Results
-
£124.95Hyperlink - Peter Graham
Hyperlink was commissioned by the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain (funded by Arts Council England and the Department for Education) for its 70th Anniversary Year. Since the anniversary coincided with other significant celebrations in 2022 (including the Royal Albert Hall/Ralph Vaughan Williams 150th and the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II) it was requested that these also be recognised in some way.
Where better to begin this challenging brief but with a computer search for the NYBBGB founder Dr Denis Wright (coincidently born in Kensington, home of the RAH). The subsequent rabbit warren of hyperlinks led me to structure the work through a series of "associations":
Movement I - The Voice of Jupiter.
Alongside the discovery that Denis Wright had been a church organist was the realisation that while the RAH has hosted thousands of musical events the fabric of the building actually incorporates a musical instrument, the famous Henry Wills organ (aka The Voice of Jupiter).Organ and J S Bach are synonymous (e.g. Toccata in D min) and so both become fundamental to the content of the movement. An opening 7 note quote from the Toccata leads to a mammoth sound cluster, as if every note on the huge RAH organ is sustained. The material which follows is based upon the notes BACH (in German notation). The notes are manipulated in various ways in a 12 tone matrix; reversed, inverted and so on. Other techniques employed in the movement are ones of which Bach was master, including ground bass and fugue.
Movement II - Remember Me.
The lives of Salvationist composer Ray Steadman-Allen (born 1922) and Ralph Vaughan Williams are remembered here, with "RSA" in musical notation and fragments of RVWs famous Tuba Concerto providing the source material.While writing the movement my father passed away and to close his funeral service the family chose the uplifting Robert Lowry hymn They'll sing a welcome home. It seemed fitting to conclude the movement with a reflective setting of the chorus, the repeated phrase "Welcome, welcome home" eventually disappearing into the ether.
Movement III - Vivat.
The finale takes the form of a short fantasy upon Hubert Parry's marvellous coronation anthem I Was Glad, truly a celebratory note with which to conclude.The first performance of Hyperlink was given by the NYBBGB conducted by Martyn Brabbins at the Royal College of Music, London on August 6th 2022.
Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
-
£69.00Bella Ciao - Manu Pilas - Jan van Kraeydonck
Bella Ciao is an Italian battle song, which became popular in Italy during World War II among partisans resisting fascism and national socialism. The song became a global resistance song against oppressive powers. In 2018, the song became known again through the Spanish Netflix series La Casa de Papel, in which the song was used multiple times. Jan van Kraeydonck wrote a skillful arrangement for concert band, fanfare and brass band.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
-
£115.60Norge i rodt, hvitt og blatt - Lars-Erik Larsson - Petter S. Kragstad
Norge i rodt, hvitt og blatt ("Norway in Red, White and Blue") was commissioned by the Oslo Fagott Choir (yes, that is indeed a gay men's choir) for a concert with The Staff Band of the Armed Forces in 2015. I was given artistic licence to write a more modern and somewhat 'eclectic' arrangement for this originally Swedish melody written by Lars-Erik Larsson, which became something of a national liberation anthem when Nazi occupation ended in May 1945 - then with new lyrics by Finn Bo, Bias Bernhoft and Arild Feldborg.After the premiere in Oslo, and a music video with Oslo Fagott Choir and The Staff Band, broadcasted by Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) on Constitution Day during coronavirus lockdown in 2020, I was approached by many to write an instrumental version of the arrangement for concert band. This version is now available through Norsk Noteservice. Reid Gilje has made this instrumentation for Brass Band.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
-
£55.00Shelter Island. - Nigel Hess
Shelter Island is a small island situated near the end of Long Island, a few hours drive east of New York. In the summer it becomes a crowded tourist trap but in the winter it is gloriously deserted, and bravely facesthe onslaught of the turbulent Atlantic, shrouded in sea mists and driving rain. This brass band transcription, by Phillip Littlemore, is of the first movement of East Coast Pictures, originally written for wind band, and wascommissioned in 1985 by the British Youth Wind Orchestra with funds from National Westminster Bank plc. These three short 'pictures' were inspired by several visits by the composer to a small part of theUSA'sEast Coast, an area that provides great extremes in the geography and the people.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
-
£75.00Fanfares and Love Songs - Gavin Higgins
Fanfares and Love Songs was commissioned by the National Children's Brass Band of Great Britain for performance on 25th July 2009. Its three movements contrast the extrovert and lyrical qualities of thetraditional brass band. The fanfare with which the work opens involves the whole cornet section. The second movement is reflective in mood, beginning somewhat pensively on muted brass, and building to an emotional climax beforesubsiding back to a distant pianissimo chord. The finale is a fast dance, which with a final recapitulation of the opening fanfare drives on to a breathless close. Brass Band Grade 4: Advanced Youth and 3rdSectionDuration: 12 minutes
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
-
£154.60Selection Robert Le Diable - Giacomo Meyerbeer - Ray Farr
This Selection from Giacomo Meyerbeers opera Robert le Diable was arranged by James Smyth. Enderby Jackson commissioned the arrangement which was used as the test piece for the third National Brass Band Contest held at the Crystal Palace, London in 1862.The purpose of this scholarly edition is to produce a performing version, clearing ambiguities and errors, that can be enjoyed by today's performers and listeners, bearing in mind the original function and context. At the same time the edition is an analytical, musicological study of one of the rare treasures of the brass band repertory.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
-
£94.95Of Men and Mountains - Edward Gregson
Of Men and Mountains was commissioned by the Netherlands Brass Band Championships for their tenth anniversary contest in Drachten in December 1990. In July the previous year, Edward Gregson and his wife took the Trans Canadian Railway from Toronto to Vancouver. The journey through the Rocky Mountains was the starting point for Of Men and Mountains. Gregson writes that: 'its high peaks and shafts of sunlight breaking through the clouds, its canyons and ferocious rapids made me understand a little more about the majesty of nature and the fragility of humanity. The eternal struggle between man and nature was personified in the building of this incredible railway... hence my title (after Blake).' The work is dedicated to the memory of Eric Ball, who died shortly before the writing of the work was commenced. Of Men and Mountains is in one continuous movement with a duration of approximately 17 minutes. Its form is difficult to describe because of its motivic and accumulative nature, but it is essentially a symphonic tone poem in search of a theme, which eventually comes in its final and complete state in the majestic ending after an ever-increasing paced scherzo. Of Men and Mountains has been selected as the test pieces for the 2023 National Brass Championships of Great Britain at the Albert Hall.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
-
£119.99
Albion - Jan Van der Roost
Albion was commissioned by the Swiss Brass Band Federation as the test piece for the National Brass Band Championships of England, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Switzerland in 2001, and for Norway in 2002. The composition is dedicated to Markus Bach.Albion, along with Excalibur and Stonehenge, is the third major piece for brass band in which Jan Van der Roost took his inspiration from the British Middle Ages. Although the work is not based on an actual story there are unmistakable epic elements found in this symphonic poem. The piece paints a picture of the conquest of Albion (the earliest known name of the British Island), in which the listener is taken back to the timeof King Arthur and his legendary Knights of the Round Table.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
-
£119.99Delta Energy - Jan Bosveld
The assignment to write a test piece for the National Brass Band Championships ended up also being a 'test piece' for myself as a composer. Although being quite familiar with the Brass Band phenomenon, as a composer I still have the feeling ofbeing an outsider. Delta Energy turned out to be a non-program composition. The Brass Band as orchestra form is depicted musically in this piece. All the specific characteristics are portrayed in varying settings. Solo passages for Euphonium,Flugelhorn and Cornet alternating with extensive tutti-passages and of course technical highlights form the ingredients for this work written in rhapsodic form. The title "Delta Energy" is derived from a project of the N.V. NederlandseGasunie in Groningen which also contributed in making this composition possible.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
-
£76.99Ever so samba - Peter Martin
The rhythm of the samba was originally created in Africa and brought to Brazil by the slaves . Here it became the national dance. For every festive occasion and especially the carnival festivities (Rio de Janeiro) samba music is played. The World's Fair in New York (1939) was the reason to the biggest spread of the samba. The cornet section gets an opportunity to feature in Ever so Samba. Together with the swinging percussion section they let you enjoy a South American party.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
View Music