Results
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£153.00
Bipolar (Bra) - Stijn Aertgeerts
With 'Bipolar', the composer Stijn Aertgeerts wants to try to describe the vast feelings someone suffering from bipolar disorder can go through. It's difficult to imagine how hard it must be to live with the range of emotions of bipolarity, going rapidly from a state of hypomania to severe depression, or worse. This piece of music aims to describe those episodes, from a highly elevated mood to a great feeling of sadness; from euphoria to complete darkness. The piece starts off excited, almost overexcited, as well as a touch nervous. The mood quickly shifts to one of self-doubt, introduced by the multiple cadenza's in cornet, euphonium, flugelhorn and trombone. This grows into a haunting feeling of growing sadness. We're served with another eerie reminder of the opening shifts in the mood, with calmness, optimism and - even for just a second - complete happiness. This, however, fades instantly as you hear someone literally being dragged down by a chain. A total spiral into darkness follows, spinning more and more out of control into a heavy and dark conclusion.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£79.00
Hope (Bra) - Stijn Aertgeerts
In the troubled world we live in these days it is really hard to stay positive. The alarming state of the climate, worldwide politics gone mad. It seems like the hate just keeps spreading in the world and it makes you seem helpless. That's why it's more important than ever to fight that hate with hope and love, believing in humanity to come out stronger then everything that drives us apart! We need to keep hoping and working towards that better world we all want!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£120.00
Rhapsody in Black (Bra) - Andi Cook
The primary inspiration for this work comes from the composer's first encounter with the genre of Symphonic Metal - the opening track of the 2004 Nightwish album 'Once', entitled Dark chest of Wonders. The combination of full orchestra, operatically trained female vocals and the raw power of a Scandinavian metal band was a potent mix that instantly had me hooked.That same dark and powerful sound is one that a brass band can generate, and I've tried to capture that in this composition. Heavy Rock/Metal as a genre is arguably fifty years old now, but symphonic metal is a newer concept, and I feel possibly the one that can bridge the gap between two musical styles very dear to me.Composer Gilbert Vinter had explored through music the connotations that different colours held for him, and his movement Purple from 'Spectrum' gave me an idea for the structure of 'Rhapsody in Black'. Andi Cook explored the different connotations of one colour within his own life, black being an easy choice due to the personal dichotomy of the black leather jacket he wore to the rock club on Friday night and the black suit jacket and tie he wore to the concert hall the next day.To avoid repetition the word 'black' is omitted from the five movement titles, each of which is a different episode. '...as Thunder' is a furious argument between two people - the top and bottom of the band - set against the backdrop of a storm, with lightning flashing outside while barbs, insults, sarcasm, tears and even violence is traded inside. Following that '...Satin and Pearls' is an old black-and-white movie with a wistful character to it as if we're looking back a screen icon with fondness long after their career or even their life has ended. '...as the Raven's Wing.' is deliberately gothic and funereal, hinting at Edgar Allen Poe's similarly named poem, with undertones of death and afterlife. The shift into F/C Minor (band pitch) represents the descent - alive - into the grave that Poe had a paranoid fear of his entire life. Family and friends standing around grieving, oblivious as we're lowered into the earth despite frantic attempts to make ourselves heard. '...and Chrome' is an unashamed motorcycle reference with all its born-to-be-wild, open air, high speed and freedom overtones. In a deliberate contrast to what went before it continues several of the same motifs though this time in the major key. Lastly, we reprise the second movement with '...as the Night Sky' which is simply the feeling of walking home under the summer stars, with someone important - who that is, is left to the listener, but a walk under the stars is always that bit special.There's an old saying that very few things are black and white. I hope this work will prove that even black alone isn't quite as simple as it's often made out....'Rhapsody in Black' is dedicated to the composer's friend and mentor John Roberts, who shares his love of both brass and rock.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£30.00
Deus in Adjutorium
DescriptionMonteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine (Vespers for the Blessed Virgin) is a musical setting by Claudio Monteverdi of the evening vespers on Marian feasts, scored for soloists, choirs, and orchestra. It is an ambitious work in scope, style and scoring, and has a duration of around 90 minutes. Published in Venice with a dedication to Pope Paul V dated 1 September 1610 as Sanctissimae Virgini Missa senis vocibus ac Vesperae pluribus decantandae, cum nonnullis sacris concentibus, ad Sacella sive Principum Cubicula accommodata ("Mass for the Most Holy Virgin for six voices, and Vespers for several voices with some sacred songs, suitable for chapels and ducal chambers"), it is mercifully regularly shortened to Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610.Monteverdi was born and spent the first part of his working life in Cremona before moving to Mantua (where he composed the Vespers) and finally attaining one of the top jobs in Italian renaissance music as Maestro di Capella at the Basilica di San Marco in Venice. He is most famous for his vocal music, notably his madrigals and the earliest surviving opera, Orfeo.Performance notes:The opening "versicle" on euphonium should be declamatory, in a recitative style - i.e. in free tempo and not conducted. Ideally the player should stand for this.Where practical, the soprano and 1st & 2nd solo cornets should stand to the left of the band, and the repiano and 3rd & 4th solo cornets to the right. If three percussionists are available, the third player should double the Percussion 2 part, and in that event it is often effcetive to have the 2nd and 3rd percussion players stand to the left and right of the band with the cornets.Watch a preview video of the score below:
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£20.00
atrium phase
Descriptionatrium phase was inspired by listening to works performed at the 2013 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in the atrium of the Huddersfield University Creative Arts Building. The atrium, despite being a functional area incorporating meeting areas and a cafe, has almost coincidentally evolved into a fantastic (if somewhat resonant) performance space. Performers can be positioned on three different sides and three different levels, making the atrium ideally suited to spatially separated performances of a variety of music from Gabrieli to Christian Wolff.In atrium phase the band is separated into four groups - ideally these should be positioned around the audience as follows: group A to the left of the audience, group B in front of the audience, group C to the right of the audience and group D (the four basses) behind the audience. The music "phases" between the groups in the manner of contemporary electroacoustic music, with the bass group acting as a kind of "subwoofer". Starting very slowly, the music accelerates using metrical modulations to finish at considerable speed.The music is intended to be performed without a conductor wherever possible - the three percussionists should set and control the tempo, and there are clear points of overlap for percussionists to allow synchronisation between groups.atrium phase won the inaugural Foden's Band Composition Competition in 2014 and the first performance was given on 24 January 2015 at the RNCM Festival of Brass by Foden's Band.Performance Notes:The band is separated into four groups - ideally these should be positioned around the audience as follows: group A to the left of the audience, group B in front of the audience, group C to the right of the audience and group D (the four basses) behind the audience. The music "phases" between the groups in the manner of contemporary electroacoustic music, with the bass group acting as a kind of "subwoofer". Starting very slowly, the music accelerates using metrical modulations to finish at considerable speed.Instruments in group A require cup mutes (soprano, 2 x cornets, horn, baritone, trombone, euph), group B harmon mutes (4 x cornets, baritone and trombone - the baritone should use a trombone mute) and group C require fibre straight mutes (3 x cornets, flugel, 2 x horns, euph., bass trom - NOT metal mutes if possible).Percussion instruments required are claves, wood block and 2 x temple blocks. The music is intended to be performed without a conductor wherever possible - the three percussionists should set and control the tempo, and there are clear points of overlap for percussionists to allow synchronisation between groups.Approximate duration 6'17"
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£35.00
Ariel
DescriptionAll hail, great master! Grave sir, hail! I come To answer thy best pleasure, be 't to fly, To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride On the curled cloud. To thy strong bidding, task Ariel and all his quality. - William Shakespeare: The Tempest, Act 1, Scene 2Ariel was written for the Hammonds Band to open their programme at the 2019 Brass in Concert Championships at The Sage Concert Hall in Gateshead, where it received its premiere. The title is taken from the character in Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest'. Ariel is an immensely powerful "air spirit" or demon bound to serve Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, after being released by Prospero from imprisonment in a tree. In the play Ariel's magical abilities are used to help Prospero revenge himself on his enemies and reclaim his dukedom, whereupon Ariel finally regains his freedom.You can hear an audio preview and follow the score below: Performance notes:The cornets and horns are split into two "choirs" to be placed left and right of the band. It may be possible for the choirs to play their opening flourish offstage, and the optional repeated sections in the opening are to accommodate stage movement if required. Trombones form a third "choir" which should ideally stand centrally between basses and percussion, and the euphoniums and baritones should sit in front of the basses. The work requires four percussionists, although if four are not available the 2nd part may be omitted.Percussion 1: Kit - bass drum, snare, 3 x toms, hi-hat, suspended cymbal - and 3 x temple blocksPercussion 2: Tam tam and orchestral bass drum.Percussion 3: Glockenspiel and timpaniPercussion 4: Tubular bellsSoprano, solo cornets and 3rd cornets require cup mutes. Solo trombone requires a cup mute, second trombone requires a metal straight mute.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£12.00
Ave Maria
DescriptionJohann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions, and over three hundred cantatas of which approximately two hundred survive. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth. Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.Charles-Francois Gounod (1818 - 1893) was a French composer, best known for his Grand Operas, most famously 'Faust', written in 1859 and his 'St Cecilia Mass' written in 1854. However possibly his most performed work is his arrangement of the latin text Ave Maria based on a work by Bach.You can listen to a computer realisation of the score while following the music below:
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£15.00
LeFay's Mirage
DescriptionThe "mirage" of the title refers to an optical effect called a fata morgana, often seen in a narrow band right above the horizon. It is an Italian term named after the Arthurian sorceress Morgan le Fay, from a belief that these mirages were fairy castles in the air or false land created by her witchcraft to lure sailors to their deaths.Fata Morgana mirages significantly distort the object or objects on which they are based, often such that the object is completely unrecognizable. A Fata Morgana may be seen on land or at sea, in polar regions, or in deserts. It may involve almost any kind of distant object, including boats, islands, and the coastline.Music often performs the same tricks - the original material is inverted, reflected and changed until it becomes something almost entirely new. This work is in two main sections, slow and fast, separated by a virtuoso cadenza with the material in the second part being a distorted reflection of that in the first. As befits a work commissioned to show off a soloist's range and ability, the work is highly challenging technically and covers the full range of the tenor horn.Where the sustain pedal is required by the music, this is indicated in the piano part; pedalling elsewhere is at the player's discretion.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£25.00
Ring'd with the Azure World
DescriptionRing'd with the Azure World was commissioned by the Harmonia Brass quintet for their final recital at the University of Huddersfield in 2016.He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls.- The Eagle by Alfred, Lord TennysonThe music was inspired by Tennyson's poem reproduced above; it seeks simply to reflect the spirit of the poem. It opens in sparse, lonely mood as the eagle surveys the world beneath. The work quickens in three bursts using metrical modulation to disguise the actual moment of acceleration, reflecting the lazy energy stored in the circling raptor before concluding dramatically in a fall 'like a thunderbolt'. Tennyson's poem, although brief, has inspired much analysis and writing, and is notable for being written in the (then somewhat unfashionable) iambic tetrameter, indicating a foursquare emphasis reflected in the main theme of the music. This is heard first in an octatonic version and later in a purely tonal (if somewhat modal) version. The instrumentation reflects that of Harmonia Brass, a quintet composed of brass band instruments (two B flat cornets, an E flat tenor horn, tenor trombone and E flat tuba). However the music is also available for the more conventional brass quintet of two trumpets, french horn, trombone and tuba.To listen to an audio export preview and follow the music, click play on the video below!Performance Notes1st cornet/trumpet requires a cup mute, ideally with an adjustable cup (the marking "tight" denotes that the cup should be adjusted closer to the bell), and a harmon mute with the tube removed (denoted by "TR" in the score). 2nd cornet/trumpet requires a fibre straight mute and a harmon mute with the tube removed. Tenor horn require a fibre straight mute and a practice mute (any sort) - in the orchestral brass version the french horn requires a stop mute. Trombone requires a cup mute (only). Tuba requires a fibre straight mute and a practice mute (of any sort).Metronome marks should be closely observed - starting either too fast or too slow will have a disproportionate effect on the tempi later in the piece due to the metrically controlled tempo changes.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£36.00
Ungarsk dans - Trad. - Scott Rogers
The piece's minor key melody and beat-afterbeat accompagniment give associations to other well-known dances from Hungary, like Czardas and Brahm's famous Hungarian Dances. A lively tempo is an important element to create the energy and excitement we have come to expect in these dances!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days