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£30.00Janacek's 'Taras Bulba' - Janacek
Comments from Tim Paton, the arranger of Janacek's 'Taras Bulba': "I will never forget the day in 1967 when I was introduced to the music of Leos Janacek, a Czech composer born in 1854, who died in 1928. Janacek was little known in Britain until the 1960's, when the conductor Charles Macherras introduced his unique music. I heard a recording of Macherras conducting the Pro Arte Orchestra in a performance of Janacek's "Sinfonietta".It was in 1969 that I first heard Janacek's Symphonic Rhapsody, "Taras Bulba".Janacek's music is exciting, powerful, emotive, impassioned and unpredictable.I have taken the first and third movements of this piece, and adapted them for Brass Band, which was at times extremely difficult, but rewarding. It sometimes took up to an hour to be satisfied that a mere several bars had been reproduced to convey the composer's intentions.The Death of AndriThe Cossaks, under the leadership of Taras Bulba, are fighting against the Poles in the 17th century. Taras's son Andri seeks to rescue his love, a Polish princess, from a city which is being besieged by the Cossaks. Having found her, he throws in his lot with the Poles, but is finally captured by his father, who executes him as a traitor before riding off again to battle.Prophesy and Death of Taras BulbaTaras himself is finally captured and condemned to be nailed to a tree and burned alive. As the flames creep around him, Taras has the satisfaction of seeing histroops escape, and as he dies, sees a vision of his country freed at last.This is incredibly descriptive music. The mood is constantly changing, creating feelings of love and anger, celebration and melancholy, despair and triumph.This Brass Band EditionThe duration of the original symphonic rhapsody, three movements, is approximately 23 minutes. I chose the first and third movements, so the Brass Band edition is approximately 14 minutes. The main reason is twofold: Being realistic about the demands this music would place on the stamina of the brass player; Keeping the piece less than 15 minutes, so that, if desired, it could be used on the contest platform.Two unique qualities of Janacek's music had to be taken into account when preparing this brass band version. His compositional technique was individual, at times not sticking to traditional expectations, in both form and orchestration. I imagined what the genius himself would have said looking at my work, and how to tackle a particular section to emulate his original intentions. This was particularly the case when dealing with high woodwind and violin parts, the use of tremolo in string parts, and the orchestral harp.Percussion: Janacek included timpani, side drum, cymbals, triangle and tubular bells. For reasons stated previously, I have also included xylophone and glockenspiel. I have also added the gong in a couple of places to enhance the dramatic effect of the music.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£20.00
Xmas Ditty - Tim Paton
Seasonal 'fun' for the band, (and the audience of course).Robert Childs commented:It begins with yet another rendition of Jingle Bells, "Wait a minute though, is someone out of tune somewhere? Who is that who some of the band are shouting at? Why am I thinking of Les Dawson? ... Back to the music - it's Good King Wenceslas, how did Rule Britannia get in there? ... and I'm sure that was the end of God Save the Queen".After an unadulterated version of O Come, all ye faithful, the final section features Jingle Bells and Good King Wenceslas claiming the last spot together.The piece ends with the well known 'AMEN' cadence - but there's still a little surprise on the last chord! "..is subtitled 'seasonal fun for band and audience', and it certainly is just that!"
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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Bad Moon Rising - John Fogerty - Len Jenkins
"Bad Moon Rising" is a song written by John Fogerty and performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was the lead single from their album Green River and was released in April 1969, four months before the album. It reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in September 1969 and has been recorded by at least 20 different artists, in styles ranging from folk to reggae to psychedelic rock. The last line of the chorus, "there's a bad moon on the rise", is sometimes misheard as "there's a bathroom on the right" and Fogerty occasionally sings the misheard lyric in concert. The song has become notably popular in Argentina as a football chant and in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, a modified version, titled "Brasil, decime que se siente" ("Brazil, Tell Me How It Feels") was sung with Spanish lyrics that taunted Brazil, their traditional rival. It went viral and became very popular (in Argentina).
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I'm The Urban Spaceman - Neil Innes - Len Jenkins
Made famous by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, "I'm the Urban Spaceman" was written by Neil Innes who won an Ivor Novello Award in 1968 for the song. The record which was released in the same year and went to No5 in the hit-parade, was produced by Sir Paul McCartney and Gus Dudgeon. It has been used to accompany various humorous sketches including one by Monty Python, and lends itself to anarchic behaviour by the band. A jolly piece which we leave to your imagination as to how you present it......
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£48.95A Christmas Suite (Score and Parts) - Stephen Bulla
The three-movement suite begins with the jaunty Wassail Song. The second movement is a wonderful version of Lo, how a rose e're blooming while the final movement is a bustling Pot-pourri with hints of several Christmas favourites. This new edition features a freshly engraved A4 size full score and parts and is compatible with the first edition.
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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