Results
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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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£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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£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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£104.99Kefas - Rob Goorhuis
The composition Kefas was written for the brass band 'Apollo' from Grou (The Netherlands), by order of the Unisono Foundation, the organisation for wind music in The Netherlands.The assignment was given on account of earning the Champions Title during the Dutch Brass Band Championships in the year 2001 (4th division). The theme of the composition links the tradition of the village Grou, not to celebrate Sint Nicolaas but Sint Pieter.By this typical Dutch festivity (in December) the holy Nicolaas gives presents to the children. It is a popular custom where young and old participate. Grou is the only place where this is not done by Sint Nicolaas but by Sint Pieter.Apart from that, on the 22th of Februari, a lot of festivities that take place,resemble those of the Sinterklaas celebration. In the composition two Sint Pieter songs are processed, set through bible scenes, wherein in among others the visit of Christ to the house of Peter's Mother-in-law and the calling of Peter are depicted. The title refers to the pronouncement of Christ, where he named Peter the rock on which he shall build his church. The Hebrew word for rock is Kephas. Kefas was premiered in 2003.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£65.00Lyonesse. - Simon Dobson
Lyonesse was commissioned by the Brass Band Heritage Trust as the test piece for the Finals of the National Youth Brass Band Championships held in Manchester in April 2005. This atmospheric music, ideal as atest piece for First and Second section bands, takes its inspiration from the lost kingdom of Lyonesse, the mythical spur of land linking Cornwall and the Scilly Isles, and its associated legend of Tristan and Isolde. BrassBand Grade 5: 1st Section Duration: 13 minutes
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£332.70Banderole - Håkon Berge
Hakon Berge (born 22 April 1954 in Stavanger) is a Norwegian composer, conductor, arranger and music administrator, resident in Oslo. He studied at the Rogaland Conservatoire and at the Norwegian State Academy of Music. Berge has composed music for theatrical productions in venues such as the Rogaland Theatre, The National Theater in Bergen and the National Theatre in Oslo. He is also experienced in television production and was responsible for televised opera Gagarin - A Space Travel Opera(1991). He has composed a considerable number of commissions, including the music for the opening of the Alexandria Library, music for the opening of the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo, and the testpiece Brass Blot (for the European Brass Band Championships in Stavanger in 2008, in which Cory Band from South Wales won the first prize. Berge has also written the music to the documentary musical Byterminalen, also described as a rock opera, which was premiered in May 2008 in connection with the celebration of Stavanger as European City of Culture. Hakon Berge has held a number of offices in the musical life of Norway: he has been chairman both of the Norwegian Society of Composers and of TONO, the Norwegian performing rights organization.
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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£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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£154.99Where 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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