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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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£83.00
A Bournemouth Suite - Benjamin Tubb
Bournemouth Suite was written by Benjamin Tubb in 2005, when the composer was just 17 years of age. After spending many school holiday weeks with his grandparents in the coastal town of Bournmouth, it was obvious that these experiences would make a great basis for a composition.This testpiece is split into three separate movements: Balloon Ride, The Pier at Night and The BIC. Each movement has its own unique character, although there are ideas shared by all three throughout, one of which is the opening syncopation.Balloon RideThe First movement, Balloon Ride, describes a journey on "The Bournemouth Eye", a tethered hot air balloon that takes you up 500 feet. It's located in the middle of the town centre, which enables you to see surrounding countryside for up to 20 miles! The movement begins rather ominously as the balloon raises from the ground which leads into a more lively section caharacteresed by the repeating quavers in the lower brass and woodblock. The movement ends in much the same way as it started - signalling the return to terra firma.The Pier At NightDuring the summer there are several large firework displays in the town centre. The second movement, The Pier At Night descirbes an evening spent on the beach in deckchairs watching the montage of colours in the night-time sky. With demanding solos for horn and cornet, as well as exposed playing spread throughout the band, this slow movement will really test a band's expressive and lyrical playing.The 'BIC'The Bournemouth INternational Centre, also known as "The BIC" is one of Bournemouth's most visited attractions, and regularly hosts shows such as 'Riverdance' and pantomimes. Inside is a world of entertainment and the centre itself is just a stone's throw from both "The Bournemouth Eye" and the Pier. The 3rd movement has been written to describe the buzz of activity surrounding the BIC, and the entire works ends with the same syncopated motif from the beginning.A Bournemouth Suite was set as the 'set-test' at the Pontins Brass Band Championships 2009.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£54.95Road to Run (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
The piece starts with a simple rhythmic pulse which is the basis of the entire work. This cell provides a platform for the piece to grow and develop starting with the first theme played by the euphoniums, all the way through to the conclusion performed in full gusto by the whole ensemble. The various motifs introduced throughout the opening of the piece are passed between the ensemble before the introduction of the three soloists.The central section of the piece features the Solo Trombone, Cornet and Euphonium as they take turns to play a jazz fusion solo whilst having some musical interplay with each other at the front of the stage. After this solo passage, the music then features the various sections within the ensemble, which pays homage to Weather Reports' famous "Birdland". In a jazz fused cannon, each new independent musical phrase is performed by the various sections standing. Starting with the Horns then Solo Cornets, Back Row and Flugal and finally the Baritones and Trombones.Once the different sections of the ensemble are featured, the piece then moves into the final stages. This section sees a reprieve of the opening material heard at the beginning, but further developed with the various melodic motifs passed around the ensemble. The ending builds on this material towards a rousing conclusion."Road to Run" is an up tempo, high energy concert work that has that 'feel-good factor' from start to finish. The idea behind the title is based on the feel and structure of the piece which takes the listener on a musical journey. And at 150 beats per minute - you could put it in your headphones and find your own 'Road to Run'.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95Judd: My Hope - Roger Trigg
'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. The verse of 'My hope is built on nothing less' (S.A.S.B. 662), to the tune 'Solid Rock' (T.B. 446), is then introduced and forms the basis of the end of the first section - set in the minor, unlike the usual setting of the melody. The more sedate middle section that follows features an original theme, again using the notes 'E', 'C', 'B' as a melodic stimulus.The tune 'Michael' (Herbert Howells), to which the text 'All my hope on God is founded' (S.A.S.B. 530) is sung, provided the original impetus for this work. The song features as a new addition to The Salvation Army's 2015 iteration of its song book. It is a noble tune and there are big majestic, organ-like sounds utilised in its final treatment which brings the work to a climactic end.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.95St. Andrew's Variations (Score Only)
This piece, written for the East Anglian Brass Band Festival in 1998, takes the form of eight variations and a finale, loosely based on the descending third motif heard in the initial theme. It was initially composed for junior band, and expanded and rescored for full band in 2006. There is no significance in the title, other than the fact it was written by a Scotsman to be played in the St Andrew's Hall, in Norwich!Alan Fernie was born and brought up in the Scots mining village of Newtongrange. From the age of 13 he learned to play the trombone both at school and with the local brass band, going on to study music in Glasgow and London. After a short period working as an orchestral musician, Alan moved into instrumental education, spending over 20 years teaching brass in schools all over the East of Scotland. It was during this time that he began to conduct and he has since directed bands at all levels, winning many awards. He first wrote for brass whilst still a student, and his music is now played, recorded and published throughout the world.In 2009, Alan was honoured with the "President's Award" from the Scottish Brass Band Association for services to banding. He is also proud to be associated as composer in residence with the acclaimed charity "Brass for Africa", with whom he spent two months recently teaching in Kampala, Uganda. Living in the Scottish Borders, Alan now works as a freelance musician, finding time to write, teach, conduct, judge, perform and act as compere throughout the UK and beyond.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95Judd: Christ-Hymn
Christ-Hymn is an expression of response to the ancient Christian hymn quoted by Paul in his letter to the Philippian church (Philippians 2:5-11). After an opening which creates a tone of sadness and quiet suffering, the following music is a joyous expression of the truth that 'He is exalted', 'His name is above all names' and 'Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord'.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£59.95Judd: Festivity
This is a celebrational and witty composition that has all the hallmarks of Condon's innovative style. Originally written for brass quintet and first performed by chosen soloists in 1972, it was scored for brass band a few years later. Acrobatic energy, dignity and solemnity are all aspects of this work. The majestic hymn tune 'Gopsal' is the theme with which the words 'Rejoice, the Lord is King' are associated.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£32.95Variations for Brass Band (Score Only)
The great British brass band tradition has been fostered since 1860 by an annual competition for bands. Held in the Crystal Palace until that edifice burned in the 1930s, it is a major event at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Each year there is a new test piece, required of all bands and in 1957, Ralph Vaughan Williams (by then a revered, grandfatherly figure in British music) was finally persuaded to write a composition for that purpose.The 12-minute composition comprises a theme and 11 variations. The brief variations are in a variety of moods and styles, including a waltz, a polonaise, a chorale, a canon, an arabesque, and a fugue. It tests ensemble coordination, command of and flexibility concerning styles, and richness of sound.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95By Trevone Bay (Flugel Horn Solo with Brass Band - Score and Parts))
By Trevone Bay was composed for Flugel Soloist Zoe Hancock and the Black Dyke Band to celebrate both their Double Champion Victory at the British Open and National Championships 2014 and Zoe's unique achievement in winning the Best Soloist Award in both contests - an accomplishment never done before. The world premier was performed by Zoe and the band at Birmingham's Symphony Hall on February 8th 2015.By Trevone Bay is a lovely lyrical slow melody that utilises the full range and colour of the flugel horn. Starting with an atmospheric opening the soloist performs the main theme, which repeats with more colour in the accompanying parts and solo line. After introducing a second theme from the ensemble, the solo cornets perform the main melody with the soloist enjoying a lyrical counter melody. The piece develops with a tranquil middle section from the soloist that builds for the second theme to return, performed by the ensemble while the soloist soars over the top. Ending as it starts, the piece dies away to leave the soloist performing the opening melodic phrase to a tranquil close.As for the title: Trevone Bay is a beautiful tiny bay in Cornwall, close to Zoe's home town of Roche. Its tranquil waters lead out to the Celtic Sea and provide a picturesque landscape. The views there can be enjoyed all year round but they are particularly beautiful at sunset.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95Triumphant (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Triumphant was written as the opening work for the 2024 Future All-Stars final concert. Based on the well-known hymn Victory in Jesus (S.A.S.B. 464), the piece reimagines the familiar melody and words with energetic drumline-inspired rhythms and driving Bass groove.O victory in Jesus, my Saviour, for ever!He sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood;He loved me ere I knew him, and all my love is due him -He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.Musically speaking, the rhythmic pulse should remain confident and consistent throughout, with the percussion establishing the groove and the band locking in with precision. Take time to find a tempo that allows the Bass and Percussion parts to remain clear and accurate. A slightly steadier pace will produce a stronger, more convincing groove. However, a slower tempo can result in the band's playing becoming too heavy. Melodic lines should be played on the longer side, allowing phrases to sing over the rhythmic accompaniment that can be more defined and articulated. As the work builds, be patient and disciplined with dynamics, saving the band's fullest sound for the climactic moments, maximising their impact.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days