Brass Band Willebroek (Conductor: Frans Violet) -

And now for the reigning champions!

Very atmospheric to open - beautifully balanced, and coloured in the mutes - though not without rubs in tuning.

Wonderful cornet sets a great marker for this performance.

There's a great band sound here, and real clarity to the textures, with the fragments of Bach coming through nicely.

Everything has such space, and so the lines flow well, though percussion sometimes dominates and we lose a bit of focus.

Euphonium is excellent, but even Willebroek isn't impervious to the technical tuning challenges that are presented in these softer sections between open and muted lines - perhaps highlighted given the instructions for senza vib.

Nicely transitioned into the agitato and great levels of detail are heard. It's not without uneasy rhythmic moments, but there's some excellent individual playing.

The swing doesn't quite sit convincingly but we do get the dynamic contrasts.

They do well to tie the fragments of chorale together, with some terrific trombone sounds.

Nicely paced as they pull back into the finale, and a great (long) chord to finish.

One to watch!