Results
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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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£79.99Fanfare and Celebration - Philip Sparke
Fanfare and Celebration was commissioned by the Brass Band of the Western Reserve (Dr Keith M. Wilkinson, director) to celebrate their 15th anniversary.Based in north-west Ohio, the band was formed in 1997 and was competing in the Championship Section of the North American Brass Band Championships in less than three years. The first performance of Fanfare and Celebration took place in Akron, Ohio, on November 10th 2012.The opening Fanfare features the cornet section, in two groups standing either side of the band.A central horn theme brings a change of mood before the cornets take the lead oncemore. Celebration follows seamlessly and continues the declamatory style until a cantando theme in uneven meter is introduced. A transformed recapitulation ushers in a return of the Fanfare to close the work.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£159.99Rush Hour - Etienne Crausaz
Rush Hour was commissioned by the Swiss Brass Band Association (SBBV) on the occasion of the 38th Swiss National Brass Band Championships 2012 (Montreux SBBW) as the test piece in the Championship division.Structured in three parts without breaks, the work opens in a heavy, oppressive atmosphere, sometimes even noisy. After a short passage in a lighter mood a quick tempo takes over, the music becomes nervous and unrelenting, with constant twists and turns. The tension builds, leading to a slower movement in which various soloists are highlighted. A few humorous touches are heard in contrast to a majestic, powerful and dramatic chorale. The end of this part is brighter andmore peaceful. This atmosphere is soon replaced by a return of the thematic material heard in the first movement, developing into an oppressive moos. The piece concludes with a last ecstatic tutti, reusing the harmonies of the introduction in a kind of final flurry.Rush Hour attempts to express the range of feelings we may experience when caught in various stressful situations in the middle of the rush hour.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£104.99Variations on a Chord - Jan de Haan
Variations on a Chord was composed on the occasion of the second lustrum of the Dutch Brass Band Championships celebrated in 1990. The piece is the immediate sequel to Contrasten a piece which was composed in 1986, and which is performed all over the world. Not only was the final chord of this previous work used as a starting point for the new composition, but Variations on a Chord is also the first concert piece for brass band composed by Jan de Haan since then. The several variations are based on a solemn theme. The so-called minor-major seventh chord is easily detectable. The structure of the piece is such that the lyrical theme is preceded by a majestic introduction, and isfollowed by eight variations each strongly contrasting in character. The piece finishes in a short but extremely spectacular coda.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£59.99Sanctuary - Philip Sparke
Sanctuary was commissioned by Eastern Bay of Plenty Brass from New Zealand and was performed as an own choice piece at the 2018 New Zealand National Brass Band Championships. It opens with an expressive cornet solo, hymn-like in mood. A slightly faster central section builds to a change of key and an expansive return of the opening melody, this time scored for full band. After an emotional climax the mood subsides, leading to a quiet close.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£164.99Raveling Unraveling - Philip Sparke
Winning Performance EBBC Lille 2016 Raveling, Unraveling In Search of 'La Valse' was written for the Cory Band as their own-choice test piece for the 2016 European Brass Band Championships in Lille. The piece found its genesis in Sparke's The Unknown Journey (2014) for concert band, and the use of Ravel's La Valse as a structural undercurrent to the original piece is an act of reverence. Sparke's aim was to produce a work that is organic rather than episodic in nature. The composer's view is that little in music does this better than La Valse and for this reason he uses various sections of this masterpiece, both manipulated and quoted verbatim (including much of itsstunningclosing passages) to provide the overall geography of his new work. As the music progresses, more of the Ravel appears, surfacing completely as the piece reaches its climax - a gesture of homage to the French master.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£183.99Perihelion: Closer to the Sun - Philip Sparke
Perihelion was commissioned by the Cory Band as their own-choice piece for the 2013 European Brass Band Championships, held in Oslo, Norway. Winning the set piece section of the contest and coming second to Eikanger-Bjorsvik Musikklag with their own choice selection, Cory went on to become European Champions for the fifth time.Cory MD Philip Harper had asked for a 'Concerto for Band' to fully exploit his outstanding band of virtuosi, and composer Philip Sparke created a one-movement work with contiguous sections, first featuring horns and flugel, then trombones followed by cornets and a slower central section for percussion and baritones, euphonium andbasses.The piece is abstract in nature, without a specific programme, and the title merely reflects the fact that the piece was begun on January 2nd 2013, the day of Earth's perihelion - the point in its orbit when it is closest to the sun. It could also be argued that the piece weaves between moments of brilliant optimism and dark shadow, both of which can be the result of bright sunshine.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£134.99West Wind - Oliver Waespi
West Wind is structured in three parts, each bearing a subtitle drawn from poems of Emily Bronte (1818-1848). Poetry of the Romantic period, Bronte's in particular, often presents a gentle, almost innocent surface, beneath which lies the most elemental and volatile emotional forces capable of erupting at any moment.Accordingly, the opening movement, West-wind, in the glory and pride!, begins with a mellow, warm soundscape, underpinned by lightly pulsating patterns, almost like an aquarelle. Gradually however, the music transitions into far rougher, forward-driven gestures - turbulent, restless, and at times unpredictable, much like the west wind itself.The ensuing Adagio reflects on the poem Stars, in which a fundamental tension between exaltation and regret, another recurring feature of Bronte's poetry, is palpable throughout. Introspective solo and chamber music statements give way to a broad ecstatic sound field involving the full ensemble, before finally receding into a solitary euphonium soliloquy.The final movement, Wild words of an ancient song, takes the form of an extended rondo-scherzo, driven by virtuosic, perpetual motion. The sense of relentless pursuit bears a nod to The Boy on the Moor by the German poet Annette von Droste-Hulshoff, a contemporary of Bronte who explored similar narratives, albeit from a different perspective.Although certain core musical elements recur - pulsating patterns, a chorale, a tone row - the work is guided less by systematic symphonic development than by an intuitive stream of variants. These generate a sequence of metamorphoses that illuminate the material from shifting vantage points, projecting the emotional landscapes of Romantic poetry into the present day.West Wind was commissioned by the Flowers Band and was first performed under Musical Director Paul Holland, at the 2026 European Brass Band Championships in Linz (AT), where they also became European Champions.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£154.99A Road Less Travelled By - Philip Sparke
A Road Less Travelled By was commissioned by Palangos Orkestras for the Championship Section of the 2020 European Brass Band Championships held in Palanga, Lithuania. The title alludes to a poem by American author, Robert Frost, which appeared in his 1916 collection, Mountain Intervals. In common with most of the composer's larger works, the piece is not programmatic, but purely abstract. The choice of title shares Sparke's view of how composers can often develop. There can be no 'destination' in a composer's career, but rather a continuing journey to an unknown place. Set in three movements, which play without a break, A Road Less Travelled By opens with a Moto Perpetuo firmly rooted in classical language, form and syntax. A continuous river of semiquavers, veering from melody to accompaniment and back again, adds drive, energy and motion. The second movement, Nocturne, is in the form of a free fantasia; solos for vibraphone, flugel horn and euphonium set the stage for a central cornet solo, quietly echoed by the full band. A triumphal climax is reached before the movement dissolves into a Scherzo Finale. A brief coda based on earlier material drives the piece to a close.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£154.99Where Angels Fly - Kevin Houben
Where Angels Fly was commissioned by VLAMO (Flemish Band Association). Kevin Houben wrote this work for the 2017 European Brass Band Championships in Ostend, Belgium. This is a very technical, powerful and virtuosic work with a rather fragile and soft introduction in which the main motif derived from the Belgian composer Paul Gilson's (1865-1942) La Priere from Le Retour au Pays is developed and also includes Houben's own musical signature 'HBE(N)'. Where Angels Fly is a challenging, impressive and virtuosic contest piece.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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