Results
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£94.95Of Men and Mountains - Edward Gregson
Of Men and Mountains was commissioned by the Netherlands Brass Band Championships for their tenth anniversary contest in Drachten in December 1990. In July the previous year, Edward Gregson and his wife took the Trans Canadian Railway from Toronto to Vancouver. The journey through the Rocky Mountains was the starting point for Of Men and Mountains. Gregson writes that: 'its high peaks and shafts of sunlight breaking through the clouds, its canyons and ferocious rapids made me understand a little more about the majesty of nature and the fragility of humanity. The eternal struggle between man and nature was personified in the building of this incredible railway... hence my title (after Blake).' The work is dedicated to the memory of Eric Ball, who died shortly before the writing of the work was commenced. Of Men and Mountains is in one continuous movement with a duration of approximately 17 minutes. Its form is difficult to describe because of its motivic and accumulative nature, but it is essentially a symphonic tone poem in search of a theme, which eventually comes in its final and complete state in the majestic ending after an ever-increasing paced scherzo. Of Men and Mountains has been selected as the test pieces for the 2023 National Brass Championships of Great Britain at the Albert Hall.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£164.99Diamond Concerto - Philip Sparke
Diamond Concerto was commissioned by Musikverein Morschied from Germany - Dr. Eric Grandjean, conductor - for a special concert featuring Steven Mead as guest soloist. Together they gave the world premiere on 28th April 2012 in the town theatre of Idar-Oberstein.The commission is a highlight in the 30-year friendship between composer and soloist, which has included many mutual CD projects and concerts and, now, a concerto. Sparke had Steven Mead's special euphonium sound in his head throughout the composition process and made free use of the variety of styles which the world-renowned virtuoso has made his own during his highly successful solo career.The village ofMorschied lies to the west of Frankfurt am Main in the area known as the German Road of Precious Stones, which is famous for its thriving gem industry. Because of this it was decided to give the commission a local connection by choosing the title, Diamond Concerto. Each of the three movements is named after a famous diamond:1 EARTH STARis rather stern in mood, opening with a free fantasy for the soloist over a static chord from the band. This leads to an Allegro Moderato in minor mode where small motives are gradually repeated and developed by both band and soloist.2 OCEAN DREAMuses a varied quote from the composer's Music for Battle Creek, including a melting slow melody that was originally written with Steven Mead in mind.3 BLUE HEARTwas written, at Steven Mead's suggestion, in bebop style and takes the form of a jazz waltz. The quasi-improvisatory central section features a call-and-response passage for the soloist and upper woodwinds.Soloist: Difficulty 6Diamond Concerto is available for euphonium and piano (AMP 374-401) as well as for euphonium and concert band (AMP 354-010).
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£106.99Evolution - Philip Sparke
Evolution was commissioned by Kunstfactor for the 4th section of the Dutch National Brass Band Championships (NBK) 2011. It is dedicated to Jappie Dijkstra and the Music Information Centre (MUI), Arnhem, Holland, in acknowledgement of their outstanding work in developing brass band repertoire. The composer writes:-The idea for the piece came when I was reading an article about a branch of Chinese philosophy which is abbreviated as Wu Xing, which has no exact translation but can mean, for example, five elements, five phases or five states of change. It is central to all elements of Chinese thought, including science, philosophy, medicine and astrology, and in simpleterms tries to create various cyclic relationships between five elements in all walks of life. An example is: Earth - Metal - Water - Wood - Fire - (Earth) etc. where (in one cycle) earth bears metal, metal changes to liquid (water) when heated, water helps trees grow, wood burns to create fire, fire produces ash (earth) and the cycle continues.I was particularly interested in the cycle of emotions: Meditation - Sorrow - Fear - Anger - Joy - (Meditation) etc. and thought this cyclic principle would provide an effective emotional journey for a piece of music. So Evolution has five equal sections which loosely characterise this emotional cycle. I have tried to make the music grow organically, with minimal repetition, and each movement evolves from the musical elements at the end of the previous one, with the opening material appearing, transformed, at the end of the piece to complete the cycle.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£33.23Libera Me from 'Requiem' (Brass Band) Faure arr. Rob Bushnell
Composed between 1887 and 1890, Gabriel Faure's Requiem is not only one of his best-known works but one of the most popular piece of choral music in the Classical repertoire, coming 23rd in the Classic FM's Hall of Fame 2024. Believed to be a tribute to his father (who died in 1885), Faure himself said "My Requiem wasn't written for anything - for pleasure, if I may call it that!" It started life as a five-movement work but was later expanded to be the final seven-movement work we know today. The first version (which Faure called "un petit Requiem") was first performed on 16 January 1888, with Faure conducting, a second version premiered on 21 January 1893 before the final version (reworked for full orchestra) was played on 12 July 1900; the Requiem was performed at the composer's own funeral in 1924.The Libera Me, or Deliver Me, was actually written in 1877 and is the sixth part of the Requiem.Faure once said of the work, "Everything I managed to entertain by way of religious illusion I put into my Requiem, which moreover is dominated from beginning to end by a very human feeling of faith in eternal rest." Upon interview, he also said, "It has been said that my Requiem does not express the fear of death and someone has called it a lullaby of death. But it is thus that I see death: as a happy deliverance, an aspiration towards happiness above, rather than as a painful experience. The music of Gounod has been criticised for its inclination towards human tenderness. But his nature predisposed him to feel this way: religious emotion took this form inside him. Is it not necessary to accept the artist's nature? As to my Requiem, perhaps I have also instinctively sought to escape from what is thought right and proper, after all the years of accompanying burial services on the organ! I know it all by heart. I wanted to write something different."This arrangement is for the British-style brass band, with alternative parts for horns in F and bass-clef lower brass. The tenor solo is featured on the euphonium. A recording of the original composition can be found here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXwFNoBHCf0 Duration: 4.20 minutes approx. Difficulty Level: 4th Section + PDF download includes parts and score. Sheet music available from www.brassband.co.uk Instrumentation: Soprano Cornet Eb Solo Cornet Bb Repiano Cornet Bb 2nd Cornet Bb 3rd Cornet Bb Flugel Horn Bb Solo Horn Eb 1st Horn Eb 2nd Horn Eb 1st Baritone Bb 2nd Baritone Bb 1st Trombone Bb 2nd Trombone Bb Bass Trombone Euphonium Bb Bass Eb Bass BbTimpani
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£49.95Bestowal of a Century - Christopher Bond
Bestowal of a Century (2014) was commissioned by Lowenna Taylor, and funded through her Harry Mortimer Trust award which she was presented with at the 2013 British Open Championship following the completion of her studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music in Cardiff. The 15-minute work received its world premiere at the Cornwall Youth Brass Band Christmas concert in 2014 with solosit, Lowenna, working alongside the band under the baton of Les Neish. The 'Bestowal' refers to the presentation of the Royal Trophy by the then Prince of Wales to the famous West of England Bandsman's Festival in Bugle in 1913. Over the years it has been won by some of the greatest names in brass banding, including Black Dyke and Munn & Feltons - although more recently it has become a wonderful open festival that includes sections for local bands as well as visitors from all over the banding globe. 2014 marked the one-hundredth anniversary of the presentation of the trophy, which is the only brass band trophy to have the official seal of royal patronage. The work, in three distinct sections, opens in a mysterious way, building progressively with interjections from the horn. The composer notes its as though one can imagine different part of the trophy being put together, piece by piece, until the trophy is complete and a climax is reached. Following this, a playful theme is presented which is developed throughout the first section and interacting between soloist and band. The second movement, in complete contrast, is a lyrical melody; heart-wrenching throughout, and sits well both as part of the concerto and also as a stand-alone solo item. The third movement is light-hearted and virtuosic, demonstrating the technical capabilities of the instrument with fast and virtuosic playing, and a cadenza towards the end of the work.
Estimated dispatch 5-10 working days
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£79.95Amundsen - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 14'00". DIFFICULTY: 1st+. 'Amundsen' was commissioned by rskog Brass, Norway for their winning performance at the 2020 Norwegian National Championships held at the Grieghallen in Bergen. In December 1911, Norwegian Roald Amundsen gained global fame by becoming the first explorer to lead a team to the geographic South Pole. Amundsen and 4 other members of his team arrived 5 weeks ahead of a rival team from the UK led by Robert Falcon Scott, all of which perished on their attempted return from the pole. Initially when Amundsen's team set out in 1910, they were under the impression that they would be making the far shorter journey to the arctic drift to attempt to reach the North Pole, but Amundsen had received news that American explorers Peary and Cook had beaten them to this goal, and so Amundsen's focus changed southward. 'Fram, Forward' - 'Fram' (translating to English as "forward") was the name of the ship Amundsen used for this particular polar expedition. Amundsen had only informed 2 people of his real intentions of conquering the South Pole when the ship first left port in Kristiansand before heading south to the Portuguese island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean. After weeks at sea - causing the uninformed members of the crew to raise a number of questions and produce a general feel of uncertainty and low spirits - it was here that Amundsen announced his true plans to the rest of his crew. They were asked whether they wished to continue with their expedition, to which all - some begrudgingly - agreed to sail on to the South Pole, through the great Ice Barrier before docking in the Bay of Whales on the Ross Ice Shelf. 'Ross Ice Shelf' - Upon Amundsen's arrival in the Bay of Whales, the team were greeted by the sight of the enormous ice plateau's and glaciers, towering into the Antarctic sky. In 1907, Ernest Shackleton had attempted - and failed - to reach the South Pole, but his route and mapping was by now well documented. Scott and the UK team were to follow this route, whereas Amundsen and his men forged their own way to the pole through unchartered territory and deadly terrain littered with deep crevasses and canyons. The music here though, is a picture of tranquility. The eerie silence of total emptiness with only the heavy snow falling around Amundsen as Fram and the Bay of Whales disappears into the distance, faced by the maginute of the expedition ahead. 'Advance to Polheim' - The first new challenge Amundsen discovered on this route was a rough, sharp and extremely steep glacier (which was later named the Axel heiberg Glacier after the Norwegian monarch who funded much of the expedition), which would take his team up from sea level to an altitude of over 9,000ft in just 20 miles, with most of this over just 7 miles. Once scaled, only the vast Antarctic Plateau stood between Amundsen and the pole. Here the race began, with only one aim - victory for himself, his team, and for the whole of Norway. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£16.00Sonata Pian'e Forte
DescriptionSonata Pian'e Forte means an instrumental piece using soft and loud dynamics. A "Sonata" (at this time) meant a piece for instruments (as opposed to voices). It was probably written to be played as part of a service at St Mark's, Venice. This is the earliest known piece to specify both the instruments to be played AND the dynamics in the written music.Gabrieli was born in Venice sometime between 1554 and 1557 and studied with the renowned Dutch composer Orlando di Lassus. He also studied with his uncle, Andrea Gabrieli, and eventually succeeded him as the organist and composer at St Mark's Basilica in Venice. Already renowned as a musical centre, Venice became a magnet for composers wishing to study with Gabrieli after 'Symphoniae Sacrae' was published.Like many of his works, Sonata Pian'e Forte was written to take advantage of the unique layout of St Mark's, which had galleries on three sides where the musicians could be placed to create novel spatial effects - utterly new and exciting for sixteenth century listeners. Sonata Pian'e Forte has two different antiphonal 'choirs' and in this arrangement the band is split into two groups to reflect Gabrieli's innovative idea. Ideally the two groups should be clearly separated so the the antiphonal effect comes across clearly, although this will of course depend on the performance space. On no account should the band remain in its normal seated formation!As Gabrieli didn't have any percussionists (and percussion was widely thought inappropriate for music performed in church anyway) there are no percussion parts in this music.This arrangement is available for full brass band or 8-piece brass ensemble andwas first performed by the Blackley Band conducted by Andrew Baker in 2004.Listen to a computer realisation and follow the score in the video below:Duration approximately 4'20".
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£25.00Canzona XIII
DescriptionCanzona XIII, also known as Canzon Septimi Octavi Toni a 12, was first published in 1597 as part of a collection entitled 'Symphoniae Sacrae' - this collection was a mixture of instrumental and choral pieces, and also included the famous Sonata Pian'e Forte, probably his best known work.Gabrieli was born in Venice sometime between 1554 and 1557 and studied with the renowned Dutch composer Orlando di Lassus. He also studied with his uncle, Andrea Gabrieli, and eventually succeeded him as the organist and composer at St Mark's Basilica in Venice. Already renowned as a musical centre, Venice became a magnet for composers wishing to study with Gabrieli after 'Symphoniae Sacrae' was published.Like many of his works, this Canzona was written to take advantage of the unique layout of St Mark's, which had galleries on three sides where the musicians could be placed to create novel spatial effects - utterly new and exciting for sixteenth century listeners. Canzona XIII has three different antiphonal 'choirs' and in this arrangement the band is split into three groups to reflect Gabrieli's innovative idea. Ideally the three groups should be clearly separated so the the antiphonal effect comes across clearly, although this will of course depend on the performance space. On no account should the band remain in its normal seated formation!As Gabrieli didn't have any percussionists (and percussion was widely thought inappropriate for music performed in church anyway) there are no percussion parts in this music.This arrangement was first performed by the Coppull and Standish Band conducted by Andrew Baker in 2009.You can follow a preview of the score while listening to an audio export of the music below!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£35.00Ariel
DescriptionAll hail, great master! Grave sir, hail! I come To answer thy best pleasure, be 't to fly, To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride On the curled cloud. To thy strong bidding, task Ariel and all his quality. - William Shakespeare: The Tempest, Act 1, Scene 2Ariel was written for the Hammonds Band to open their programme at the 2019 Brass in Concert Championships at The Sage Concert Hall in Gateshead, where it received its premiere. The title is taken from the character in Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest'. Ariel is an immensely powerful "air spirit" or demon bound to serve Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, after being released by Prospero from imprisonment in a tree. In the play Ariel's magical abilities are used to help Prospero revenge himself on his enemies and reclaim his dukedom, whereupon Ariel finally regains his freedom.You can hear an audio preview and follow the score below: Performance notes:The cornets and horns are split into two "choirs" to be placed left and right of the band. It may be possible for the choirs to play their opening flourish offstage, and the optional repeated sections in the opening are to accommodate stage movement if required. Trombones form a third "choir" which should ideally stand centrally between basses and percussion, and the euphoniums and baritones should sit in front of the basses. The work requires four percussionists, although if four are not available the 2nd part may be omitted.Percussion 1: Kit - bass drum, snare, 3 x toms, hi-hat, suspended cymbal - and 3 x temple blocksPercussion 2: Tam tam and orchestral bass drum.Percussion 3: Glockenspiel and timpaniPercussion 4: Tubular bellsSoprano, solo cornets and 3rd cornets require cup mutes. Solo trombone requires a cup mute, second trombone requires a metal straight mute.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£35.00
Epitaph (for Hillsborough) - Peter Meechan
Epitaph (for Hillsborough) was written on the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough stadium disaster, April 15 1989, in memory of the 96 victims. All of the victims were fans of Liverpool Football Club, the club I have supported since I was a young child.The disaster unfolded in front of the BBC television cameras, and due to the importance of the match (FA Cup semi final), millions, including myself, witnessed it first hand, leaving a lasting impression in the public psyche.Several features of the piece were determined by the tragedy. The length of the piece, 6 and a half minutes, represents the minutes of the game that were played that day (The match was abandoned after 6 minutes), and the final thirty seconds of the work, where the band gently applaud, is a reference to the first match played after the tragedy, a European Cup semi final between AC Milan and Real Madrid.After 6 minutes, the referee blew his whistle and all the players stood still where they were, both sets of fans applauded in memory of the perished, and the fans of AC Milan began singing Youall Never Walk Alone, the anthem of Liverpool Football Club.The work also features 96 strikes of the tubular bells, in memory of each person who lost their life.Epitaph is dedicated to the 96 people who died that day, and to their families whose fight for justice is an inspiration to all.
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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