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£45.00strange geometry
Descriptionstrange geometrywas commissioned by Morgan Griffiths and the Hammonds Saltaire Band for their performance at the Brass in Concert Championships of 2015.As a bit of a space/sci-fi geek, as well as a musician, two events during the summer of 2015 had a particular effect on me. The first was the tragic early death in a plane crash of the famous film composer James Horner. Horner's music, particularly in films like 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan', 'Avatar', 'Apollo 13' and even his debut in Roger Corman's 1980 budget film 'Battle Beyond the Stars', defined for a generation the sound of sci-fi at the cinema. Along with John Williams he created the vocabulary for those who wish to express other-worldly wonder in music and his inventive talent will be much missed in an industry where originality has become something of a dirty word in recent years.The second event was the epic flyby of Pluto by the NASA New Horizons spacecraft. There are many reasons to find this mission inspiring - for example, the scientists and engineers behind it created a craft that has travelled at 37,000 mph for nine years and three billion miles to arrive within seventy-two seconds of the predicted time for the flyby. That they achieved this with such accuracy is an outstanding tribute to humanity's ingenuity and insatiable curiosity. However, the most exciting aspect of the mission was the clear, high resolution pictures of this unthinkably remote and inhospitable world beamed back to mission control. The best previous image of Pluto was an indistinct fuzzy blob - suddenly we could see mountains made of ice, glaciers of methane and carbon monoxide and nitrogen fog - features previously unimagined on a world thought to be a slightly dull ball of cold rock. The BBC's venerable astronomy programme 'The Sky at Night' waxed lyrical about these newly discovered features, referring to "the surprising discoveries of mountains and strange geometry on the surface of this cold distant world".I like to think that Horner would have been as inspired as I have been by this real-life science story, and this piece uses some of the vocabulary of the sci-fi movie soundtrack in a tribute to the memory of a great musician and to the inspirational geeks at NASA who have boldly taken us where no-one has gone before.Note: This work comes with a B4 portrait score. Listen to a preview and follow the music below!Performance Notes:The cornet section should play this piece standing up in a roughly semicircular arrangement around the outside of the band facing towards the audience, starting with solo cornets 1&2 to the conductor's left (roughy behind the normal repiano cornet seat) then 2nd cornets, repiano, soprano, 3rd cornets and finishing with solo cornets 3&4 standing roughly behind the normal 2nd trombone seat. If time and logistics permit, the trombones should occupy the first three solo cornet seats, although this is optional. A suggested band layout (with percussion) is given here.Solo cornets 1&2, repiano cornet, 2nd cornets, 3rd cornets, flugel, solo and 1st horn, 1st baritone and euphoniums will require fibre straight mutes - ideally NOT metal ones. Soprano cornet, all solo cornets, 3rd cornets and all trombones will require cup mutes - ideally the cornet mutes should be the adjustable cup type and these should have the cup adjusted quite tight to the bell to give a 'closed' sound. Soprano cornet, solo cornet 3&4 and repiano cornet will require harmon mutes - TE indicates 'Tube Extended', TR indicates 'Tube Removed'. Soprano and repiano cornets will also require metal straight mutes. Vibrato should only be used very sparingly throughout, and never in muted passages.Percussion Requirements:Percussion 1: tubular bells, concert bass drum (not a kit pedal drum), tam tam, clash cymbals, 3 x tom toms, 1 x suspended (clash) cymbal and snare drum.Percussion 2: vibraphone (bowed and with mallets), bass drum and tam tam (shared with perc. 1), additional suspended (clash) cymbal and snare drum.Percussion 3: glockenspiel, 4 x timpani (ideally 23", 25", 28" and 30")Approximate duration 5'50"
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£134.99Sand and Stars - Thierry Deleruyelle
Sand and Stars illustrates the journey of the aviator-writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery when he attempted to break the record for a Paris-Saigon flight. Having started as planned, the journey ended prematurely in the heart of the Sahara with a broken plane and the rescue, just in time, of the pilot and his navigator. Written in six parts, this highly colourful piece varies between a mysterious atmosphere, the deafening noise of a plane hitting the ground and the vivacity of an Arabic dance, punctuated with cornet and euphonium solos, before concluding with spectacular musical fireworks.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£159.99Other Lives - Oliver Waespi
Other Lives is works perfectly for a competition but can also be programmed as concert work. The dark chords at the beginning of the piece are derived from "Der Doppelganger", one of Franz Schubert's late songs. After a short development the music begins to accelerate and find its own shape, gradually moving away from the introduction. The entire first part, "Rage", has an intensely agitated character. The ensuing "Reflection" turns back to the initial chord progression, before a series of interspersing solos explore time and space at a slower pace. After another musical surge, the music is brought close to silence and then gives way to the third part, "Redemption".Here, a widely spaced sound field contains a remote allusion to another work by Schubert "Ruckblick". After this farewell, an abstract musical transformation triggers an emotional change, as the initial motifs are now presented in their inversed form in order to create a much brighter harmonic landscape. Moreover, in the last part of the piece, "Renewal", the grim, tense atmosphere of the first part is transformed into a great energy. Other Lives was commissioned by the Valaisia Brass Band.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£179.50Fanfare and Chorale - Egil Hovland
This arrangement (or edition) for brass band will give the possibility for more performances of this fine work by Hovland. The composer, before his death, examined my work and made no suggestions for changes, and his approving comments were complimentary and encouraging. The work was originally written for Concert Band in 1966 as Op. 54a to St. Olaf College Band in the US. It was transcribed in 1967 for symphony orchestra as Op. 54b by the composer himself. The challenges in arranging the piece for brass band were mostly concerned with satisfactorily covering the upper register used by piccolo, flutes and clarinets, and while there are wonderful brass players around who have amazing high registers, I have aimed this edition at a level achievable by reasonably good brass band players who are willing to give time and effort into the proper preparation and delivery of the music. Having worked on this new edition with a top-class brass band, I think it sounds wonderful and interestingly different to the original. Besides the obvious differences of tone-colour and absent high notes, I have used in my scoring, the option for using a vibraphone in place of a celeste. Vaughan Williams, in his Variations for brass band writes for celeste, but because the instrument is quite rare, performances have been mostly given using a glockenspiel- but this, of course sounds two octaves higher than it was intended. I think that vibraphone and brass is an excellent combination and recommend it without hesitation in this piece. Every detail of articulation and dynamic has been considered, so in order to keep the integrity of the music, please do not change anything in the name of "interpretation". As Ravel says- "What is there to interpret?" Ray Farr
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£104.99Sinfonietta No. 4 - Etienne Crausaz
This work was composed for the occasion of the 28. Fete Cantonale des Musiques Vaudoises (28th Music Festival of the Canton Vaud), taking place in the Valley of Joux in June 2018. The music begins with a very simple fanfare consisting of five ascending legato notes which constitute the fundamental framework of the piece. This contrasts with the more cantabile sounding theme we hear after. The following Allegro section uses the sequence in a contrapuntal style reminding us of the Renaissance period, but with more modern day harmonies. Two solo cadenzas played by cornet and euphonium initiate the middle section, in which a theme also based on the sequence builds uptowards the climax of the piece. The sequence in the last section is played in time but gives the feeling of a "one to the bar" beat. Shortly before the festive finale, the music heard in the middle part resumes.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£59.99Pie Jesu - Gabriel Fauré
Pie Jesu is the famous aria for soprano and orchestra from Gabriel Faure's Requiem, opus 48. Faure (1845- 1924) composed the work in 1887, two years after his father's death and only a short time before his mother passed away. Faure's Pie Jesu is richly atmosphere and peaceful, and Robert van Beringen perfectly captures the essence of Faure's beautiful music in this arrangement for fanfare band.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£87.99Prelude, Dance and March - Malcolm Arnold
Malcolm Arnold is one Britain's best-loved composers. In 1948 he composed a very short suite for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain - entitled simply To Youth. Seven years later he took To Youth and made some fairly major revisions, including a complete new movement, and the Little Suite for Orchestra was born. The Little Suite for Orchestra follows a very similar pattern to the later suites for brass band, starting with a bold, strident Prelude, which strangely ends quietly before a lovely, lilting, Dance composed in 3/8 time. Finally a rollicking and militaristic March brings the suite to a conclusion. This arrangement for brass band by Robin Norman is sure tobecome a classic in the brass band repertoire.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£109.99Nordic Moods - Tom Brevik
The composer:1st movement: Reflections by the Fjord.Overlooking one of the mighty fjords of Norway, my mind and thoughts are with an old religious Norwegian folk-tune, with words by the famous parson Peter Dass.The majestic fanfare-likeopening reflects the power of God our Father, the choral itself heard for the first time on flugelhorn. The choral is repeated a few times, separated only by some short variations. The movement ends in thriumph, with fanfares and the choral broughttogether.2nd movement: Reflections in the Old Church.In this movement my associations of a summer day, finding myself alone in an old deserted stone church. From the old walls I hear folk songs, perhaps like the ones sung in the church bypoor fishermen and farmers in days gone by. Suddenly the light from the sun breakes through the small circular window above the altar, and a lovely melody is heard, before the original figures take us to the end of the movement.3rd movement:Festive Reflections.Any festive occasion can be reflected in this movement. from the bonfire at midsummer-night to the children celebrating the return of the sun in the northern part of Norway. from the traditional sleigh-riding at Christmas tothe Celebrations of the National Day on the 17th of May each year.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£57.50MacArthur Park
Over a period of four decades Jimmy Webb (b. 1946) has written hits for a number of singers including Glen Campbell, Art Garfunkel, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Linda Ronstadt. His songs are often epic in character and include By the Time I Get to Phoenix; Up, Up and Away; Didn't We; Wichita Lineman and Galveston. MacArthur Park (1968) was unlike anything that had gone before it. Running at over 7 minutes, it is 2 or 3 times the length of most pop songs and has an extended orchestral interlude. Richard Harris' seminal recording topped the music charts in Europe, while peaking at number two on the U.S. charts. Philip Sparke has made this excellentarrangement for brass band, which is sure to become a regular feature on your concert programme.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£69.99The Billy Joel Songbook - Billy Joel
Billy Joel (1949) was determined to become a pop star after he had experienced a performance of The Beatles who were extremely popular when he was young. He played in several bands before his breakthrough and then the hits just kept coming. This medley includes "Piano Man", "She's Always a Woman", "Just the Way You Are", "Honesty", "The Longest Time" and "Tell Here About It".
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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