Results
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£64.95Adam Zero, Suite from (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Bliss, Arthur - Childs, Robert
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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£104.99Cantabile (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Harper, Philip
As long as we live there is never enough singing. - Martin Luther. Philip Harper composed this piece in response to his personal concern about the direction of new music for brass band. His goal with this 5 movement Cantabile, was to compose a piece which fully complied with all that is asked of a top-level test piece in the 21st Century, but also to reconnect with more traditional values such as lyricism in melody and richness of blended brass sound. Each of the 5 parts seek to capture this idea. Duration: 16.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£69.95Heroes of the North (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Graham, Peter
Heroes of the North was commissioned by Henning Annundsen for Skodvin Skulemusikk and pays tribute to the development of brass band activity in the Nordhordland region of Norway.The music is a set of character variations based upon personalities long associated with both the band and the region. The opening 5 note motif (C D E F G) might be considered the starting point for beginner brass students, and this mini-theme is developed throughout the work.Five variations follow: Mr Brevik's Galop (representing Tom Brevik, a key figure in Norwegian brass band music); Frode's Dance (with apologies to Edvard Grieg), portraying soprano cornet player Frode Rydland, one of Skodvin Skulemusikk's most famous "old boys"; Mr Bjrge's Walk representing Viggo Bjrge, "Mr Eikanger Bjrsvik Band"; Hymn for Knut-Harald, known as "Mr Skodvin Skulemusikk" having over many years played a central role in the teaching and training of the band, and finally Maestro Snell's Russian Adventure features music with more than a hint of Russian (Khachaturian to be precise) and calls to mind Howard Snell whose arrangements and presence have made such a huge contribution to Norwegian Brass Banding over many years.Heroes of the North is playable by 4th section bands.Duration: 10.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.95Heroes of the North (Brass Band - Score only) - Graham, Peter
Heroes of the North was commissioned by Henning Annundsen for Skodvin Skulemusikk and pays tribute to the development of brass band activity in the Nordhordland region of Norway.The music is a set of character variations based upon personalities long associated with both the band and the region. The opening 5 note motif (C D E F G) might be considered the starting point for beginner brass students, and this mini-theme is developed throughout the work.Five variations follow: Mr Brevik's Galop (representing Tom Brevik, a key figure in Norwegian brass band music); Frode's Dance (with apologies to Edvard Grieg), portraying soprano cornet player Frode Rydland, one of Skodvin Skulemusikk's most famous "old boys"; Mr Bjrge's Walk representing Viggo Bjrge, "Mr Eikanger Bjrsvik Band"; Hymn for Knut-Harald, known as "Mr Skodvin Skulemusikk" having over many years played a central role in the teaching and training of the band, and finally Maestro Snell's Russian Adventure features music with more than a hint of Russian (Khachaturian to be precise) and calls to mind Howard Snell whose arrangements and presence have made such a huge contribution to Norwegian Brass Banding over many years.Heroes of the North is playable by 4th section bands.Duration: 10.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£95.00Concertante (Piano Solo with Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Gregson, Edward
This work was written in 1966, when I was a student at the Royal Academy of Music in London. It was the first major work to be written for this combination. The Concertante is unashamedly romantic in idiom and is cast in three movements: Prelude, Nocturne and Rondo.The Prelude is in sonata form with a contracted recapitulation. There are two main themes, the first announced after the opening flourish on piano. The second theme is lyrical in character and the interplay between these two themes forms the main focus of the movement.The pensive Nocturne opens with an introduction from the band which contains hints of the two main ideas to follow. The solo piano announces the main theme, which has a slightly 'blues' character in its flattened third and seventh notes of the scale. The band enters with the chorale theme already heard in the introduction. Eventually the first theme returns, this time from piano and band and building to a powerful climax before subsiding to a peaceful ending.The Rondo is full of energetic rhythms and changing time patterns. The main theme is 'giocoso' in character and in the first episode there is more than a hint of the tune 'Onward Christian Soldiers' in what amounts to a good humoured parody. Before the final coda there is a long piano cadenza underlying the virtuoso element of the work.The work had a number of public performances leading up to a memorable one in the Royal Albert Hall in 1989 as part of the Gala Concert that used to be held after the National Brass Band Championship in the Royal Albert Hall. That year, the 'centre band' in the massed bands concert were the GUS Band (then known for sponsorship reasons as 'Rigid Containers Group Band'!) conducted by my great friend and champion, Bramwell Tovey, with myself as the soloist.- Edward GregsonDuration: 18.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£35.00
Concertante (Piano Solo with Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
This work was written in 1966, when I was a student at the Royal Academy of Music in London. It was the first major work to be written for this combination. The Concertante is unashamedly romantic in idiom and is cast in three movements: Prelude, Nocturne and Rondo.The Prelude is in sonata form with a contracted recapitulation. There are two main themes, the first announced after the opening flourish on piano. The second theme is lyrical in character and the interplay between these two themes forms the main focus of the movement.The pensive Nocturne opens with an introduction from the band which contains hints of the two main ideas to follow. The solo piano announces the main theme, which has a slightly 'blues' character in its flattened third and seventh notes of the scale. The band enters with the chorale theme already heard in the introduction. Eventually the first theme returns, this time from piano and band and building to a powerful climax before subsiding to a peaceful ending.The Rondo is full of energetic rhythms and changing time patterns. The main theme is 'giocoso' in character and in the first episode there is more than a hint of the tune 'Onward Christian Soldiers' in what amounts to a good humoured parody. Before the final coda there is a long piano cadenza underlying the virtuoso element of the work.The work had a number of public performances leading up to a memorable one in the Royal Albert Hall in 1989 as part of the Gala Concert that used to be held after the National Brass Band Championship in the Royal Albert Hall. That year, the 'centre band' in the massed bands concert were the GUS Band (then known for sponsorship reasons as 'Rigid Containers Group Band'!) conducted by my great friend and champion, Bramwell Tovey, with myself as the soloist.- Edward GregsonDuration: 18.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95My Hope (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Trigg, Roger
My Hope' was written for, and premiered by Enfield Citadel Band (Bandmaster Jonathan Corry) on 11th October, 2013. ?The work formed part of the band's annual pre-contest festival on the eve of the National Brass Band Championships which are held in the august surroundings of the Royal Albert Hall, London each year. The words 'my hope' appear in both hymns that are referenced in the music. The notes 'E', 'C', 'B' also feature throughout the work as homage to Enfield Citadel Band.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£17.50
My Hope (Brass Band - Score only) - Trigg, Roger
My Hope' was written for, and premiered by Enfield Citadel Band (Bandmaster Jonathan Corry) on 11th October, 2013. ?The work formed part of the band's annual pre-contest festival on the eve of the National Brass Band Championships which are held in the august surroundings of the Royal Albert Hall, London each year. The words 'my hope' appear in both hymns that are referenced in the music. The notes 'E', 'C', 'B' also feature throughout the work as homage to Enfield Citadel Band.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£23.99Origenes (Brass Band - Score only) - Cardenas, Carlos
Origenes (Origins) was commissioned by the European Brass Band Association as a test piece for the challenge section of the 38th European Brass Band Championship in Freiburg, Germany 2015. It is a spectacular piece from the pen of Carlos Cardenas, who belongs to a new generation of composing talent. The clave, a rhythmic pattern, which originally comes from African music, was the inspiration for this innovative piece, all motifs and structures being derived from it. The six parts feature a wide spectrum of percussion instruments, reveal an impressive range of new sound combinations and yet are very accessible for the audience.Duration: 10.45
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£134.99
Origenes (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Cardenas, Carlos
Origenes (Origins) was commissioned by the European Brass Band Association as a test piece for the challenge section of the 38th European Brass Band Championship in Freiburg, Germany 2015. It is a spectacular piece from the pen of Carlos Cardenas, who belongs to a new generation of composing talent. The clave, a rhythmic pattern, which originally comes from African music, was the inspiration for this innovative piece, all motifs and structures being derived from it. The six parts feature a wide spectrum of percussion instruments, reveal an impressive range of new sound combinations and yet are very accessible for the audience.Duration: 10.45
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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