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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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£74.99Napoleon on the Alps (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Harper, Philip
This dramatic piece is based on the famous oil painting by Jacques-Louis David, 'Napoleon Crossing the Alps'. There are three parts: Approaching the Great Saint-Bernard Pass depicting snowy mountains and the determined march of the Napoleonic Army; The Emperor Napoleon a noble and heroic theme, accompanied by stately fanfares with an exotic flavour; and Onwards, to the Empire! describing Napoleon's relentless drive to expand the French empire across the globe at. This piece was first performed directly in front of the Napoleon Museum in Arenenberg, Switzerland in Summer 2016. Duration: 10.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£54.99Conquest of Paradise (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Vangelis - Sebregts, Ron
Conquest Of Paradise is the title song from the film of the same name staring Gerard Depardieu as the explorer Christopher Columbus, on his quest to discover America. The title music to the film, composed by Vangelis, was released as a single, which sold over 4 million copies and was rightfully awarded a Golden Globe. Add a little drama to any concert with this stirring arrangement.Duration: 4:00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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