of the International Military Music Society was invited by Lt Col Mason to conduct. With the exception of the Preobrajensky March, which Earl Mountbatten had presented to the Corps, Sir Vivian had composed all the music in the finale. Following the soaring fanfare 'Supreme Command' came the Mountbatten March' and then, after 'Preobrajensky' came the third movement of the never completed 'Mountbatten Suite' - the concert march 'Man of Action'. At the end of the second evening's concert it was announced that, henceforth, these concerts would be known as 'The Mountbatten Concerts'.

The first Mountbatten Concert, in 1981, celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the birth of the British march King, Kenneth Alford, who was Major F J Ricketts RM. Bands from the Royal Marines School of Music, CinC Fleet, CinC Naval Home Command, Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland, Flag Officer Naval Air Command and the Junior Band took part. 1981 also put the spotlight firmly on someone who would have a great impact on the Band Service and, in particular, future Mountbatten Concerts; Lt David Cole. This concert featured his fanfares 'Agincourt' and 'Excelsior' as well as his arrangements of 'Rhapsody in Rhythm' and 'There'll Always be an England'. In 1982 he followed these with the fanfare 'The Eagle Ascending' and an arrangement entitled 'Rock Fantasy'. The trend of using compositions and arrangements produced by members of the Royal Marines Band Service increased but home grown arrangements were always carefully balanced by traditional overtures and items such as, in the concert of 1982, the finale from Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony. Richard Baker continued his role as compere but this year with a new partner - Susannah Simons. This was the last Mountbatten Concert for Lt Col Jim Mason. He had been responsible for a short but very eventful series of concerts.

Lt Col Hoskins assumed responsibility in time for the 1983 concert which included the Commando Forces Band under Captain John Ware. Their return from the conflict in the Falklands reminded the public of the Band Service wartime role and was good reason to play the new march 'San Carlos'. The Princess of Wales attended the concert, the first to be known by its new title 'The Mountbatten Festival of Music' and was treated to music that had associations with children as well as associations with war.

The musical programme for the 1983 Royal Albert Hall Concert:

All previous attendance records were broken in 1984. The Band of the Royal Marines School of Music combined with those from the Commando Training Centre and CinC Naval Home Command. Captain Terry Freestone, recently retired as a Director of Music Royal Marines, had become Assistant General Manager of the Royal Albert Hall and this, no doubt, made planning and rehearsal even smoother. A tribute to Sir Vivian Dunn was featured this year and, for the first time, the Band Service Memorial Fanfare 'To Comrades Sleeping' was featured as part of the finale, which also incorporated Captain Peter Sumner's arrangement of 'Evening Hymn, Sunset and Soliloquy'.

In 1985 the winning entry in a competition sponsored by the Master and Court of the Worshipful Company of Musicians for a suite for military band was played. This was Bram Wiggins' Canadian Suite 'Big Sky Country'. For the first time a Bandmaster took the rostrum in Mess Kit when WO1 Bandmaster Peter Rutterford conducted the two fanfares, one of them by Lt David Cole, 'Royal Occasion'. Previously, the Warrant Officer Bandmaster in tunic and peaked cap, a tradition taken from the Deal Winter Concerts, had conducted the opening fanfare. Also featured was David Cole's arrangement of 'Song and Dance'. Comment has already been made about the impact made upon the Mountbatten Concerts by David who was following the footsteps of another Royal Marines arranger of great standing, Lt Ray Woodfield. A piece of music from another great Royal Marines arranger and composer of the future, Michael McDermott, was used in 1985. This was his version of 'Eternal Father, Strong to Save'. That year the Band Service provided its own vocalist, Bd Cpl Henry Monaghan, who received a great ovation for his rendition of 'The Return of Al Jolson'.

Later in 1985 the Royal Marines School of Music Band joined with the Pipes, Drums and dancers of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders for a three-month tour of the United States. As a result the Argyll and Sutherlands were invited to share the concert platform at the 1986 Mountbatten Festival of Music. This featured much of the music from the tour including a medley of Sousa marches. The finale included Wagner's 'Nibelungen' and the '1812 Overture'.

Another Sousa medley ushered in the 1987 concerts. An innovation at that year's concert was the singing of the Massed Bands during Wilhousky's stirring arrangement of 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic'. Another innovation was a display by the Corps of Drums. Arrangements by Woodfield, Cole and McDermott were featured alongside music by Bernstein, Sibelius, Langford, Verdi and Tchaikovsky.

In 1988 the concert was extended to three nights and, despite this, all seats were sold with over 900 disappointed applicants. The concert was broadcast by the BBC and recorded as usual and, for the first and only time, it was also videod. The Royal Marines Big Band with vocalist Musician Brian Lloyd gave the audience a glimpse of the Glenn Miller era and David Cole provided an arrangement of the 'Music of Andrew Lloyd-Weber' as well as a gentle version of 'Song of the Seashore' for flute and harp. Lots of marches were featured, a display by the Corps of Drums (Wagstaffe' by Bugler Piner) confirmed that they were here to stay and BdCSgt Jon Yates provided his own version of 'La Mandolinata', previously played by Master Gunnery Sergeant Erdman twelve years earlier. Richard Baker and Susannah Simons continued their long association as co-presenters and Richard Baker reprised his narration for 'The Battle of Trafalgar'.
Part II - 1989 to the present day will appear in the next issue.