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£29.95Adam Zero, Suite from (Brass Band - Score only) - 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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£19.65
Adam Zero, Suite from (Brass Band - Study Score) - 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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£64.95
Adam 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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£33.35Les Chasseresses from 'Sylvia' (Brass Band) Delibes arr. Rob Bushnell
Clement Philibert Leo Delibes was a French composer, best known for his ballets and operas, including works such as Lakme (with its famous "Flower Duet"), Coppelia and Sylvia (both key works in the development of modern ballet). The latter started as a play, Aminta, by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso, which Delibes set to music. It was then adapted for the Paris Opera with rehearsals starting in August 1875. The premiere took place on 14 June 1876 and was the first ballet to be shown at the newly-built Opera Garnier. Whilst the scenery and costumes were created by top artists and designers (Cheret and Lacoste), it was Delibes's music that shown thrown, being said to have saved the production, preventing the ballet from drifting into obscurity.Sylvia is said to be one of the first modern ballets, with Tchaikovsky remarking to composer Sergei Taneyev upon its ingenuity: "... the first ballet, where the music constitutes not only the main, but the only interest. What charm, what elegance, what richness of melody, rhythm, harmony." Although Swan Lake, a contemporary to Sylvia, is considered one of the best ballets there is, Tchaikovsky preferred Sylvia to his own work, saying Swan Lake was "poor stuff in comparison". Tchaikovsky said to Taneyev, "I was ashamed. If I had known this music early then, of course, I would not have written Swan Lake". The music to Sylvia, rather than setting only the mood, also sets the action and is noted for its use of leitmotifs - Delibes was an admirer of Wagner - and more dominant use of brass and wind. The most famous piece from this ballet is the Pizzicati in the third act.Act I of the ballet takes place in sacred wood, where creatures are worshipping before Eros when Sylvia arrives with her huntresses to mock the god of love. Aminta, a lowly shepherd and infatuated with Sylvia, protects the deity and Sylvia is wounded by Eros's arrow. The hunter Orion kidnaps Sylvia, whilst Eros revives Aminta. Act II takes place in Orion's Island cave, where Sylvia tries to bribe Orion with jewels and wine. Unsuccessful, she appeals to Eros for help, who arrives and takes her to the temple of Diana (where the final act takes place). Orion and Aminta fight, Sylvia and Orion cause the goddess of the hunt, Diana, to be outraged, smiting Orion and denying the love of Aminta and Sylvia. Eros shows Diana a vision, which changes her mind and the couple finally come together.This brilliant and lively fanfare that introduces the huntresses in the first act is arranged here for the UK-style brass band, with alternative parts for horns in F and bass-clef lower brass. The piece has been lowered by a tone compared to the original. A recording of the original composition can be found here https://youtu.be/6yoGrUH38PI?si=0L0bFa1qXnYNvkR3 Duration: Approx. 3.10 minutes Difficulty Level: 1st Section + This PDF download includes the full score and parts. Includes alternative parts for soloist in Eb, horns in F and lower brass in bass clef. Sheet music available at www.brassband.co.uk (UK) or www.cimarronmusic.com (USA) Instrumentation: Soprano Cornet Eb Solo Cornet Bb Repiano Cornet Bb 2nd Cornet Bb 3rd Cornet Bb Flugel Horn Bb Solo Horn Eb 1st Horn Eb 2nd Horn Eb 1st Baritone Bb 2nd Baritone Bb 1st Trombone Bb 2nd Trombone Bb Bass Trombone Euphonium Bb Bass Eb Bass Bb Timpani Percussion - Triangle, Cymbal & Bass Drum
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£33.35E lucevan le stelle (Cornet/Euphonium Duet with Brass Band) Puccini arr.Bushnell
Tosca is an opera in three acts by the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. The opera is set in June 1800 in Rome, and tells the story of the Kingdom of Naples and the threat to its control of Rome by Napoleon's invasion of Italy. Some of Puccini's best-known arias can be found in Tosca. The opera is based on Victorien Sardou's dramatic play of the same name (La Tosca). Puccini saw the play at least twice in 1889 and begged his publisher, Giulio Ricordi, to obtain the rights to turn it into an opera, which were secured in 1891 - although Puccini relinquished the rights to Alberto Franchetti before being recommissioned in 1895. Puccini wrote "I see in this Tosca the opera I need, with no overblown proportions, no elaborate spectacle, nor will it call for the usual excessive amount of music." It took four years to write, with Puccini arguing with his librettists (Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa) and his publisher. Although the first performance was delayed by a day due to the unrest in Rome at the time, the opera was premiered on 14 January 1900 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. The critics reviews were indifferent, but it was an immediate success with the public. The opera is through-composed, with the different musical elements weaved from piece to piece. Puccini used the Wagner's leitmotif concept to identity different parts of the opera. Taken from Act 3, E lucevan le stelle is sung by Cavaradossi, a painter, who has fallen for the singer Tosca. The corrupt Chief of Police, Baron Scarpia, longs for Tosca himself and, upon suspecting Cavaradossi of helping a political prisoner escape, he takes the opportunity to get rid of Cavaradossi and blackmail Tosca into being with him. The guards lead Cavaradossi to the roof of Castel Sant'Angelo, where he is told he has 1 hour to live before being executed. He asks to write a letter to Tosca, overcome by memories, he sings E lucevan le stelle (And the stars shone). It was selected by the tenor Wynne Evans as one of the most romantic songs for his top ten arias for Classic FM. He described it as "another tenor classic, both tragic and beautiful." This arrangement (for cornet and euphonium duet with brass band) includes alternative parts for horns in F and lower brass in bass clef. A recording of the original song can be found here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAqHQMX7GHY
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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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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£34.99Submerged... (Cornet Concerto No.2) - Jonathan Bates
'Submerged..' is a virtuoso concerto for Cornet composed as a response to the 'lost' Derbyshire villages of Ashopton & Derwent,. both of which were drowned in the early 1940's to make way for a new reservoir to aid the ever-increasing water demand from nearby. Sheffield and it's steel industry during World War 2. The work is through-composed but is defined by 3 clear main sections, 'The . Packhorse Bridge, Derwent', 'Ashopton Chapel' and 'Operation Chastise'. Much of the melodic and harmonic material throughout the. concerto is inspired by 3 contrasting sources; an original motif of towering block chords which opens the concerto, the famous opening. fragment of Eric Ball's 'High Peak' (1969) which was composed as a tribute to the district of Derbyshire where Ashopton & Derwent lie, . and finally Claude Debussy's haunting 'La Cath drale Engloutie' or 'The Sunken Cathedral', which was composed in 1910 around the legend of. the submerged cathedral of Ys. . I. Packhorse Bridge, Derwent (1925). One of the most striking features of the former village of Derwent was it's Packhorse Bridge, which spanned the River Derwent. adjacent to the Derwent Hall - a grand, picturesque Jacobean country house. In 1925, the renowned impressionist artist Stanley. Royle painted a striking image of the two in midwinter, with the partially frozen river sat quietly underneath the snow-topped. bridge in the foreground, while the old hall sits peacefully and dark in the background. The opening setion of this concerto paints. this picture in a quite schizophrenic manner; with frosty, shrill march-like material picturing the villagers crossing the narrow icy. bridge, combined with wild and frenzied waltz music of the grand hall and it's masquerade balls laying, for now, quietly mysterious. across the river. . II. Ashopton Chapel (1939). Ashopton was much the smaller and less-populated of the 2 'lost' villages, but still bore home to a Roman Catholic Chapel which was. the focal point of the village. The chapel - along with the rest of Ashopton - was drowned in 1943, but the final service to take place there. was held in 1939, with the final hymn being 'Day's Dying in the West'. This hymn forms a haunting coda to the 2nd section, with firstly the . piano leading the melody before an audio track containing an old recording of the hymn is accompanied by the sound of flowing water and . the rumble of storms as the village hypothetically disappears from existence with the hymn tune still echoing around the valley, before . subsiding into the growing roar of the engine of a Lancaster Bomber as it soars overhead towards Derwent to practise it's 'Dam-Buster' raid. . III. Operation Chastise (1943). The Derwent Reservoir lies adjacent to Ladybower Reservoir (of which Ashopton & Derwent were flooded to make way for) in the . Derbyshire High Peak, and during the 2nd World War was used as one of the central low-atitude practise areas of the 617 Squadron - more . commonly known affectionately as the 'Dambusters'. Before the destruction of Derwent, it's 'Packhorse Bridge' was dismantled stone by stone . and re-assembled upstream at Howden Dam to the north end of Derwent Reservoir. This is where the music begins, with a reconstruction of . the opening material before taking flight into a whirlwind tour of virtuosity from the soloist. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 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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£98.00KirkFeld (Trombone Solo with Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Kirkhope, Grant - McKenzie, Jock
Written for Ian Bousfield and the International Trombone Festival 2017. Grant Kirkhope is a BAFTA nominated British composer who has created the soundtrack for video games that have sold in excess of 30 million copies. From "GoldenEye" to "Banjo-Kazooie", "Viva Pi?ata" to "Donkey Kong", "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning" to "Civilization: Beyond Earth" and "Perfect Dark" to "Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse". He has also recently scored the feature film "The King's Daughter" starring Pierce Brosnan and William Hurt and is currently working on "Yooka Laylee" and "Dropzone". Grant's score for "Viva Pi?ata" was nominated by BAFTA in the Original Score category in its 2007 awards. Grant is represented by the prestigious Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency by Cheryl Tiano and Kevin Korn. Grant has a degree in music from the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, where he majored in classical trumpet, is a green card holder and now lives in Agoura Hills, LA with his wife and two children. "Ian and I first met when we were around 15 years old. We both played in our county orchestra, the North Yorkshire Schools Symphony Orchestra (I was a trumpet player). I think we hit it off straight away, as we were definitely a couple of cheeky kids, if you know what I mean! We both ended up playing in Rowntree Mackintosh Brass Band for a while too which Ian's Dad, Trevor conducted. We bumped into each other again when we both went for the Shell/LSO Scholarship. I got to the area finals in Manchester so I was pretty pleased with myself but then I saw Ian and I knew it was all over! Of course Ian went on to win and the rest is history. I saw him again when I was attending the Royal Northern College of Music around 1983 by which time Ian had just got the principal chair at the Halle Orchestra. Then I guess 30 something years went by as we both went about our lives and lost touch. We re-kindled our friendship due to his wife really. She emailed me to say it was Ian's 50th birthday and she was collecting stories from all his friends over the years. After that we got back in touch and then one day on Facebook I got a message from him in typical dry Yorkshire fashion "now then Grant, I had a listen to your music and I think it's good, how about writing a piece for me ?" I was a little bit unsure at first but of course I loved Ian's playing and of course I said yes. Over a Skype call in 2016, he asked me what I thought I'd write. I said since I live in LA I'd like to write a "Hollywood" trombone piece. Imagine if John Williams had written a piece for solo trombone, that's what I'd like to write - well I'd certainly like to try" - Grant Kirkhope
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£80.00The Unfortunate Traveller (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Holst, Imogen - Hindmarsh, Paul
Imogen Holst (1907-1984) submitted The Unfortunate Traveller (1929) as her final work as a student portfolio at the Royal College of Music, where her composition teacher was Gordon Jacob. The title was taken from Thomas Nashe's famous 1594 picaresque novel of the same title. The Suite was first performed on 12 February 1933 at her Majesty's Theatre, Carlisle, by the St. Stephen's Band, with the composer conducting. Te concert was given in memory of Holst's uncle, Dr. H.A. Lediard. Holst had been impressed with the band's performance of his A Moorside Suite at the 1928 National Brass Band Championships (The Crystal Palace, South London) and was keen to work with them. Writing in Imogen Holst, a life in music, Christopher Grogan indicates that it was Gustav Holst's suggestion to include his daughter's work in the programme, quoting Imogen Holst's remarks made in interview to The Daily Mail as follows: "....it is the first time, so far as I know, that a woman has conducted a brass band at a public concert....It has been a delight to rehearse the St. Stephen's Band. It was their performance at the Crystal Palace Festival that inspired me to write this Suite, which I have dedicated to them."Imogen Holst accompanied her father to the Crystal Palace in 1928 to hear the performances of A Moorside Suite, and was so excited by the played and, audibly, by her father's music that she decided to write a brass band piece for her final examination. Te result was The Unfortunate Traveller (1929). However, it was not possible for her to present a brass band work for examination. She arranged it for string orchestra so that it could be played before she left the RCM in July 1930. Following the premiere of the original in 1933, the manuscripts did not resurface until 1969 Imogen found them among her late mother's effects. Although she requested score and parts be destroyed, they ended up in the possession of Manchester composer John Golland, who marked up the score presumably with the intention of creating a new performing edition. The original scoring reveals a lack of experience with what can be a tricky medium.With the agreement of the Holst Foundation, a revised edition, with additional percussion, was prepared in 2011 since when the work has been fortunate to travel round the world as a concert and contest piece. The original includes drums in the March only. The title was taken from Tomas Nashe's famous 1594 picaresque novel of the same title. Several Morris Dance tunes are introduced during the course of the four short movements, including Bonnie Green Garters, Shepherd's Hey, The Rose and The Wind Blaws Cauld. Quirky twists and turns of harmony and spirited rhythms that remind us how much Imogen Holst loved tradition English dance music.In September 2025, I made a performing edition of the composer's arrangement for string orchestra. The manuscript lacks the final movement, which I arranged in a similar style, ie. without extending the upper ranges. Making this edition raised some issues regarding the accuracy of my band version and some of the solutions I used to smooth out the voicing. I have used the composer's second thoughts to refine my performing edition and to correct a textual errors.- Paul HindmarshDuration: 10.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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