Results
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£22.50Princethorpe Variations (Brass Band - Score only) - Downie, Kenneth
Colourful harmony, rhythmic flair and melodic invention are the hallmarks of this excellent set of variations by Kenneth Downie, based on the well known church tune, Princethorpe.This major work demonstrates the well-known characteristics of the composer: colourful harmony, rhythmic flair and melodic invention, all encapsulated in scoring which is engulfing both to players and listeners alike. Following a presentation of the theme there are five variations culminating in what can be described as either a finale or coda.Theme. The composer shows his originality in the harmonic sense of this introduction. Perhaps it could be suggested that over-indulgence of rubato may be a temptation to be avoided.Sections A to F. Relentless rhythmic drive is of paramount importance in this first variation. Conscientious observance of dynamics is of course an essential requirement in conveying the exciting quality of the music; there are moments of sudden contrast of which all will need to be aware. Moving between the time-signatures of 5/4 and 6/4 these sections are built from strong easily-identifiable fragments of the theme. These is a significant increase in temp at letter F which will further the exciting impact of the music.Sections G & H. In a pastorale style this short, gentle variation affords a contrast in style between the previous and succeeding ones. The gentle undulating character of the melodic lines is governed by the Allegretto grazioso directive.Sections I to M. Commencing two bars before letter I the music is now exuberant and the tempo and style is that of a march in compound time. In this exhilarating movement there are moments of contrast and indeed of delicacy which are a foil to the more energetic moments. Rhythmic control will be essential to maintain a consistent tempo. As elsewhere in the work, the percussion section will contribute much to the success of the performance there are bars where this section alone is heard and there are important entries for glockenspiel.Sections N & O. With emotional content this Adagio variation has the first two notes of the melody as its melodic impetus. Apart from just over two bars at O (where there is an interpolatory phrase from Cornets and Trombones), the melodic line is entrusted to the plaintive sounds of the horn section. Cornets and Trombones provide a change of tone colour at the beginning of section O. Under a poco rall, this very expressive variation is concluded; there is an important link supplied by Eb Bass.Sections P & Q. A lively march-tempo is launched immediately and these sections are in the nature of an introduction to the final variations. There is a quickening of pace at Q which assists the generation of excitement which should be an essential part of the performance. Solo Cornets introduce a melodic line at Q which anticipates the compound time of the following section.Sections R & S. The Solo Cornet theme of the previous section is now a contrapuntal line accompanying the theme tune. With an elongation of the notes in the melody, the conductor will need to call on the sustaining powers of the band and at no time should the interesting accompanying lines be allowed to detract from the sonorous presentation of the basic theme.Sections T, U & V. Following a poco rit, the finale begins at letter T with the directive, molto vivace. There is much detail to be rehearsed, not least being the dynamic contrasts which are encountered. As throughout the work, the listener should have no difficulty in identifying the thematic sources of the composer's music.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95TRUMPETS OF THE ANGELS (Gregson) (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
The Trumpets of the Angels was commissioned by the Fodens (Courtois) Band for their centenary concert at The Bridgewater Hall in 2000. It is based on a work written for the BBC Philharmonic and Huddersfield Choral Society in 1998, the starting point of which was a quotation from the Book of Revelation:and I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpetsThus the idea behind the work is dramatic and I have tried to achieve this by the spatial deployment of seven solo trumpets around the band, four on-stage, the others off-stage. Six of the solo trumpets eventually join the band, but Trumpet 7 remains off-stage and, indeed, has the most dramatic and extended cadenza representing the words of the seventh angel ...and time shall be no more.The Trumpets of the Angels is a large-scale work, scored for seven solo trumpets, brass band, organ and percussion (deploying 'dark' instruments such as tam-tams, bass drum and two sets of timpani). The work opens with a four-note motif announced by off-stage horns and baritones and answered by fanfare figures on solo trumpets. In turn, each of the first four solo trumpets play cadenzas and then all four join together, independently playing their own music. The organ enters dramatically with its own cadenza, leading to the entry of solo trumpets 5 and 6 with music that is more urgent and rhythmic, describing the horsemen of the Apocalypse.The music reaches another climax, more intense this time, with the horns and baritones (now on-stage) again sounding the transformed motif, before subsiding into what might be described as a lament for humanity, slow music which builds from low to high, from soft to loud, with a melody that is both simple and poignant. At the climax, Trumpet 7 enters playing the opening four-note motif, dramatically extended to almost three octaves. This cadenza (to the partial accompaniment of tam-tams) introduces new material and foreshadows the ensuing scherzo which is fast and aggressive. Despite the somewhat desolate mood of this music, it slowly moves towards an optimistic conclusion, transforming the 'humanity' music into an affirmative and triumphant statement.- Edward Gregson
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£102.60Det er makt i de foldede hender - Trygve Bjerkrheim
This arrangement is written to commemorate Robert Kvam, a trumpeter, conductor and instrument repair technician.He died of cancer in 2019, only 54 years old.The quiet, beautiful hymn There is power in the folded hands (Trygve Bjerkrheim / Oivind Tonnesen) was his favorite song, and the tune and lyrics are the fundament of this arrangement. Especially the line in themselves, the hands are small and weak is an important motif to the arrangement.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£8.99Disney Around the World (Score Only)
If you're a Disney fan, this is your moment! This medley for brass band by James Christensen contains many of the great hits from the rich Disney repertoire: Alice in Wonderland, Colonel Hathi's March, I Wanna Be Like You (Jungle Book), It's A Small World, Let's Go Fly A Kate (Mary Poppins), Night on Bald Mountain, Robin Hood, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Under the Sea and Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£37.95Benvenuto Cellini (Brass Band - Score only)
Berliozs opera Benvenuto Cellini was first produced in Paris in 1838 but was withdrawn as a failure, and it was not until the production in Dresden in 1888 that it was finally acclaimed by the Germans as a triumph. Adapted from certain episodes recorded in the memoirs of Benvenuto Cellini, Tuscan sculptor and goldsmith, the story, laid in Rome during the mid-sixteenth century, is not strictly historical. The short opening Allegro, marked deciso con impeto, is conceived in the most brilliant Berlioz manner, utilising full instrumentation. In the Larghetto we meet at once the first of the opera themes " the Cardinals aria (from the last act) introduced in the bass, quasi pizzicato. A second melody leads to a resumption of the Allegro, the contrasting second subject in the tenor horns being an adaptation of Teresas aria (Act I). Towards the end the Cardinal theme is re-introduced by trombones, fortissimo against an energetic cornet and euphonium passage (senza stringendo " without hurry, says the score). After a unison passage storming skywards, there is a sudden, dramatic three-bar silent pause broken by Eb basses alone, again stating the Cardinal theme. A simple molto crescendo on the dominant, begun piano, leads to the long, resounding chord.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95Masquerade (Score Only)
The first performance took place on the 4th. September 1993 at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester during the British Open Brass Band Championships.Note by Philip Wilby:Masquerade is a centenary tribute to Verdi's last opera Falstaff and takes its final scene as the basis for my own piece. Thus I have used some of Verdi's music, and some of Shalespeare's plot, and woven them into a fabric with highly demanding music of my own to produce a work in the great tradition of operatically-based brass band pieces. Such scores date from the very beginnings of band repertory and are often not direct arrangements in the established sense but new compositions produced in homage to a past master. They may still offer performers and audience alike something familiar interwoven with something new. My own piece reuses some elements from the original story: . .Falstaff has been caught in a web of his own lies by the ladies of the town, who propose to teach him a lesson. The story opens at night in Windsor Great Park. The plotters, variously disguised in Hallowe'en fashion (as fairies,elves hobgoblins etc!) assemble in the park to await Falstaff's arrival (musicologists will, perhaps, note a rare use of 'large bottle in F' being used during this scene of suppressed alcoholic revelry!). Falstaff's companions, Bardolph,Piston and Robin, enter (represented here by the three trombones!), and are variously abused by the masqueraders. At the height of the Tout an alarm sounds and Falstaff (euphonium cadenza) enters as Midnight strikes. From a safe hiding place he watches as the disguised Nanetta (principal comet) sings a serene solo as the moon appcars above the trees. With sudden force the others seize him and drag him from his hiding place. As in the traditional game 'Blind Man's Buff', he is roughly turned seven times (a sequence of solo accelerandi) until, at last, he recognizes his assailants as his sometime friends. Far from complaining, Verdi's character concludes the opera with a good-humoured fugue on the words.... 'All the World's a Joke... Every mortal laughs at the others, But he laughs best who has the final laugh. Philip Wilby.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95Revelation (Score Only)
Symphony for Double Brass on a theme of Purcell 1995 marked the tercentenary of Purcell's death, and my new score Revelation has been written as a tribute to his music and the ornate and confident spirit of his age. There are five major sections: 1 Prologue 2 Variations on a ground bass I 3 Fugue 4 Variations on a ground bass II 5 Epilogue and Resurrection The score uses many features of the Baroque Concerto Grosso, and arranges players in two equal groups from which soloists emerge to play in a variety ofvirtuoso ensembles. It quotes freely from Purcell's own piece Three Parts on a Ground in which he has composed a brilliant sequence of variations over a repeating six-note bass figure. This original motif can be heard most clearly beneath the duet for Cornet 5 and Soprano at the beginning of the 2nd section. There is, of course, a religious dimension to Revelation as the title suggests, and the score is prefaced by lines by the 17th century poet John Donne. His Holy Sonnet paraphrases the Book of Revelation in which the dead are raised at the sounds of the last trumpet. Donne's trumpets are themselves placed stereophonically ". . . At the round Earth's imagined corners" and it is this feature that today's players represent as they move around the performing area. Their final apocalyptic fanfares can be heard at the close of the score, as Purcell's music re-enters in a lasting tribute to England's first composer of genius. Philip Wilby September 1995 At the round Earth imagined corners, blow your trumpets, angels, and arise, arise from death, you numberless infinities Of souls, and to your scattered bodies go. All whom the flood did, and fire shall o 'erthrow All whom war, dearth, age, agues, tyrannies, Despair, law, chance hath slain, and you whose eyes Shall Behold God, and never taste death woe. John Donne after Revelation Ch. 11 v.15
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£21.80Three Spanish Impressions (Score Only)
Three Spanish Impressions originally were part of a large, single movement work called " SPAIN" Whilst happy with the content of the work, I realised that it was rather unwieldy and a bit too long, so, with the publishers blessing, created a shorter suite from the existing material.The brooding and repetitive opening movement takes its mood perhaps from the Miles Davis/Gil Evans album "Sketches of Spain", albeit in a less stringent harmonic language. The middle movement is a delicate and fragile waltz, with shades of a romance within, and the finale, a colourful and robust fandango, also contains a lyrical heart!The thematic material, whilst written very much as a pastiche of the music of Spain, is original, and the accent is firmly on melody and musicianship!Alan FernieJune 2007
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95Vivat! (Score Only)
Commissioned for the 2012 1st Section Finals as a celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the work is in three contrasting continuous sections and the music is derived from Parry's coronation anthem, I Was Glad. The sections are: In Memorium, evoki
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£32.50Music for Jock Tamson (Brass Band - Score only) - Fernie, Alan
Regionals 2024 - 4th Section test pieceScottish Dances Set 2An original suite in three movements:Nyah Fearties!InchkeithWha's Like Us?This work was one of twelve works commissioned by the Scottish Brass Band Association and Funded by Creative Scotland Targeted Fund - 2021 to aid Covid Recovery and support composers in Scotland.Jock Tamson - a Scottish name explained... The phrase more often occurs in an extended form: We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns. This is interpreted in a metaphorical sense as a statement of egalitarian sentiments equivalent to "we're all the same under the skin" or "we are all God's children". i.e. This is music for everyone!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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