The Moravian Brass Band Union of South Africa (also known as the BBSA) is a Union within the Moravian Church in South Africa. The Union was founded, on the instructions of the church authorities, in 1951 to promote brass band work within the congregations with a view to enabling them to answer their biblical calling to “Praise God with the Sound of Trumpet”, Psalm 150. Despite our firm foundation within the Moravian Church, membership of the Union is not restricted to Moravians only. The Union works closely with other Evangelical Brass Band Associations in Southern Africa and overseas. Although we remain faithful to our primary calling, we are also mindful of the need for us to work within the broader community for the general upliftment and empowerment of the community. This is in keeping with the historical role of the MCSA and indeed, the Unitas Fratum.
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After the inaugural brass festivals held at Salem and Lansdowne respectively everybody thought that the establishment of the Union would be spared the initial growing pains. In fact, during the first fifteen years the existing bands went back to the old helter-skelter routine which was in fashion before 1951. The slow progress was largely due to a number of glaring factors:
Our bands consisted primarily of grown-up, male persons utilizing instruments which needed urgent repair. For example, besides the stained and tarnished cornets, flugelhorns, baritones, euphoniums and trombones packed disorderly in inadequate cupboards within the church buildings, the average player was not concerned about the dented shanks, slides and bells or some of the parts being permanently stuck. Missing fingerpads on the valves, worn-out springs, ill-functioning water keys or unsuitable mouthpieces were not that important.
Band leaders received no training or guidance regarding the finer element of warming up, breathing, sound production, instrument maintenance and ensemble playing.
There were no music books available for our church bands. The existing ones were the chorale books and church choir pieces which had to be transposed because we still used the military fingering. Some bands had sheet music from the Liverpool as well as the Boosey and Hawkes Brass Band journals and also booklets compiled by Wright and Rounds.
The annual contributions by members were negligible and totally insufficient.
For every brass festival or performance the poor secretary had to prepare music sheets for the different instrument voices. The continental fingering was still a mystery.
We had two distinct branches but no viable regions and therefore brass bands operated halfheartedly in isolation.
On looking back it would appear that the chief executive officer preferred to go it alone when planning. In addition there was that constant battle against an undercurrent of envy and prejudice.
Getting out of the rut
Breaking away from isolation, hesitation, opposition to change and stagnation needed some doing. The distress call came from the church authorities during a Synod at Goedverwacht in 1966 to the chairperson regarding transformation and exposure to trends n the European continent.
Rev. R.I. Balie then approached br. C. Owen Marshall of the Athlone Brass Band, br. Cornelius Liedeman of the Cape Peninsula Brass Band, brs. Matthys van der Heyden, F. Lionel Abrahams and Josias Joemath to assist him in resolving the wind instrument dilemma. These gentlemen were chosen particularly for their hands-on experience in organizing brass competitions and performances whether in church or public halls or just entertaining music lovers in the parks and gardens as well as at the swimming baths and beach fronts in the Cape Town municipal surroundings.
In the two oceans neighbourhood we had bands like Maitland, Moravian Hill, Matroosfontein (formerly CPBB) and Steenberg. Some were situated beyond Sir Lowry’s Pass in the Overberg namely, Elim, Genadendal, Groenland and Karwyderskraal. The others could be reached down the N7 to the Swartland, namely, Mamre, Modderrivier and Pella. Moving further down the west coast Wittewater, Gendendberg, Moutonsvallei and Goedverwacht were putting their hands to the plough. All these bands rallied as best as they could trying hard to follow the guidelines laid down by the inspired executive committee.
A new lease of life
The arrival of Rev. Karl Schiefer at Genadendal unintentionally failing to observe a traditional barrier by training young boys in 1970, the terrible wind at our very first joint Gelvandale festival in 1971 and the maiden voyage of the Dettingern Brass Band in 1974 bringing along the Posaunenklänge books and new instruments contributed to a significant change in the BBSA corridors. At the soggy City Park brass festival in 1974 the incessant rain and the conductor’s pain were not in vain because we carried on with our refrain until we removed the stumbling-blocks in 1975 was another year of excitement ending with a leadership seminar attended by Stellenbosch Prof. Reino Ottermann, the CT organist Ulrich Sachse and the Salvation Army trumpeter Ranie Strydom amongst others at Oak Valley followed by a successful brass festival at the same venue in 1977. Back in 1976 the dynamic Werner Benz and his professional team of instrumentalists from Biedefeld brought a breath of fresh air into our dusty attics.
Then in 1981 Horst Wilm from the Gnadauer Brass Union not only visited our shores but also composed our BBSA march. When Hans-Jürgen Lange from Hannover set foot on our doorstep in 1986 we did not realize that his short visit would be the start of a productive partnership relationship. In April 1987 our Union took a calculated risk by organizing a missionary tour to Germany to attend the 90th anniversary celebrations of the YMCA-Dettingen Brass Band.
All these exceptional highlights, singled out from a host of heart-warming events, coupled with the emergence of Atlantis, Belhar, Bellville, Bonteheuwel, Clanwilliam, Elsies River, Hanover Park, Herrnhut, Kraaifontein, Lansdowne, Manenberg, Bellville-Middle Street, Mitchells Plain, Wupperthal and Wynberg, together with their broad-minded bandmasters and upbeat bandmistresses, have driven our Union into an organizational force to be reckoned with. We are tenderly hoping that Bridgetown will reconsider their discords, their lost chords and their minor chords and return harmoniously to the BBSA clipboards and well-organized wards.
We have reason to rejoice
Today we are indeed proud and overjoyed to be associated with brass band movements in Bamberg, Bielefeld, Botswana, Dettingen-Erms, Gauteng, Hannover, Kurhessen-Waldeck, KwaZulu-Natal, Thüringen and Zeist. We dare not exclude our constantly-concerned co-workers namely, BRIMRASA, MBUSA, MJUSA, MKUSA, MSUSA and MVUSA. In addition we are decidedly linked to the music departments at UCT, US and PE as well as the Cape Philharmonic orchestra.
Quite a few members have proved themselves in the Navy, the Defence Force and SAPS bands. Unquestionably, we are affectionately affiliated to our church authorities, our ministers, our congregations and especially our forward-looking parents who respond to our need for beginners. Naturally, there is a noticeable, working relationship with our home-grown and overseas composers. Obviously, we must not forget our instrument manufacturers, suppliers and our service providers.
In celebrating our fiftieth anniversary and showcasting our artistic talent we all have but one important duty and that is, as Bishop George Heinrich Loskiel proclaimed in Laudate 710 verse 4, to magnify only the glory of the holy, meek, unspotted LAMB.
Apart from the church choir and the congregational hymn singing the brass band forms an integral part of our church music. This old Moravian tradition which started in Herrnhut Germany way back in 1734 was introduced to South African congregations with the dedication of the Genadendal Training School on 12th September 1838. Bishop Hallbeck and especially Rev. B. Marx played a great part in fostering the music talents of the newcomers. They had to perform in public primarily at the consecration of churches and schools where their brass sounds made a distinctive impression upon the listeners. On completion of their training they moved to other institutions where brass bands were duly established.
Accordingly Rev. R.D. Rasmus founded the Maitland Moravian brass band when he was called to Maitland as a minister in 1907. At church festivals held on the mission stations the brass band in particular was a powerful attraction.
Thirty years after the seed was planted at Genadendal another brass group was started in the Tzitzikamma region, not far from Port Elizabeth. In 1867 the Clarkson congregation received six brass instruments from brother G. Liliendahl in Neudietendorf. There was great joy when they played “Silent Night” on the church plain for the first time on Christmas Eve 1867. Once again Rev. B. Marx’s contribution was noteworthy.
Under the oak trees on the Genadendal church plain the brass instrumentalists usually formed a semicircle and performed heart-warming hymns of praise in order to welcome the visitors attending the solemn occasions. On New Year’s Day, the Queen’s birthday and other festive days the band members gathered on the adjoining hill at the crack of dawn to render the songs of praise so that the townspeople could rise and shine in a merry mood. The march to the graveyard on Easter Sunday morning without the brass band was unthinkable.
It was absolutely necessary for the administrators of brass groups to organize and present public performances to raise funds for growth and development. In Genadendal an artistic monument was erected in memory of the soldiers killed in action during the First World War. This accomplishment came about after Rev. H. Ulster had inspired the Genadendal brass band members to partake in several fund-raising efforts.
With the emergence of numerous brass groups a strong feeling of closer cooperation resulted in the establishment of the Moravian Brass Band Union in 1951. The main objective shall be to promote brass band music in our congregations to such an extent so as to accede to the Biblical instruction found in Psalm 150 verse 3: “Praise Him with Trumpets.” Furthermore the Union shall consist of two distinct branches: one in the Eastern Cape region and the other in the Western Cape.
Isaac H.T. Balie
The BBSA is 50 years old-long live the BBSA! The date of origin takes us way back to 1951 – the post WWII period. A time shortly after the Nationalist Government came into power (1984), which would herald in the draconic dehumanizing system of Apartheid for all the native people that would be disenfranchised. Yet, it was a time of natural human indigenous initiative when lay people came together to unite and consolidate the brass band work in our Church. The spirit of the time was one of innovation. If only people could have had equal opportunities also in the civic and political sphere, what a prosperous country ours would have been. But the greed and devilish pride of the white man deterred the political aspirations of the native people of our land for another 44 years. What a destructive and foolish denial of human potential, human energy and God-given talent, not so much on the micro but on the macro of our nation’s existence. Yet, with organizational foresight like that of the pioneers of the BBSA beacons of hope and human dignity and self-worth were established, which cultivated visions and aspirations in spite of oppressive systems devised by evil forces. God provided people of stature and vision to his Church and our nation!
Since those early humble beginnings, the BBSA has grown from strength to strength. Dedicated and visionary leadership has been the motivation behind much of its successful history. From the early military fingerings to the continental system, the improvement of the technical skills and the quality and care of the instruments, the personal discipline and spirituality of the players, the regular weekly practice sessions and organizational loyalty – all these elements contributed in molding a formidable task force of whom the Church grew progressively very proud. The many brass band leaders in the local settings played their role amicably well, for in their dedicated and endless efforts they secured the future of the BBSA by training the next generation of players.
Less we forget our predecessors in the pre-BBSA phase let us recall some of them while so respecting all those whom we cannot mention here: Our indigenous brass band history goes back to the year 1859 when for the first time the students brass band of the teachers seminary added luster to the New Years Eve services. The brass band of the Kweekskool of 1920 further built on this honorable tradition. I remember faces on photo of that time with Revv. Hennie Ulster (Bandleader), D.M. Wessels, F. Lottring, S. Philander, A. Hans and D. Joorst. Other well-known surnames in church music circles of that time were Uithaler, Weber, Louis, Jantjies, Apollis, Simbaba, Habelgaarn, Februarie, Wildschut, Paulse, Otrell, Ravell, Jason, Fourie, Beukes, Nefdt, Van der Linde and Jonas. These early Kweekskool pioneers carried the brass band banner into all the corners of our church.
The Moravian brass band players also played a prominent role in furthering the cause of brass band work outside the Moravian Church circles. We remember and laud leaders like br. J. Joemath in the Elim / Bredasdorp area; in Cape Town there was br. C. Liedeman who was the leader of the Cape Peninsula Brass Band; in Atlantis there was br. Marshall and Boetie Groenewald in the Athlone Brass Band; in District 6 there was Oom Fer Abrahams. In Port Elizabeth there were brs. Kiewietz (Fairview) and Hitzeroth in Salem. These were some of the pre – and post WWII leaders who build on the Kweekskool foundations stones.
A person that was played a major role in the period just after 1968 was Rev. Karl Schiefer who was mainly responsible for the revolutionary change from the military to the continental fingerings all over the BBSA. The person who actually introduced the continental fingerings to the Moravian Church was Rev. Martin Schultz who wrote a guide for the Brass bands in the P.E area in 1967. During the Balie era (brs. Rudi and Mike were the first presidents of the BBA) annual music festivals were organized, which bonded the players together and improved the quality for music and discipline. This era also resulted in the first overseas tour, which was further intensified by BBSA and various Brass bands in Germany. Today the Brass band, apart from the ministers and the partnership groups, is our best ambassadors on the European continent. We laud them for the quality of music and witness to the Moravian spirituality.
I have always been involved with brass band work ever since my 9th year and later with the BBSA. I was privileged in having had the opportunity to introduce the absolute system at Elim. My involvement with the BBSA, as the coordinator of music within our Church since 1988, just intensified my interest and ministry in the respect. It has been a pleasure working closely together with the executive on organizational and music level. Their expertise, commitment, administrative ability, organizational skills and loyalty to the Church are very commendable. The music festivals, which have always been the flagship events of the brass band fellowship, were utilized to worship God, to minister to the audiences in brass music and song, as well as exhibiting and building the organization.
The BBSA has rendered players of national and international caliber: Not only do we find BBSA players today in the Navy band, the Correctional service Band, the Military Band, in the City and National Symphony Orchestras, in ensembles at the universities of UPE, UCT and US, but also in overseas orchestras.
Now we find ourselves in the Jubilee Year, with Christopher Appel as president and Tyron Hitzeroth as vice-president. They are blessed with a strong and positive organizational culture with the BBSA, on which they can depend and build for years to come. The dedicated band leaders has seen to it that many young players have come through the ranks to take up the batten and carry the flame high for years to come. The BBSA has a future! And a very promising one at that! It enjoys a strong and healthy financial position. Over the years, the BBSA could invest in and has equipped the bands with good subsidized instruments. This enabled not only the Church councils, but also the individuals and parents of young players to buy instruments at affordable prizes. May we never forget that, as was the case with those humble early beginnings on our Mission Settlements, when the fingerings had to be written on the music sheet and the time of old damaged instruments, even still today with all our sophistication, we belong to the age old tradition of humble Moravians who have the ultimate aim to vision to “make joyful (brass) sounds to the glory of Good” and to uplift God’s people spiritually as we worship him our God as the sunrises on Easter morning till the “trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more?!”
