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£59.95
PLANTAGENETS, The (Brass Band Set) - Edward Gregson
The Plantagenets was composed for the Championship Section of the Regional contests of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 1973. The work is not intended to be programme music but rather it tries to portray the mood and feelings of an age, that of the House of Plantagenet, which lasted from the middle of the 12th century to the end of the 14th century. To many, it conjures up an Age of Chivalry and this is represented by fanfare motifs which occur throughout the work in varied form. The opening thematic figure, rising through the band in thirds and followed by the fanfares, is important as nearly all the subsequent material is based upon it. There follows two themes, the second of which is lyrical and introduced by horns. In the long, slow middle section, a new theme is introduced by a solo horn (recurring on cornet and euphonium in canon) and is developed at some length. A lively fugato scherzino, however, leads to a recapitulation of the opening section music and the work ends with a maestoso statement of the slow movement theme. A final reference to the fanfares ends the work.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£64.95Music for Greenwich (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Gregson, Edward
Music for Greenwich was commissioned in 1980 by the Greenwich Theatre, London, for a new production of Peter Buckman's play 'All Together Now'.In this play, about a down-at-heels brass band in the North of England brought to a new level of self-confidence and achievement by an incoming conductor, the whole cast performed a test piece on stage every night (i.e. Music for Greenwich), in readiness for a competition which they have entered and, of course, win. Although the play is as much a social commentary as anything to do with music-making, every member of the cast had to be able to play a brass instrument to a greater or lesser extent (a difficult challenge for the casting Director!).For obvious reasons, the music is not technically difficult. The work is structured as follows: a brief fanfare-like opening is followed by an allegro section, rhythmic and playful; a slow lyrical section is then introduced (a suitably nostalgic melody featuring solos for cornet and trombone), before a return to the fast music, a hint of the fanfare, and finally a climactic flourish to round things off. This is music to be enjoyed, as hopefully it was every night by the audience and actors alike.Duration: 5.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£24.95
Music for Greenwich (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
Music for Greenwich was commissioned in 1980 by the Greenwich Theatre, London, for a new production of Peter Buckman's play 'All Together Now'.In this play, about a down-at-heels brass band in the North of England brought to a new level of self-confidence and achievement by an incoming conductor, the whole cast performed a test piece on stage every night (i.e. Music for Greenwich), in readiness for a competition which they have entered and, of course, win. Although the play is as much a social commentary as anything to do with music-making, every member of the cast had to be able to play a brass instrument to a greater or lesser extent (a difficult challenge for the casting Director!).For obvious reasons, the music is not technically difficult. The work is structured as follows: a brief fanfare-like opening is followed by an allegro section, rhythmic and playful; a slow lyrical section is then introduced (a suitably nostalgic melody featuring solos for cornet and trombone), before a return to the fast music, a hint of the fanfare, and finally a climactic flourish to round things off. This is music to be enjoyed, as hopefully it was every night by the audience and actors alike.Duration: 5.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£127.95Music of the Angels (Symphonic Brass Ensemble - Score and Parts)
In 1998 Gregson was commissioned by conductor Martyn Brabbins to write a short concert opener with choir to mark his debut as Music Director of the Huddersfield Choral Society. Entitled ...and the seven trumpets... this ten minute flourish is founded on a verse from Chapter 8 of the Revelation To John (The Apocalypse), the last book in the Bible: 'and I saw the seven Angels which stood before God: and to them were given seven trumpets'. The performance employed the full power of the Huddersfield Town Hall organ and the brass section of the BBC Philharmonic, including seven trumpets and four horns placed strategically around hall.The following year, when Gregson received a commission from the Cheshire-based Foden's Brass Band (conducted at that time by Nicholas Childs) for a work to mark its centenary in 2000, he turned to the first portion of ...and the seven trumpets... as the basis for an ambitious celebratory work entitled The Trumpets of the Angels. "The opportunity to create an extended work which would break out of the brass band mould was an important milestone for me," the composer says. In 2015 he was asked by Nicholas Childs to create a new performing edition without organ for the Black Dyke Band. This received its first performance in April 2016 at the European Brass Band Festival in Lille. In 2018, Gregson revisited the music for a third time, returning the opening fanfares to orchestral brass and transforming substantial portions of the 'Black Dyke' version to create Music of the Angels, a dramatic canvas for symphonic brass and percussion.An array of bells and gongs offer an unmistakable key to the source of Gregson's inspiration. Inscribed In tribute to Olivier Messiaen, the work's principal material and its sound world, but crucially not the underlying musical processes, are influenced by Messiaen's masterpiece for wind and percussion, Et exspecto ressurectionem mortuorum (1964). Music of the Angels begins with braying of horns suggestive of the start of an ancient ritual. Six 'angel' trumpeters, set behind the ensemble, answer in sequence, with the evocative sound of tam-tams creating the Messiaen-like aura. Once the horns have reached the performing space, four of the trumpeters deliver highly contrasting fanfare cadenzas. At the climax of this episode, the individual fanfares are presented together, as if, perhaps, to reflect the Biblical writer's apocalyptic visions of hail, fire, seas of blood and the cataclysmic destruction of man and beast.This powerful vision of death and destruction gives way to a prayerful lament, re-imagining a sung Kyrie Eleison from the 'Black Dyke' edition, with flugel horn and euphonium obligati. The hushed atmosphere is broken by tenor and side drums, and trumpets five and six, which gallop away like the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In the biblical account their steeds had 'heads like lions with fire and smoke and sulphur issuing from their mouths'.As the reverberation of a dramatic climax dies we hear the entry of the seventh trumpet, from 'on high', blazing forth with a version of the main that extends across the entire compass of the instrument - almost three octaves. Supported by a 'holy trinity' of gongs, an 'epic' final cadenza introduces new material which is further developed in a frenetic final section. This is announced by two sets of timpani, to the left and right. Braying brass (euphoniums and horns) once more adds an air of foreboding. As the music builds towards a magisterial conclusion, the Messiaen-inspired tritones of the principal motif are smoothed out into perfect 5ths and combined with the earlier material in a full-voiced chorale, over which the seventh trumpet blazes in triumph.- Programme note by Paul HindmarshScored for1 Trumpet in E flat (Trumpet 5)6 Trumpets in B flat (Trumpet 4 doubling Flugel Horn)4 Horns in F3 Tenor Trombones1 Bass TromboneEuphonium2 Tubas2 Timpani (Percussion 3 doubles Timpani 2)Percussion (3 players): 3 Tam-tams, 3 Suspended Cymbals, Bass Drum, Tenor Drum, Snare Drum, Tubular Bells.Duration: 16.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£27.95Three Fanfares (Brass Ensemble - Score and Parts)
This set includes three fanfares by Edward Gregson for symphonic brass and percussion ensemble:Fanfare for a New EraFanfare for the NorthFanfare for EuropeFanfare for a New Era: This fanfare was commissioned by Lady Sheila Stoller to celebrate the opening of the Stoller Hall at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester (UK). It is dedicated to Sir Norman Stoller, who generously donated the funding for the new concert hall. It was first performed by students of Chetham's School of Music, conducted by Stephen Threlfall, at the Royal Opening of the Stoller Hall on 24 April 2017. Ideally, the fanfare should be performed using as much spatial arrangement as possible, so that the antiphonal effects are heard to their best advantage. Whatever the chosen lay-out, the 1st Trumpet should be positioned off-stage in a suitable position. This could be a rear balcony if the venue is not too large, or in a side balcony in a larger concert hall. Duration: 3.00Fanfare for the North: This fanfare was commissioned by the Gateshead Garden Festival of 1990 and was first performed by London Brass Virtuosi, directed by David Honeyball, at the Royal Opening by HM The Queen. Its four-note motif (G, A, E, D), which is heard throughout the fanfare, is derived from the letters of 'Gateshead'. Duration: 1.15Fanfare for Europe: This fanfare was specially commissioned for two concerts celebrating the UK's entry into Europe (or the European Economic Community as it was then known) in 1973. The first performances were given at York Minister and the Royal Albert Hall, London, in January 1973. The fanfare was also featured as the opening music for the first episode of a series of short documentary programmes made for BBC Radio 4 in 2018 by Mark Mardell entitled Brexit: A Love Story? Duration: 1.15Duration: 5.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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