Results
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£164.99Music of the Spheres (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Music of the Spheres was commissioned by the Yorkshire Building Society Band and first performed by them at the European Brass Band Championships in Glasgow, May 2004. The piece reflects the composers fascination with the origins of the universe and deep space in general. The title comes from a theory, formulated by Pythagoras, that the cosmos was ruled by the same laws he had discovered that govern the ratios of note frequencies of the musical scale. ('Harmonia' in Ancient Greek, which means scale or tuning rather than harmony - Greek music was monophonic). He also believed that these ratios corresponded to the distances of the six known planets from the sun and thatthe planets each produced a musical note which combined to weave a continuous heavenly melody (which, unfortunately, we humans cannot hear). In this work, these six notes form the basis of the sections Music of the Spheres and Harmonia. The pieces opens with a horn solo called t = 0, a name given by some scientists to the moment of the Big Bang when time and space were created, and this is followed by a depiction of the Big Bang itself, as the entire universe bursts out from a single point. A slower section follows called The Lonely Planet which is a meditation on the incredible and unlikely set of circumstances which led to the creation of the Earth as a planet that can support life, and the constant search for other civilisations elsewhere in the universe. Asteroids and Shooting Stars depicts both the benign and dangerous objects that are flying through space and which constantly threaten our planet, and the piece ends with The Unknown, leaving in question whether our continually expanding exploration of the universe will eventually lead to enlightenment or destruction.Duration: 18:00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95The Puffing Devil (Vocal Solo)
For Children's Choir and Brass BandThe Puffing Devil (2013) was commissioned by Camborne Trevithick Day Committee on the occasion of Camborne's 30th Trevithick Day celebration. The premiere performance of the work, written for brass band and children's choir, saw a massed performance by six brass bands and children from nine local schools. With the intention of being an educational work as well as a musical work, The Puffing Devil reflects the story of Richard Trevithick both in the lyrics and the musical material. A mysterious opening sees running semiquavers in the euphoniums as the flugel horn introduces the work with a solo, before the entry of the horns playing rhythmic quavers. The addition of the voices at the outset is for effect - working with the instruments to create the sound of a steam engine gathering pace simply to the words 'Trevithick'. Once a steady tempo is reached, themes are introduced and sung by the choir, where the vocal writing is a very simple singular-melody; easy for any primary school aged children to learn. An ending of grandeur in a majestic nature is presented, to create a big finish to a feel-good educational work.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£99.95Malcolm Arnold Variations (Score and Parts)
MALCOLM ARNOLD VARIATIONS was commissioned by Philip Biggs and Richard Franklin for the 20th All England Masters International Brass Band Championship held in the Corn Exchange, Cambridge on 25 May 2008. The work is dedicated to Anthony Day, long time carer of Sir Malcolm Arnold in his final years. I first met Malcolm and Anthony in 1990 and remained in constant touch until Malcolm's passing in 2006. Anthony, of course, remains a friend and plays his own role subliminally in this piece. The work is not based on any of Malcolm Arnold's own themes, rather it is a portrait of him (and by association Anthony Day) through my eyes and as a result of my friendship with both parties over some 18 years. If there is any theme as such it is the personalities of the players, the protagonist and his carer placed together by my own efforts coloured and influenced by aspects of Arnold's style and technique without recourse to direct quotation but through allusion and parody. It is of course designed as a brass band test piece but in my eyes is first and foremost a musical challenge. The pyrotechnical elements are there but always secondary to the musical thrust of the work's structure. I have long beforehand submerged myself in Malcolm Arnold's music and ultimately delivered this tribute. Music Directors will be advised to acquaint themselves with the composer's personal music, particularly the film scores, symphonies, concertos and ballets: the solutions towards a successful interpretation of my piece are all in there - and YES, I want, and sanction, this piece to be interpreted, and therein lies the challenge for those of you 'up front'! The challenge for players is that of virtuosity, ensemble and careful attention to where they are individually in relation to their colleagues - a question of balance, taste and insight. With regard to tempi, as is my usual custom, I have indicated all metronome marks with the prefix circa. I would suggest that the fast music is played at these tempos but that the more rubato moments can be allowed some freedom in expression and fluidity of line. With regard to the type of mutes to be employed - this decision I leave to the discretion of players and conductors. Structurally the work is cast as an Introduction, 20 Variations and a Finale. Some variations are self contained, others run into each other as sequences in the same tempo. In other variations, segments are repeated and developed. I could describe the overall concept as a miniature ballet or a condensed film score - there is much drama and character and the repeated elements assist this in driving the action forward. I have deliberately avoided the more extremely dark qualities of Malcolm's own music in this, my celebration of this master-composer, as I have always viewed (and evidenced by my previous Masters scores Tristan Encounters and Chivalry) that the Cambridge contest is a 'sunshine- affair' and firmly believe that Malcolm Arnold would have had it no other way too!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£49.95Malcolm Arnold Variations (Score Only)
MALCOLM ARNOLD VARIATIONS was commissioned by Philip Biggs and Richard Franklin for the 20th All England Masters International Brass Band Championship held in the Corn Exchange, Cambridge on 25 May 2008. The work is dedicated to Anthony Day, long time carer of Sir Malcolm Arnold in his final years. I first met Malcolm and Anthony in 1990 and remained in constant touch until Malcolm's passing in 2006. Anthony, of course, remains a friend and plays his own role subliminally in this piece. The work is not based on any of Malcolm Arnold's own themes, rather it is a portrait of him (and by association Anthony Day) through my eyes and as a result of my friendship with both parties over some 18 years. If there is any theme as such it is the personalities of the players, the protagonist and his carer placed together by my own efforts coloured and influenced by aspects of Arnold's style and technique without recourse to direct quotation but through allusion and parody. It is of course designed as a brass band test piece but in my eyes is first and foremost a musical challenge. The pyrotechnical elements are there but always secondary to the musical thrust of the work's structure. I have long beforehand submerged myself in Malcolm Arnold's music and ultimately delivered this tribute. Music Directors will be advised to acquaint themselves with the composer's personal music, particularly the film scores, symphonies, concertos and ballets: the solutions towards a successful interpretation of my piece are all in there - and YES, I want, and sanction, this piece to be interpreted, and therein lies the challenge for those of you 'up front'! The challenge for players is that of virtuosity, ensemble and careful attention to where they are individually in relation to their colleagues - a question of balance, taste and insight. With regard to tempi, as is my usual custom, I have indicated all metronome marks with the prefix circa. I would suggest that the fast music is played at these tempos but that the more rubato moments can be allowed some freedom in expression and fluidity of line. With regard to the type of mutes to be employed - this decision I leave to the discretion of players and conductors. Structurally the work is cast as an Introduction, 20 Variations and a Finale. Some variations are self contained, others run into each other as sequences in the same tempo. In other variations, segments are repeated and developed. I could describe the overall concept as a miniature ballet or a condensed film score - there is much drama and character and the repeated elements assist this in driving the action forward. I have deliberately avoided the more extremely dark qualities of Malcolm's own music in this, my celebration of this master-composer, as I have always viewed (and evidenced by my previous Masters scores Tristan Encounters and Chivalry) that the Cambridge contest is a 'sunshine- affair' and firmly believe that Malcolm Arnold would have had it no other way too!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£27.50The Man I Love
Gershwin's gifts are now happily recognised by everyone across the musical spectrum. He entices the arranger with all kinds of opportunities to play with musical colour and tonality.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£32.50Vienna Nights (Score Only)
The City of Vienna stands at one of the historic crossroads of the world, linking east and west and embracing artistic influences from all sides. In the 250th anniversary year of Mozart's birth, this fantasy on Mozart's celebrated Piano Sonata in A (K331), has been composed true to the form and content of the original, but also to the underlying substance of the conception.One of Mozart's distinguishing features, and one that links him to later music by Beethoven, Schubert, Mahler and Schoenberg, is the breadth of his musical vision. His music links intellectual rigour with ecstatic utterance and darker preoccupations. It is, perhaps, this shadow-laden side of his musical nature which gives his work a profundity often absent in the work of his contemporaries. Admirers of his Requiem Mass or the Statue music in Don Giovanni will recognise that it is this extra sense of reality which makes Mozart so relevant to the modern age, and where he may link hands with the other great Viennese thinkers such as Berg, Webern and Adorno.The composer follows the three movement plan of the Sonata closely. The original begins with a Theme and Variations which is freely quoted. His Minuet is mirrored in the Recitative and Notturno, where each section of the band lays down a metaphoric rose to his memory. Famously, the sonata ends in populistic style with a Turkish Rondo. Ever since the Hapsburg-Ottoman Wars, which came to an end in the seventeenth century, Viennese composers have included Turkish elements in their music, not least in the use of certain percussion instruments. Vienna Nights is thusly a homage.It celebrates the world's greatest composer, but also the city which fostered his work. Here, in your imagination, you might easily conjure up a caf table near the Opera House, where Mozart, Mahler and Sigmund Freud, observed by us all from a discreet distance, may meet as old friends.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£124.95Dynasty - Peter Graham
'Dynasty' was a joint commission for the 2019 British Open and Belgium Championships, and pays homage to the iconic figure of Harry Mortimer through a series of linked narrative passages using his autobiography as a musical point of reference.First heard to widespread acclaim at Symphony Hall, the work will make its European contest premiere at the Belgian National Championships later this year.
Estimated dispatch 3-7 working days
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£65.00AN ELGAR PORTRAIT - D.Price
This work was composed in commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the birth English Composer Sir Edward Elgar. The suite is in three movements: 'Introduction', 'Elegy' and 'March', each of which have been inspired by three of Elgar's most celebrated works; Chanson de Matin, Nimrod ('Variation IX' from the Enigma Variations) and Pomp and Circumstance No.1.'Introduction' - Hollybush HillHollybush Hill is the name of one of the peaks of the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire. The Malverns were a favourite walking area for Elgar and his wife, and their panoramic views inspired much of Elgar's music.'Elegy' - BroadheathBroadheath is the small village at the foot of the Malvern Hills where Elgar was born (and lived at various times throughout his life). Elgar is buried not far from Broadheath at St Wulstan's in Little Malvern. 'March' - Worcester CathedralMany of the Worcestershire ensembles and music festivals played an important role in Elgar's early musical education. He was heavily involved in The Three Choirs Festival and either conducted or played in many of the light orchestras and vocal groups that performed at venues across Worcester. A statue of Elgar overlooks the Cathedral at the end of Worcester High Street.An Elgar Portrait has been used regularly as an own-choice test-piece for Section 4 bands, and was also selected as the set work for the Swiss National Championships in 2007 as well as the Pontins Championships in 2008. The composer has slightly reworked this piece for the Section 4 Final of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2020 and it's this version that should be performed at the contest. If bands currently have an older version in their libraries, please contact us directly for more information.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£89.95In Many Lands - The Adventures of Mary Seacole - Paul Saggers
In Many Lands - The Adventures of Mary Seacole was commissioned by The Royal Marines Band Service for The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain. The first performance of the piece was on 16 April 2022 in Huddersfield Town Hall to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the NYBBGB. It was next performed in Birmingham Town Hall (on 28 April 2022) at a joint charity concert of the NYBBGB and The Band of Her Majestyas Royal Marines, Collingwood, for the European Brass Band Association Prelude Concert. The work is a musical account of the life of Mary Seacole who was a British-Jamaican nurse and businesswoman who set up the "British Hotel" behind the lines during the Crimean War. The work takes inspiration from Seacoleas biography Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands. The work is divided into three movements:
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£49.95Vivaldi's mission to Saturn on a dog named Bongo for Brass Band - Paul Saggers
Using material from Antonio VivaldiasThe Four Seasons, this programmatic work depicts the following story:The year is 2024, Earth has been invaded by a group of evil organists called aThe Buxtehudariansa, wiping out most of mankind. However, a secret group of highly intelligent dogs have defrosted the composer Antonio Vivaldi who was cryogenically frozen by the Vatican society of music for obedient dogs. Their chief dog leader aBongoa who over years of listening to the music of Vivaldi has gained the ability to fly, is set to undertake a mission to Saturn to obtain the golden Bassoon with which to defeat the tyrannical Buxtehuderians. With Vivaldi firmly mounted on Bongo they take off, entering full dog overdrive and breaking through the many satellites and second-hand saxophones that surround the earths atmosphere. As they fly through space, Vivaldi sadly gets distracted by a drunken trombonist and becomes separated from Bongo. Bongo now summons his musical ability to perform Vivaldias second movement of Spring from the Four Seasons on a glockenspiel stored at the international space station, enticing Antonio back on their mission. They finally arrive at Saturn and swiftly grab the golden Bassoon, returning to Earth with a thump. Their mission is complete! But can they defeat those pesky organists?Time will tell...Duration: 7a30Difficulty: 5.5/6
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