Results
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£36.50A Road Less Travelled By (Brass Band - Score only) - Sparke, Philip
A Road Less Travelled By was commissioned by Palangos Orkestras for the Championship Section of the 2020 European Brass Band Championships held in Palanga, Lithuania.The following was written by the composer, Philip Sparke:The title alludes to a poem by American author, Robert Frost, which appeared in his 1916 collection, Mountain Intervals: The Road Not Taken.In common with most of my larger works, this piece in not programmatic, but purely abstract; there is no extrinsic musical story. The choice of title shares my view of how composers can often develop. There can be no 'destination' in a composer's career, but rather a continuing journey to an unknown place. From piece to piece a composer needs to decide his or her next steps, never really knowing where they might lead. As Frost so eloquently describes, these sorts of instinctive decisions guide all our lives.Set in three movements, which play without a break, A Road Less Travelled By opens with a Moto Perpetuo firmly rooted in classical language, form and syntax. A continuous river of semiquavers, veering from melody to accompaniment and back again, adds drive, every and motion. The second movement, Nocturne, is in the form of a free fantasia; solos for vibraphone, flugel horn and euphonium set the stage for a central cornet solo, quietly echoed by the full band. A triumphal climax is reached before the movement dissolves into a Scherzo Finale. Mercurial and quixotic in nature, this third movement starts jovially until trios for trombones and horns darken the atmosphere. A change of mood and meter leads to a reprise of the opening and a return of the cornet melody, this time accompanied by figures derived from the scherzo theme. A brief coda based on earlier material drives the piece to a close.Duration: 15.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£24.95MUSIC FOR KANTARA (Brass Band Extra Score) - Downie, Kenneth
4th Section Test Piece 2016 National Finals of the British Brass Band Championship. Music from Kantara was written in 1994 and was first performed by Watership Brass, a band based near Newbury. The title comes from the name of the former home of the composer, in Winchester, a name which was inherited from the previous owners, and which presumably comes from the ruined castle of that name on the Northern coast of Cyprus. The music is not programmatic: it does not tell a story. It is a three-movement suite of absolute music, in a tuneful and straightforward idiom. The slow, central movement calls for playing of a sensitive, vocal nature. Duration: 9:00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£59.95MUSIC FOR KANTARA (Brass Band Set - Score and Parts) - Downie, Kenneth
4th Section Test Piece 2016 National Finals of the British Brass Band Championship. Music from Kantara was written in 1994 and was first performed by Watership Brass, a band based near Newbury. The title comes from the name of the former home of the composer, in Winchester, a name which was inherited from the previous owners, and which presumably comes from the ruined castle of that name on the Northern coast of Cyprus. The music is not programmatic: it does not tell a story. It is a three-movement suite of absolute music, in a tuneful and straightforward idiom. The slow, central movement calls for playing of a sensitive, vocal nature. Duration: 9:00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£95.00Penlee (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Dobson, Simon
2013 Finals of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain - 3rd SectioTo some, the tragic story of the Penlee lifeboat, Solomon Browne, would need no introduction, and to some the pain felt is still very much a reality. The composer, born just a few weeks before that fateful night on the 19th December 1981, has created this work as a musical homage to the bravery of the souls who lost their lives and has dedicated it to their memory.Penlee was commissioned by the Cornwall Youth Brass Band using funds bequeathed by Michael Pickett. The first performance was given by the Cornish Youth Brass Band, conducted by Ian Porthouse, at St. Michael's Church, Newquay, on 30th December 2008.Penlee has been voted into the Classic FM Hall of Fame 2011 at No.106. Not only is it the first time a brass work has been featured in the Hall of Fame, but it was also the highest new entry.The work has subsequently been recorded by the Leyland Band, conducted by Jason Katsikaris, on the CD entitled Penlee.Suitable for Advanced Youth/3rd Section Bands and aboveDuration: 13:30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£17.99Penlee (Brass Band - Score only) - Dobson, Simon
2013 Finals of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain - 3rd SectionTo some, the tragic story of the Penlee lifeboat, Solomon Browne, would need no introduction, and to some the pain felt is still very much a reality. The composer, born just a few weeks before that fateful night on the 19th December 1981, has created this work as a musical homage to the bravery of the souls who lost their lives and has dedicated it to their memory.Penlee was commissioned by the Cornwall Youth Brass Band using funds bequeathed by Michael Pickett. The first performance was given by the Cornish Youth Brass Band, conducted by Ian Porthouse, at St. Michael's Church, Newquay, on 30th December 2008.Penlee has been voted into the Classic FM Hall of Fame 2011 at No.106. Not only is it the first time a brass work has been featured in the Hall of Fame, but it was also the highest new entry.The work has subsequently been recorded by the Leyland Band, conducted by Jason Katsikaris, on the CD entitled Penlee.Suitable for Advanced Youth/3rd Section Bands and aboveDuration: 13:30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£79.95Indian Summer (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Ball, Eric
The 'Indian Summer' is that of North America, and the music, entertaining but more than half serious, will perhaps evoke memories of tales of Native Americans.There are four movements:The Great Chief SpeaksBy the Cool WatersTotem DanceHymn to the Great SpiritProgramme Notes:This Fantasy is in the form of a Suite, although there should be no long break between each movement. The composer sometimes concocts a little story to illustrate the music, somewhat as follows:"The Great Chief Speaks": the warmth of Autumn's "Indian Summer" will soon be a memory, and hard Winter will set in; so the Chief must hold a great Powwow with his people"By the Coll Waters": a little girl, not interested in grown-up solemnities, slips away to a nearby lake. She gazes at her reflection in the water; executes a little dance, then falls to dreaming."Totem Dance": this will be exciting - the little girl goes running to see! The dancing becomes wilder, then rhythm more insistent, then suddenly silence."Hymn to the Great Spirit": the Powwow closes with a majestic utterance by the Great Chief. A hymn is sung to the "Great White Spirit", and the people turn their thoughts to preparations for the coming Winter.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£39.95Indian Summer (Brass Band - Score only) - Ball, Eric
The 'Indian Summer' is that of North America, and the music, entertaining but more than half serious, will perhaps evoke memories of tales of Native American.There are four movements:The Great Chief SpeaksBy the Cool WatersTotem DanceHymn to the Great SpiritProgramme Notes:This Fantasy is in the form of a Suite, although there should be no long break between each movement. The composer sometimes concocts a little story to illustrate the music, somewhat as follows:"The Great Chief Speaks": the warmth of Autumn's "Indian Summer" will soon be a memory, and hard Winter will set in; so the Chief must hold a great Powwow with his people"By the Coll Waters": a little girl, not interested in grown-up solemnities, slips away to a nearby lake. She gazes at her reflection in the water; executes a little dance, then falls to dreaming."Totem Dance": this will be exciting - the little girl goes running to see! The dancing becomes wilder, then rhythm more insistent, then suddenly silence."Hymn to the Great Spirit": the Powwow closes with a majestic utterance by the Great Chief. A hymn is sung to the "Great White Spirit", and the Indians turn their thoughts to preparations for the coming Winter.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£59.95Aftershock (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
In this piece, the term "aftershock" serves as a metaphor for the Christian Church: commissioned by Jesus to carry forward the impact of his ministry and message. The Church is the spiritual aftershock of Christ's life, death, and resurrection - reverberating through history and into the present.Musically, the piece is constructed in three movements and built around motifs that pulse, echo, and resonate, symbolising the ongoing influence of Christ through his Church. Several well-known Christian songs are woven into its fabric, each contributing to the narrative of mission and worship. Build your Kingdom here (Rend Collective) affirms the Church's identity as "the hope on earth," while Major Leonard Ballantine's And you will be my witnesses (M.S. 1992-10) recalls Jesus' call to spread the gospel.The reflective central section features Matt Redman's I will offer up my life in spirit and truth, expressing personal devotion of a believer seeking to serive within the global Church.The finale draws on a traditional Salvation Army song by William Drake Pennick (S.A.S.B. 937), urging believers to proclaim the gospel far and wide: Tell the world, O tell the world!Make salvation's story heard;In the highways, in the byways,And in lands beyond the sea,do some witnessing for JesusWheresoever you may be.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£64.95Adam Zero, Suite from (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Selected as the Section 2 test piece for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2025Following his ballet Checkmate, Bliss composed another score for the, by then, Sadler's Wells Ballet, Miracle in the Gorbals, which was choreographed by Robert Helpmann, to a scenario by Michael Benthall. Premired in 1944, the ballet made a considerable impact and was a box-office success. It was followed in turn by a further collaboration with Helpmann and Benthall, Adam Zero. This would serve Helpmann, in the eponymous role, as a vehicle in two respects: demonstrating his gifts as a dancer-actor and as a choreographer. First performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 8 April 1946, Adam Zero was conducted by Constant Lambert, the work's dedicatee. Bliss considered it 'his most varied and exciting ballet score'. Benthall provided a synopsis for the programme:There is a philosophy that life moves in an endless series of timeless cycles. As Nature passes through Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, so man is born, makes a success in his own particular sphere, loses his position to a younger generation, sees his world crumble before his eyes and only finds peace in death. This age-old story is told in terms of a Company creating a ballet and calling on the resources of the theatre to do so. Lighting, stage mechanism, dance conventions, musical forms and costumes and scenery of all periods are used to symbolize the world of 'Adam Zero'.Apart from Adam, as the Principal Dancer, other main roles included the Stage Director (representing Omnipotence), and Adam's Fates (Designer, Wardrobe Mistress, and Dresser). 'The Woman in this allegory', wrote Bliss, 'under the symbol of the Choreographer, was both the creator and destroyer of Adam: his first love, his wife, his mistress, and finally the figure of beneficent Death.' When the curtain rose, the 'audience saw the Covent Garden stage right back to the wall, completely empty except for the protagonists, 'the Company poised, still and expectant, as they await the birth of... Adam Zero.'Unfortunately, soon after the premire, Helpmann injured himself and had to withdraw from the remaining performances. Despite generally positive reviews, the ballet did not capture the imagination of audiences and, to Bliss's considerable disappointment, was not revived. Seventy years would elapse before its first major return to the stage, in 2016, performed by the ballet company of Stadttheater Bremerhaven with choreography by Sergei Vanaev.Bliss extracted a concert suite from the ballet, conducting its first performance with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on 28 October 1948. For his own suite, arranged for brass band in 2023, Dr Robert Childs chose three dances linked to the seasons, book-ending them with the ebullient 'Fanfare Overture' and 'Fanfare Coda'. After Adam has grown to manhood, his Fates clothe him in a costume synonymous with confident youth, appropriate for the virile, ardent 'Dance of Spring'. In the 'Approach of Autumn', Adam, now wearing a sombre costume, has grown older: his Fates have streaked grey in his hair and put lines on his face. But they had earlier raised Adam to the zenith of his power, and the 'Dance of Summer' depicts him in the prime of life, in music of sweeping grandeur. The 'Fanfare Coda' signals that the next cycle of life is about to begin.Duration: 10.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.95Adam Zero, Suite from (Brass Band - Score only)
Selected as the Section 2 test piece for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2025Following his ballet Checkmate, Bliss composed another score for the, by then, Sadler's Wells Ballet, Miracle in the Gorbals, which was choreographed by Robert Helpmann, to a scenario by Michael Benthall. Premired in 1944, the ballet made a considerable impact and was a box-office success. It was followed in turn by a further collaboration with Helpmann and Benthall, Adam Zero. This would serve Helpmann, in the eponymous role, as a vehicle in two respects: demonstrating his gifts as a dancer-actor and as a choreographer. First performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 8 April 1946, Adam Zero was conducted by Constant Lambert, the work's dedicatee. Bliss considered it 'his most varied and exciting ballet score'. Benthall provided a synopsis for the programme:There is a philosophy that life moves in an endless series of timeless cycles. As Nature passes through Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, so man is born, makes a success in his own particular sphere, loses his position to a younger generation, sees his world crumble before his eyes and only finds peace in death. This age-old story is told in terms of a Company creating a ballet and calling on the resources of the theatre to do so. Lighting, stage mechanism, dance conventions, musical forms and costumes and scenery of all periods are used to symbolize the world of 'Adam Zero'.Apart from Adam, as the Principal Dancer, other main roles included the Stage Director (representing Omnipotence), and Adam's Fates (Designer, Wardrobe Mistress, and Dresser). 'The Woman in this allegory', wrote Bliss, 'under the symbol of the Choreographer, was both the creator and destroyer of Adam: his first love, his wife, his mistress, and finally the figure of beneficent Death.' When the curtain rose, the 'audience saw the Covent Garden stage right back to the wall, completely empty except for the protagonists, 'the Company poised, still and expectant, as they await the birth of... Adam Zero.'Unfortunately, soon after the premire, Helpmann injured himself and had to withdraw from the remaining performances. Despite generally positive reviews, the ballet did not capture the imagination of audiences and, to Bliss's considerable disappointment, was not revived. Seventy years would elapse before its first major return to the stage, in 2016, performed by the ballet company of Stadttheater Bremerhaven with choreography by Sergei Vanaev.Bliss extracted a concert suite from the ballet, conducting its first performance with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on 28 October 1948. For his own suite, arranged for brass band in 2023, Dr Robert Childs chose three dances linked to the seasons, book-ending them with the ebullient 'Fanfare Overture' and 'Fanfare Coda'. After Adam has grown to manhood, his Fates clothe him in a costume synonymous with confident youth, appropriate for the virile, ardent 'Dance of Spring'. In the 'Approach of Autumn', Adam, now wearing a sombre costume, has grown older: his Fates have streaked grey in his hair and put lines on his face. But they had earlier raised Adam to the zenith of his power, and the 'Dance of Summer' depicts him in the prime of life, in music of sweeping grandeur. The 'Fanfare Coda' signals that the next cycle of life is about to begin.Duration: 10.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
