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£80.00St. Magnus - Kenneth Downie
Dedicated to Alastair Massey, an inspirational music teacher. Commissioned by the Scottish Brass Band Association for the 2004 European Brass Band Championships in Glasgow. This music is a set of variations on the tune known as St Magnus, which is attributed to Jeremiah Clarke. Most people will associate it with Thomas Kelly's hymn which begins: "The Head that once was crowned with thorns is crowned with glory now". The tune is very simple, consisting of just two, four-bar phrases. Neither is there much in the way of rhythmic variety, every note being a crotchet with the exception of two quavers, and the last note in each phrase. Within such a simple structure, however, lies considerable strength. THEME The listener is given the opportunity of hearing it twice, in full, at the beginning, starting with one player but soon taken up by the full ensemble. It returns in the middle of the music and is stated again near the end. This has been done quite deliberately in the hope that there will be an appreciation of what material is being developed, by the listener as well as by those with access to the score, who are able to see the visual connections. VARIATION 1 This takes the rhythm of the last part of the theme and also uses the shape of the opening as a recurring figure. The mood is whimsical and skittish, with short, teasing rhythmic figures tossed around the band, and quick interplay with percussion, at a fast tempo. An energetic flourish finishes this variation before the Andante espress. VARIATION 2 This commences with chords related to the opening of Variation 1. The cantabile on solo comets establishes a new, lyrical mood and there is scope for expressive playing in a series of short solo passages. The theme works its way unobtrusively into the texture before a reprise of the solo cornet melody and some more lyrical interchanges between Eb bass, euphonium, flugel horn and comets. The variation ends serenely with clear references to the last phrase of the theme. VARIATION 3 The first idea to dominate is clearly linked to the shape of the theme's first phrase. There is a frenetic feel to much of this variation, with considerable energy and instability created by extensive use of cross-rhythms. A thinning-out of the score marks a clear change to development of the start of the second phrase of the theme. This proves to be short-lived however, and the opening material returns leading to a restatement of the theme, "Maestoso," after which a euphonium cadenza links to Variation 4. VARIATION 4 Here we have some solos for euphonium, cornet, trombone and Eb bass set against a background of horns and baritones presenting a pensive statement of the theme's opening. VARIATION 5 This commences Allegro, with lively work for cornet and euphonium spreading to the whole band before attention focuses on the beginning of the second phrase of the theme which is initially presented in diminution, then in regular rhythm, then in inversion. An increase in tempo coupled with a decrease in volume, requires dexterity and control, with several metrical challenges thrown in for good measure. The same fragment of phrase becomes an ostinato which generates a frenzied climax, punctuated by short, dramatic silence, before the opening figure returns and the music gradually winds down. The tubular bells herald the final return of the theme, in augmentation, marking the start of the Finale. FINALE This features the running semiquavers of the previous variation sounding in counterpoint. A fast, furious coda speeds the work to a conclusion while references to the opening of the theme are still trying to break into the texture of the music. Kenneth Downie
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£74.95Eden (Score and Parts)
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
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£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
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£34.95Elixir of Youth - Christopher Bond
Elixir of Youth (2013) was written for the 2013 Brass for Heroes charity event where it was premiered on 19th October 2013 at St Paul's Hall in Huddersfield under the baton of Philip Harper. The title of the work reflects the nature of the band that was put together for that premiere performance; an all-star youth band comprising a selection of the country's young brass banding talent, with the term Elixir referring here to the everlasting talent seen in young brass players throughout the United Kingdom's brass bands and bands' and teachers abilities to keep producing such high quality musicians for the banding movement.The work, structured in three sections, is a showcase for band with a heroic opening where fanfare-like gestures in the cornets and trombones juxtapose rapid euphonium and baritone runs, alongside sweeping horns and percussion effects. As the piece progresses, a grove is introduced - just in the tubas at first, accompanied by a hi-hat - before spreading through the band, definitely stuff to tap your toes to! The middle, slower section of the work sees both flugel and cornet solos, with additional inputs from the euphonium and solo horn before a climax and return to the tempo and music of the opening section. A rousing close concludes the work where all of the work's themes are interweaved to create a sense of power, unity and grandeur; an Elixir of Youth.
Estimated dispatch 10-14 working days
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£34.95Elixir of Youth (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Elixir of Youth (2013) was written for the 2013 Brass for Heroes charity event where it was premiered on 19th October 2013 at St Paul's Hall in Huddersfield under the baton of Philip Harper. The title of the work reflects the nature of the band that was put together for that premiere performance; an all-star youth band comprising a selection of the country's young brass banding talent, with the term Elixir referring here to the everlasting talent seen in young brass players throughout the United Kingdom's brass bands and bands' and teachers abilities to keep producing such high quality musicians for the banding movement.The work, structured in three sections, is a showcase for band with a heroic opening where fanfare-like gestures in the cornets and trombones juxtapose rapid euphonium and baritone runs, alongside sweeping horns and percussion effects. As the piece progresses, a grove is introduced - just in the tubas at first, accompanied by a hi-hat - before spreading through the band, definitely stuff to tap your toes to! The middle, slower section of the work sees both flugel and cornet solos, with additional inputs from the euphonium and solo horn before a climax and return to the tempo and music of the opening section. A rousing close concludes the work where all of the work's themes are interweaved to create a sense of power, unity and grandeur; an Elixir of Youth.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.50Grandfather's Clock - G Doughty - Gavin Somerset
One of the most popular Euphonium solos in the Brass Band repertoire has now been transcribed and re-arranged for the Eb Instruments of the band. Originally arranged for Michelle Ibbotson on Soprano for Black Dyke, this transcription makes the solo perfect for Soprano Cornet, Tenor Horn or even Eb Bass. New percussion parts have also been added for this arrangement. Most bands have the original Euphonium solo in their library, and now is the chance to revive this old classic in a new light, with new soloists.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 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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£134.99Sand and Stars - Thierry Deleruyelle
Sand and Stars illustrates the journey of the aviator-writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery when he attempted to break the record for a Paris-Saigon flight. Having started as planned, the journey ended prematurely in the heart of the Sahara with a broken plane and the rescue, just in time, of the pilot and his navigator. Written in six parts, this highly colourful piece varies between a mysterious atmosphere, the deafening noise of a plane hitting the ground and the vivacity of an Arabic dance, punctuated with cornet and euphonium solos, before concluding with spectacular musical fireworks.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£65.00Frankly Speaking - Frank Sinatra
A suite of three songs of Sinatra arranged for Flugelhorn, Trombone and Cornet or Euphonium solos
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£54.99Smile! - Timothy Travis
Undoubtedly, a smile will come to your face whenever you listen to 'Smile', for this little piece is guaranteed to bring mirth and good cheer to each and everyone. What is more, your bandsmen will almost literally lick their lips over this sure-fire favourite to be, containg swinging solos for cornet and euphonium (cued in tenorhorn).
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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