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£74.95Eden (Score and Parts)
This work was commissioned by the Brass Band Heritage Trust as the test piece for the final of the 2005 Besson National Brass Band Championship, held at the Royal Albert Hall, London.The score is prefaced by the final lines from Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (completed in 1663), in which Adam and Eve, expelled from Paradise, make their uncertain way into the outside world:"...The world was all before them, where to chooseTheir place of rest, and providence their guide:They hand in hand with wandering steps and slow,Through Eden took their solitary way."My work is in three linked sections. In the first, the characters of Adam, Eve and the serpent guarding the Tree of Knowledge are respectively represented by solo euphonium, cornet and trombone. The music opens in an idyllic and tranquil mood and leads into a duet between euphonium and cornet. Throughout this passage the prevailing mood darkens, though the soloists seem to remain oblivious to the increasingly fraught atmosphere. A whip-crack announces the malevolent appearance of the solo trombone who proceeds to engage the solo cornet in a sinister dialogue.The second section interprets the Eden story as a modern metaphor for the havoc mankind has inflicted upon the world, exploiting and abusing its resources in the pursuit of wealth. Though certainly intended here as a comment on the present-day, it is by no means a new idea: Milton himself had an almost prescient awareness of it in Book I of his poem, where men, led on by Mammon:"...Ransacked the centre and with impious handsRifled the bowels of their mother earthFor treasures better hid. Soon had his crewOpened into the hill a spacious woundAnd digged out ribs of gold."So this section is fast and violent, at times almost manic in its destructive energy. At length a furious climax subsides and a tolling bell ushers in the third and final section.This final part is slow, beginning with an intense lament featuring solos for tenor-horn, flgel-horn and repiano cornet and joined later by solo baritone, soprano cornet, Eb-bass and Bb-bass.At one stage in the planning of the work it seemed likely that the music would end here - in despair. Then, mid-way through writing it, I visited the extraordinary Eden Project in Cornwall. Here, in a disused quarry - a huge man-made wound in the earth - immense biomes, containing an abundance of plant species from every region of the globe, together with an inspirational education programme, perhaps offer a small ray of hope for the future. This is the image behind the work's conclusion and the optimism it aims to express is real enough, though it is hard-won and challenged to the last.John Pickard 2005
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£89.95Tuba Concerto (Score and Parts)
This work was commissioned by the Besses o' th' Barn Band with funds provided by the Arts Council of Great Britain. It was written for, and is dedicated to, John Fletcher, who gave the first performance in Middleton Civic Hall, near Manchester, on 24 April, 1976, with Besses o' th' Barn Band conducted by the composer. Another interesting feature about the premire was that it was recorded by BBC Television for an Omnibus programme with Andr Previn as presenter. The concerto exists in three versions: with brass band (1976), orchestra (1978) and wind band (1984).The concerto is in three movements, following the usual, quick-slow-quick pattern: Allegro deciso,Lento e mesto, Allegro giocoso. The first movement has a sonata form shell with two contrasting themes, the first one being rhythmic in character, the second lyrical. There is a reference made in passing to the Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto, but this merges into the other material in the development section.The second movement begins with a chorale, but after the entry of the tuba it leads to a cantabile theme, softly unfolded by the soloist. The opening chorale passage returns, this time briefly on muted brass, and leads to a middle section which is more chromatic in style and soon builds to a powerful climax, where the opening cantabile theme triumphantly returns. The music subsides, returning to the opening chorale and ending peacefully.The finale is light and breezy in style, and is cast in rondo form. After a brief introduction the tuba announces the main rondo theme, which is dance-like and a little jaunty. There are two episodes: the first a broad sweeping tune, the second a slowish waltz and a little jazz-like. After a virtuoso cadenza reference is made to the very opening of the concerto before the work ends with a triumphal flourish.The Tuba Concerto has established itself as one of the main works in the solo tuba repertoire. It has been performed and broadcast in over 40 countries all over the world. There are currently six commercial recordings of the concerto in its various versions.resolution in C major, pointed by a simple but expansive melody towards which the piece has been heading, and ending in a blaze of joyful colour.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£54.99Fanfare for an Occasion (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Sparke, Philip
Fanfare for an Occasion was written to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of Anglo Music Press, the publishing company dedicated to the works of British composer, Philip Sparke. It is a bright and festive work in which the main theme starts on the tenor instruments of the band before appearing as canonical imitation by all sections in turn. A short, repeated bridge passage leads to a second theme on the horns that is taken up by the full band and leads back to a return of the main theme and a repeat of the second subject, which brings the fanfare to a brilliant close. Duration: 2.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£35.00I Saw Three Ships (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - McKenzie, Jock
This is a traditional English carol rumoured to have originated in Derbyshire. The earliest printed version is from the 17th century and the familiar version was later published in William Sandys' collection of 'Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern' in 1833. There are numerous theories as to the meaning of the carol's words; after all, Bethlehem, the place of Jesus' birth is not a coastal location. It has been suggested that the ships are actually camels (ships of the desert) used by the Magi for their visit to the baby Jesus. My arrangement takes advantage of the traditional 'jig' style of this carol to add a little 'Celtic' flavour. Duration: 3.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£54.99Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Lennon & McCartney - Harper, Philip
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the most famous album by The Beatles, and perhaps of all time. When it came out in 1967 it was remarkable not only for its many great songs, but also because of the innovative recording techniques that were used on the record for the very first time, setting a new standard for many decades to come. Conductor, arranger and composer Philip Harper is a huge Beatles fan himself and had a great time creating this grade 4 arrangement!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£69.99Meditation (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - De Haan, Jan
Meditation is based on Dear Lord and Father of Mankind (1887) by the English composer and organist Frederick Charles Maker (1844-1927). This is a calm, introverted work that however has an intense effect. In the first section, the solo euphonium is given an important role, leading to one of the loveliest of all English hymn melodies.Duration: 6:45
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.95Dalaro (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Gregson, Edward
The name of Edward Gregson is well known in Salvationist circles as well as in the wider music world, his music receiving performances and being recorded and published regularly. This music is individual and of high worth with an assured technique. It is always a pleasurable task for the musician to handle music with these qualities, whether one is editor, conductor or player.Written in connection with the International Salvation Army Students' Fellowship Conference held in Dalaro, Sweden in 1964, this is a 'festival' rather than processional march. Section C is a tune from the Swedish Tune Book (No. 303 in the 1945 edition), Jag gar till det land dar ovan (I go to that Land above). There is a slight divergence from the tune book version (labelled, by the way, as an English tune); this could well be the manner in which the tune is sung - we are all aware of the way in which congregations modify tunes.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£60.99Glory Fanfare (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Schwarz, Otto M.
Glory Fanfare was commissioned by the Brass Band of Upper-Austria for the 2010 European Brass Band Championships in Linz, and was performed as the first piece in the gala concert. The double chorus of cornets is particularly ingenious and its virtuosic character adds to all the excitement. Modern elements, such as funky bass lines played along with the drum kit, help drive the festive atmosphere and create a piece that will captivate your audience from the word go!Duration: 3:00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£24.95Crugybar - Cornet Solo (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Downie, Kenneth
The traditional Welsh tune of Crugybar is most commonly associated with words by Howell Elvet Lewis which appear in the Baptist Hymn Book of 1962; 'The light of the morning is breaking, the shadows are passing away'. The Salvation Army Song Book of 1986 lists two further hymns that can be sung to the tune; 'I stand all bewildered with wonder and gaze on the ocean of love' ( W F Crafts) and 'When Jesus from Calvary called me, unfolding its meaning to me' (Will J Brand). This arrangement was made for Martyn Bryant, the long-serving principal cornetist of Bristol Easton Band of The Salvation Army.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95Fox's Air And Dance (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Downie, Kenneth
This is a one-movement composition, albeit in two sections, that is accessible to bands of most abilities and to all audiences. The Air is in a good-natured, easy-going style while the Dance section is a bit of a romp loosely based on the traditional tune 'In and out the dusty bluebells'.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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