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£154.99The Divine Right - Philip Harper
At the time of composing this piece, the Arab Spring was sweeping through the Middle East. It seemed that almost every week a new countrys people had risen up against the regimes and dictatorships which had prevailed for generations, leaving manynations at a defining crossroads in their history. There were so many possible ways ahead: so many hopes, yet so many uncertainties.My music is a depiction of these revolutionary times, and several musical themes are in turn presented, discussed, considered, fought over, altered, rejected or accepted. Most nations have had, or probably will have, their own Arab Spring, including my own, the United Kingdom. Events of 17th Century Britain provide the context for this piece, particularly those following the execution of the tyrant King Charles I on30 January 1649. The regicide was in part due to Charless steadfast belief in the Divine Right of Kings, and led to a tumultuous interregnum, where England stood at its own defining crossroads.The music begins turbulently, before King Charles appears and is led to the gallows outside Banqueting House in central London where he is brutally decapitated. From the assembled crowd rose, according to one observer, a moan as I never heard before and desire I may never hear again.The music descends to emptiness. The musical argument which follows is not strictly programmatic, but a number of musical themes are all thrown into the melting pot, representing ideas such as: religion; military force; reasoned Parliamentary debate; and the chattering,irrepressible voice of the people. Additionally, there are some quotations from the music of royalist composer Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656), who was often in tune with the feeling of the times. This defining episode in Englands history was brought to a close with the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, and as the exiled King Charles II rode back into London the diarist John Evelyn wrote: Never was so joyful a day seen in this nation. I stood in the Strand and beheld it, and blessed God.At the end of the piece the bells ring out, and the musical appearance of the King has transformed from turbulent to triumphant. Philip Harper, 2013
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£63.50Spiral - Marc Jeanbourquin
Marc Jeanbourquin composed 'Spiral' during a music camp, for himself and 9 other fellow musicians. Due to the success of this piece, some years later, he has taken the main theme and developed it, with a kind of tribute to Camille Saint-Saens, one of his favourite composers. The constant changes between the minor and major keys, and between the often changing 2 and 3 feeling, with the occasional 2/4 bar thrown in, do not disrupt the flow of the piece in the slightest; in fact it is what has inspired the title. A percussion interlude, which is broken up by the unregularly occurring meter, brings the piece to a restatement of the original theme, which then ends in a large crescendo. Spiral is perfectly suited to either the opening or the close of any concert.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£59.99Aria - Philip Sparke
Aria was commissioned by and written for the remarkable Tenor Horn player, Sheona White. The work opens with an accompanied recitative, which leads to a change of key where the main melody is presented. This, in turn, serves as an introduction to another melodic idea, marked calmato. The band takes up this theme and then takes centre stage with a passionate repeat of the main theme, which is completed by the soloist. A Cornet then plays the calmato theme against which the soloist plays a counter melody. This leads to a return of the opening recitative which brings the work to a peaceful close. A fantastic new addition to the solo repertoire for this much neglectedsolo instrument.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£74.99Kingdom of Dragons - Philip Harper
The 'Kingdom of Dragons' is Gwent in South Wales, known in ancient times as the Kingdom of Gwent, and more recently home to the Newport Gwent Dragons Rugby Union team. This piece was commissioned by the Gwent Music Service with additionalfunding from Ty Cerdd - Music Centre Wales to celebrate the 50th anniversary in 2010 of the formation of the Gwent Youth Brass Band. Although the music is continuous, it is divided into four distinct sections, each one representing one of theunitary authorities which make up the County of Gwent. I. Monmouthshire, which has a large number of ancient castlesII. Blaenau Gwent, an historic area of iron and coal miningIII. Torfaen, where Pontypool Park is a notablelandmarkIV. Newport, the largest city in the region. The music begins with a two-bar fanfare, which sets out all the thematic material of the piece. The mood of pageantry that follows describes some of the ancient castles inMonmouthshire, with rolling tenor drums and fanfaring cornets. After a majestic climax the music subsides and quite literally descends into the coal mines of Blaenau Gwent. The percussion provides effects that suggest industrial machineryclanking into life, and the music accelerates to become a perilous white-knuckle ride on the underground railroad. There is a brief respite as a miner's work-song is introduced and, after a protracted build-up, this is restated at fortissimo beforethe music comes crashing to an inglorious close, much like the UK's mining industry itself. The middle sonorities of the band portray the tranquillity of Pontypool Park, a place of great natural beauty. Brief cadenzas for cornet and euphoniumlead to a full band reprise of the pastoral mood. At the end of this section we find ourselves at the top of the park's 'Folly Tower' from which the distant castle turrets of Monmouthshire are visible. Pontypool RFC was one of eleven clubs inthe first Welsh league in 1881 and a brief but bruising musical portrayal of the formidable Pontypool front-row, the 'Viet Gwent' leads into the work's final section. This portrays Newport, a symbol for progress and optimism for the future, idealsshared by the Gwent Youth Band itself. The music is a vigorous fugue which advances through various keys and episodes before the final triumphant augmented entry which brings the work to a magnificent conclusion. NOTES ONPERFORMANCEPercussion requirements: (3 players) Timpani, 2 Tenor Drums, 2 Tom toms, Snare Drum (sticks and brushes required), Bass Drum, Clash Cymbals, Suspended Cymbal, Hi-hat, Sizzle Cymbal, Tambourine, Metal block with metalbeater (eg hammer), Rattle (eg football rattle), Glockenspiel, Xylophone
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£59.99Sanctuary - Philip Sparke
Sanctuary was commissioned by Eastern Bay of Plenty Brass from New Zealand and was performed as an own choice piece at the 2018 New Zealand National Brass Band Championships. It opens with an expressive cornet solo, hymn-like in mood. A slightly faster central section builds to a change of key and an expansive return of the opening melody, this time scored for full band. After an emotional climax the mood subsides, leading to a quiet close.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£79.99Fanfare and Celebration - Philip Sparke
Fanfare and Celebration was commissioned by the Brass Band of the Western Reserve (Dr Keith M. Wilkinson, director) to celebrate their 15th anniversary.Based in north-west Ohio, the band was formed in 1997 and was competing in the Championship Section of the North American Brass Band Championships in less than three years. The first performance of Fanfare and Celebration took place in Akron, Ohio, on November 10th 2012.The opening Fanfare features the cornet section, in two groups standing either side of the band.A central horn theme brings a change of mood before the cornets take the lead oncemore. Celebration follows seamlessly and continues the declamatory style until a cantando theme in uneven meter is introduced. A transformed recapitulation ushers in a return of the Fanfare to close the work.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£79.99Sambezi - Philip Sparke
Sambezi is the brass band version of the last movement of Philip Sparke's Trombone Concerto. It starts in a joyful and outgoing mood with the soloist playing a carefree samba tune. A jazz-in uenced central tune explores the higher ranges of the trombone before the samba rhythms set up a 'contest' between the soloist and the band's trombone section. The soloist is the eventual 'winner' and he celebrates by reintroducing the samba melody before bringing the work to a virtuosic close. A real treat for your trombone soloist.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£80.00Fanfares and Love Songs - Gavin Higgins
Fanfares and Love Songs was commissioned by the National Children's Brass Band of Great Britain for performance on 25th July 2009. Its three movements contrast the extrovert and lyrical qualities of thetraditional brass band. The fanfare with which the work opens involves the whole cornet section. The second movement is reflective in mood, beginning somewhat pensively on muted brass, and building to an emotional climax beforesubsiding back to a distant pianissimo chord. The finale is a fast dance, which with a final recapitulation of the opening fanfare drives on to a breathless close. Brass Band Grade 4: Advanced Youth and 3rdSectionDuration: 12 minutes
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£90.00Another world's hell - Simon Dobson
Another World's Hell was commissioned in versions for brass, wind and fanfare bands by the Socit Cantonale des Musiques Vaudoises and the Association Cantonale des MusiquesNeuchteloises for the 2013 Swiss Cantonales festivals. It is inspired by a passage in Aldous Huxley's classic 1932 science-fiction novel Brave New World, which describes in unusually close detail themusic that is being played at a dance. This is Dobson's interpretation of the imagined 'future music' that Huxley dreamed of. Brass Band Grade 5Duration: 13 minutes
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£65.00Christmas Overture - Nigel Hess - Phillip Littlemore
Nigel Hess' vivacious and colourful A Christmas Overture, originally commissioned as an orchestral work by John Rutter for his 2007 Christmas Festival, proved an instant success with audience and orchestra alike. Traditional carols, skilfully juxtaposed and interwoven, provide the thematic material. These include Ding Dong! Merrily On High; Il Est N Le Divin Enfant; Infant Holy, Infant Lowly; Personent Hodie; We Wish You A Merry Christmas and Angels From The Realms Of Glory, which brings the overture to a majestic close. Fragments of other carols appear along the way to enrich the texture of what is surely one of the mostattractive pieces written for the festive season. Brass Band Grade 4/5. Duration: 7 minutes, 30 seconds
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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