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£79.95Amundsen - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 14'00". DIFFICULTY: 1st+. 'Amundsen' was commissioned by rskog Brass, Norway for their winning performance at the 2020 Norwegian National Championships held at the Grieghallen in Bergen. In December 1911, Norwegian Roald Amundsen gained global fame by becoming the first explorer to lead a team to the geographic South Pole. Amundsen and 4 other members of his team arrived 5 weeks ahead of a rival team from the UK led by Robert Falcon Scott, all of which perished on their attempted return from the pole. Initially when Amundsen's team set out in 1910, they were under the impression that they would be making the far shorter journey to the arctic drift to attempt to reach the North Pole, but Amundsen had received news that American explorers Peary and Cook had beaten them to this goal, and so Amundsen's focus changed southward. 'Fram, Forward' - 'Fram' (translating to English as "forward") was the name of the ship Amundsen used for this particular polar expedition. Amundsen had only informed 2 people of his real intentions of conquering the South Pole when the ship first left port in Kristiansand before heading south to the Portuguese island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean. After weeks at sea - causing the uninformed members of the crew to raise a number of questions and produce a general feel of uncertainty and low spirits - it was here that Amundsen announced his true plans to the rest of his crew. They were asked whether they wished to continue with their expedition, to which all - some begrudgingly - agreed to sail on to the South Pole, through the great Ice Barrier before docking in the Bay of Whales on the Ross Ice Shelf. 'Ross Ice Shelf' - Upon Amundsen's arrival in the Bay of Whales, the team were greeted by the sight of the enormous ice plateau's and glaciers, towering into the Antarctic sky. In 1907, Ernest Shackleton had attempted - and failed - to reach the South Pole, but his route and mapping was by now well documented. Scott and the UK team were to follow this route, whereas Amundsen and his men forged their own way to the pole through unchartered territory and deadly terrain littered with deep crevasses and canyons. The music here though, is a picture of tranquility. The eerie silence of total emptiness with only the heavy snow falling around Amundsen as Fram and the Bay of Whales disappears into the distance, faced by the maginute of the expedition ahead. 'Advance to Polheim' - The first new challenge Amundsen discovered on this route was a rough, sharp and extremely steep glacier (which was later named the Axel heiberg Glacier after the Norwegian monarch who funded much of the expedition), which would take his team up from sea level to an altitude of over 9,000ft in just 20 miles, with most of this over just 7 miles. Once scaled, only the vast Antarctic Plateau stood between Amundsen and the pole. Here the race began, with only one aim - victory for himself, his team, and for the whole of Norway. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£29.95Boy King, The - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 3'00". DIFFICULTY: 4th+. . 'THE BOY KING' is a short concert work for brass band inspired by the life and times of the ancient Egyptian Pharoah, . Tutankhamun. It was believed he was between the ages of 8 and 9 years old when ascending to the throne of Egypt and. reigned for a decade until his premature death aged only 18 or 19. The music utilises a number of typical middle-eastern. modes and scales accompanying a heavy yet lively rhythmic pulse driven by the percussion. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£74.99Cornet Concerto No.1 - Jonathan Bates
My 'Cornet Concerto No.1' was composed for Lode Violet and Brass Band Willebroek in 2018 and features 2 movements, entitled 'Dystopia' and 'Utopia'. . The nature of the music in the opening section, 'Dystopia', is very jagged, disjointed and unsettling, as the soloist almost battles against the constant churning of the mechanical accompaniment, trying to persevere with it's own ideas and styles without being dragged into conforming to it's surroundings. The movement is based largely on the 3 note interval heard right at the outset of the piece (C, D & G#, a series of notes that lends itself so well to different modes, scales, harmonies and intervals) and this forms much of the rhythmic and harmonic structure of the opening section.Whilst this movement acts as a virtuoso feature to demonstrate the extended capabilities of both the soloist and instrument, I feel the accompanying ensemble plays an equal role in the narrative of 'dystopia', and features a number of demanding and prominent episodes for soloists within the accompanying band. A short and heavy coda concludes the movement, with a sense of real pain and sorrowfulness as the music fades away into darkness. . 'Utopia' opens in an instantly more hopeful nature, with the soloist introducing the first real 'theme' of the movement, taken up shortly by the accompaniment. Throughout this movement, there are a number of timbral and melodic references back to the darkness of 'dystopia', but transformed into a much more positive outlook and soundworld. There is a moment of quiet reflect (using the initial 3 note cell as a basis) before flying head first into a frenzied wild 'tarantella' like section, full of joy and energy which tests the dexterity and light-natured approach to virtuosity (much unlike the heavier material in the 1st movement) of the soloist. Primarily, the concept of this finale is fun - joy, happiness, and freedom from restraint, so the addition of a quirky 'tongue-in-cheek' habanera section offers a brief moment of respite from the craziness of the tarantella. To conclude the work, there is an extended cadenza for the soloist which is built on several motifs heard throughout the concerto, which leads the band into a dramatic and energetic final few bars.. Jonathan Bates. (2018). .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£29.95Nightfall in Harlem - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 5'30". DIFFICULTY: 1st+. 'Nightfall in Harlem' is a Flugel Horn solo in two short sections, each depicting a scene in the New York ditrict of Harlem, situated at the north end of Central Park. There is a heavy influence of jazz and blues throughout this solo with the opening 'Central park by night'; a moody and sleazy depiction of the bright lights of the New York skyline which engulf Central Park followed by the virtuosic 'Buskers', paying homage to the many jazz musicians who line the pavings of the park throughout the year.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£83.00
The Devil in I (Bra) - Corey Taylor & James Root - Paul Saggers
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1995 by percussionist Shawn Crahan, drummer Joey Jordison and bassist Paul Gray. Slipknot is well known for its attention-grabbing image, aggressive style of music, and energetic and chaotic live shows. The band rapidly rose to fame following the release of their eponymous debut album in 1999. "The Devil in I" is from their fifth album, The Gray Chapter. It is the second single for the album and the first to be released to radio and music channels, with the previous single "The Negative One" being a digital only single.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£133.00
Bipolarity (Bra) - Stijn Aertgeerts
In the close environment of the composer some people struggle with bipolar disorder. It's hard to imagine how hard it must be to live with those episodes, going rapidly between a state of hypomania and severe depression, or worse. With this piece I wanted to try and describe those different episodes, from a highly elevated mood into a great feeling of sadness, from euphoria to complete darkness. The piece starts off really excited, almost overexcited and a touch nervous. This mood quickly shifts into self-doubt, announced by the multiple cadenzas in cornet, euphonium, flugelhorn and trombone. Out of this follows a haunting feeling of growing sadness. Another eerie reminder of the opening shifts the mood into calmness, optimism and even for just a second complete happiness. This however fades in an instant, as you hear someone literally being dragged down by a chain. Here starts the total spiral into darkness, spinning more and more out of control to a heavy and dark conclusion.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£153.00
Bipolar (Bra) - Stijn Aertgeerts
With 'Bipolar', the composer Stijn Aertgeerts wants to try to describe the vast feelings someone suffering from bipolar disorder can go through. It's difficult to imagine how hard it must be to live with the range of emotions of bipolarity, going rapidly from a state of hypomania to severe depression, or worse. This piece of music aims to describe those episodes, from a highly elevated mood to a great feeling of sadness; from euphoria to complete darkness. The piece starts off excited, almost overexcited, as well as a touch nervous. The mood quickly shifts to one of self-doubt, introduced by the multiple cadenza's in cornet, euphonium, flugelhorn and trombone. This grows into a haunting feeling of growing sadness. We're served with another eerie reminder of the opening shifts in the mood, with calmness, optimism and - even for just a second - complete happiness. This, however, fades instantly as you hear someone literally being dragged down by a chain. A total spiral into darkness follows, spinning more and more out of control into a heavy and dark conclusion.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£101.00
Pictures From Wartime (Bra) - Stijn Aertgeerts
'Pictures From Wartime' tries to describe all aspects of the war era. In the first part, the sadness of seeing friends, family and loved ones leave to the battlefield. The despair as soon as messages of casualties come in, the pain that accompanies it, and then finish this part proudly and with beautiful memories. The connecting second part outlines the battle itself. Heavy, dangerous, do everything to survive and camaraderie between combatants. The last movement shows the evolution of more cowardly and daring war tactics, such as the use of mustard gas, the atomic bomb and all that modernization of weapons has brought us to date. All this for one purpose, peace ?!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£120.00
Rhapsody in Black (Bra) - Andi Cook
The primary inspiration for this work comes from the composer's first encounter with the genre of Symphonic Metal - the opening track of the 2004 Nightwish album 'Once', entitled Dark chest of Wonders. The combination of full orchestra, operatically trained female vocals and the raw power of a Scandinavian metal band was a potent mix that instantly had me hooked.That same dark and powerful sound is one that a brass band can generate, and I've tried to capture that in this composition. Heavy Rock/Metal as a genre is arguably fifty years old now, but symphonic metal is a newer concept, and I feel possibly the one that can bridge the gap between two musical styles very dear to me.Composer Gilbert Vinter had explored through music the connotations that different colours held for him, and his movement Purple from 'Spectrum' gave me an idea for the structure of 'Rhapsody in Black'. Andi Cook explored the different connotations of one colour within his own life, black being an easy choice due to the personal dichotomy of the black leather jacket he wore to the rock club on Friday night and the black suit jacket and tie he wore to the concert hall the next day.To avoid repetition the word 'black' is omitted from the five movement titles, each of which is a different episode. '...as Thunder' is a furious argument between two people - the top and bottom of the band - set against the backdrop of a storm, with lightning flashing outside while barbs, insults, sarcasm, tears and even violence is traded inside. Following that '...Satin and Pearls' is an old black-and-white movie with a wistful character to it as if we're looking back a screen icon with fondness long after their career or even their life has ended. '...as the Raven's Wing.' is deliberately gothic and funereal, hinting at Edgar Allen Poe's similarly named poem, with undertones of death and afterlife. The shift into F/C Minor (band pitch) represents the descent - alive - into the grave that Poe had a paranoid fear of his entire life. Family and friends standing around grieving, oblivious as we're lowered into the earth despite frantic attempts to make ourselves heard. '...and Chrome' is an unashamed motorcycle reference with all its born-to-be-wild, open air, high speed and freedom overtones. In a deliberate contrast to what went before it continues several of the same motifs though this time in the major key. Lastly, we reprise the second movement with '...as the Night Sky' which is simply the feeling of walking home under the summer stars, with someone important - who that is, is left to the listener, but a walk under the stars is always that bit special.There's an old saying that very few things are black and white. I hope this work will prove that even black alone isn't quite as simple as it's often made out....'Rhapsody in Black' is dedicated to the composer's friend and mentor John Roberts, who shares his love of both brass and rock.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£62.00#RustyOXI - Dean Jones
To crack the code of this title, there are two clues: the last two letters and Roman numerals and the first word is the names of a character. Suffice to say that there is an element of' Hollywood cool'. There is a heavy emphasis on rhythmic syncopation and a 'groove' that will need to be felt. The key is to give the notes their full length (unless stated) and maintain the concept of 'cool sophistication'. Sunglasses for everyone in the band would add to the look!
Estimated dispatch 10-14 working days
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