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£79.95The Lost Village of Imber (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Bond, Christopher
The Lost Village of Imber was commissioned by Bratton Silver Band in 2019 in celebration of 160 years of the band; 1859-2019. Structured in three movements, the complete work was premiered by Cory Band at Wiltshire Music Centre in February 2020.The village of Imber on Salisbury Plain had been inhabited for over one thousand years when it was evacuated in 1943 to make way for military training in the Second World War. At the time, with preparations for the Allied invasion of Europe underway, most villagers put up no resistance, despite being upset, with the belief that they'd return once the war had concluded. To this day, Imber and its surrounding land remain a military training ground. The villagers never returned, and just the shell of what was once a community remains.Structured in three movements, it is on this very real story that the work is based, setting out the series of events of 1943 in chronological order.The first movement, On Imber Downe, portrays a sense of jollity and cohesiveness, a community of individuals living and working together before news of the evacuation had broken. Sounds of the village are heard throughout, not least in a series of percussive effects, the anvil of the blacksmith; the cowbell of the cattle and the bells of the church.The second movement, The Church of St. Giles, begins mysteriously and this sonorous, atmospheric opening depicts Imber in its desolate state and the apprehension of residents as they learn they have to leave their homes. Amidst this is the Church, a symbol of hope for villagers who one day wish to return, portrayed with a sweeping melodic passage before the music returns to the apprehension of villagers facing eviction around their sadness at losing their rural way of life.In complete contrast, the third movement, Imemerie Aeternum, portrays the arrival of the military, complete with the sounds of the ammunition, firing and tanks, sounds which were all too familiar to those living in the surround areas. To close, the Church of St. Giles theme returns in a triumphant style, representing the idea that the church has always been, even to this day, a beacon of hope for the villagers and local community, both the centrepiece and pinnacle of a very real story.Duration: 13.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£55.00Second Suite in F - Gustav Holst arr. Phillip Littlemore
Gustav Holst's Second Suite in F was composed in 1911, two years after the first suite, yet like his first suite it didn't receive its premiere until many years later, on 30th June 1922, at Royal Albert Hall in London and performed by band of The Military School of Music.The Suite uses English folk songs and folk dance tunes throughout. The opening march movement uses three tunes: a lively Morris Dance called Glorishears, the folk song Swansea Town and finally Cloudy Banks. The first two tunes are repeated to conclude the first movement. The second movement is a setting of I'll Love My Love, a sad story of a young maiden driven into Bedlam by grief over her lover being sent to sea by his parents to prevent their marriage. The Song of the Blacksmith follows with a lively hammer rhythms and the score actually asks for a blacksmith's anvil. The final movement is a fantasia based on the 16th Century English country-dance, The Dargason, with the Elizabethan love-song Greensleeves intertwined. This is a new brass band arrangement that has a lighter texture to that made by Sydney Herbert and restores it to the original key of F.Duration: c. 12 minutesDifficulty: 3rd Section and above
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days