| |
Bugle Band Contest (1926) |
Transport
back to 1912, a time when the gramophone was in its infancy and the
wireless had not been invented. Live performances were the only opportunity
of enjoying music and it was against this backdrop that the idea of
a band contest was greeted with such enthusiasm.
Within the concentrated Mid-Cornwall clay country villages there were
in excess of a dozen bands, which gave a tremendous base, and it was
estimated that around 6,000 attended that first contest.
With no formal grading structure in place it was decided to run the
contest in two sections determined by the size of the band. |
Class B was for bands of 16 players
and under, whilst Class A was for the larger bands. We believe this
was the first contest to attempt some form of grading.
It was intended to be a one off event to raise funds for the building
of a Working Men's Institute in the village, but such was the success
of the day it was decided to continue as a Festival in its own right. |
The First
World War brought an abrupt end to such social gatherings, but the
contest was resurrected at the cessation of hostilities to herald
in what is generally perceived as the golden age of the contest. Big
name bands, (both Munn & Feltons and Black Dyke competed at Bugle
in the same year that they won the Nationals), and huge crowds gave
Bugle a growing national reputation.
Suspension of the contest was again necessary for the Second World
War, but 1947 saw its revival and the Festival has now seen an unbroken
run of over 50 years. Much has changed, but the Festival has remained
true to its original concept as an open air event. For one year in
1971, with stormy weather forecast, the contest was taken under canvas,
but it was not generally liked and the experiment has never been repeated. |
Bugle Band Contest (1951) |
The most significant change has
been to transfer the contest from the grounds at Peniel to the present
venue at Molinnis Park. Cloaked in the historic past and set in atmospheric
surroundings, Peniel had become the spiritual home of the Festival,
but the total inadequacy of car parking arrangements for an increasingly
mobile population and the lack of basic services was making it increasingly
untenable. It was a brave decision to move, but one that probably
ensured the long-term survival of the Festival.
The Festival is not a fund raising venture for any organisation, its
sole purpose being the continuation of the contest for the greater
enjoyment of brass band music, as is defined by our Registered Charity
status. Whilst attendance's have fallen away from those heady prewar
years, it would still take a larger hall than Cornwall possesses to
house the contest indoors. |
| |
|
|
