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£89.95Songs of Ascent - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 14 minutes. DIFFICULTY: Championship. 'Songs of Ascent' was composed for the Royal Northern College of Music Brass Band, as part of their programme for the 2019 RNCM Festival of Brass. In my view, the festival itself is the leading showcase for original contemporary music for the medium (in a concert setting) in the world and therefore an ideal place to explore new ideas and sounds, which was a notion fundamental to the construction of this work. The piece is subtitled 'Out of the Depths, I cry to you, O Lord'; the opening line of Psalm 130 (which forms part of a set of 15 psalsm, 120-134 known as the Songs of Ascent") which forms the main inspiration for much of the musical material. Following an extended opening for four individual tuba lines, there are a number of solos for members of the band off stage, with bleak and deep accompaniment lines, reflecting the words of Psalm 130. Amongst these 'songs of ascents', the most common and strong themes are repentance and redemption; with the central core of this work emerging 'from the depths' to reveal one of very few calming and reflective passages of the work utilising the tune of 'Guide Me O Thy Great Redeemer' in a new setting, featuring the Solo Horn and Bass Trombone, before returning to the ethereal and dark timbres that form much of the music up to this point. In terms of compositional technique, this work is solely based on a set of 4 9-note scales in their various unique transpositions (below). Each of these scales provide a set of 2 whole tone scales, 6 minor triads, 6 major triads and is built on 9 augmented triads. Whilst most of the music in this work is based melodically on the set of notes (heard right at the outset in the motif in the tuba line), the central section delves into the harmonic capabilities of these 'modes', using a number of the 7 'keys' which can be derived from the minor & major chords derived in each scale. All 4 scales are used independantly to each other, with whole sections of the work focussing on each mode. 'Songs of Ascent' was selected as the set work for the Championship Section at the Butlin's Mineworker's Championships in 2020.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£121.00Decennium - Eric Swiggers
'Decennium' was composed in 2003 as a commission by the municipality of Berheze for its tenth anniversary. The composition describes the history of this town in the Province of Brabant, consisting of 6 different villages: Heesch, Heeswijk, Dinther, Nistelrode, Loosbroek and Vorstenbosch. The composition starts with a slow introduction, Adagio Misterioso, suggesting the atmosphere in long-ago days when the area consisted mainly of swamps, meres and low woods. (The word 'Bern' is a synonym of 'Born' meaning source or water, whereas 'Hese' is derived from 'Haisjo' meaning brushwood ). Above the dark sounds we hear far away trumpet signals announcing the Middle Ages. After a piercing crescendo, we hear the full sound of festive trumpets. A medieval dance, as was to be heard in the Heeswijk castle, follows. This dance gets a more and more stirring character and finally turns into a merry popular dance ending with a burst of laughter reproduced by descending scales with the muted trombones and trumpets. A slow transition with a quotation from a Gregorian plainsong (Domine Deus) and church bell ringing, referring to the Abbey of Berne, brings us to a romantic Larghetto. This part describes the quiet rural life in a beautiful natural surrounding. The last dying note contrasts with the threatening ostinato, referring to the rise of the industrialization, which provoked quite some resistance with the local people. Once more we hear the 'Domine Deus' but much more powerful this time. When the resistance calms down, the work concludes with an Alla Marcia. The first notes of the main theme could be heard all through the composition and now we hear the complete main theme again. The new town is born. A festive conclusion refers both to the tenth anniversary and the optimism and confidence as to the future.
Estimated dispatch 10-14 working days
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£10.00Endurance
DescriptionMen wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success. - Ernest Shackleton, 4 Burlington StreetEndurance takes its title from the ship used by Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914-15. After many months of fundraising (and reputedly running the above advert in The Times) the Endurance set sail from Plymouth on 6 August 1914. Whilst at sea news of the outbreak of war led Shackleton to put his ship and crew at the disposal of the Admiralty, but their services were not required and they were encouraged to continue. On October 26 1914 they left Grytviken on South Georgia for the Antarctic continent, hoping to find the pack ice shrinking in the Antarctic spring. Two days later, however, they encountered unseasonable ice which slowed their progress considerably. On 15 January 1915, when Endurance was only 200 miles from her intended landfall at Vahsel Bay, the ship became beset by ice which had been compressed against the land to the south by gale force winds. Trapped in the ice of the Weddell Sea, the ship spent the Antarctic winter driven by the weather further from her intended destination until, on 21 November 1915 Endurance broke up forcing the crew to abandon ship and set up camp on the ice at a site they named "Patience Camp".The crew spent several weeks on the ice. As the southern spring started to reduce the extent of the ice shelf they took to their three lifeboats, sailing across the open ocean to reach the desolate and uninhabited Elephant Island. There they used two of the boats to build a makeshift shelter while Shackleton and five others took the largest boat, an open lifeboat named the 'James Caird' and sailed it for 800 terrifyingly dangerous miles across the vast and lonely Southern Atlantic to South Georgia - a journey now widely regarded as one of the greatest and most heroic small-boat journeys ever undertaken. After landing on the wrong side of the island and having to climb over a mountain range in the dark with no map, Shackleton and his companions finally stumbled back into the Grytviken whaling station on 19 May 1916.After resting very briefly to recover his strength, Shackleton then began a relentless campaign to beg or borrow a ship to rescue the rest of his crew from Elephant Island; whaling ships were not strong enough to enter polar ice, but on 30 August 1916, over two years after their departure from Plymouth, Shackleton finally returned to Elephant Island aboard a steam tug borrowed from the Chilean government. Although some were in poor health, every member of the Endurance crew was rescued and returned home alive.Endurance is dedicated to the memory of my mum, who passed away in September 2017.Listen to a computer generated preview and follow the score below:
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£159.99Other Lives (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Waespi, Oliver
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.Duration: 18.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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Game Of Thrones - Ramin Djawadi - Len Jenkins
"Game of Thrones" is an American fantasy drama television series based on George Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" and has received widespread acclaim by critics, although its use of nudity and violence has caused controversy. Filmed in Belfast and on location elsewhere in Northern Ireland, Malta, Croatia, Iceland, and Morocco, it premiered in 2011 and continues into a fourth season in 2014. The series interweaves several plot lines and through its morally ambiguous characters, explores the issues of social hierarchy, religion, loyalty, corruption, sexuality, civil war, crime, and punishment. It is set in a period that contains elements from the dark ages through to the medieval. The music for the series was composed by Ramin Djawadi and is noted for its popular main theme which is presented here as an arrangement for Brass Band. In keeping with the period depicted, the piece contains a significant contribution from the percussion section and care has been taken to achieve the desired effect with the normal resources of the average band.
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£74.00
A Starry Night (Bra) - Louis Kroni
On a dark night and look up into the night sky. If you're away from the bright city lights and it's a clear night, you should see beautiful stars shining in the night. Just think, the light from those stars has traveled light-years through space to reach earth...
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£13.50Stai si, defenda! (Score Only)
Stai si, defenda romontsch, tiu vegl lungatg (Stand up, defend your old Romansh language): This composition was named after a quotation from a poem by famous Romansh poet Giachen Casper Muoth. The arrangement deals with various well known songs for male choir such as A Trun sut igl ischi (In Trun under the malpe tree), Si sededesta Rezia (Wake up, land of Raetia), Il pur suveran (The independent farmer) or Il paun palus (The rosted bread). An atmospheric beginning over a pedal point uses quotations from these songs and leads eventually into a dark but warmly orchestrated section on Nossa viarva (Our language) by H. Erni. The piece ends, once more quoting A Trun sut igl ischi by J. Heim, a dedication to struggle for freedom and independence.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£41.95
Stai si, defenda! (Stand Up, Defend!)
Stai si, defenda romontsch, tiu vegl lungatg (Stand up, defend your old Romansh language): This composition was named after a quotation from a poem by famous Romansh poet Giachen Casper Muoth. The arrangement deals with various well known songs for male choir such as A Trun sut igl ischi (In Trun under the malpe tree), Si sededesta Rezia (Wake up, land of Raetia), Il pur suveran (The independent farmer) or Il paun palus (The rosted bread). An atmospheric beginning over a pedal point uses quotations from these songs and leads eventually into a dark but warmly orchestrated section on Nossa viarva (Our language) by H. Erni. The piece ends, once more quoting A Trun sut igl ischi by J. Heim, a dedication to struggle for freedom and independence.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£105.20Infinity Forest - Haakon Esplo
The concert overture "Infinity Forest" draws inspiration from an ancient forest, standing majestically, enveloped in mystery and secrets. Venturing into this forest, one never knows what awaits. It lies dark and quiet, interrupted by clearings where the sunlight breaks through."Infinity Forest" serves as a magnificent opening for any concert and is equally an excellent choice for competition repertoire. The music presents challenges of both technical and musical nature for all instrument groups, offering great opportunities to focus on precision, timbres, and intonation. While the lower parts are designed for easier difficulty, the lead parts present greater challenges.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£133.00
Bipolarity (Bra) - Stijn Aertgeerts
In the close environment of the composer some people struggle with bipolar disorder. It's hard to imagine how hard it must be to live with those episodes, going rapidly between a state of hypomania and severe depression, or worse. With this piece I wanted to try and describe those different episodes, from a highly elevated mood into a great feeling of sadness, from euphoria to complete darkness. The piece starts off really excited, almost overexcited and a touch nervous. This mood quickly shifts into self-doubt, announced by the multiple cadenzas in cornet, euphonium, flugelhorn and trombone. Out of this follows a haunting feeling of growing sadness. Another eerie reminder of the opening shifts the mood into calmness, optimism and even for just a second complete happiness. This however fades in an instant, as you hear someone literally being dragged down by a chain. Here starts the total spiral into darkness, spinning more and more out of control to a heavy and dark conclusion.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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