Alan Fernie’s SBBA commission is 2024 regional test piece for Fourth Section

A piece of music that was commissioned by the Scottish Brass Band Association with funding from the Creative Scotland Targeted Fund in 2021 to aid recovery from Covid and to support Scottish composers has been chosen as the set test piece for the Fourth Section of the regional qualifying contests for the 2024 National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.

Music for Jock Tamson by Alan Fernie was one of 12 works that were commissioned from four Scottish composers – Gareth Bowman, Cameron Mabon and Iain Mundy as well as Alan – each writing three pieces in differing levels of difficulty and styles.

The music, an original suite in three movements, was given its premiere performance by the Reserve National Youth Brass Band of Scotland (NYBBS) in August 2021.

Alan pointed out that the title of the music comes from the Scottish saying “We’re all Jock Tamson’s bairns!” meaning that everyone is the same under the skin. “In other words, this music for everyone,” he said.

“This old Scots phrase to describe everyone derives from a 19th century gravestone inscription in Edinburgh, relating to the Minister of Duddingston Kirk, John Thomson.”

Music for Jock Tamson is essentially a follow-up to Alan’s Scottish Dances, written for band in 2000, as a three-movement suite of original Scots-flavoured tunes.

Its three movements are entitled Nyah Fearties!, Inchkeith and Wha's Like Us?

“The closing movement in Scottish Dances is all about the legendary Scots cartoon family, The Broons! So it was only fair that their Sunday Post colleague, the equally iconic Oor Wullie, would have the opening movement of Music for Jock Tamson,” Alan explained.

Nyah Fearties! is a phrase usually directed at defeated opponents by Oor Wullie and is depicted in the music which takes the form of a belligerent Strathspey.

He continued: “All Scots will know who he is and will understand the initial tempo indication – Sitting on a Bucket – as being dedicated to the shrinking violet we all know and love, SBBA president Carrie Boax!

“The slow middle movement, Inchkeith, actually first appeared as a beginners’ piece. Just Music publisher Nigel Durno suggested to me that this might be expanded into a full band piece, hence its dedication to him."

Inchkeith is a picturesque, uninhabited island in the middle of the Firth of Forth, halfway between Edinburgh and the Kingdom of Fife. The suite’s finale, Wha’s Like Us?, is a shortened version of the Scottish toast. 

“The finale is dedicated to my pal Gareth Bowman who particularly excelled at hosting online band rehearsals during lockdown and there was one particular phrase he used during one of these that stuck in my mind.

“In encouraging the members of one of my youth bands to try double tonguing, he asked us all to ‘kick the ku’ – as in ‘tuku tuku’. I wrongly heard it as ‘Kick the Coo!’ which I immediately knew would be either a good name for a ceilidh band or a tempo indication!”

Alan added: “While I’m delighted that the piece has been chosen for the regional contests next year, it’s always with some trepidation that it gets released, especially as Nigel Durno and I were still doing the final edits just as he fell ill earlier this year.

“I’m grateful to Nigel’s wife Mary and to Graham Horsfield from Kirklees Music for helping to complete the project. There are no hidden messages or meanings in the music and I just hope everyone enjoys playing it.”

The other regional test pieces are:

Championship Section: Variations on an Enigma (Philip Sparke)

First Section: High Peak (Eric Ball)

Second Section: Triptych (Philip Sparke)

Third Section: Corineus (Christopher Bond)