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£64.95Adam Zero, Suite from (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Bliss, Arthur - Childs, Robert
Selected as the Section 2 test piece for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2025Following his ballet Checkmate, Bliss composed another score for the, by then, Sadler's Wells Ballet, Miracle in the Gorbals, which was choreographed by Robert Helpmann, to a scenario by Michael Benthall. Premired in 1944, the ballet made a considerable impact and was a box-office success. It was followed in turn by a further collaboration with Helpmann and Benthall, Adam Zero. This would serve Helpmann, in the eponymous role, as a vehicle in two respects: demonstrating his gifts as a dancer-actor and as a choreographer. First performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 8 April 1946, Adam Zero was conducted by Constant Lambert, the work's dedicatee. Bliss considered it 'his most varied and exciting ballet score'. Benthall provided a synopsis for the programme:There is a philosophy that life moves in an endless series of timeless cycles. As Nature passes through Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, so man is born, makes a success in his own particular sphere, loses his position to a younger generation, sees his world crumble before his eyes and only finds peace in death. This age-old story is told in terms of a Company creating a ballet and calling on the resources of the theatre to do so. Lighting, stage mechanism, dance conventions, musical forms and costumes and scenery of all periods are used to symbolize the world of 'Adam Zero'.Apart from Adam, as the Principal Dancer, other main roles included the Stage Director (representing Omnipotence), and Adam's Fates (Designer, Wardrobe Mistress, and Dresser). 'The Woman in this allegory', wrote Bliss, 'under the symbol of the Choreographer, was both the creator and destroyer of Adam: his first love, his wife, his mistress, and finally the figure of beneficent Death.' When the curtain rose, the 'audience saw the Covent Garden stage right back to the wall, completely empty except for the protagonists, 'the Company poised, still and expectant, as they await the birth of... Adam Zero.'Unfortunately, soon after the premire, Helpmann injured himself and had to withdraw from the remaining performances. Despite generally positive reviews, the ballet did not capture the imagination of audiences and, to Bliss's considerable disappointment, was not revived. Seventy years would elapse before its first major return to the stage, in 2016, performed by the ballet company of Stadttheater Bremerhaven with choreography by Sergei Vanaev.Bliss extracted a concert suite from the ballet, conducting its first performance with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on 28 October 1948. For his own suite, arranged for brass band in 2023, Dr Robert Childs chose three dances linked to the seasons, book-ending them with the ebullient 'Fanfare Overture' and 'Fanfare Coda'. After Adam has grown to manhood, his Fates clothe him in a costume synonymous with confident youth, appropriate for the virile, ardent 'Dance of Spring'. In the 'Approach of Autumn', Adam, now wearing a sombre costume, has grown older: his Fates have streaked grey in his hair and put lines on his face. But they had earlier raised Adam to the zenith of his power, and the 'Dance of Summer' depicts him in the prime of life, in music of sweeping grandeur. The 'Fanfare Coda' signals that the next cycle of life is about to begin.Duration: 10.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£60.99Angels from the Realms of Glory (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Kernen, Roland
The title of this clever arrangement reveals the Christmas song it is based on. The melody can be traced back to a French folksong from the 18th century which is now known around the world. In France it is called Les anges dans nos campagnes, in Germany it is most widely known as Engel auf den Feldern singen and in England it was originally called Angels From the Realms of Glory but it often known as Angels We Have Heard on High. Everyone will rejoice upon hearing the Gloria in excelsis Deo refrain!Duration: 5:45
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£40.00Great Gate of Kiev, The (from Pictures at an Exhibition) (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Mussorgsky, Modest - Littlemore, Phillip
Modest Mussorgsky was a close friend of the young artist and architect Victor Hartmann, and his death in 1873 plunged Mossorgsky into a deep depression. The following year a memorial exhibition in St. Petersburg displayed Hartmann's paintings, costumes, architectural designs and sketches. Mussorgsky's visit to it, combined with his desire to write a piece in his friend's memory, inspired him to compose his?Pictures At An Exhibition?for piano. A suite of ten movements, with a recurring Promenade theme, it is one of the composer's most famous works and regarded as a showpiece for virtuoso pianists. It is perhaps the orchestral transcription made by Maurice Ravel in 1922 that is now the most famous version of it. This arrangement opens with a brief excerpt from?The Hut on Fowl's Legs, which was based on a painting of an elaborately carved clock depicting Baba Yaga, a horrible tiny witch that feasts on human bones. The tenth, and final picture in Mussorgsky's masterpiece is commonly referred to as?The Great Gate of Kiev, although it's literal translation is The Bogatyr Gates -- a Bogatyr being a hero figure in medieval East Slavic legend. It features a grand main theme that is interspersed with a more solemn hymn-like secondary theme. The work closes with a grand final rendition of the Promenade theme that almost grinds to a halt at what must be the foot of what were to be magnificent ceremonial gates (although they were never actually built!). Duration: 6:00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£119.95The Torchbearer (Symphonic Variations on a Theme by Eric Ball) (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Graham, Peter
2015 National Championships Regionals - Championship Section. The variations are based upon the first phrase of the trio from Eric Ball's Salvation Army march, Torchbearers. After opening statements of the theme, variation 1 (an energetic allegro brillante utilising fragment A) commences. Cadenza passages for Eb Bass and Euphonium lead to variation 2 (an andante appassionato based upon fragment B) Variation 3 (a vivace featuring C as an ostinato) is followed by variation 4 (the central andante e sciolto molto for solo cornet). The work culminates in a reprise of the cornet solo, now fully metamorphosised and mirroring in music a concept at the centre of Ball's broader philosophy, that of transformation. Eric Ball will be remembered as a composer whose classic works for brass shine through with integrity and sincerity. There has been no less sincere in the composers' efforts to pay musical tribute to the 20th century's most influential composer of brass band music. Duration: 12:30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£37.95
The Torchbearer (Symphonic Variations on a Theme by Eric Ball) (Brass Band - Score only) - Graham, Peter
2015 National Championships Regionals - Championship Section. The variations are based upon the first phrase of the trio from Eric Ball's Salvation Army march, Torchbearers. After opening statements of the theme, variation 1 (an energetic allegro brillante utilising fragment A) commences. Cadenza passages for Eb Bass and Euphonium lead to variation 2 (an andante appassionato based upon fragment B) Variation 3 (a vivace featuring C as an ostinato) is followed by variation 4 (the central andante e sciolto molto for solo cornet). The work culminates in a reprise of the cornet solo, now fully metamorphosised and mirroring in music a concept at the centre of Ball's broader philosophy, that of transformation. Eric Ball will be remembered as a composer whose classic works for brass shine through with integrity and sincerity. There has been no less sincere in the composers' efforts to pay musical tribute to the 20th century's most influential composer of brass band music. Duration: 12:30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£10.00Endurance
DescriptionMen wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success. - Ernest Shackleton, 4 Burlington StreetEndurance takes its title from the ship used by Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914-15. After many months of fundraising (and reputedly running the above advert in The Times) the Endurance set sail from Plymouth on 6 August 1914. Whilst at sea news of the outbreak of war led Shackleton to put his ship and crew at the disposal of the Admiralty, but their services were not required and they were encouraged to continue. On October 26 1914 they left Grytviken on South Georgia for the Antarctic continent, hoping to find the pack ice shrinking in the Antarctic spring. Two days later, however, they encountered unseasonable ice which slowed their progress considerably. On 15 January 1915, when Endurance was only 200 miles from her intended landfall at Vahsel Bay, the ship became beset by ice which had been compressed against the land to the south by gale force winds. Trapped in the ice of the Weddell Sea, the ship spent the Antarctic winter driven by the weather further from her intended destination until, on 21 November 1915 Endurance broke up forcing the crew to abandon ship and set up camp on the ice at a site they named "Patience Camp".The crew spent several weeks on the ice. As the southern spring started to reduce the extent of the ice shelf they took to their three lifeboats, sailing across the open ocean to reach the desolate and uninhabited Elephant Island. There they used two of the boats to build a makeshift shelter while Shackleton and five others took the largest boat, an open lifeboat named the 'James Caird' and sailed it for 800 terrifyingly dangerous miles across the vast and lonely Southern Atlantic to South Georgia - a journey now widely regarded as one of the greatest and most heroic small-boat journeys ever undertaken. After landing on the wrong side of the island and having to climb over a mountain range in the dark with no map, Shackleton and his companions finally stumbled back into the Grytviken whaling station on 19 May 1916.After resting very briefly to recover his strength, Shackleton then began a relentless campaign to beg or borrow a ship to rescue the rest of his crew from Elephant Island; whaling ships were not strong enough to enter polar ice, but on 30 August 1916, over two years after their departure from Plymouth, Shackleton finally returned to Elephant Island aboard a steam tug borrowed from the Chilean government. Although some were in poor health, every member of the Endurance crew was rescued and returned home alive.Endurance is dedicated to the memory of my mum, who passed away in September 2017.Listen to a computer generated preview and follow the score below:
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.50The Big Country - Jerome Moross - Andi Cook
The opening of the main theme from 'The Big Country' is as iconic as any western theme ever written. The flourish from the strings (or cornets in our case!) allow your band to show off with detailed playing that is sure to grab your audience's attention from the word go. The film's composer, Jerome Moross was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the soundtrack, but lost to 'The Old Man and the Sea' scored by Dimitri Tiomkin. This arrangement by Andi Cook faithfully recreates the excitement from the main theme that is now known throughout the world. This title has never before been publicly available to brass bands until now and is sure to be a hit with bands and audiences.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£24.50
Wedding Music (Selections For A Wedding) - Various - Gavin Somerset
With more and more brass bands performing at weddings, having the correct music is essential for the couple's perfect day. With most of the traditional wedding music coming from large overtures & operas etc, this unique pack of music has been specially designed to minimise fuss (all 4 pieces are printed on just one sheet per part) and have just the "famous" bits included. Specially arranged by Gavin Somerset so that the pieces included can be performed from anything ranging from a full brass band to a brass quintet group and with repeats that can be cut or performed to tailor to each event. The pieces areaABRIDAL CHORUS (from Lohengrin) By Richard Wagner"Here comes the bride"aA is the standard march played for the bride's entrance at many formal weddings. The wedding between Elsa and Lohengrin however was almost an immidiate failure!PACHELBEL'S CANON By Johann PachelbelFormally known as the Canon & Gigue in D and originally composed for a string quartet, the Canon part of the composition has become a favorite at weddings, either as an alternative to the Bridal Chorus (above) or used during the signing of the register. The convention in the Baroque era would have been to play a piece of this type in the moderate to fast tempo, however at weddings it has become fashionable to play the work at a slow tempo.WEDDING MARCH (from "A Midsummer Night's Dream") By Felix MendelsshonPopularized by Princess Victoria's wedding to Prince Frederick William of Prussia and coupled with the Bridal Chorus for the entry of the bride, this Wedding March is often for the recessional at the end. Prelude to "Te Deum" By Charpentier Another item now popular in its use during weddings for its bright fanfares. Many composers have written music to the "Te Deum" text (Te Deum being an early Christian hymn of praise, used still regularly in the R.C Church). The prelude by Charpentier is by far one of the most famous
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£29.50
Dance of the Troglodytes - Naomi Styles
If your resident tuned percussionist hasn't had much to do of late, then why not present him or her with Dance of the Troglodytes? While not strictly a xylophone solo, it features this instrument strongly with fast arpeggios over a steady tune that gradually rises in intensity and excitement. 'Dance of the Troglodytes' is one of a modern day 'Carnival of the Animals' - a series of brass band tunes inspired by Christopher Lloyd's book 'What on Earth evolved?' which ranks the species which have most influenced planet Earth. The music celebrates Homo Sapiens, ranked by Lloyd as the 6th most influential species. Emerging from Africa about 160,000 years ago from Homo erectus stock, Homo Sapiens' quick thinking, manual dexterity and increasingly complex tool making skills made it the only surviving human species. Now we humans have spread to every corner of the globe, shaping it through agriculture, transportation and industry. Dance of the Troglodytes echoes the rise of humans as they emerge from primitive life and gradually create the complex world we live in today.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£29.50Battle of Britain - Ron Goodwin - Gavin Somerset
From the 1969 motion picture comes the overture from the epic war film, The Battle of Britain. The film tells the story of the summer 1940 where the British RAF, outnumbered, yet with radar on their side, strategically defeated the Luftwaffe. Unusually for a film, this picture had two scores composed, one by Sir William Walton and the other by Ron Goodwin. Following a decision made by those in charge at United Artists, only one segment of Walton's score was used to feature during the epic air battle scene. The remainder of the film's music fell to Ron Goodwin's who gave us the now famous title "Aces High" and the main theme. This is a perfect addition to any band programme and one that audiences are sure to enjoy. To download the Solo Cornet part, please CLICK HERE . To download the Solo Horn part, please CLICK HERE . To download the Solo Euphonium part, please CLICK HERE . To download the playback audio to play along to, please RIGHT CLICK HERE & Save As .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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