Results
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£57.95Symphony in Two Movements (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
Selected as the Championship Section test piece for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2025This work was jointly commissioned by the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain (NYBBGB) and the National Youth Brass Band of Wales (NYBBW), the latter with funding from T Cerdd (Music Centre Wales), to celebrate their 60th and 30th anniversaries respectively. The first performances were given at Cadogan Hall, London, in April 2012, by the NYBBGB, conducted by Bramwell Tovey; and at the Great Hall, Aberystwyth University, in July 2012, by the NYBBW, conducted by Nicholas Childs.When I was approached about a joint commission to write a new work to celebrate the anniversaries of these two outstanding youth bands I was delighted to accept, and decided to respond by writing a work apposite for the magnitude of these special occasions, namely a 'symphony for brass'.Through a long journey of writing music for brass band, which commenced with Connotations (1977), and continued with Dances and Arias (1984), Of Men and Mountains (1991), The Trumpets of the Angels (2000) and Rococo Variations (2008), I arrived at what I regard as the most important work of the cycle to date, combining as it does serious musical intent with considerable technical demands. It is perhaps my most abstract work for brass band, avoiding any programmatic content.The symphony lasts for some 19 minutes and is structured in two linked movements. The form is based on that used by Beethoven in his final piano sonata (Op.111), which is in two movements only: a compact sonata-form allegro, followed by a more expansive theme and four variations. Prokofiev also adopted this model in his 2nd Symphony of 1925.The opening Toccata of this Symphony is highly dramatic but compact, whilst still retaining the 'traditional' structural elements of exposition, development and recapitulation; indeed, it also has the 'traditional' element of a contrasting second subject - a gentle, lyrical modal melody first heard on solo cornets.In contrast, the longer and more substantial second movement Variations is built around a theme and four variations. The slowly unfolding chorale-like theme accumulates both added note harmony and increasing instrumentation, whilst the four variations which follow are by turn mercurial (fast, starting with all the instruments muted), march-like (menacing, with short rhythmic articulations underpinning an extended atonal melody), serene (a series of 'romances' for solo instruments alongside echoes of the chorale) with an emerging theme eventually bursting into a climax of passionate intent; whilst the final variation is a dynamic scherzo (concertante-like in its series of rapid-fire solos, duets, trios and quartets) with the music gradually incorporating elements of the main ideas from the first movement, thus acting as a recapitulation for the whole work. It reaches its peroration with a return to the very opening of the symphony, now in the 'home' tonality of F, and thus creating a truly symphonic dimension to the music.Most of the melodic material of the symphony is derived from the opening eleven-note 'row', which contains various intervallic sets, and although the work is not serially conceived it does use some typical quasi-serial procedures, such as canons, inversions, and retrogrades. The symphony uses somewhat limited percussion, in line with a 'classical' approach to the sound world of the brass band, alongside a use of multi-divisi instrumentation, whereby each player has an individual part rather than the traditional doubling within certain sections of the band.- Edward GregsonDuration: 19.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£25.00ST ANDREW'S VARIATIONS (Brass Band Extra Score) - Fernie, Alan
Brass Band Extra Score only. National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain Area Test Piece 2017 - Fourth Section. French Open Championships 2007. Contains:Theme - AndanteVariation 1 - Alla MarciaVariation 2 - GentlyVariation 3 - AdagiettoVariation 4 - Alla Marcia - sempre marcatoVariation 5 - AndantinoVariation 6 - Con Moto sempre rubatoVariation 7 - AllegrettoVariation 8 - Lento moderatoFinale - Allegro giocoso
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£55.00
ST ANDREW'S VARIATIONS (Brass Band Set - Score and Parts) - Fernie, Alan
Brass Band Set and Score. National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain Area Test Piece 2017 - Fourth Section. French Open Championships 2007. Contains:Theme - AndanteVariation 1 - Alla MarciaVariation 2 - GentlyVariation 3 - AdagiettoVariation 4 - Alla Marcia - sempre marcatoVariation 5 - AndantinoVariation 6 - Con Moto sempre rubatoVariation 7 - AllegrettoVariation 8 - Lento moderatoFinale - Allegro giocoso
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£109.99Frontier Vision (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Bulla, Stephen
Frontier Vision is a concert or contest piece based on three elements: the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Reformation Day, the Martin Luther melody, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott) on which this composition is based, and thirdly the spreading of the evangelical movement in the late 19th century, of which the analogous storyline forms the structural basis of this work. Multi-cultural ethnic influences, along with the driving rhythms that reflect the perseverance and hard work of those mission-minded pioneers, are both important components that make Frontier Vision an outstanding choice for your concert or contest. Frontier Vision was the test piece for the second division in the Dutch National Brass Band Championships 2017. Duration: 12.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£32.50The Mermaid of Zennor (Brass Band - only) - Harper, Philip
2016 National Championships Regional Test Piece - 2nd Section.Commissioned by the Cornwall Youth Brass Band to mark its 60th Anniversary, with funds bequethed by Dennis Arbon This piece is inspired by an old Cornish folk-tale set in the village of Zennor on the coast of Cornwall, the most South-Westerly county of England. The music is in three sections:The Sea and SeafaringAt the ChurchillReturn to the WavesDuration: 12.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£74.99
The Mermaid of Zennor (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Harper, Philip
2016 National Championships Regional Test Piece - 2nd Section.Commissioned by the Cornwall Youth Brass Band to mark its 60th Anniversary, with funds bequethed by Dennis Arbon This piece is inspired by an old Cornish folk-tale set in the village of Zennor on the coast of Cornwall, the most South-Westerly county of England. The music is in three sections:The Sea and SeafaringAt the ChurchillReturn to the WavesDuration: 12.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£64.95Four Cities Symphony (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Newton, Rodney
This piece was commissioned by the National Contesting Council as the 4th section test piece for the 2008 Regional Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.This symphony (the composer's 12th) has four movements played without a break. The first centres on two aspects of the city of London: its history and pageantry and its role as a busy modern metropolis.The second movement depicts Paris, its street cafes and boulevards and riverside walks, in the form of a romantic waltz.The third movement is constructed around the Gregorian chants of the Lord's Prayer (Pater noster, qui es in caelis) and the Creed (Credo in unum Deum) in an evocation of the city of Rome. After a powerful climax, mysterious tramping footsteps are heard as the ghosts or a Roman legion march through the city by night. The vision fades and the pater noster is heard once again before the movement is brought to a close with the ancient Ambrosian chant, Christus Vincit, Christus Regnet, Christus Imperat.The final movement is an evocation of the city of Moscow, with its great historic buildings, its turbulent history and its fiery traditional music. At the outset a rather dour folk-like melody is heard which is transformed into a lively Cossack dance.This work is dedicated to Howard Wilson, former principal euphonium of City of Coventry Band who, in 1972, introduced the composer to top section brass band contesting.Duration: 11.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£159.99RUSH HOUR (Brass Band) - Crausaz, Etienne
Rush Hour was commissioned by the Swiss Brass Band Association (SBBV) on the occasion of the 38th Swiss National Brass Band Championships 2012 (Montreux SBBW) as the test piece in the Championship division. Structured in three parts without breaks, the work opens in a heavy, oppressive atmosphere, sometimes even noisy. After a short passage in a lighter mood a quick tempo takes over, the music becomes nervous and unrelenting, with constant twists and turns. The tension builds, leading to a slower movement in which various soloists are highlighted. A few humorous touches are heard in contrast to a majestic, powerful and dramatic chorale. The end of this part is brighter and more peaceful. This atmosphere is soon replaced by a return of the thematic material heard in the first movement, developing into an oppressive moos. The piece concludes with a last ecstatic tutti, reusing the harmonies of the introduction in a kind of final flurry. Rush Hour attempts to express the range of feelings we may experience when caught in various stressful situations in the middle of the rush hour. Duration: 13:45
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£79.95The Plantagenets (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Gregson, Edward
A Symphonic Study for Brass BandThe Plantagenets was Gregson's first major test piece, written specially for the 1973 National Brass Band Championships.In this ambitious symphonic study he turned his attention to music which sets out to create a mood or atmosphere, in contrast to his earlier brass band works such as Essay and Partita where the underlying concerns are technical rather than expressive. However, Gregson is at pains to emphasise that The Plantagenets is not programme music. 'Symphonic' is the optimum word here. In its textural and harmonic complexity, its rhythmic and melodic variety, this was his most ambitious brass band piece so far. His language, with its roots in Hindemith and Bartok is further enriched here with the expressive language of Holst and Rachmaninov.As he says in his notes on the work: The Plantagenets attempts to portray the mood and feelings of an age - that of the House of Plantagenet which lasted from the middle of the twelfth century to the end of the fourteenth. To many it conjures up an age of chivalry and this is represented by fanfare motifs which occur throughout the work in varied form.Characteristically, the composer then goes on to describe not the atmosphere or mood he is trying to convey, but the means by which the music has been composed: the opening fanfares, based on the interval of the third, generating the musical material for the whole work; an exposition of two themes - one fanfare-like, one lyrical (on horns); a slow episode introducing a new melody on solo horn (answered by cornet and euphonium in canon); a little scherzo, fugal in character; and a recapitulation leading to a maestoso statement of the slow movement theme with a final reference to the fanfares as a triumphant conclusion.Duration: 11.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£39.95
The Plantagenets (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
A Symphonic Study for Brass BandThe Plantagenets was Gregson's first major test piece, written specially for the 1973 National Brass Band Championships.In this ambitious symphonic study he turned his attention to music which sets out to create a mood or atmosphere, in contrast to his earlier brass band works such as Essay and Partita where the underlying concerns are technical rather than expressive. However, Gregson is at pains to emphasise that The Plantagenets is not programme music. 'Symphonic' is the optimum word here. In its textural and harmonic complexity, its rhythmic and melodic variety, this was his most ambitious brass band piece so far. His language, with its roots in Hindemith and Bartok is further enriched here with the expressive language of Holst and Rachmaninov.As he says in his notes on the work: The Plantagenets attempts to portray the mood and feelings of an age - that of the House of Plantagenet which lasted from the middle of the twelfth century to the end of the fourteenth. To many it conjures up an age of chivalry and this is represented by fanfare motifs which occur throughout the work in varied form.Characteristically, the composer then goes on to describe not the atmosphere or mood he is trying to convey, but the means by which the music has been composed: the opening fanfares, based on the interval of the third, generating the musical material for the whole work; an exposition of two themes - one fanfare-like, one lyrical (on horns); a slow episode introducing a new melody on solo horn (answered by cornet and euphonium in canon); a little scherzo, fugal in character; and a recapitulation leading to a maestoso statement of the slow movement theme with a final reference to the fanfares as a triumphant conclusion.Duration: 11.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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