Results
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£89.99Torsion (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Torsion was commissioned by the Leyland Band and first performed on 23 January 2010 at the Royal Northern College of Music Festival of Brass, Manchester, by Leyland Band conducted by Jason Katsikaris. This colourful and dynamic work is the most personal and ambitious that Simon Dobson composed during his residency with the Lancashire brass band. The dictionary defines torsion as the state of being twisted and the composer interprets this as the imagined dis-torsions and con-torsions of Time, Light and Sound in three contrasting movements. Simon Dobson fuses the traditional brass band sound with drive and energy of pop and funk jazz with optional digitally distorted 'echoes' providing added aural confusion at the points of climax. Although composed as a substantial concert work, Torsion would also make a challenging test-piece for contesting brass bands in the elite divisions. Suitable for Championship Section Bands. Duration: 15.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£95.00Variations on a Theme of Michael Tippett (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
A Centenary Tribute by Michael Ball, Edward Gregson, Elgar Howarth, Bramwell Tovey and Philip WilbyThis unique 'pice d'occasion' arose out of a telephone conversation in 2004 with Alan Wycherley, who was the soprano cornet player of the Foden's Richardson Band at the time. He indicated that the band would like to include an original birthday tribute for Edward Gregson (60) and Elgar Howarth (70) in its concert at the 2005 RNCM Festival of Brass in Manchester. I have been Artistic Director of Manchester's Festival of Brass since it was established in 1990 as a BBC Radio 3 series, As the centenary of the birth of Sir Michael Tippett fell on 5 January 2005, I devised this collective work as a way of embracing all three anniversaries in a novel way.The idea of joint compositions is not a new one in the classical music world. In the 1860s, Verdi was joined by a number of his contemporaries in a Requiem Mass for Rossini. In this country there have been a number of orchestral examples over the past fifty years, but never before for the brass band. Although Tippett composed only one work for brass band, Festal Brass with Blues, his orchestral works and operas are full of idiomatic brass writing. The theme I chose for this celebration is one of Tippet's most memorable miniatures featuring wind and brass. In the opera Midsummer Marriage it marks the entry of the Ancients. It is also included in the orchestral Suite in D (1948), for the Birthday of Prince Charles.I invited five of the leading contemporary voices in brass band music to add their own creative perspectives to the little Tippett theme, with it's characteristic rhythms, embellishments and modality - the Lydian mode. Each contribution was designed to fit into a tonal and formal template to give the whole work a flow and continuity. In Danse des Amis, Bramwell Tovey has composed a jazzy, humorous variation. Inspiration came from Tippett's love of jazz and, more personally, from the characteristically syncopated gait of the distinguished music critic John Amis, who Tovey once observed leaving a performance of Tippett's opera King Priam before the end. Incidentally, that performance was conducted by Elgar Howarth.We hear Edward Gregson in lyrical mode. His Midsummer Song is redolent of the sound world of Tippett's opera A Midsummer Marriage and it ends with a brief reference to a favourite of Gregson's, Tippett's Concerto for Orchestra. Michael Ball provides a brief moment of light, airy activity bringing to mind perhaps Tippett's love of Shakespearian fantasy, especially The Tempest. Elgar Howarth juxtaposes a slowed down version of the processional theme with distant recollections of fanfares from King Priam. Philip Wilby has rounded the tribute off with a spectacular fugue. During its inexorable progress Wilby ingeniously introduces the two other birthday references - the three-note musical signature that Elgar Howarth includes in much of his music and the characteristic theme which begins Edward Gregson's substantial work for brass an organ The Trumpets of the Angels. An elaborated reprise of Tippett's little theme is followed by a dynamic coda.- Paul HindmarshDuration: 13.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£54.95Festiva Brazilia (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Using a variety of Latin American musical influences the piece opens with a bass riff that is to be the prominent feature in this work. Accompanied with lively Latin American Samba Percussion section the work is reminiscent of the music heard at the world famous Rio Carnival. There are lots of Latin 'Riffs' and 'Licks' throughout the piece that keep returning in true samba style. This is a real fun piece to perform and the performing notes below act as a guide to getting the most out of this performance.Performing Notes:There are opportunities for soloists within the piece, particularly Solo Cornet, Soprano and Bongo's.When the Cornet and Soprano soloist play their solo part they have an instruction to stand out at the front to perform. It is at the players and conductors discretion where they would like to stand for their solo line.Obviously the Drum Kit soloist is restricted to their current positioning within the band. However, the other percussionists are quite at liberty to come out to the front of the band to perform their solo at rehearsal figure P at the conductors discretion.NB - At the 5th bar of figure P there is an optional repeat section. Performers can repeat this section over and over to extend the percussion feature. Or even add more players from the band to play percussion. If you do not wish to use this opportunity then dismiss the repeat so that there is a 16 bar section between figure P and figure R.There are also a variety of cameo roles for other soloists and musical sections during the piece. Other players and sections can stand to perform various motifs during the piece again at the conductor's discretion.Festiva Brazilia was composed for performers to have fun and enjoy performing the piece as much as possible. Just like the many Samba festivals around Brazil.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£54.95Fire in the Blood (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Fire in the Blood was commissioned by Dr Stephen Cobb for the 120th anniversary of the International Staff Band of the Salvation Army. The piece was composed for the celebration concert where the ISB were joined by several other staff bands from around the world to perform independently to a sell-out capacity crowd at Britain's most famous concert hall The Royal Albert Hall. Fire in the Blood received its world premier at the 'ISB 120' concert at the Royal Albert Hall on June 4th 2011.With this piece I wanted to acknowledge music that had an impact on me through my Salvation Army upbringing. When thinking of a title for this piece I had no hesitation than to reflect and re-word the Salvation Army's motto under their famous crest 'Blood and Fire'.When composing Fire in the Blood I wanted to use three songs of worship that have been prevalent in the Salvation Army's services over a number of years. Opening with Richard Phillips' setting of Psalm 95, 'Sing for Joy', the music is vibrant and full of energy, I wanted to capture the spirit of the well known words of Scripture. The music then moves into a more reflective section that includes Howard Davies' emotive song melody 'Lord, you know that we love you' and Laurie Klein's worship song 'I love you Lord'.A re-statement of the opening Psalm setting follows and this, in turn, leads into a dramatic and powerful finale that combines two pivotal statements drawn from the slower, reflective section: I love you lord, and I lift my voice to worship you, O my soul rejoice and Lord, you know that we love you with a final flourish from Psalm 95: Come let us sing joy to the Lord!Paul Lovatt-Cooper
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£39.95On the Castle Green (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
I was contacted by conductor and friend Desmond Graham who wanted to have a traditional concert march composed to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of his band; The Third Carrickfergus Band.Immediately my mind started wandering as I thought about all the great marches that I have enjoyed playing and listening to over the years. So when I put pen to paper I had already planned out the structure of the march and which instruments to feature.The march itself is split into two halves, the first in a minor key the second in a major key. The opening section starting loudly in F minor features stereotypical passages one would come to recognise in a traditional concert march: a cornet solo, a melodic bridging section and a robust bass solo led by the basses and trombones.The second half of the march changes pace and mood as it lifts into a major key giving it a more lighter feel. We hear a second cornet solo which plays the second theme of the march. After a second bridge section the theme is played by the front row cornets to allow the soprano to play an obligato melody similar to that heard in marches like "Army of the Nile" and "Stars and Stripes Forever". It all builds to a grandioso ending where the tempo drops and the final theme is played with a quick accel to the end.As for the title? In Carrickfergus lies an old castle that faces the town which is situated on a small plot of luscious green grass - "On The Castle Green".Paul Lovatt-Cooper
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£80.00The Unfortunate Traveller (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Imogen Holst (1907-1984) submitted The Unfortunate Traveller (1929) as her final work as a student portfolio at the Royal College of Music, where her composition teacher was Gordon Jacob. The title was taken from Thomas Nashe's famous 1594 picaresque novel of the same title. The Suite was first performed on 12 February 1933 at her Majesty's Theatre, Carlisle, by the St. Stephen's Band, with the composer conducting. Te concert was given in memory of Holst's uncle, Dr. H.A. Lediard. Holst had been impressed with the band's performance of his A Moorside Suite at the 1928 National Brass Band Championships (The Crystal Palace, South London) and was keen to work with them. Writing in Imogen Holst, a life in music, Christopher Grogan indicates that it was Gustav Holst's suggestion to include his daughter's work in the programme, quoting Imogen Holst's remarks made in interview to The Daily Mail as follows: "....it is the first time, so far as I know, that a woman has conducted a brass band at a public concert....It has been a delight to rehearse the St. Stephen's Band. It was their performance at the Crystal Palace Festival that inspired me to write this Suite, which I have dedicated to them."Imogen Holst accompanied her father to the Crystal Palace in 1928 to hear the performances of A Moorside Suite, and was so excited by the played and, audibly, by her father's music that she decided to write a brass band piece for her final examination. Te result was The Unfortunate Traveller (1929). However, it was not possible for her to present a brass band work for examination. She arranged it for string orchestra so that it could be played before she left the RCM in July 1930. Following the premiere of the original in 1933, the manuscripts did not resurface until 1969 Imogen found them among her late mother's effects. Although she requested score and parts be destroyed, they ended up in the possession of Manchester composer John Golland, who marked up the score presumably with the intention of creating a new performing edition. The original scoring reveals a lack of experience with what can be a tricky medium.With the agreement of the Holst Foundation, a revised edition, with additional percussion, was prepared in 2011 since when the work has been fortunate to travel round the world as a concert and contest piece. The original includes drums in the March only. The title was taken from Tomas Nashe's famous 1594 picaresque novel of the same title. Several Morris Dance tunes are introduced during the course of the four short movements, including Bonnie Green Garters, Shepherd's Hey, The Rose and The Wind Blaws Cauld. Quirky twists and turns of harmony and spirited rhythms that remind us how much Imogen Holst loved tradition English dance music.In September 2025, I made a performing edition of the composer's arrangement for string orchestra. The manuscript lacks the final movement, which I arranged in a similar style, ie. without extending the upper ranges. Making this edition raised some issues regarding the accuracy of my band version and some of the solutions I used to smooth out the voicing. I have used the composer's second thoughts to refine my performing edition and to correct a textual errors.- Paul HindmarshDuration: 10.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£99.95Breath of Souls (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Breath of Souls was commissioned by Weyland and Yvonne Roberts. It was composed especially for the 100th National Brass band Championships of Great Britain at the Royal Albert hall on October 15th 2011.Weyland has worked in science for many years and has always been fascinated by nature's capacity to grow and rebuild regardless of Mother Nature's catastrophic power. This is evident with the news of tsunami, forest fires, earthquakes and volcanic disasters around the world where animals, plant life and humans have overcome adversity and have demonstrated that unique regenerative quality.Speaking about the piece composer Paul Lovatt-Cooper commented: "With Breath of Souls I wanted to compose a piece of music that was a celebration of life. Not only that, but a piece of music that from the very first notes heard in the percussion and cornets, is bustling with activity, emulating that in life everything that is living has a soul and breathes - nothing stays still and everything keeps moving and growing.Just like life itself Breath of Souls also grows musically with each bar. You will hear many and various motifs and ideas grow and develop as the piece develops."
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£74.95Helvetia (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
I first went to Switzerland in the early 1970's and regularly played at the Lucerne Festival with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It is a beautiful city, one of my favourite European cities.In writing Helvetia (the Roman name for Switzerland) I wanted to encapsulate the moods that remind me of this wonderful place. The work is in four distinct sections and is on the whole, self-explanatory.It opens with An Alpine Dawn and sunrise, the tubas and euphoniums substituting for the Swiss Alphorns. Next The Clock Shop at Mid-day, a loud ticking, chiming and the sad sound of a cuckoo, builds into the cacophony of the mid-day chimes. The third section is A Walk to Wagner's House. Just along the lake from the centre of town is Tribschen. This walk I have done many times, and it is here that Wagner wrote 'Tristan'. I have quoted the Dresden Amen (written by J.G. Naumann) which is much used in Parsifal. The final section is The Cesta Run, the most famous bob-sleigh run in the world. As we take each corner, the feeling of speed is demonstrated as only a brass band can do!The work is dedicated to the Cory Band and also to the memory of James Watson, a great cornet player, trumpeter and conductor. It was he who got me into writing for brass band and I hope this piece is worthy.- Gareth Wood (Feb. 2011)Duration: 11.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£75.00Iceni Autumn (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
The piece is in four movements; SPQR, Cockley Cley, Boudicca - Battles and Requiem and Venta Icenorum.S.P.Q.R. is an initialism of a Latin noun phrase, Senatus Populusque Romanus ("The Senate and the Roman People"). This movement attempts to portray the mood in England under Roman occupation and contains important themes developed throughout the suite.Cockley Cley is a reconstruction of the type of village occupied by the Iceni. For many years it was a popular tourist attraction in Norfolk.Boudicca (also known as Boadicea) was the wife of King Prasutagus of the Iceni, a British tribe that lived in East Anglia during the time of the Roman Emperor Nero. When Prasutagus, an ally of the Romans died, the local Roman government officials decided that they would seize her wealth and lands for themselves. When Boudicca protested, saying she was a Roman ally who was being treated no better than a slave, the Roman soldiers fogged her and raped her daughters. Boudicca called her tribe to arms and revolted against their Roman oppressors; this saw the complete devastation of Colchester, St Albans and London. In the final battle the Romans slaughtered about 80,000 Britons including women, children and old men, repaying atrocities in kind. Boudicca and her two daughters poisoned themselves rather than be captured and taken to Rome as prisoners of war.Venta Icenorum was the capital of the Iceni Tribe, who inhabited the flatlands and marshes of Norfolk and earned immortality for their revolt against Roman rule under their queen Boudicca in the winter of 61 AD. This triumphant march brings various themes together and ends with a final reference.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95Island Whirl (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Island Whirl was commissioned by Margaret Milligan who wanted a brand new piece of music composed as a present for Ian, her husband for his 70th birthday. Ian Milligan is a keen and dedicated musician and he is the musical director of Callendar Brass, based in Callendar near Stirling in Scotland.Margaret contacted me about the possibility of composing a short lively piece which had a Scottish theme that would be ideal for Callendar Brass Band and any other ensemble to get their teeth into. This piece takes its inspiration from the traditional Scottish folk song 'An Eriskay Love Lilt' which is a particular favourite of both Margaret and Ian.With thunderous Celtic drums the piece opens in a whirlwind of sound with fanfare brass and an off-stage soloist that can perform using either the cornet or trumpet. After the exciting opening, the brass and drums die away to allow the off-stage soloist to air the traditional tune 'An Eriskay Love Lilt'.The beautiful haunting melody, keeping its originality throughout undergoes a series of changes in the accompanying harmonic material before dying away to allow the Celtic drums to return. The percussion whip the band into a frenzy as the piece gets faster and faster. Just prior to the final notes the band diminuendo to allow one last closing statement from the Eriskay Love Lilt lead by the off-stage soloist before the ensemble charge to a dramatic close.When performing this piece I would recommend the off-stage soloist taking a position somewhere in the audience, so they can almost feel part of the performance. In addition, with the two tom-tom parts that represent the Celtic drums, bands should make the most of showcasing them by getting the two drummers out to the front of the band to perform. The ideal stage position would be with the players set up in stereo with one player in front of the soprano cornet and the other in front of the solo trombone.With the various choreographed movements from both the off-stage soloist and the percussionists. This piece is a great addition to any concert repertoire and is an ideal showcase for bands who want to try something a little different.I wish Ian at 70 years young, all the very best with his music making in the many years to come and I hope this piece, composed especially for him and Callender Brass brings them many years of musical enjoyment.Paul Lovatt-Cooper
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days