Hip hop?

I enjoy the various outings of the RMC Band.  They are good musicians who are paid to play lots.  And they are varied, playing as big band or brass band or smaller groups, with or without rhythm section, or even playing for dignitaries and pollies and Last posts and the likes.  I was chatting with one of the leaders and he was saying a how he will play the Last post at Villers-Bretonneux and how this is a great honour.  I can understand.  The only higher honour is that at Gallipoli.  But this was neither.  It was the Woodwind group and they were playing Ibert, Mussorgsky, Nielsen and Goodwin in the Wesley concert room in various combinations (high wind trio, clarinet quartet, woodwind quartet and sax quartet).  And they were great.  I particularly liked the first part of the concert.  Ibert's Cinq pieces en trio... with 5 short pieces played by flute, clarinet and bassoon.  The bassoon has a fabulous, fat, tone and plays the bass register and I love it, and the paring of clarinet with flute was magical.  Then the clarinet quartet (bass, alto, Bb and Eb) played Pictures at a (small) exhibition, an arrangement of Mussorgsky by Rossi. This is wildly popular and I loved playing it in an orchestral format and again I loved this quirky piece.  Then the Woodwind quartet (flute, clarinet, horn, bassoon and cor anglais/oboe).  Mmm, not my favourite piece on the day.  Somewhat divergent to my ears, but maybe I should listen more.  It was Nielsen Wood quintet op.43, mvm.3.  Then a strange but modern and lively Diffusion for sax quartet.  The saxes were soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and the movements were Allegro, Waltz, a fabulous Swing and a strangely non rappy Hiphop.  It was composed in 2008 so rap was with us, but this did not feel like hop hop it me.  More like a funky groove with melody over.  I wondered about hop as in dancing, Lindy hop etc, but not that either.  But what a fabulous outing from some classy players.  Strange in their regulation uniforms and ordered stage presence perhaps (hip hop?) but such good and challenging music so well played.  Many thanks.

The RMC Band Woodwinds played at Wesley.