Results
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£35.00strange geometry
Descriptionstrange geometrywas commissioned by Morgan Griffiths and the Hammonds Saltaire Band for their performance at the Brass in Concert Championships of 2015.As a bit of a space/sci-fi geek, as well as a musician, two events during the summer of 2015 had a particular effect on me. The first was the tragic early death in a plane crash of the famous film composer James Horner. Horner's music, particularly in films like 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan', 'Avatar', 'Apollo 13' and even his debut in Roger Corman's 1980 budget film 'Battle Beyond the Stars', defined for a generation the sound of sci-fi at the cinema. Along with John Williams he created the vocabulary for those who wish to express other-worldly wonder in music and his inventive talent will be much missed in an industry where originality has become something of a dirty word in recent years.The second event was the epic flyby of Pluto by the NASA New Horizons spacecraft. There are many reasons to find this mission inspiring - for example, the scientists and engineers behind it created a craft that has travelled at 37,000 mph for nine years and three billion miles to arrive within seventy-two seconds of the predicted time for the flyby. That they achieved this with such accuracy is an outstanding tribute to humanity's ingenuity and insatiable curiosity. However, the most exciting aspect of the mission was the clear, high resolution pictures of this unthinkably remote and inhospitable world beamed back to mission control. The best previous image of Pluto was an indistinct fuzzy blob - suddenly we could see mountains made of ice, glaciers of methane and carbon monoxide and nitrogen fog - features previously unimagined on a world thought to be a slightly dull ball of cold rock. The BBC's venerable astronomy programme 'The Sky at Night' waxed lyrical about these newly discovered features, referring to "the surprising discoveries of mountains and strange geometry on the surface of this cold distant world".I like to think that Horner would have been as inspired as I have been by this real-life science story, and this piece uses some of the vocabulary of the sci-fi movie soundtrack in a tribute to the memory of a great musician and to the inspirational geeks at NASA who have boldly taken us where no-one has gone before.Note: This work comes with a B4 portrait score. Listen to a preview and follow the music below!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£70.00
Apophenia - Peter Meechan
aApophenia is the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data.aApophenia is a trumpet concerto in three movements written for American trumpet virtuoso Rex Richardson. Each of the three movements features a different instrument; Movement 1 is for the Bb trumpet, the second is for flugel horn and trumpet, and the third is for trumpet and piccolo trumpet.Each of the three movements of Apophenia relate to the phenomenon of viewing Dark Side of the Rainbow - a name used to refer to the act of listening to the 1973 Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon whilst watching the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, where moments where the film and the album appear to correspond with each other.Movement 1 is a fast a furious movement. Solo and ensemble interact at high tempo, swapping and creating new ideas, leading each other in new directions. Aside from the trumpet soloist, the kit player also acts as a quasi soloist.The second movement takes its musical inspiration from the Pink Floyd song Us and Them. It is during this segment of the film that some of the most amazing moments of connection happen.The final movement is a dance - and a tour de force for the soloist who begins on the Bb trumpet, before switching to the piccolo trumpet (or Eb trumpet) for the fast and furious finale. Many of the coincidences from Dark Side of the Rainbow relate to dancing, however, as long as a piece of music is the same tempo as the original, and the time signature is a regular one, this could be the case across most films. So the composer chose to write a dance that wouldn't synchronise to too many existing dance scenes!The soloist is free to improvise their own cadenza.Apophenia is dedicated to Rex Richardson.
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£70.00
Fire in the Sky - Peter Meechan
Fire in the Sky takes its inspiration from the stunning town of Montreux in Switzerland. I was commissioned to write the work 5 days before I visited this Montreux and was at work forming ideas for the piece as I arrived on the shore of Lake Geneva and its amazing views of the Alps.Whilst the scenery is without doubt some of the most incredible views I have ever witnessed, it was the history of the town that set Fire in the Sky in motion. Whilst there, it occurred to me that many of my musical heroes had lived or performed there, and three of them in particular had a strong connection with the town. Miles Davis, Igor Stravinsky and Freddie Mercury graced Montreux - the large convention centre, where the famous summer jazz festival is held, named its two halls after Davis and Stravinsky, and there is a quite breathtaking statue of Mercury in the town too.Each musician also commemorates an anniversary in 2011, the year of the premiere of Fire in the Sky; it is 40 years since the death of Stravinsky and both Miles Davis and Freddie Mercury died in 1991, making it 20 years since their deaths. So it seemed fitting to write a piece that in some way acknowledges them, and is a kind of personal athanksa for all they have given, and continue to give, me.The title comes from the famous Deep Purple song, Smoke on the Water - whose second line is aFire in the Skya and is a reference to the night the townas casino was set alight by a Frank Zappa fan. The piece tries to recreate the atmosphere of that night, paint a picture of fire in the sky (and smoke on the water) and also uses small anuggetsa of the music of my three greatest musical heroes, Miles Davis, Freddie Mercury and Igor Stravinsky.Fire in the Sky was commissioned by the Tomra Brass Band, Norway, and is dedicated to Stijn BerbeA and Nick Ost - both of whom are connected with the band (teaching and conducting), and both have been close friends - personally and musicaly - for many years. I am indebted to them for the opportunity to write this piece.
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£34.95Carol of the Bells (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Christmas time is my favourite time of year. I love the festive spirit and all the Christmas music both traditional and modern.This piece is based on the traditional Ukrainian Bell Carol that was composed by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych. Throughout the piece you hear a four note ostinato that is the backbone to the music. I have taken those ideas and motifs and have mixed them with some of my own to create this piece of Christmas music.For something different I have given this piece two endings for the conductor to choose. The first ending is at bar 189 (page 18 in the score) where there is the repeated four bar ostinato section in the solo cornets and percussion that is marked "Keep repeating and fade to nothing". This is so the piece can either fade to nothing or for a bit of originality the piece can fade into the next piece during a concert programme.For ending number two you need to cut from bar 189 to 193 (bypassing ending one). And continue to the end. The choice of endings should bring some interesting performances of this wonderful traditional Christmas piece.Paul Lovatt-Cooper
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£80.00The Unfortunate Traveller (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Imogen Holst (1907-1984) submitted The Unfortunate Traveller (1929) as her final work as a student portfolio at the Royal College of Music, where her composition teacher was Gordon Jacob. The title was taken from Thomas Nashe's famous 1594 picaresque novel of the same title. The Suite was first performed on 12 February 1933 at her Majesty's Theatre, Carlisle, by the St. Stephen's Band, with the composer conducting. Te concert was given in memory of Holst's uncle, Dr. H.A. Lediard. Holst had been impressed with the band's performance of his A Moorside Suite at the 1928 National Brass Band Championships (The Crystal Palace, South London) and was keen to work with them. Writing in Imogen Holst, a life in music, Christopher Grogan indicates that it was Gustav Holst's suggestion to include his daughter's work in the programme, quoting Imogen Holst's remarks made in interview to The Daily Mail as follows: "....it is the first time, so far as I know, that a woman has conducted a brass band at a public concert....It has been a delight to rehearse the St. Stephen's Band. It was their performance at the Crystal Palace Festival that inspired me to write this Suite, which I have dedicated to them."Imogen Holst accompanied her father to the Crystal Palace in 1928 to hear the performances of A Moorside Suite, and was so excited by the played and, audibly, by her father's music that she decided to write a brass band piece for her final examination. Te result was The Unfortunate Traveller (1929). However, it was not possible for her to present a brass band work for examination. She arranged it for string orchestra so that it could be played before she left the RCM in July 1930. Following the premiere of the original in 1933, the manuscripts did not resurface until 1969 Imogen found them among her late mother's effects. Although she requested score and parts be destroyed, they ended up in the possession of Manchester composer John Golland, who marked up the score presumably with the intention of creating a new performing edition. The original scoring reveals a lack of experience with what can be a tricky medium.With the agreement of the Holst Foundation, a revised edition, with additional percussion, was prepared in 2011 since when the work has been fortunate to travel round the world as a concert and contest piece. The original includes drums in the March only. The title was taken from Tomas Nashe's famous 1594 picaresque novel of the same title. Several Morris Dance tunes are introduced during the course of the four short movements, including Bonnie Green Garters, Shepherd's Hey, The Rose and The Wind Blaws Cauld. Quirky twists and turns of harmony and spirited rhythms that remind us how much Imogen Holst loved tradition English dance music.In September 2025, I made a performing edition of the composer's arrangement for string orchestra. The manuscript lacks the final movement, which I arranged in a similar style, ie. without extending the upper ranges. Making this edition raised some issues regarding the accuracy of my band version and some of the solutions I used to smooth out the voicing. I have used the composer's second thoughts to refine my performing edition and to correct a textual errors.- Paul HindmarshDuration: 10.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£40.00The Unfortunate Traveller (Brass Band - Score only)
Imogen Holst (1907-1984) submitted The Unfortunate Traveller (1929) as her final work as a student portfolio at the Royal College of Music, where her composition teacher was Gordon Jacob. The title was taken from Thomas Nashe's famous 1594 picaresque novel of the same title. The Suite was first performed on 12 February 1933 at her Majesty's Theatre, Carlisle, by the St. Stephen's Band, with the composer conducting. Te concert was given in memory of Holst's uncle, Dr. H.A. Lediard. Holst had been impressed with the band's performance of his A Moorside Suite at the 1928 National Brass Band Championships (The Crystal Palace, South London) and was keen to work with them. Writing in Imogen Holst, a life in music, Christopher Grogan indicates that it was Gustav Holst's suggestion to include his daughter's work in the programme, quoting Imogen Holst's remarks made in interview to The Daily Mail as follows: "....it is the first time, so far as I know, that a woman has conducted a brass band at a public concert....It has been a delight to rehearse the St. Stephen's Band. It was their performance at the Crystal Palace Festival that inspired me to write this Suite, which I have dedicated to them."Imogen Holst accompanied her father to the Crystal Palace in 1928 to hear the performances of A Moorside Suite, and was so excited by the played and, audibly, by her father's music that she decided to write a brass band piece for her final examination. Te result was The Unfortunate Traveller (1929). However, it was not possible for her to present a brass band work for examination. She arranged it for string orchestra so that it could be played before she left the RCM in July 1930. Following the premiere of the original in 1933, the manuscripts did not resurface until 1969 Imogen found them among her late mother's effects. Although she requested score and parts be destroyed, they ended up in the possession of Manchester composer John Golland, who marked up the score presumably with the intention of creating a new performing edition. The original scoring reveals a lack of experience with what can be a tricky medium.With the agreement of the Holst Foundation, a revised edition, with additional percussion, was prepared in 2011 since when the work has been fortunate to travel round the world as a concert and contest piece. The original includes drums in the March only. The title was taken from Tomas Nashe's famous 1594 picaresque novel of the same title. Several Morris Dance tunes are introduced during the course of the four short movements, including Bonnie Green Garters, Shepherd's Hey, The Rose and The Wind Blaws Cauld. Quirky twists and turns of harmony and spirited rhythms that remind us how much Imogen Holst loved tradition English dance music.In September 2025, I made a performing edition of the composer's arrangement for string orchestra. The manuscript lacks the final movement, which I arranged in a similar style, ie. without extending the upper ranges. Making this edition raised some issues regarding the accuracy of my band version and some of the solutions I used to smooth out the voicing. I have used the composer's second thoughts to refine my performing edition and to correct a textual errors.- Paul HindmarshDuration: 10.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£64.99Oregon (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
This fantasy tells the story of Oregon, one of America's 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 different variants (also in major). The rhythmic 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 rhythmic 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.Duration: 9:10
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£33.35A Century of Art (Brass Band) Robbert Vos
A Century of Art was composed for Brass Band Kunst naar Kracht from the town of De Goorn (The Netherlands) for its 100th anniversary in 2022. A version for Fanfare Orchestra was commissioned by the Fanfare Project Orchestra in 2023. The title of the work refers to Brass Band Kunst naar Kracht's 100-year existence and the array of art that has been created in that time. A Century of is a flashy and virtuosic opening work where melodic lines are combined with other surprising compositional elements. You can hear, among some references to some famous brass band test pieces, a quote from Lohengrin by Richard Strauss. A transcription of Lohengrin was used at the 1922 British Open in England, one of the most famous brass band competitions in the world, the same year as Brass Band Kunst naar Kracht was founded. To view a performance by Fanfare 'Project Orkest' of the work please visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6zuoaxf_kg (please note this is the Fanfare Band version, although it is essentially the same). Duration: 4.00 minutes Difficulty Level: 2nd Section + PDF download includes parts and score. Sheet music available from www.brassband.co.uk Instrumentation: Soprano Cornet Eb Solo Cornet Bb Repiano Cornet Bb 2nd Cornet Bb 3rd Cornet Bb Flugel Horn Bb Solo Horn Eb 1st Horn Eb 2nd Horn Eb 1st Baritone Bb 2nd Baritone Bb 1st Trombone Bb 2nd Trombone Bb Bass Trombone Euphonium Bb Bass Eb Bass BbTimpani Percussion 1-4
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£37.06Capriccio for Brass Band (Robbert Vos)
VIEW SCORE PDF Capriccio for Brass Band (Robbert Vos) was the winner of both the overall prize decided by the judges and Public Commendation prize for the 2020 International Brass Band Composer Competition, a contest that included some 92 entries from around the world. The composer writes: 'My Capriccio for Brass Band is a lively, intense and virtuosic piece based on several thematic, rhythmical and harmonic ideas which are developed during the piece. It is non-programmatic and not based on a storyline. The middle section, in contrary, is in more of a minimalistic style, where there is room to create a mysterious and open atmosphere. Rhythmical elements are quoted from the opening movement, whilst clashing chords are used to build up tension. The last movement builds to a big climax, where several of the compositorial ideas used before come together for the finale.' PDF download includes score and full set of parts. Sheet music available from: UK - www.brassband.co.uk USA - www.solidbrassmusic.com Difficulty Level: Championship Section Instrumentation: Soprano Cornet Eb Solo Cornet Bb Repiano Cornet Bb 2nd Cornet Bb 3rd Cornet Bb Flugel Horn Bb Solo Horn Eb 1st Horn Eb 2nd Horn Eb 1st Baritone Bb 2nd Baritone Bb 1st Trombone Bb 2nd Trombone Bb Bass Trombone 1st Euphonium Bb 2nd Euphonium Bb Bass Eb Bass Bb Timpani Percussion 1-3
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£124.95Hyperlink - Peter Graham
Hyperlink was commissioned by the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain (funded by Arts Council England and the Department for Education) for its 70th Anniversary Year. Since the anniversary coincided with other significant celebrations in 2022 (including the Royal Albert Hall/Ralph Vaughan Williams 150th and the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II) it was requested that these also be recognised in some way.
Where better to begin this challenging brief but with a computer search for the NYBBGB founder Dr Denis Wright (coincidently born in Kensington, home of the RAH). The subsequent rabbit warren of hyperlinks led me to structure the work through a series of "associations":
Movement I - The Voice of Jupiter.
Alongside the discovery that Denis Wright had been a church organist was the realisation that while the RAH has hosted thousands of musical events the fabric of the building actually incorporates a musical instrument, the famous Henry Wills organ (aka The Voice of Jupiter).Organ and J S Bach are synonymous (e.g. Toccata in D min) and so both become fundamental to the content of the movement. An opening 7 note quote from the Toccata leads to a mammoth sound cluster, as if every note on the huge RAH organ is sustained. The material which follows is based upon the notes BACH (in German notation). The notes are manipulated in various ways in a 12 tone matrix; reversed, inverted and so on. Other techniques employed in the movement are ones of which Bach was master, including ground bass and fugue.
Movement II - Remember Me.
The lives of Salvationist composer Ray Steadman-Allen (born 1922) and Ralph Vaughan Williams are remembered here, with "RSA" in musical notation and fragments of RVWs famous Tuba Concerto providing the source material.While writing the movement my father passed away and to close his funeral service the family chose the uplifting Robert Lowry hymn They'll sing a welcome home. It seemed fitting to conclude the movement with a reflective setting of the chorus, the repeated phrase "Welcome, welcome home" eventually disappearing into the ether.
Movement III - Vivat.
The finale takes the form of a short fantasy upon Hubert Parry's marvellous coronation anthem I Was Glad, truly a celebratory note with which to conclude.The first performance of Hyperlink was given by the NYBBGB conducted by Martyn Brabbins at the Royal College of Music, London on August 6th 2022.
Estimated dispatch 3-7 working days
