Results
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£44.95Masquerade (Score Only)
The first performance took place on the 4th. September 1993 at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester during the British Open Brass Band Championships.Note by Philip Wilby:Masquerade is a centenary tribute to Verdi's last opera Falstaff and takes its final scene as the basis for my own piece. Thus I have used some of Verdi's music, and some of Shalespeare's plot, and woven them into a fabric with highly demanding music of my own to produce a work in the great tradition of operatically-based brass band pieces. Such scores date from the very beginnings of band repertory and are often not direct arrangements in the established sense but new compositions produced in homage to a past master. They may still offer performers and audience alike something familiar interwoven with something new. My own piece reuses some elements from the original story: . .Falstaff has been caught in a web of his own lies by the ladies of the town, who propose to teach him a lesson. The story opens at night in Windsor Great Park. The plotters, variously disguised in Hallowe'en fashion (as fairies,elves hobgoblins etc!) assemble in the park to await Falstaff's arrival (musicologists will, perhaps, note a rare use of 'large bottle in F' being used during this scene of suppressed alcoholic revelry!). Falstaff's companions, Bardolph,Piston and Robin, enter (represented here by the three trombones!), and are variously abused by the masqueraders. At the height of the Tout an alarm sounds and Falstaff (euphonium cadenza) enters as Midnight strikes. From a safe hiding place he watches as the disguised Nanetta (principal comet) sings a serene solo as the moon appcars above the trees. With sudden force the others seize him and drag him from his hiding place. As in the traditional game 'Blind Man's Buff', he is roughly turned seven times (a sequence of solo accelerandi) until, at last, he recognizes his assailants as his sometime friends. Far from complaining, Verdi's character concludes the opera with a good-humoured fugue on the words.... 'All the World's a Joke... Every mortal laughs at the others, But he laughs best who has the final laugh. Philip Wilby.
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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£22.50Petite Suite de Ballet (Score Only)
This composition consists of four 'miniatures', simple in construction, yet not without technical demands upon the players.The music is for a ballet which so far exists only in the imagination! Like most ballet, it has a touch of the fantastic, and must be interpreted with a light, deft touch.The first movement, Parade, brings many characteristics on to the stage, marching perkily, leggily, with almost puppet-like movements.In the next movement, Pas Seul (Solo Dance), one lone figure holds the stage, with a mixture of grace and sauciness. At the end he (or she) runs off with a snap of the fingers.The third movement is a Minuet. A chosen few, richly garbed, perform this stately, courtly dance, while the rest of the company look on at some ritual in which they are not allowed to join.The final Ensemble commencing with the return of the lone figure, gradually brings the whole company to the stage. Various groups come forward for a few moments, and then rejoin the general pattern of the dancing. Towards the end a stately procession is formed, but this finally breaks up in a sudden flurry of leaping and capering, and in a moment, as though at some magic call, the dances have disappeared, whilst the sonorous tones of the final bars of music follow them with a rather disapproving air.Our little fantasy in over.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£65.00AN ELGAR PORTRAIT - D.Price
This work was composed in commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the birth English Composer Sir Edward Elgar. The suite is in three movements: 'Introduction', 'Elegy' and 'March', each of which have been inspired by three of Elgar's most celebrated works; Chanson de Matin, Nimrod ('Variation IX' from the Enigma Variations) and Pomp and Circumstance No.1.'Introduction' - Hollybush HillHollybush Hill is the name of one of the peaks of the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire. The Malverns were a favourite walking area for Elgar and his wife, and their panoramic views inspired much of Elgar's music.'Elegy' - BroadheathBroadheath is the small village at the foot of the Malvern Hills where Elgar was born (and lived at various times throughout his life). Elgar is buried not far from Broadheath at St Wulstan's in Little Malvern. 'March' - Worcester CathedralMany of the Worcestershire ensembles and music festivals played an important role in Elgar's early musical education. He was heavily involved in The Three Choirs Festival and either conducted or played in many of the light orchestras and vocal groups that performed at venues across Worcester. A statue of Elgar overlooks the Cathedral at the end of Worcester High Street.An Elgar Portrait has been used regularly as an own-choice test-piece for Section 4 bands, and was also selected as the set work for the Swiss National Championships in 2007 as well as the Pontins Championships in 2008. The composer has slightly reworked this piece for the Section 4 Final of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2020 and it's this version that should be performed at the contest. If bands currently have an older version in their libraries, please contact us directly for more information.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£109.99Modern Times - Etienne Crausaz
Modern Times is a concert suite from the musical and theatrical show Le Temps de Lyre, written and directed by Nicolas Bussard. The work was commissioned for the 100th anniversary of the Lyre de La Roche, directed by Marc-Olivier Broillet, with the premiere taking place in July 2024 in front of an audience of over 2,000.This suite highlights three of the dozen tableaux in the show. After an introduction evoking a sort of journey back in time, the first tableau (bar 20) illustrates various disasters that have occurred in the village over the years. The sky darkens, the thunder rumbles, the rain lashes down, and violent gusts of wind are unleashed on this corner of the country. The storm finally calms down, giving way to great desolation.The second tableau (bar 117) describes the resilience of the villagers, who summon up all their courage to repair the damage. The music is soft, calm, and hopeful.On the strength of this new beginning, the village can embrace modernity: motor vehicles replace horses, a dam is built, and tourism develops, encouraging a society open to other cultures. The third tableau in this suite illustrates all these advances (bar 177). Musically, this final section pays tribute to George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein, two of the 20th century's great musicians and composers, who worked during the fascinating period of modern times and well beyond.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£134.99Mirage - Jan de Haan
The composition Mirage takes inspiration from the legendary ghost ship "The Flying Dutchman", a story deeply rooted in maritime folklore. Cursed to wander the oceans forever, the ship often looms like a mirage on the horizon - a mysterious apparition in which reality and illusion blend intangibly.In Mirage the music tries to bring this mystical appearance to life. The piece begins with an atmosphere of mystery and wonder, creating the illusion of a mirage. The listener is taken to the vast sea, where the boundaries between the real and the unreal blur and the ghostly silhouette of the ship gradually becomes visible. Suddenly the tone changes. Powerful rhythms and stormy harmonies follow, expressing the ship's battle against the raging forces of nature. After this intense section, in which the musicians are pushed to their limits, the tranquility of the sea returns. The recurring mirages inspired the composer to create a lyrical middle section, in which various soloists tell their stories within this legend. In the final part, the sails are hoisted again, and the three-master continues its endless journey.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£115.60Portias Slottsorkester - Dag Wirèn - Svein H. Giske
Dag Wiren (1905-1986) came to fame as a composer in 1937 with Serenade for string orchestra, Op. 11, which remains his most played work to date. His opus list is mainly instrumental music; five symphonies, five string quartets, several overtures and a lot of film and theatre music.He composed the stage music for William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, which was performed at Dramaten in Stockholm in 1944. The drama was performed again in 1961, somewhat revised by Wiren. From this production, Wiren compiled a concert suite that he called Romantic Suite, Op. 22.The fifth and final movement is Portia's Castle Orchestra, which is based on an Irish folk melody.This instrumentation for Brass Band is based on the arrangement for wind band by Jerker Johansson. The instrumentation was written for Askoy Brass Band's performance at Siddis Brass 2022.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£134.99Crazy Twenties - Thierry Deleruyelle
Crazy Twenties takes place in the 1920s, a decade otherwise known as the "Roaring Twenties". This work retraces an exceptional period in social, cultural and artistic terms, when a new generation dreamt of a new world. The work opens with a bright and lively movement, followed by a nostalgic interlude. A gracious slow movement accompanies the Parisian district of Montparnasse. Written in the style of an unstable blues, the next movement evokes characters sipping their Bloody Marys in a cafe. The final movement is a fugue with the main motif as the subject.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£91.99Fanfares, Songs & Dances - Philip Sparke
Fanfares, Songs & Dances was commissioned by Brass Bands England, the Lithuanian Brass Band Association and the Dutch National Brass Band Championships (NBK), and first performed at the 43rd 'NBK' in October 2024. The work is played in three linked movements: FANFARES opens in robust fashion with a sequence of fanfare-like statements, initially featuring the horns, whose modal theme includes a figure that will reappear throughout the work. Euphoniums and then cornets introduce a second theme, which is followed by a third, again initiated by the horns. Baritones then change the mood with a more-lyrical theme, which builds to a climax, eventually leading back to a recall of the initial fanfare theme. This gradually dissolves to introduce the second movement. SONGS continues to relax the fanfare feel with a long introduction to the movement's main theme, first appearing on solo cornet. A change of key introduces a bridge passage which leads to a sonorous chorale, which builds to a triumphal return of the cornet theme. A peaceful coda leads to the final movement of the work. DANCES is a scherzo-like movement based around a series of rhythmic melodies in triple time, which lead to a majestic return of the 2nd movement's chorale theme under cornet figuration. The opening dance theme returns and heralds a joyous coda.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£183.20Folklore - Kjetil Djønne
"Folklore" is a work for brass band and percussion loosely based on the story of the Norwegian woman accused of witchcraft, Anne Pedersdotter. She was sentenced to be burned at the stake in Bergen in the spring of 1590 and has since been frequently highlighted as Norway's most famous and talked-about witch.The work begins with the movement "Lyderhorn," depicting the mountain outside Bergen where witches gathered to plan magical actions against the city. Here, we hear the quietness of nature and the wind blowing through the trees before a new theme appears, which will come to life in the next movement. In the distance, the witches have started their ceremony.In the next movement, "Walpurgis Night," the witches perform their rituals to afflict the city with fire, disease, and natural disasters. The ceremony becomes more and more chaotic, violent, and compelling until the darkness of the night envelops us, concluding the section.The third movement describes the women's inner struggle against the harassment they faced when the people of Bergen suspected them of being witches. Rumors often turned into formal accusations from the legal system, and many were sentenced to death after undergoing trial. "From life to death through the fire."The fourth and final movement, "The Pyre," depicts the actual death sentence. You can hear the pyre being ignited and the flames growing and intensifying. It all culminates in a chorale as a memorial to the lives that were taken.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days