In addition recordings were made using a AKG 414 microphone placed at a height of about 7 feet behind and between the ringers of the 8th and 9th, and a Sound Devices 744T recorder. So now it is possible to not only judge the final for yourself using exactly the same input as the judges had, but also listen to it from the ringing chamber.
Recordings from previous years have often been sold after the event in CD form. This year it has been decided to make the recordings freely available via the internet, giving people a choice of whether to download mp3 format files (much smaller) or cd quality files.
The judges comments and recordings are below:
Team 1 (Ancient Society of College Youths). Placed 2nd with 77%. Peal speed - 3hrs 31m. This band rang at a good measured speed, which was
maintained throughout the piece. The front bells were generally rung very well. The back bells were also generally rung well, although
there were short sections of the ringing where there were some inconsistencies in the rhythm and a little bit of erratic leading.
The ringing settled further in the last 2 leads. This was a good piece of ringing which set a high standard for the day.
MP3
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RC MP3
Team 2 (York). Placed 6th with 59%. Peal speed - 3hrs 38m. This band maintained a consistent speed throughout the piece and the back bells
provided a reasonably stable structure to the ringing. However there was a general feeling that this ringing didn’t flow
and that this band was ringing from blow to blow. Going at this speed on bells of this weight requires a considerable degree
of control and we felt that more discipline was required to keep the compass of the ringing regular. One problem was that the
little bells were sometimes strung out when they were working together at the back which led to the back bells
running into them when they were leading at backstroke.
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Team 3 (St Paul's Cathedral). Placed 5th with 64%. Peal speed - 3hrs 43m. This team also kept to a very steady speed for bells of this weight.
Although the ringing might be regarded by some as on the slow side, there was a tighter structure to it than the previous team’s
ringing, and there was more of an impression of a band whose members were all singing from the same hymn sheet as it were.
However, somehow this ringing wouldn’t ‘roll’. There was a mistake just after the 4th half lead, which was quickly corrected
(there were very few mistakes today). There were some consistent faults with particular back bells being slow at handstroke
which incurred a fair number of faults. The lead end with the tenor working on the front with the treble
– which is not easy to ring well – came off well with this team.
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Team 4 (Bristol). Placed 9th with 45%. Peal speed - 3hrs 43m. This team again rang at a very steady pace. The front bells worked together well
but the big problem was them having to accommodate the back bells. This was the major problem with this piece and, although
the overall pace was slow, the tenor ringer seemed out to set an even slower pace and we have to say that a lot of faults were
incurred through slow handstroke blows from the tenor and consequent crunches from the bell ringing over the tenor. This must
have made this difficult ringing to fit into and the overall effect was of ringing which was not relaxing to listen to.
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Team 5 (Society of Royal Cumberland Youths). Placed 3rd with 75%. Peal speed - 3hrs 33m. There was a very good rhythm to this piece, the same speed
was maintained throughout and there was a very even compass to the ringing. The front bells were rung well. Although this was generally
a pleasant piece of ringing to listen to, one comment which was made was that this was ‘a nice piece to listen to so long as you didn’t
listen too hard’. What we meant by this was that there was a liberal sprinkling of striking errors and the most consistent faults
came from some of the middle bells.
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Team 6 (Birmingham). Placed 1st with 89%. Peal speed - 3hrs 25m. This was very positive ringing, at a bracing speed without sounding rushed, and was
a very enjoyable piece to listen to. There was a feeling that this team were in firm control of these bells (for a start they pulled off
in perfect rounds hand and back) and were in agreement about what sort of style of ringing they were trying to achieve. Striking blemishes
were minor, although the piece did not immediately establish itself. Odd-struckness of particular bells was quickly identified
and countered – which was something that was not the case with all teams by any means. The 90ETs at the half-course were very well
brought off.
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Team 7 (Guildford). Placed 8th with 47%. Peal speed - 3hrs 25m. This band sought to establish a brisk decisive pace but the ringing didn’t cohere and
overall the effect was one of choppiness.The ringing sounded a little nervous and this perhaps the cause of two method mistakes.
There was an improvement in the ringing in the last 2 leads. We got the impression that this was ringing which this band could build on.
They had a positive approach but perhaps on the day chose too fast a pace and couldn’t quite produce striking to match.
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Team 8 (Stockton-on-Tees). Placed 7th with 56%. Peal speed - 3hrs 31m. This team started off quite briskly but then steadied up. Unfortunately, there
seemed to be some disagreement between the tenor and other members of this band about the speed they were trying to achieve and,
as with team 4, quite a lot of faults were incurred following slow tenor handstroke blows. However, we had the impression that this
team had a lot of potential and apart from the point I’ve just made, there was a considerable degree of accuracy in the striking.
The shortcomings in this ringing could have been quite easily rectified.
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Team 9 (Leeds). Placed 4th with 73%. Peal speed - 3hrs 21m. This was the fastest touch of the day. This team made a good start and the 8E0Ts off
the front in the first half lead were particularly well rung. Some of the best ringing of this team was among the best of the day.
However, we felt that there were a number striking problems: one was some inconsistent handstroke leading; another was that the
pace seemed a little too brisk for comfort for the band; and there was a tendency for the backstroke change to be rung a little
faster than the handstroke change. Overall, though, this ringing had a good feel to it.
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RC MP3