The music of Bertram Walton O'Donnell and his two brothers

[MikePurton]

Bertram Walton O'Donnell (1887-1939) studied Cello and Composition at the RAM. He was a bandmaster in the military for much of his life but also conducted the legendary BBC Wireless Military Band (London's finest orchestral wind, brass and percussion players including Malcolm Arnold on trumpet) from its inception in 1927 until his death when his brother Percy (also a former bandmaster) took over the baton until it was shut down in 1944. BW was hugely influential in composing innovative yet very attractive music for military band. He was way ahead of the game in this genre and Holst asked him to advise him in his composition of his Prelude and Scherzo 'Hammersmith' and indeed Holst acknowledged BW's expertise by dedicating the work to him. The other brother Rudolph became Principal Director of Music for the RAF during WW2 when his band contained the likes of Dennis Brain and Norman Del Mar in the horn section. Courtesy of Irish folksinger Alison O'Donnell we have acquired a number of forgotten and unpublished works, mostly be BW with some (including an overture for wind band) by Rudolph. There is a brief and jolly march arranged by Percy, several already published items and three delightful arrangements for the BBCWMB. It's delightful music, with a delicious Irish flavour (the three brothers were of Irish origin) and quite groundbreaking. Official release isn't until February, but it's now available from my website shop at www.mikepurtonrecording.com . The RAF College Band perform beautifully and the recording engineer is none other than Tony Faulkner. Perfect for Christmas - my wife couldn't stop listening to it and that is saying something!