Results
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£74.95Eden (Score and Parts)
This work was commissioned by the Brass Band Heritage Trust as the test piece for the final of the 2005 Besson National Brass Band Championship, held at the Royal Albert Hall, London.The score is prefaced by the final lines from Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (completed in 1663), in which Adam and Eve, expelled from Paradise, make their uncertain way into the outside world:"...The world was all before them, where to chooseTheir place of rest, and providence their guide:They hand in hand with wandering steps and slow,Through Eden took their solitary way."My work is in three linked sections. In the first, the characters of Adam, Eve and the serpent guarding the Tree of Knowledge are respectively represented by solo euphonium, cornet and trombone. The music opens in an idyllic and tranquil mood and leads into a duet between euphonium and cornet. Throughout this passage the prevailing mood darkens, though the soloists seem to remain oblivious to the increasingly fraught atmosphere. A whip-crack announces the malevolent appearance of the solo trombone who proceeds to engage the solo cornet in a sinister dialogue.The second section interprets the Eden story as a modern metaphor for the havoc mankind has inflicted upon the world, exploiting and abusing its resources in the pursuit of wealth. Though certainly intended here as a comment on the present-day, it is by no means a new idea: Milton himself had an almost prescient awareness of it in Book I of his poem, where men, led on by Mammon:"...Ransacked the centre and with impious handsRifled the bowels of their mother earthFor treasures better hid. Soon had his crewOpened into the hill a spacious woundAnd digged out ribs of gold."So this section is fast and violent, at times almost manic in its destructive energy. At length a furious climax subsides and a tolling bell ushers in the third and final section.This final part is slow, beginning with an intense lament featuring solos for tenor-horn, flgel-horn and repiano cornet and joined later by solo baritone, soprano cornet, Eb-bass and Bb-bass.At one stage in the planning of the work it seemed likely that the music would end here - in despair. Then, mid-way through writing it, I visited the extraordinary Eden Project in Cornwall. Here, in a disused quarry - a huge man-made wound in the earth - immense biomes, containing an abundance of plant species from every region of the globe, together with an inspirational education programme, perhaps offer a small ray of hope for the future. This is the image behind the work's conclusion and the optimism it aims to express is real enough, though it is hard-won and challenged to the last.John Pickard 2005
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£77.00General Series Brass Band Journal, Numbers 2246 - 2249, August 2024
2246: Christmas Prelude - David's City (Noel Jones)In 2 Samuel 5, we read of David's anointing as King of Israel at the age of thirty, a reign that lasted for forty years. Bethlehem was known as 'David's city' because he was born there and worked as a shepherd on the nearby hills. Verses 1, 2 and 5 of Once in Royal David's City (C.C. 68) are featured in this Christmas Prelude. There are also brief references to the carols O come, all ye faithful and O little town of Bethlehem between verses.2247: Cornet and Euphonium Duet - This Kingdom (Stephen Bulla)Geoff Bullock's song, This Kingdom, has been made well known by the American gospel singer Ron Kenoly. Stephen Bulla wrote this duet for a Brass Spectacular concert held in Basel, Switzerland, in May 2019.2248: Wonder (Stephen Gibson)When we stop to consider the mystery of God's love for each one of us, its enormity can only cause us to wonder. The opening bars of this music create an atmosphere, using a rolling accompaniment underneath sustained, music and chromatic Cornets, setting the style for the entire piece. Occasional references to Albert E. Webber's chorus Can you wonder? are heard throughout.2249: O to love thee! (Michael Davis)This piece takes its title from the first verse of Francis Bottome's words, Precious Jesus, O to love thee! The introduction establishes the baroque form of a prelude which leads into the tune Glory to the lamb (T.B. 327). Following a brief interlude, the melody is passed through several sections of the band, with delicate countermelodies in the Flugel and Horns. The majestic ending eventually comes to rest on the final tonic chord.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£55.00Triumph Series Brass Band Journal, Numbers 1347 - 1350, March 2023
1347: Intrada on 'St Magnus' (Ruben Schmidt)This is an energetic intrada based on the tune St. Magnus with the composer keeping the words The head that once was crowned with thorns (S.A.S.B. 22) in mind.1348: March - In every corner sing (Alan Williams)This is a bright march requiring plenty of vigour and imagination. Featuring and taking its title from Let all the world in every corner sing: My God and King! (S.A.S.B. 41), this bright melody is contrasted with the tune Lydia associating the words There is a name I love to hear, I love to sing its worth (S.A.S.B. 94).1349: I need thee (Craig Woodland)An expressive arrangement of the traditional hymn I need thee every hour (S.A.S.B. 707)1350: March - The great commission (Paul Sharman)This march was written for the Norwegian Christian brass band, Egersund Missionary Band, and is derived from the tune Onward, Christian soldiers (T.B. 188) as well as a brief fragment of the Norwegian National Anthem and the melody Die Sach is dein (The work is thine).
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£96.99Viking Age (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
The Viking age lasted from the late eighth, to the middle of the eleventh century. During this period, Scandinavian warriors and merchants explored, plundered and left their mark on numerous territories. This work is based on a series of four notes that appear in different forms, consisting of 4 movements: Northern Men, Explorer, Raids and Heritage. It is an impressive and spectacular piece, with lots of interesting and playful parts for all sections. This is a perfect contest piece or an outstanding work for thematic concerts.Duration: 10.40
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£15.99
Viking Age (Brass Band - Score Only)
The Viking age lasted from the late eighth, to the middle of the eleventh century. During this period, Scandinavian warriors and merchants explored, plundered and left their mark on numerous territories. This work is based on a series of four notes that appear in different forms, consisting of 4 movements: Northern Men, Explorer, Raids and Heritage. It is an impressive and spectacular piece, with lots of interesting and playful parts for all sections. This is a perfect contest piece or an outstanding work for thematic concerts.Duration: 10.40
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.95HMS Indefatigable (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
HMS Indefatigable is a contest march, composed for the Virtuosi GUS Band, under the direction of Adam Cooke, and used as part of their programme for Brass in Concert in November 2016.The march is named after the battlecruiser HMS Indefatigable; an ill-fated ship of the British fleet that fell victim to German Bombardment in the Battle of Jutland, in 1916. During the initial 30 minutes of the battle, the Indefatigable sustained heavy fire from the German battleship SMS Von der Tann, which struck Indefatigable's armoury and caused the ship to suffer a catastrophic explosion, resulting in the ship sinking, with all but two lives lost. 1,017 souls perished.This piece aims to capture the might and power of the great ship at sea, incorporating a touch of menace, hinting at the unfortunate end awaiting the HMS Indefatigable, whilst serving as a fitting tribute to the ship and her crew.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95Deep River (Eb Solo with Low Brass Ensemble - Score and Parts)
Solo for Eb Bass with Low Brass Ensemble (Euphoniums 1 & 2, Eb Bass 2 and Bb Bass 1 & 2)Deep River is one of the best known of the spirituals originating among the enslaved Africans in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries. Although primarily expressions of religious faith, spirituals were also veiled protest songs, the sense of oppression conveyed in the lyrics being clear to present day performers:Deep River,My home is over Jordan.Deep River, Lord.I want to cross over into campground.Oh, don't you want to go,To the Gospel feast;That Promised Land,Where all is peace?(Includes treble and bass clef parts)
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95Deus Invictus - God Unconquered (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Deus Invictus draws its inspiration from well-known words from Romans 8: 38-39; 'For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any owers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, can separate us from the love of God'. The music reflects the confidence and certainty of the scripture text while, as in everyday life, trials and tests come along which are reflected in a sequence of musical skirmishes. The work introduces the 19th century hymn 'St Albinus' to a wider audience and also includes references to the tunes 'St Margaret' and 'Rachie'. A setting of the Easter Hymn, 'Christ the Lord is risen today!', is heard followed by a final reprise of 'St Albinus'.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95Fox's Air and Dance (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
This is a one-movement composition, albeit in two sections, that is accessible to bands of most abilities and to all audiences. The Air is in a good-natured, easy-going style while the Dance section is a bit of a romp loosely based on the traditional tune 'In and out the dusty bluebells'.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£59.95Swedish Festival Music (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
This three-movement suite was commissioned by the Swedish Brass Band Association as the test piece for the Championship Section of their 2008 National Contest. The first movement is inspired by the magnificent Swedish hymn 'How Great Thou Art'. Indeed the influence of that hymn can be traced in all three movements. The declamatory style of the opening gives way to other, more reflective expressions of awe and wonder. A more animated section develops before a final, triumphant statement of the 'How Great' idea returns to finish the movement. The slow second movement features another much-loved Swedish hymn. The music provides plenty of scope for expressive playing, and a feeling of intimacy should be created by the use of several short solo passages. The third movement Allegro brings a totally different, dance-like mood with frequent references to a reel from the region of Uppland. This eventually brings a return to the opening subject and a final, triumphant reference to 'How Great Thou Art'.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days