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£85.00Alchymist's Journal. - Kenneth Hesketh
'The Alchymist's Journal' gets its title from the book of the same name by American author Evan S. Connell. The book fictionalises a number of famous Alchemist's writings, each one developing another's thoughts thuscontinuing one idea but changing it subtly to provide a new view point or way of thinking. This process is, in fact, alchemical as one idea transmutes into another. This idea is parallel to the processes at work within thesevariants. The whole work is constructed from 6 notes (C, A, B flat, E flat, F sharp, E) and is presented in nine different sections, each individual in mood but still based upon the original pitches. This is not a thematic setofvariations, as the themes are developed one at a time from small segments of the six notes. For example, the opening theme is the complete number of pitches, the second theme uses three notes transposed then repeated at theoriginal level, and so on. Harmonically, the six notes can be divided into two triads, A minor and E flat minor - each key beginning and ending the piece respectively. Whilst this is essentially abstract music with noprogramme there is an introduction, menacing scherzo, slow reflective section followed by a recap of the scherzo and final coda. 'The Alchymist's Journal' was commissioned by the Brass Band Heritage Trust at the suggestionof Paul Hindmarsh, to whom the work is dedicated.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£127.30Var sang - Svein H. Giske
Our song was commissioned by Knarvik Skolekorps for their junior band in 2020. They wanted an original piece that could challenge their young players.This became a suite in three movements with themes that run through the whole piece.In the 2. movement there is a possibility for the band to sing in Song of friendship.. Young people finding friendship through music, as I myself have done, is one of the nicest things one can experience, in my opinion.Should you choose not to sing, you can just play the notes as printed.Svein H. Giske-September 2022-
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£154.99Spiriti - Thomas Doss
A Bach chorale stands at the centre of this work (Fur deinen Thron tret ich hiermit).Anton Bruckner was one of Johann Sebastian Bach's great admirers. His work is full of the spirit of that musical genius. For Thomas Doss, it was Bruckner's spirit that always seemed to be with him while working on Spiriti. Bruckner's spirit is captured in this composition by a quote from the chorale of his Fifth Symphony at the end of the piece.The introduction, written in the style of a funeral march, already displays the first fragments of the chorale. Like splinters they are strewn throughout the first Allegro, combining and recombining in turbulent, powerful tuttipassages. As the music becomes more rambunctious, the Bach-like fragments begin to swirl around each other, only to be scattered once more.The middle-section is of a more pensive nature. The Religioso character gives the audience time to reflect. The music is meditative and the quarter-note (or crotchet) elements mimic a soul that is yearning and crying out.The third part of the piece finally leads, by way of minimalist elements and the fragments mentioned earlier, to a magnificent presentation of the Bach chorale. As the church bells ring out, one can almost hear the great masters presiding at the organ.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£115.60Stjernen og Rosa - John Philip Haqnnevik
The Star and a Rose is a big-scale Christmas piece for band, featuring four seasonal chorales.The first is a Gregorian-like chant Hodie Christus natus est.In this section of the piece, a soloist can be placed away from the band, maybe on a gallery. The soloist can be a tenor instrument, maybe trombone, or you can feature a vocal soloist.After this, the music leads us on to the old German Christmas chorale Lo, how a rose e'er blooming. This song is given a fairly rhythmical treatment, but make sure that the melody is presented in a cantabile style.An interlude follows, before the piece presents one of the most used and loved Scandinavian Christmas chorales, Mitt hjerte alltid vanker (My Heart will always wander), composed by the Danish bishop Hans Adolph Brorson around 1732. This song is building towards a climax, before the solo horn brings it all down to the Stable view described in the lyrics.Then comes a transition that brings us in to the final section of the piece, which presents the international Christmas Carol Adeste Fideles. As many will notice, I have borrowed a section from David Wilcocks majestic harmonization towards the end.The title of the piece has its background form the lyrics in My heart will always wander, where the text speaks about the stars in the sky. But also in the latin text for Adeste Fideles:Stella duce, Magi, Christum adorantesThe Rose is of course from the lyrics in the chorale Lo, how a Rose.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£119.99Flashback - Jan de Haan
A flashback is an interesting psychological phenomenon: a seemingly random trigger can bring back long-forgotten memories from the subconscious mind. The composer underwent a similar experience before writing this piece. He was asked to write a piece for The National Youth Fanfare Band in the Netherlands, one which he heard perform many years ago. All of a sudden he remembered Deep Harmony, a piece frequently programmed back then. He used his own flashback-experience as an inspiration to weave an old English hymn into his new composition, much like a musical flashback. The right idea at the right moment, as this piece will prove!
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£76.99The Spider's Web - Mike Sheppard
The Spider's Web is a metaphor for danger, uncertainty and risk. Throughout the piece moments of danger contrast with moments of tranquility at certain points these two ideas merge and in others they battle against one another. In this piece which requires a lot of technical skills for the players, the composer moves unexpectedly from moments of peacefulness to situations of threat and danger. An impressive, versatile and truly spectacular piece!
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£104.99Friendly Takeover - Oliver Waespi
Friendly Takeover was composed for the 2016 Swiss Wind Band Convention in Montreux. In this three movement piece the composer experiments with lyrical motives combined with rhythmical pulses in different meters throughout the piece. In the finale, the musical scene is taken over completely by groove-based rhythms. This takeover, however, is of a friendly nature, as the various beats are not being conceived as rivals of the lyrical motives, but are rather supposed to infuse energy and vitality to the latter. Thus, one gets the impression of an ongoing acceleration throughout the piece.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£184.00The Maestro - Andrew Pearce
The Maestro, a concertino voor trompet en band, was commissioned by Philip Cobb, principal trumpet of the London Symphony Orchestra. I spent most of Summer 2011 in Prague and London composing this demanding piece, for this was a wonderful opportunity to write a large scale work for one of the world's finest Trumpet virtuosos and I accepted the assignment with great enthusiasm. I also felt a great responsibility to deliver a tour de force for this world class player that was both challenging and enjoyable. Phil was seeking melodies and themes in the piece and had enjoyed my album 'Cinema Symphony', and the dramatic vistas it conjured up. Before writing began, I listened to his beautiful album 'Life Abundant' many times, ensuring I had his sound in my head while writing. The piece represents the many aspects of a contemporary trumpeter's musical life from; brass band chorale (a homage to Phil's musical roots), to the symphonic concert hall to the film recording studio. I am delighted to have had Phil and the International Staff Band record this work under the baton of Dr Stephen Cobb. Its a tour de force not only for the soloist but also for the band and should be an exciting challenge for the very best bands out there.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£76.99Oregon - Jacob de Haan
This fantasy tells the story of Oregon, one of Americas north-western states. Traveling by train on the Northern Pacific Railroad, the listener is taken through the fascinating Oregon landscape. Indians, cowboys, golddiggers and hooded wagons will file past on this adventurous journey. The piece has some similarities with a soundtrack of a movie. Various melodies, which could be the main themes of a movie, pass the review.The piece begins in a slow movement, introducing the first theme in minor. Then we hear in the following fast movement the trombones imitate the train, whistling the steam-flute. We hear the characteristic minor theme again, but now in differentvariants(also in major). The rythmic structure of 'western' stile and rock succeed each other. This is leading to the slow movement, where the signals of horns and trumpets introduce a wonderful vocal melody. After this characteristic melody, the fast movement appears shortly again, the trombones whistling the steam-flute again (now in major). We hear also some musical elements, that plays a part in the following Presto. Barchanges, jazzy chords, interesting rhytmic patterns (with bongo) and an original theme are the characteristics of this Presto. After this, the horns announce the last section of the piece. Interesting is the fact that we hear in this Allegro section a variant of the vocal melody in the slow movement. Also the Presto theme returns shortly, followed by the Allargando, which is a grand characteristic end of a soundtrack. The movie of our travelling fantasy has come to an end.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£104.99Musica Helvetica - Jan de Haan
Every year a competition for wind orchestras and brass bands takes place in Wallberg, Switzerland. Apart from a hymn and a solo piece, all orchestras also have a compulsory piece to play. The commission to create a compulsory piece for the 2012 competition fell to Jan de Haan. The composition is entitled Musica Helvetica. It takes the form of a three-part concert work, in which the last two parts flow directly from one to the other. The first part, Musica Prima, is a brisk virtuoso opening with jazz flavours woven in. The following section, Musica Sacra, offers a contrast with an extraordinarily colourful instrumentation for the gorgeous main theme. Thefinal part, Musica Alpina, is inspired by the great variety of scenery in Switzerland. With its witty humour it makes a worthy conclusion to this beautiful tryptich.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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