Results
-
£29.50Eden (Score Only)
This work was commissioned by the Brass Band Heritage Trust as the test piece for the final of the 2005 Besson National Brass Band Championship, held at the Royal Albert Hall, London.The score is prefaced by the final lines from Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (completed in 1663), in which Adam and Eve, expelled from Paradise, make their uncertain way into the outside world:"...The world was all before them, where to chooseTheir place of rest, and providence their guide:They hand in hand with wandering steps and slow,Through Eden took their solitary way."My work is in three linked sections. In the first, the characters of Adam, Eve and the serpent guarding the Tree of Knowledge are respectively represented by solo euphonium, cornet and trombone. The music opens in an idyllic and tranquil mood and leads into a duet between euphonium and cornet. Throughout this passage the prevailing mood darkens, though the soloists seem to remain oblivious to the increasingly fraught atmosphere. A whip-crack announces the malevolent appearance of the solo trombone who proceeds to engage the solo cornet in a sinister dialogue.The second section interprets the Eden story as a modern metaphor for the havoc mankind has inflicted upon the world, exploiting and abusing its resources in the pursuit of wealth. Though certainly intended here as a comment on the present-day, it is by no means a new idea: Milton himself had an almost prescient awareness of it in Book I of his poem, where men, led on by Mammon:"...Ransacked the centre and with impious handsRifled the bowels of their mother earthFor treasures better hid. Soon had his crewOpened into the hill a spacious woundAnd digged out ribs of gold."So this section is fast and violent, at times almost manic in its destructive energy. At length a furious climax subsides and a tolling bell ushers in the third and final section.This final part is slow, beginning with an intense lament featuring solos for tenor-horn, flgel-horn and repiano cornet and joined later by solo baritone, soprano cornet, Eb-bass and Bb-bass.At one stage in the planning of the work it seemed likely that the music would end here - in despair. Then, mid-way through writing it, I visited the extraordinary Eden Project in Cornwall. Here, in a disused quarry - a huge man-made wound in the earth - immense biomes, containing an abundance of plant species from every region of the globe, together with an inspirational education programme, perhaps offer a small ray of hope for the future. This is the image behind the work's conclusion and the optimism it aims to express is real enough, though it is hard-won and challenged to the last.John Pickard 2005
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£42.00Positively Pittsburgh (Score and Parts)
Composed for James Gourlay and the River City Brass Band, this piece has a driving energy in a quick compound time. There is a contrasting middle section, but valves will need to be well-oiled for this one -- exciting stuff!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£22.00Positively Pittsburgh (Score Only)
Composed for James Gourlay and the River City Brass Band, this piece has a driving energy in a quick compound time. There is a contrasting middle section, but valves will need to be well-oiled for this one ' exciting stuff!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£94.95Red Priest (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Concerto After VivaldiDuring his lifetime, Antonio Vivaldi was known as 'il Prete Rosso', the Red Priest, thanks to his youthful ordination and his flaming red hair. The son of a violinist at San Marco in Venice, Vivaldi's musical pedigree was impeccable and an excellent start to his career was coupled with astounding energy and productivity. His vast output of concerti grossi, using soloists in groups, inspired this composition and performers may choose appropriate stage positions for the various groupings of cornets and trombones, spaced around the performance area. The score quotes freely from some of Vivaldi's most popular compositions, including 'Winter' from The Four Seasons, the motet Nisi Dominus, the famous Gloria and the fugue from the Concerto grosso in D minor found in L'Estro Armonico.However, it is the musical spirit of Vivaldi, a close contemporary of both Handel and Casanova, that inspired this music, which should be played with a mixture of accuracy and abandoned virtuosity. The musical images in this piece have clear associations in the composer's mind with individual Venetian locations, ranging from bustling street scenes to vaulted interiors, and describing the famous journey down the Grand Canal, past the Doge's Palace, to the Ospedale della Pieta where Vivaldi worked for so many years.Duration: 14.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£21.95
Red Priest (Brass Band - Study Score)
Concerto After VivaldiDuring his lifetime, Antonio Vivaldi was known as 'il Prete Rosso', the Red Priest, thanks to his youthful ordination and his flaming red hair. The son of a violinist at San Marco in Venice, Vivaldi's musical pedigree was impeccable and an excellent start to his career was coupled with astounding energy and productivity. His vast output of concerti grossi, using soloists in groups, inspired this composition and performers may choose appropriate stage positions for the various groupings of cornets and trombones, spaced around the performance area. The score quotes freely from some of Vivaldi's most popular compositions, including 'Winter' from The Four Seasons, the motet Nisi Dominus, the famous Gloria and the fugue from the Concerto grosso in D minor found in L'Estro Armonico.However, it is the musical spirit of Vivaldi, a close contemporary of both Handel and Casanova, that inspired this music, which should be played with a mixture of accuracy and abandoned virtuosity. The musical images in this piece have clear associations in the composer's mind with individual Venetian locations, ranging from bustling street scenes to vaulted interiors, and describing the famous journey down the Grand Canal, past the Doge's Palace, to the Ospedale della Pieta where Vivaldi worked for so many years.Duration: 14.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£38.00Brass Braziliana (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Anderson, Keiron
The Samba has a special significance in Brazilian musical culture and it is symbolic of sheer joy and energy. Music is a mix of communication and energy and this work is designed to allow the players to generate that energy, thus communicating it to the audience. That infectious drive and musical energy will be a high point of any live performance or recording. Duration: 3.00. Suitable for 1st Section Bands and above.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£64.95New Beginnings (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Schjelderup, Fredrick
New Beginnings was commissioned by the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and was first performed by The National Children's Brass Band of Great Britain in August 2021.It describes in sonic terms the effect that energy can create, both musically and emotionally. Here, in a burst of vibrant rhythmic patterning, and dedicated to the young players of this famous brass band, New Beginnings is born.There are three sections:From the start, it is driven by the percussion section, who push the energy through a sequence of mysterious and joyous moments.After a sonorous climax, the music subsides to a slower, romantic middle section where the earlier rhythmic energy is transformed into melodic playing from the brass.As the Finale begins, earlier themes are combined, first with a fugato which passes the melodies around the band and then unites in a recapitulation that brings the whole composition to a rousing finish as the romantic hymn makes a final appearance.Duration: 10.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£50.00Whirlegigg (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Hesketh, Kenneth
Whirlegigg is the middle English word for a contraption that continuously spins. A great fascination with many inventors of the medieval period was to develop a perpetual motion machine constantly turning and giving off energy. This idea is particularly apt for this piece. A simple ternary structure gives ample opportunity for both boisterous and reflective material with gyrating accompaniment figures never far away. The machine almost stops near the end, but finally musters one last burst of excitement and energy to bring the work to its close. Suitable for 1st Section Bands and above. Duration: 5.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£104.99Arcana (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Houben, Kevin
Arcana is the plural of the Latin word arcanum, meaning secret. This substantial work is full of contrasts. Smooth historic like melodies harking back to music of yesteryear, bustling complex rhythms, sections full of energy and beautifully smooth melodic passages. Arcana is a celebration of the brass band and the strength and energy of everyone involved in it. Celebrate the spirit of your own band with this imaginative concert work.Duration: 10:00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£40.00Trittico (Brass Band - Score only) - Curnow, James
Trittico was commissioned by the Swiss Brass Band Association for their national championships in 1988.A trittico is a triptych or group of three paintings or musical compositions based on a common theme and presented or performed together. The present work is a set of three extended variations on the American shaped-note hymn Consolation.The work opens in grand style with motives based on intervals of the hymn tune. The opening motif, and smaller fragments of it reappear throughout the piece and serve as an underlying element alongside the theme itself.The first variation is essentially a scherzo which echoes the minor mood of the theme. The hemiolic opposition of compound and duple time is used to good effect and, again, the main motif is never far away. This is music with energy and forward movement.The second variation gives the soloists a chance to shine. The mood is tranquil, yet there is always some activity and the musical material pre-echoes the third variation.The third variation is another scherzo-like section, the main theme accompanied by a rhythmic ostinato. Toward the conclusion there is a short aleatoric passage - a variation within a variation allowing half the band to make their own variations in a cacophony of sound. An energetic coda draws together several elements to round off a work brim full of drive, energy, and self-propelled enthusiasm.Recorded on Polyphonic QPRL044D Brass from the ValleysDuration: 13:30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
View Music