Results
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£94.95An Age of Kings (Mezzo-Soprano Solo with Brass Band and optional choir - Score and Parts) - Gregson, Edward
The origins of this work date back to 1988, when I was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company to write the music for The Plantagenets trilogy, directed by Adrian Noble in Stratford-upon-Avon. These plays take us from the death of Henry V to the death of Richard III. Later, in 1991, I wrote the music for Henry IV parts 1 and 2, again in Stratford. All of these plays are concerned with the struggle for the throne, and they portray one of the most turbulent periods in the history of the British monarchy.Much of the music used in these productions was adapted into two large symphonic suites for wind band - The Sword and the Crown (1991) and The Kings Go Forth (1996). An Age of Kings is a new version for brass band incorporating music from both the symphonic suites for wind band. It was specially composed for a recording made by the Black Dyke Band, conducted by Nicholas Childs, in 2004.An Age of Kings is music on a large-scale canvas, scored for augmented brass band, with the addition of harp, piano, mezzo-soprano solo, male chorus, as well as two off-stage trumpets. The music is also organized on a large-scale structure, in three movements, which play without a break - "Church and State", "At the Welsh Court", and "Battle Music and Hymn of Thanksgiving".The first movement, "Church and State", opens with a brief fanfare for two antiphonal trumpets (off-stage), but this only acts as a preface to a Requiem aeternam (the death of Henry V) before changing mood to the English army on the march to France; this subsides into a French victory march, but with the English army music returning in counterpoint. A brief reminder of the Requiem music leads to the triumphal music for Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, father of Edward IV and Richard III (the opening fanfare transformed). However, the mood changes dramatically once again, with the horrors of war being portrayed in the darkly-drawn Dies Irae and Dance of Death, leading to the final section of the first movement, a funeral march for Henry VI.The second movement, "At the Welsh Court", takes music from the Welsh Court in Henry IV part 1 with a simple Welsh folk tune sung by mezzo-soprano to the inevitable accompaniment of a harp. This love song is interrupted by distant fanfares, forewarning of battles to come. However, the folk song returns with variation in the musical fabric. The movement ends as it began with off-stage horn and gentle percussion.The final movement, "Battle Music and Hymn of Thanksgiving", starts with two sets of antiphonally placed timpani, drums and tam-tam, portraying the 'war machine' and savagery of battle. Trumpet fanfares and horn calls herald an heroic battle theme which, by the end of the movement, transforms itself into a triumphant hymn for Henry IV's defeat of the rebellious forces.- Edward GregsonDuration - 22'00"Optional TTBB available separately.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£69.99South Down Pictures (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Sparke, Philip
South Down Pictures was commissioned by Millenium Brass 2000, an organisation comprising three brass bands from the county of Sussex, England.The bands (Patcham Silver, Hangleton and Brighton Silver) had got together to organise many events to mark the new millennium and these culminated in a concert in Hove Town Hall on July 9th 2000 when all three bands combined to give the first performance of South Down Pictures. The composer spent much of his childhood amongst the South Downs, a range of hills in Sussex which runs parallel to the sea.Opening with a strong unison passage, interrupted briefly by faster figures based on the interval of a fifth, South Down Pictures develops with an often-passionate legato melody. Reaching a climax, this is then followed by the main vivo section of the work, whose main theme is based on the earlier 'fifth' figures. A bridge passage leads to a short chorale figure and a rhythmic climax which dissolves into a plaintive cornet solo over staccato chords. This theme is taken up by the whole band and leads back to a recapitulation of the main theme and earlier material. The cornet tune returns triumphantly in the major key before the opening unison passage reappears to provide a stirring coda.Duration: 5:30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£40.00Trittico (Brass Band - Score only) - Curnow, James
Trittico was commissioned by the Swiss Brass Band Association for their national championships in 1988.A trittico is a triptych or group of three paintings or musical compositions based on a common theme and presented or performed together. The present work is a set of three extended variations on the American shaped-note hymn Consolation.The work opens in grand style with motives based on intervals of the hymn tune. The opening motif, and smaller fragments of it reappear throughout the piece and serve as an underlying element alongside the theme itself.The first variation is essentially a scherzo which echoes the minor mood of the theme. The hemiolic opposition of compound and duple time is used to good effect and, again, the main motif is never far away. This is music with energy and forward movement.The second variation gives the soloists a chance to shine. The mood is tranquil, yet there is always some activity and the musical material pre-echoes the third variation.The third variation is another scherzo-like section, the main theme accompanied by a rhythmic ostinato. Toward the conclusion there is a short aleatoric passage - a variation within a variation allowing half the band to make their own variations in a cacophony of sound. An energetic coda draws together several elements to round off a work brim full of drive, energy, and self-propelled enthusiasm.Recorded on Polyphonic QPRL044D Brass from the ValleysDuration: 13:30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£82.95The Flowers of the Forest (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Bennett, Richard Rodney - Hindmarsh, Paul
In a preface to the score, the composer explains that 'the folk song The Flowers of the Forest is believed to date from 1513, the time if the battle of Flodden, in the course of which the archers of the Forest (a part of Scotland) were killed almost to a man'. Bennett had already used the same tune in his Six Scottish Folksongs (1972) for soprano, tenor and piano, and it is the arrangement he made then that forms the starting-point for the brass-band piece. A slow introduction (Poco Adagio) presents the folk song theme three times in succession - on solo cornet, on solo cornets and tenor horns, and on muted ripieno cornets in close harmony - after which the work unfolds through five sections and a coda. Although played without a break, each of these five sections has its own identity, developing elements of the tune somewhat in the manner of variations, but with each arising from and evolving into the next. The first of these sections (Con moto, tranquillo) is marked by an abrupt shift of tonality, and makes much of the slow rises and falls characteristic of the tune itself. The tempo gradually increases, to arrive at a scherzando section (Vivo) which includes the first appearance of the theme in its inverted form. A waltz-like trio is followed by a brief return of the scherzando, leading directly to a second, more extended, scherzo (con brio) based on a lilting figure no longer directly related to the theme. As this fades, a single side drum introduces an element of more overtly martial tension (Alla Marcia) and Bennett says that, from this point on, he was thinking of Debussy's tribute to the memory of an unknown soldier (in the second movement of En Blanc et noir, for two pianos). Bennett's march gradually gathers momentum, eventually culminating in a short-lived elegiac climax (Maestoso) before the music returns full-circle to the subdued melancholy of the opening. The work ends with a haunting pianissimo statement of the original tune.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95
The Flowers of the Forest (Brass Band - Score only) - Bennett, Richard Rodney - Hindmarsh, Paul
In a preface to the score, the composer explains that 'the folk song The Flowers of the Forest is believed to date from 1513, the time if the battle of Flodden, in the course of which the archers of the Forest (a part of Scotland) were killed almost to a man'. Bennett had already used the same tune in his Six Scottish Folksongs (1972) for soprano, tenor and piano, and it is the arrangement he made then that forms the starting-point for the brass-band piece. A slow introduction (Poco Adagio) presents the folk song theme three times in succession - on solo cornet, on solo cornets and tenor horns, and on muted ripieno cornets in close harmony - after which the work unfolds through five sections and a coda. Although played without a break, each of these five sections has its own identity, developing elements of the tune somewhat in the manner of variations, but with each arising from and evolving into the next. The first of these sections (Con moto, tranquillo) is marked by an abrupt shift of tonality, and makes much of the slow rises and falls characteristic of the tune itself. The tempo gradually increases, to arrive at a scherzando section (Vivo) which includes the first appearance of the theme in its inverted form. A waltz-like trio is followed by a brief return of the scherzando, leading directly to a second, more extended, scherzo (con brio) based on a lilting figure no longer directly related to the theme. As this fades, a single side drum introduces an element of more overtly martial tension (Alla Marcia) and Bennett says that, from this point on, he was thinking of Debussy's tribute to the memory of an unknown soldier (in the second movement of En Blanc et noir, for two pianos). Bennett's march gradually gathers momentum, eventually culminating in a short-lived elegiac climax (Maestoso) before the music returns full-circle to the subdued melancholy of the opening. The work ends with a haunting pianissimo statement of the original tune.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£90.00
Trittico (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Curnow, James
Trittico was commissioned by the Swiss Brass Band Association for their national championships in 1988.A trittico is a triptych or group of three paintings or musical compositions based on a common theme and presented or performed together. The present work is a set of three extended variations on the American shaped-note hymn Consolation.The work opens in grand style with motives based on intervals of the hymn tune. The opening motif, and smaller fragments of it reappear throughout the piece and serve as an underlying element alongside the theme itself.The first variation is essentially a scherzo which echoes the minor mood of the theme. The hemiolic opposition of compound and duple time is used to good effect and, again, the main motif is never far away. This is music with energy and forward movement.The second variation gives the soloists a chance to shine. The mood is tranquil, yet there is always some activity and the musical material pre-echoes the third variation.The third variation is another scherzo-like section, the main theme accompanied by a rhythmic ostinato. Toward the conclusion there is a short aleatoric passage - a variation within a variation allowing half the band to make their own variations in a cacophony of sound. An energetic coda draws together several elements to round off a work brim full of drive, energy, and self-propelled enthusiasm.Recorded on Polyphonic QPRL044D Brass from the ValleysDuration: 13:30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£94.95Dances and Arias (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Gregson, Edward
This work was commissioned by Boosey & Hawkes Band Festivals (with funds provided by the Arts Council of Great Britain) for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, held at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on 7th October 1984.Dances and Arias is in one continuous movement, but as the title suggests is a series of alternating fast and slow sections as follows: Dance - Aria I - Dance (scherzo) - Aria II - Dance. The opening dance is energetic and introduces a four-note motif (on trombones) which is the basis for much of the melodic material in the work. Throughout, there is a continuous process of thematic cross-reference and transformation.The first aria unfolds a long melody on solo cornet, eventually continued by all the solo cornets, and dissolving into a shimmering harmonic background (muted cornets, horns and baritones) over which is heard a brief self-quotation on solo tuba. This leads into the second dance, a frenetic scherzo, followed by the second aria, in the style of a lament (solo euphonium, followed by two flugel horns). This builds to a powerful climax which subsides, leaving the percussion to introduce the final toccata-like dance. It transforms material from the opening before a coda brings the music to a triumphant close. The large percussion section is an integral part in the work and uses a wide variety of instruments including timpani, glockenspiel, vibraphone, xylophone, tubular bells, tom-toms, snare drum, bongos and tam-tam.The work is dedicated to my brother and sister.- Edward GregsonDuration: 14.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95Dances and Arias (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
This work was commissioned by Boosey & Hawkes Band Festivals (with funds provided by the Arts Council of Great Britain) for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, held at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on 7th October 1984.Dances and Arias is in one continuous movement, but as the title suggests is a series of alternating fast and slow sections as follows: Dance - Aria I - Dance (scherzo) - Aria II - Dance. The opening dance is energetic and introduces a four-note motif (on trombones) which is the basis for much of the melodic material in the work. Throughout, there is a continuous process of thematic cross-reference and transformation.The first aria unfolds a long melody on solo cornet, eventually continued by all the solo cornets, and dissolving into a shimmering harmonic background (muted cornets, horns and baritones) over which is heard a brief self-quotation on solo tuba. This leads into the second dance, a frenetic scherzo, followed by the second aria, in the style of a lament (solo euphonium, followed by two flugel horns). This builds to a powerful climax which subsides, leaving the percussion to introduce the final toccata-like dance. It transforms material from the opening before a coda brings the music to a triumphant close. The large percussion section is an integral part in the work and uses a wide variety of instruments including timpani, glockenspiel, vibraphone, xylophone, tubular bells, tom-toms, snare drum, bongos and tam-tam.The work is dedicated to my brother and sister.- Edward GregsonDuration: 14.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£30.00Flanfayre - Stephen Deazley
I was asked by Music for Youth to write a flexibly scored fanfare for the school proms at the Royal Albert Hall and at their National Festival in Birmingham in 2013. At its first performance at the National Festival, over 200 young brass players performed Flanfayre in Birmingham Town Hall, directed by Roger Argente, members of Superbrass and myself. The score is a progressive romp through some increasingly dance-like grooves, borrowing some of its swing from South America, from marches and big band, moving from a really quite straight opening to a "let-go" moment at the end. It is more like a flan full of different flavours, than a fanfare, hence the title. I set myself a challenge to write 100 bars but ended up with 102, which, after the introduction, can be broken down into 10 easily discernible sections each with their own mini-musical narrative. If you have time feel free to teach the audience the clapping groove. I also modelled the slow moving melody of the final section on the following words; "nothing beats a nice big cheesy, nothing beats a nice big cheesy, nothing beats a nice big cheesy, nothing beats a cheesy flan". Feel free to incorporate these too, and perform only under the strict instruction that you have fun ! - Programme Note copyright of Stephen Deazley
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£30.00Janacek's 'Taras Bulba' - Janacek
Comments from Tim Paton, the arranger of Janacek's 'Taras Bulba': "I will never forget the day in 1967 when I was introduced to the music of Leos Janacek, a Czech composer born in 1854, who died in 1928. Janacek was little known in Britain until the 1960's, when the conductor Charles Macherras introduced his unique music. I heard a recording of Macherras conducting the Pro Arte Orchestra in a performance of Janacek's "Sinfonietta".It was in 1969 that I first heard Janacek's Symphonic Rhapsody, "Taras Bulba".Janacek's music is exciting, powerful, emotive, impassioned and unpredictable.I have taken the first and third movements of this piece, and adapted them for Brass Band, which was at times extremely difficult, but rewarding. It sometimes took up to an hour to be satisfied that a mere several bars had been reproduced to convey the composer's intentions.The Death of AndriThe Cossaks, under the leadership of Taras Bulba, are fighting against the Poles in the 17th century. Taras's son Andri seeks to rescue his love, a Polish princess, from a city which is being besieged by the Cossaks. Having found her, he throws in his lot with the Poles, but is finally captured by his father, who executes him as a traitor before riding off again to battle.Prophesy and Death of Taras BulbaTaras himself is finally captured and condemned to be nailed to a tree and burned alive. As the flames creep around him, Taras has the satisfaction of seeing histroops escape, and as he dies, sees a vision of his country freed at last.This is incredibly descriptive music. The mood is constantly changing, creating feelings of love and anger, celebration and melancholy, despair and triumph.This Brass Band EditionThe duration of the original symphonic rhapsody, three movements, is approximately 23 minutes. I chose the first and third movements, so the Brass Band edition is approximately 14 minutes. The main reason is twofold: Being realistic about the demands this music would place on the stamina of the brass player; Keeping the piece less than 15 minutes, so that, if desired, it could be used on the contest platform.Two unique qualities of Janacek's music had to be taken into account when preparing this brass band version. His compositional technique was individual, at times not sticking to traditional expectations, in both form and orchestration. I imagined what the genius himself would have said looking at my work, and how to tackle a particular section to emulate his original intentions. This was particularly the case when dealing with high woodwind and violin parts, the use of tremolo in string parts, and the orchestral harp.Percussion: Janacek included timpani, side drum, cymbals, triangle and tubular bells. For reasons stated previously, I have also included xylophone and glockenspiel. I have also added the gong in a couple of places to enhance the dramatic effect of the music.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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