Results
-
£61.99Return To The Blue Lagoon - Barry Mann, Bernard Jackson & Cynthia Weil - Jan van Kraeydonck
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£17.50
-
£30.00Russian Rag - George L Cobb, Sandy Coffin
Interpolating the world famous"Prelude" by RachmaninoffCommissioned by John Wallace, this arrangement of Russian Rag has been crafted by Sandy Coffin through close listening of the available recordings of the Harlem Hellfighters Band. Sandy had been heavily involved with the Historic Brass Society symposium 2017 held in New York and assisted John with his research on this fascinating band and the style of music it generated.Eye-witness accounts refer to the 369th band 'dancing' rather than 'marching'. Above all, in modern performance, finding a 'dancing beat' is crucial to a successful performance of this Ragtime march in order to do justice to the great pioneering work of James Reese Europe. Note the cheeky virtuosity and rubato!Look and Listen (courtesy of Tullis Russell Mills Band):Background to the Harlem HellfightersThe US Army 369th Regiment, made up largely of African-Americans from New York, became known as the Harlem Hellfighters because of the heroic reputation which accrued to them during the actions they engaged in during the First World War in Europe.James Reese Europe was one of the most active African-American composer/musical directors in the pre-war American music scene. The legendary Harlem Hellfighters Band, which he assembled in 1917 from African-American and Puerto Rican musicians, came at an important transitional point in musical history. A new form of music called jazz was emerging from Ragtime and the performing style of Europe's band was immersed in the flow of this new direction.Europe's Harlem Hellfighters influenced and inspired everyone who heard them, including the welcoming crowd when they disembarked in France, bowled over by their swinging rendition of La Marseillaise. Reese Europe became a war hero, commanding a machine-gun unit as well as the band.On return from War in 1919 the band led a ticker-tape parade along Fifth Avenue in New York and soon made about 30 shellac recordings. These recordings display some of the fingerprints of their performing style: ragging, improvising, muting, wailing, smearing (their word for glissando) - and from the evidence of their recordings they took the printed page as a blueprint for individuality.In May 1919 during the Hellfighters' triumphant coast-to-coast tour after their return, James Reese Europe was tragically murdered, bringing to premature close, at the age of 39, the work of a great musical innovator.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
-
£30.00That Moaning Trombone - Carl D Bethel, Sandy Coffin
Comic March One-StepCommissioned by John Wallace, this arrangement of That Moaning Trombone has been crafted by Sandy Coffin through close listening of the available recordings of the Harlem Hellfighters Band. Sandy had been heavily involved with the Historic Brass Society symposium 2017 held in New York and assisted John with his research on this fascinating band and the style of music it generated.Eye-witness accounts refer to the 369th band 'dancing' rather than 'marching'. Above all, in modern performance, finding a 'dancing beat' is crucial to a successful performance of this Ragtime march in order to do justice to the great pioneering work of James Reese Europe.Note the the reckless abandon with which glissando, at that time a novel effect, is used!Look and Listen (courtesy of the Tullis Russell Mills Band):Background to the Harlem HellfightersThe US Army 369th Regiment, made up largely of African-Americans from New York, became known as the Harlem Hellfighters because of the heroic reputation which accrued to them during the actions they engaged in during the First World War in Europe.James Reese Europe was one of the most active African-American composer/musical directors in the pre-war American music scene. The legendary Harlem Hellfighters Band, which he assembled in 1917 from African-American and Puerto Rican musicians, came at an important transitional point in musical history. A new form of music called jazz was emerging from Ragtime and the performing style of Europe's band was immersed in the flow of this new direction.Europe's Harlem Hellfighters influenced and inspired everyone who heard them, including the welcoming crowd when they disembarked in France, bowled over by their swinging rendition of La Marseillaise. Reese Europe became a war hero, commanding a machine-gun unit as well as the band.On return from War in 1919 the band led a ticker-tape parade along Fifth Avenue in New York and soon made about 30 shellac recordings. These recordings display some of the fingerprints of their performing style: ragging, improvising, muting, wailing, smearing (their word for glissando) - and from the evidence of their recordings they took the printed page as a blueprint for individuality.In May 1919 during the Hellfighters' triumphant coast-to-coast tour after their return, James Reese Europe was tragically murdered, bringing to premature close, at the age of 39, the work of a great musical innovator.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
-
£35.00A Suffolk Prelude - Andrew Duncan
Written for the Ipswich & Norwich Co-Op Band, A Suffolk Prelude is based around five traditional tunes from Suffolk:'Nutting Time','Blackberry Fold','Cupid's Garden','A Seaman's Life''The Bold Richard'The piece begins on the percussion and timpani alone leading through a crescendo into the first statement of the fanfare which is derived from a motif from the tune 'Nutting Time'. This leads into a playing of the 'Nutting Time' tune which is then developed as the tune is passed around the band.'Nutting Time' is a jolly lighthearted tune about a 'fair maid' who meets a handsome young farmer called 'Johnny' when out gathering nuts in the wood. After a pause on the tubular bells the slow tune 'Blackberry Fold' is presented as a solo for Flugel Horn, then as a full band version.'Blackberry Fold' is a touching song about a Suffolk squire who gets married well below his station to a beautiful milkmaid, simply because he loves her! They live happily ever after.The next tune to be heard is the juanty 'Cupid's Garden' played firstly as a solo on the Euphonium, and again this is about the subject of love. This song is sung from a sailors prospective and he tells how he met a lovely maiden and has promised to marry her when he returns from duty at sea.The trombones then play the noble tune 'A Seaman's Life'. This tune seems to serve as a warning to young girls about the fickle nature and the total unsuitability of marrying a sailor! 'Oh a seaman's life is a merry merry life, they'll rob young girls of their heart's delight, they will leave them behind for to sail one morn, but they never know when they'll return'. Despite this it is a fine tune!The last tune featured is 'The Bold Richard' which is played by all the bass instruments in the band. This is a song telling how the Royal Navy friggate 'The Bold Richard' went to battle against a French friggate destroying her and taking her crew as prisoners.Suffolk Prelude goes on to feature a slow version of the tune 'A Seaman's Life' played alongside a fast version of the tune 'Cupid's Garden'. The opening fanfare then returns leading into a final coda section.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
-
£25.00
Breakaway Fanfare and Romance - David Hext
A grand fanfare of an opening instantly catches the attention of the audience. This is then followed by the delightfully gentle melody of the Romance, reflected around the sections with some wonderful chordal sounds to build the intensity.The piece closes with a return to the fanfare theme and a definitive flourish to the end.This is an ideal work to add some original composition interest to a concert of entertainment contest programme
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
-
£30.00Midnight - Lucy Pankhurst
Written for and premiered by the Leyland Band with euphonium soloist Philippe Schwartz in 2010, Midnight is a haunting euphonium solo which features the engaging combination of lyrical melodies and strident energy.The piece opens with peaceful serenity and then moves towards an energetic and exciting passage which really showcases the soloist and the band alike. Lots of percussion highlights are included in the scoring which adds immense depth to the writing. Following is a return to an atmospheric spotlight on the soloist, developing into an impressive cadenza and eventually closing with the original tranquility.Comments by the composer, Lucy Pankhurst, on writing collaboratively for a band:"I didn't intend to tailor [this piece] specifically, other than knowing I could pretty much write whatever I wanted to for the band and soloist.They are such great players and have a cracking percussion section. The only stipulation I was given was for something 'atmospheric'.This is actually one piece that I started at the first bar and composed chronologically. Everything grew from the opening marimba ostinato."Midnight is featured on the Leyland Band CD - Age of Chivalry.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
-
£30.00Buffoon . . . - Lucy Pankhurst
We all need a little buffoonery at times, and this enjoyable creation from Lucy Pankhurst completely hits the mark with its melody being so 'buffoon-like' in its movement and harmonies.Reminiscent of circus-style music, the piece is thinly scored to start and then gradually develops gentle variations of the melody. These are shared throughout the band until a peak of harmonies and tempo leads to a settled return to a more reflective ending.An imaginative development of a simple tune which makes for a versatile light concert item ... it's also likely that the main melody will stay in your mind days after hearing it!
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
-
£80.00St. Magnus - Kenneth Downie
Dedicated to Alastair Massey, an inspirational music teacher. Commissioned by the Scottish Brass Band Association for the 2004 European Brass Band Championships in Glasgow. This music is a set of variations on the tune known as St Magnus, which is attributed to Jeremiah Clarke. Most people will associate it with Thomas Kelly's hymn which begins: "The Head that once was crowned with thorns is crowned with glory now". The tune is very simple, consisting of just two, four-bar phrases. Neither is there much in the way of rhythmic variety, every note being a crotchet with the exception of two quavers, and the last note in each phrase. Within such a simple structure, however, lies considerable strength. THEME The listener is given the opportunity of hearing it twice, in full, at the beginning, starting with one player but soon taken up by the full ensemble. It returns in the middle of the music and is stated again near the end. This has been done quite deliberately in the hope that there will be an appreciation of what material is being developed, by the listener as well as by those with access to the score, who are able to see the visual connections. VARIATION 1 This takes the rhythm of the last part of the theme and also uses the shape of the opening as a recurring figure. The mood is whimsical and skittish, with short, teasing rhythmic figures tossed around the band, and quick interplay with percussion, at a fast tempo. An energetic flourish finishes this variation before the Andante espress. VARIATION 2 This commences with chords related to the opening of Variation 1. The cantabile on solo comets establishes a new, lyrical mood and there is scope for expressive playing in a series of short solo passages. The theme works its way unobtrusively into the texture before a reprise of the solo cornet melody and some more lyrical interchanges between Eb bass, euphonium, flugel horn and comets. The variation ends serenely with clear references to the last phrase of the theme. VARIATION 3 The first idea to dominate is clearly linked to the shape of the theme's first phrase. There is a frenetic feel to much of this variation, with considerable energy and instability created by extensive use of cross-rhythms. A thinning-out of the score marks a clear change to development of the start of the second phrase of the theme. This proves to be short-lived however, and the opening material returns leading to a restatement of the theme, "Maestoso," after which a euphonium cadenza links to Variation 4. VARIATION 4 Here we have some solos for euphonium, cornet, trombone and Eb bass set against a background of horns and baritones presenting a pensive statement of the theme's opening. VARIATION 5 This commences Allegro, with lively work for cornet and euphonium spreading to the whole band before attention focuses on the beginning of the second phrase of the theme which is initially presented in diminution, then in regular rhythm, then in inversion. An increase in tempo coupled with a decrease in volume, requires dexterity and control, with several metrical challenges thrown in for good measure. The same fragment of phrase becomes an ostinato which generates a frenzied climax, punctuated by short, dramatic silence, before the opening figure returns and the music gradually winds down. The tubular bells herald the final return of the theme, in augmentation, marking the start of the Finale. FINALE This features the running semiquavers of the previous variation sounding in counterpoint. A fast, furious coda speeds the work to a conclusion while references to the opening of the theme are still trying to break into the texture of the music. Kenneth Downie
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
-
£54.95Sonata - Derek Bourgeois
This work, composed in 1998, was commissioned by the American trombonist Don Lucas as a work for trombone and piano and first performed by him in Birmingham on 19th May 2000. Subsequently, I arranged the music for both solo trombone and brass band and solo trombone and wind band so that it now exists in three formats. The first movement, in B flat major, is brisk and energetic, and is cast in sonata form. The second subject is gentler and more lyrical. The second movement, a scherzo in C major, is the most complex of the four. Basically the structure is a rond. For a long time the music remains in the opening 5/8 time until a new theme introduces more broken rhythms in a more jazzy idiom. After a return of the opening theme the following episode is more tonally ambiguous. Finally, the main theme returns to round off the movement. The third movement, a lyrical adagio, is really one long extended melodic flow. The harmonies are lush and the textures simple and direct. The tonal center is A minor, but the music meanders through so many keys, that this key centre is heavily disguised. The finale is a fiery affair. G minor is really its home key, but throughout the movement the music moves about a lot and the second subject is first heard in A flat minor. The movement's underlying sonata structure is masked not only by its loose tonality but also by its frequently changing time signatures. Like the first movement the second subject is more lyrical in nature and for a while it seems that the music will end peacefully, but a final flurry heralds a triple forte unison on the home note of the first movement - B flat. Derek Bourgeois
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
View Music