Results
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£45.00Diversions After Benjamin Britten (Brass Band - Score only)
Suite by Lucy Pankhurst, Simon Dobson, Paul McGhee and Gavin HigginsHaving devised a collective centenary tribute for Michael Tippett at the 2006 RNCM Festival of Brass (Variations on a Theme of Michael Tippett by five eminent composers of brass band music, PHM002), I commissioned this companion piece as a Benjamin Britten tribute for the 2013 festival. In the late 1970s, while researching a book about the English composer, and Britten's first teacher, Frank Bridge (1879 - 1941), I came across a copy of the printed score of Benjamin Britten's Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge (Op.10) for string orchestra, in which Britten had written descriptive titles for each of the variations suggesting appropriate character traits of his much loved mentor and guide. The character variations are cast in march, song and dance forms.Taking inspiration from Britten's youthful tribute, I invited four award-winning composers, who have all made significant contributions to the brass band medium, to create their own personal reflections on four aspects of Britten's character and music, designed to form a suite of Diversions after Benjamin Britten, but which can also be played separately.Lucy Pankhurst's hauntingly lyrical Prelude: His Depth refers to the emotional and symbolic subtexts that underpin Britten's operas, taking its musical cue from Britten's many arrangements of folk songs. The flugel horn takes a prominent role throughout.Simon Dobson's breathless Scherzo: His Vitality reminds us with its rapid passage work and leaping bass 'groove' that Britten loved tennis and fast cars in his younger days.Paul McGhee's evocative interpretation of the March: His Sympathy represents Benjamin Britten's pacifism, as the composer writes: 'We view the music through the eyes of a pacifist. Whilst war and violence surround us, we do not engage in it and though it continues to happen around us. With the use of muted effects in most of the band throughout the piece, the flugel horn is the lone voice of reason, standing firm against the mechanical and destructive society in which it is forced to live. As the machine of war continues around the lone voice, the voice is gradually dismissed and mocked as the war machine rumbles on into the distance.'In an extended finale, entitled Toccata: His Skill, Gavin Higgins celebrates Benjamin Britten's consummate creativity. For the RNCM Festival of Brass premiere, the four contrasting movements were framed and connected by Britten's Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury for three trumpets, with the trumpet soloists spaced round the hall. I am grateful to the Britten Estate and publishers Boosey & Hawkes for giving permission for the elements of Britten's fanfare to be incorporated in the collective work.- Paul HindmarshDuration: 19.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£15.00Perseverance
DescriptionPerseverance was commissioned by Middleton Band to mark their 140th anniversary in 2016, supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and featured on Middleton Band's CD of the same name.The title is taken from the original name of the 1876 band, the Middleton Perseverance Drum and Fife Band. According to the band's historical records, the Drum and Fife band was formed by six Middleton youngsters eager to learn music but short of funds. Following a whip round, they visited a music shop in Oldham where they purchased a 'one key flute' for six shillings and sixpence, and ('later on') a drum.This determination to make music despite the odds has been a characteristic of the band ever since; at the end of the second world war the band was again down to six players, who rebuilt the 'Middleton Borough Band' back to twenty-six players. After a period of some considerable success throughout the sixties and seventies culminating in winning the National Third Section title in 1983 the band hit hard times again in the late eighties and was down to only four members in 1987 before again being brought back to life. In recent decades the band has built a strong relationship with the East Lancashire Railway, another organisation which has battled sometimes mighty obstacles in its struggle to survive, and has maintained a thriving and successful youth band.The band's will to survive through adversity is reflected in the music, which builds from a sextet of four brass and two percussion players three times, only to fall back to the sextet twice. In the central slow movement the bass drum plays a 'heartbeat' rhythm as the remaining players remember those lost in the war. The relentless pace of the final section culminates in the band triumphing over the adversity which has curtailed the previous two sections. As a former member of Middleton Band (and one of the team that regained the National Third Section title in 2007) it is my pleasure to dedicate this work to the 'Pop and Ale Boys', Middleton Band.You can read more about the piece here.To view the accompanying video by Andy Marshall, designed to precede the piece, clickhereand find out more about the link between the video and the music here.Recording with Score VideoPerformance NotesIn performance the four brass members of the sextet (soprano, solo horn, solo trombone and solo euphonium) should stand at the sides of the band - soprano and horn behind the cornets, trombone and euphonium behind the trombones. Percussion may stand with them at the conductor's discretion, but only if the band has TWO snare drums and TWO concert bass drums available, as these are also needed at the back of the band in the tutti sections. In the second sextet snare drum should be muffled with a heavy cloth OR have the snares turned off (not both).Percussion and mutesPercussion required:snare drum (muffled with a heavy cloth at one point)concert bass drum, kit bass drum, hi-hat, suspended (crash) cymbal2 x tom-tomswood blockclash cymbals3 x timpanitam-tamglockenspielSoprano cornet, repiano and 2nd cornets, flugel and all trombones require metal straight mutes. Soprano, Solo Cornet 3/4, Repiano 2nd and 3rd cornets require cup mutes. Solo Cornet 1/2, Repiano, 2nd and 3rd cornets require harmon mutes.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£30.00Gallipoli - James Stretton
My interest in the disastrous Dardanelles campaign of WW1 was first stimulated when I saw Peter Weir's 1981 film "Gallipoli" starring a very youthful Mel Gibson. The campaign ran from February 19th 1915 to January 9th 1916. The Turkish victory ultimately stemmed from the British foolhardy underestimation of the military potential of the declining Ottoman Empire. Significant numbers of British and French troops were involved against the Turkish & German forces. However, it is the heroic involvement of the ANZAC forces comprising of 50,000 Australians and 15,000 New Zealanders that is now at the forefront of our memories. The ANZACS were at the spearhead of the amphibious assault of April 25th 1915 and sustained appalling losses in dreadful conditions. Indeed, many historians consider the bravery and fortitude displayed by the ANZACS at Gallipoli to be an important component in the national consciousness of Australia and New Zealand. A century on from the end of "The Great War", the war to end all wars it is to the brave ANZAC soldiers that this concert march is humbly dedicated. James Stretton - Blenheim, New Zealand.
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£29.95
Rhapsody in Brass (Score Only)
Rhapsody in Brass is in three movements and was written for the British Open Championships in 1949, held at Belle Vue in Manchester. The contest winners were Fairey Aviation Works Band under the baton of Harry Mortimer. Eric Ball came second with Ransome & Marles and Stanley Boddington 3rd with Munn and Felton Band. Rhapsody in Brass had the unusual distinction of being written as a test piece by a Salvation Army composer. Eric Ball's Resurgam was the only other piece to achieve that dual personality in that era.Dean Goffin was born in 1916 in Wellington, New Zealand, son of Henry Goffin, a Salvation Army officer and composer. At 19 he was appointed Bandmaster of the Wellington South Band and when World War II started, he enlisted in the New Zealand Armed Forces where he became Bandmaster of the 20th Infantry Battalion and later the 4th Brigade Band. During the time he served with them in the Middle East and Europe, he composed and arranged numerous pieces among which Rhapsody in Brass and the march Bel Hamid, later adapted for Salvation Army use and renamed Anthem of the Free.After the war, Dean kept on composing and his work was featured by the Wellington South Band. Later he transferred to Timaru for another job and became Bandmaster there. He was studying music at the time and as he wanted to take part in a competition for devotional selections for Salvation Army use, he sent some of his compositions to the International Headquarters. When Rhapsody for Brass was chosen as the test-piece for the British Open Championships, people at the Salvation Army started asking questions about the lack of publications of his work. It was discovered that the pieces submitted for the competition didn't meet the exact criteria. Among these pieces was one of his most appealing works The Light of the World which was published a year later, in 1950, the same year as he completed his Bachelor of Music studies at Otagu University.After entering the Salvation Army Training College in Wellington with his wife, Marjorie, Dean was in 1956 appointed National Bandmaster in the British Territory. Later he became National Secretary for Bands and Songster Brigades and in this period he organised the yearly festival in the Royal Albert Hall and was responsible for the national music schools in the UK. Dean returned to his home country in 1966 and to mark the centenary of the Salvation Army in New Zealand he was knighted by the Queen in 1983. Sir Dean Goffin died on 23 January 1984.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£101.00
Pictures From Wartime (Bra) - Stijn Aertgeerts
'Pictures From Wartime' tries to describe all aspects of the war era. In the first part, the sadness of seeing friends, family and loved ones leave to the battlefield. The despair as soon as messages of casualties come in, the pain that accompanies it, and then finish this part proudly and with beautiful memories. The connecting second part outlines the battle itself. Heavy, dangerous, do everything to survive and camaraderie between combatants. The last movement shows the evolution of more cowardly and daring war tactics, such as the use of mustard gas, the atomic bomb and all that modernization of weapons has brought us to date. All this for one purpose, peace ?!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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Codebreakers : Bletchley Park - Len Jenkins - Len Jenkins
Bletchley Park was the centre for Allied codebreaking in World War 2, responsible for decoding secret military codes used by enemy forces, in particular those related to the use of the 'Enigma' and other encoding machines. In the course of its endeavours it developed what was effectively the first electronic computer and brought to prominence the genius of Alan Turing when its wartime work was declassified and made public. The composer, Len Jenkins, still lives near Bletchley Park, went to school nearby, and attended training courses there when, after the war, it was used as a telecommunications training centre. This march is dedicated to the memory of all those who worked at Bletchley Park.
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£19.95Over Ambion Hill - Jonathan Bates
'Over Ambion Hill' is a cornet solo with piano accompaniment composed for the Principal Cornet of the Raty Band, Keir-Luc Evans-Brown. Ratby - as a village -is situated within the Bosworth & Hinckley district of Leicestershire, the former of which notorious for it's setting of the 'Battle of Bosworth Field'in 1485 - the final significant battle of the War of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York. The battlefield itself was for many years ajudged to be on the site of Ambion Hill where the current Battle of Bosworth visitor centre is situated, but this was later reassessed as being situated a couple of miles South West of Ambion Hill. The battle is synonymous with the death of Richard III, who's cortege passed Ambion Hill on it's way to Leicester Cathedral upon the rediscovery of his remains in 2015.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£29.95Maybury Hill Lullaby - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 4 minutes. DIFFICULTY: 2nd+. 'Maybury Hill Lullaby' was composed for the City of Bradford Brass Band as part of a programme of music based around both the original H.G Wells novel and 1978 adaption by Jeff Wayne of The War of the Worlds. . During the previous day, the first of the missiles from Mars had crashed into Earth and the creature within had gone about invoking chaos and destruction upon all human life nearby. 'The Narrator' (an unnamed character throughout) escapes the scene to his home on Maybury Hill, Woking and falls into a deep, haunted sleep, recalling the horrors he had witnessed before his eyes.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£30.0092 Squadron - Brass Band Sheet Music Full Score & Parts - LM372
COMPOSER: Alex McGeeA concert march for brass band dedicated to 92 SquadronNumber 92 Squadron, also known asNo. 92 (East India) Squadronand currently asNo. 92 Tactics and Training Squadron, of theRoyal Air Forceis a test and evaluation squadron based atRAF Waddington,Lincolnshire. It was formed as part of theRoyal Flying CorpsatLondon Colneyas a fighter squadron on 1 September 1917. It deployed to France in July 1918 and saw action for just four months, until the end of the war. During the conflict it flew both air superiority and direct ground support missions. It was disbanded atEilon 7 August 1919. Reformed on 10 October 1939,at Tangmere Airfield, the unit was supposed to be equipped with medium bombers but in the spring of 1940 it became one of the first RAF units to receive theSupermarine Spitfire, going on to fight in theBattle of Britain.LM372 - ISMN : 9790570003723
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£59.95
ON RATCLIFF HIGHWAY (Brass Band Set) - Ray Steadman-Allen
Written for the centenary of Salvation Army bands in 1978, On Ratcliff Highway was premiered by The International Staff Band (and simultaneously by Melbourne Staff Band in another venue). It was inspired by a sketch on the front page of a copy of The War Cry from 1886 which depicted the Whitechapel Salvation Army band marching through the notorious highway, surrounded by crowds, with the masts of ships seen beyond the East London slums.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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