Results
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£37.95Harrison's Dream (Brass Band - Score only)
At 8.00pm on the 22nd of October 1707, the Association, flagship of the Royal Navy, struck rocks off the Scilly Isles with the loss of the entire crew. Throughout the rest of the evening the remaining three ships in the fleet suffered the same fate. Only 26 of the original 1,647 crew members survived. This disaster was a direct result of an inability to calculate longitude, the most pressing scientific problem of the time. It pushed the longitude question to the forefront of the national consciousness and precipitated the Longitude Act. Parliament funded a prize of �20,000 to anyone whose method or device would solve the dilemma. For carpenter and self-taught clockmaker John Harrison, this was the beginning of a 40 year obsession. To calculate longitude it is necessary to know the time aboard ship and at the home port or place of known longitude, at precisely the same moment. Harrison's dream was to build a clock so accurate that this calculation could be made, an audacious feat of engineering. This work reflects on aspects of this epic tale, brilliantly brought to life in Dava Sobel's book Longitude. Much of the music is mechanistic in tone and is constructed along precise mathematical and metrical lines. The heart of the work however is human - the attraction of the �20,000 prize is often cited as Harrison's motivation. However, the realisation that countless lives depended on a solution was one which haunted Harrison. The emotional core of the music reflects on this, and in particular the evening of 22ndOctober 1707. Peter GrahamCheshireJuly 2000
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£94.00Montage (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Each of the movements of the symphony take as their starting point forms originating in music of the 16th and 17th centuries.The first, an intrada, introduces the main thematic material (based on the interval of a minor third) in its embryonic state. As the piece progresses, this material is developed and manipulated in a variety of ways. The interval of the third remains central to the overall scheme of the work, even unifying the three movements on a tonal plane (I: F (minor); II: A flat (major); III: C flat (minor). The internal structure of the intrada is an arch form: ABCBA, roughly modelled on the first movement of Concerto for Orchestra by Witold Lutoslawski, to whose memory the movement is dedicated.A chaconne follows - the basic material now transformed into expansive solo lines underpinned by a recurring sequence of five chords (again, a third apart). The movement's structure combines both ternary form and golden section principles and the chaconne's continuous cycle of chords may be visualised as circles.The final movement, a rondo, bears the dramatic weight of the entire work, as the underlying tonal tensions surface. A musical journey ensues, making diversions through lyrical territories as well as through more spiky, jazz-flavoured ones. The aural (and visual) montage is perhaps most apparent towards the climax of the piece, where three keys and polyrhythms sound simultaneously in the upper brass, xylophone, horns, and timpani. The climax itself combines the lyrical music heard earlier with the rondo theme, now presented by cornets and trombones in canon.The teleological thrust of the movement (if not the entire work) can be symbolized by the flight of an arrow, as it steers a predetermined course towards its target.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95Sprites and Flares (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Sprites and Flares (2015), refers to the uncertain activities of sprites (upper atmospheric lightening) and solar flares (solar activity from the sun which cannot penetrate the earth's atmosphere) and uses these two ideas as a basis for the kind of musical material heard within the work - dramatic, swirling motifs, often of a virtuosic nature.The work's dramatic opening ensures the first thirty seconds are high in energy and full of impact. Following this, the music dies down and presents an ethereal atmospheric section, perhaps reflecting the calm before the storm. Before long, the music takes a turn for dramatic, fast, virtuosic playing, all reflecting the theme of the work, and indeed remains in this style through to the close, gaining momentum and becoming ever- more triumphant as the work reaches its close. A huge ending is heard, full of excitement and drama, but more importantly grandeur and rich harmonic-chords.The work was commissioned by and written for Leyland Band and its conductor, Thomas Wyss, as the finale to its 2015 Brass in Concert programme, premiered at The Sage, Gateshead, on 15th November 2015.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£89.95Of Distant Memories (Music in an Olden Style) (Score and Parts)
Of Distant Memories pays homage to the brass band composers that form the backbone of the brass band repertoire and their music, and in the process summons up a kind of subconscious memory bank of the musical languages, styles and forms used by them. T
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95
Of Distant Memories (Music in an Olden Style) (Score Only)
Of Distant Memories pays homage to the brass band composers that form the backbone of the brass band repertoire and their music, and in the process summons up a kind of subconscious memory bank of the musical languages, styles and forms used by them. T
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.95
Rhapsody in Brass (Score Only)
Rhapsody in Brass is in three movements and was written for the British Open Championships in 1949, held at Belle Vue in Manchester. The contest winners were Fairey Aviation Works Band under the baton of Harry Mortimer. Eric Ball came second with Ransome & Marles and Stanley Boddington 3rd with Munn and Felton Band. Rhapsody in Brass had the unusual distinction of being written as a test piece by a Salvation Army composer. Eric Ball's Resurgam was the only other piece to achieve that dual personality in that era.Dean Goffin was born in 1916 in Wellington, New Zealand, son of Henry Goffin, a Salvation Army officer and composer. At 19 he was appointed Bandmaster of the Wellington South Band and when World War II started, he enlisted in the New Zealand Armed Forces where he became Bandmaster of the 20th Infantry Battalion and later the 4th Brigade Band. During the time he served with them in the Middle East and Europe, he composed and arranged numerous pieces among which Rhapsody in Brass and the march Bel Hamid, later adapted for Salvation Army use and renamed Anthem of the Free.After the war, Dean kept on composing and his work was featured by the Wellington South Band. Later he transferred to Timaru for another job and became Bandmaster there. He was studying music at the time and as he wanted to take part in a competition for devotional selections for Salvation Army use, he sent some of his compositions to the International Headquarters. When Rhapsody for Brass was chosen as the test-piece for the British Open Championships, people at the Salvation Army started asking questions about the lack of publications of his work. It was discovered that the pieces submitted for the competition didn't meet the exact criteria. Among these pieces was one of his most appealing works The Light of the World which was published a year later, in 1950, the same year as he completed his Bachelor of Music studies at Otagu University.After entering the Salvation Army Training College in Wellington with his wife, Marjorie, Dean was in 1956 appointed National Bandmaster in the British Territory. Later he became National Secretary for Bands and Songster Brigades and in this period he organised the yearly festival in the Royal Albert Hall and was responsible for the national music schools in the UK. Dean returned to his home country in 1966 and to mark the centenary of the Salvation Army in New Zealand he was knighted by the Queen in 1983. Sir Dean Goffin died on 23 January 1984.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£10.00Swedish Festival Music (Study Score)
This three-movement suite was commissioned by the Swedish Brass Band Association as the test piece for the Championship Section of their 2008 National Contest. The first movement is inspired by the magnificent Swedish hymn 'How Great Thou Art'. Indeed the influence of that hymn can be traced in all three movements. The declamatory style of the opening gives way to other, more reflective expressions of awe and wonder. A more animated section develops before a final, triumphant statement of the 'How Great' idea returns to finish the movement. The slow second movement features another much-loved Swedish hymn. The music provides plenty of scope for expressive playing, and a feeling of intimacy should be created by the use of several short solo passages. The third movement Allegro brings a totally different, dance-like mood with frequent references to a reel from the region of Uppland. This eventually brings a return to the opening subject and a final, triumphant reference to 'How Great Thou Art'.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£9.95First Quartet (Brass Quartet - Score and Parts)
My first Brass Quartet was written in 1968, immediately after I finished my studies at the Royal Academy of Music, and was in response to a request from my then publisher, R Smith & Co, to write some chamber music for brass band instruments. It is scored for two cornets, horn and euphonium. In the same year I also wrote another quartet (No. 2) which is scored for the more unusual combination of two horns, baritone, and tuba. The First Quartet is really a miniature in terms of length, lasting less than six minutes. However, it packs a lot of punch in its two connected movements, a Prelude and a Capriccio. The Prelude is lyrical in style and opens with a rising figure (covering a major seventh) on euphonium answered by muted cornets. These ideas form the material for the movement which is arch shape in structure. The opening returns, immediately followed by a transition passage which leads directly into the turbulent Capriccio. This is rather Bartokian in style (I was very influenced by Bartok in my student days and had closely studied his six string quartets), in the manner of a Hungarian dance in 5/8 time. The constantly changing metric patterns give the music a rather disruptive quality, but also an opportunity for the players to show their virtuoso abilities. - Edward Gregson
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£79.95Indian Summer (Fantasy) (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
The 'Indian Summer' is that of North America, and the music, entertaining but more than half serious, will perhaps evoke memories of tales of Native Americans.There are four movements:The Great Chief SpeaksBy the Cool WatersTotem DanceHymn to the Great SpiritProgramme Notes:This Fantasy is in the form of a Suite, although there should be no long break between each movement. The composer sometimes concocts a little story to illustrate the music, somewhat as follows:"The Great Chief Speaks": the warmth of Autumn's "Indian Summer" will soon be a memory, and hard Winter will set in; so the Chief must hold a great Powwow with his people"By the Coll Waters": a little girl, not interested in grown-up solemnities, slips away to a nearby lake. She gazes at her reflection in the water; executes a little dance, then falls to dreaming."Totem Dance": this will be exciting - the little girl goes running to see! The dancing becomes wilder, then rhythm more insistent, then suddenly silence."Hymn to the Great Spirit": the Powwow closes with a majestic utterance by the Great Chief. A hymn is sung to the "Great White Spirit", and the people turn their thoughts to preparations for the coming Winter.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£39.95
Indian Summer (Fantasy) (Brass Band - Score only)
The 'Indian Summer' is that of North America, and the music, entertaining but more than half serious, will perhaps evoke memories of tales of Native Americans.There are four movements:The Great Chief SpeaksBy the Cool WatersTotem DanceHymn to the Great SpiritProgramme Notes:This Fantasy is in the form of a Suite, although there should be no long break between each movement. The composer sometimes concocts a little story to illustrate the music, somewhat as follows:"The Great Chief Speaks": the warmth of Autumn's "Indian Summer" will soon be a memory, and hard Winter will set in; so the Chief must hold a great Powwow with his people"By the Coll Waters": a little girl, not interested in grown-up solemnities, slips away to a nearby lake. She gazes at her reflection in the water; executes a little dance, then falls to dreaming."Totem Dance": this will be exciting - the little girl goes running to see! The dancing becomes wilder, then rhythm more insistent, then suddenly silence."Hymn to the Great Spirit": the Powwow closes with a majestic utterance by the Great Chief. A hymn is sung to the "Great White Spirit", and the people turn their thoughts to preparations for the coming Winter.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days