Results
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£91.99A Bandsman's Overture - Philip Sparke
A Bandsman's Overture was commissioned by British Bandsman magazine to celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2012.It was premiered by Black Dyke Band, conducted by Dr Nicholas Childs, at a special anniversary concert held in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, on July 1st.British Bandsman was for a period known as British Bandsman and Contest Field, following an amalgamation of two magazines. The then owner, John Henry Iles, celebrated this new title by commissioning Ord Hume to write the famous march, BB & CF. As a salute to this heritage A Bandsman's Overture starts with thefour notes, B(b)-B(b)-C-F, a motive which permeates an opening fanfare, which contrasts a busy opening with a more legato central section.This gives way to a bustling Vivo, based on repeated staccato notes. A change of key heralds a central cantabile melody, first on euphoniums and baritone and then played by the full band, which is followed by a short development section. This leads to a transformed reprise and a return of the opening fanfare, decorated this time by florid muted cornets.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£106.99Three Extraordinary Journeys - Philip Sparke
Three Extraordinary Journeys was commissioned to mark the centenary of the death of the famous author Jules Verne. Based on three novels from his Voyages Extraordinaires series of travel stories, the music aims to capture the excitement and adventure of these famous books. A fantastic new major concert or 'own choice' contest piece.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£29.95
The Land of the Long White Cloud (Score Only)
Dating from 1979, The Land of the Long White Cloud (Aotearoa) was Philip Sparke's first test-piece. It was commissioned by the New Zealand Brass Band Association for their 1980 National Championships (their centenary year) and set for the European Brass Band Championships, the same year, at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Aotearoa was the name given to New Zealand by its Polynesian settlers whose first sight of the islands was a long, flat cloud lying low over the land. The work has no specific programme although many have seen pictures of the surging ocean in the opening bars. A faster dance-like section leads to a slow, haunting solo for soprano cornet; this is taken up by the whole band before earlier material returns. The dance-like tune is, this time, given a fugal treatment and the opening bars return to close the work.Philip Sparke was born in London and studied composition, trumpet and piano at the Royal College of Music, where he gained an ARCM. It was at the College that his interest in bands arose. He played in the College wind orchestra and also formed a brass band among the students, writing several works for both ensembles.At that time, his first published works appeared - Concert Prelude (brass band) and Gaudium (wind band). A growing interest in his music led to several commissions, his first major one being this featured piece for the Centennial Brass Band Championships in New Zealand - The Land of the Long White Cloud. He has written for brass band championships in New Zealand, Switzerland, Holland, Australia and the UK, including three times for the National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall.In September 2000, he was awarded the Iles Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians for his services to brass bands and in 2005 Music of the Spheres won the National Band Association/William D. Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest. In 2011, he received the BUMA International Brass Award for his contribution to brass music.His conducting and adjudicating activities have taken him to most European countries, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Canada and the USA. In May 2000, he took the major step of becoming a full-time composer by founding his own publishing company, Anglo Music Press. The company is devoted to publishing his brass band, concert band, fanfare band and instrumental publications as well as recordings dedicated to his latest works.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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It's Alright - Mike Moran - Len Jenkins
"It's Alright", the theme song for the BBC TV series New Tricks, was written by Mike Moran, whose credits also include composing the song "Barcelona" for Freddy Mercury, the theme to the UK crime series 'Taggart' and the Lynsey de Paul entry to the Eurovision Song Contest. As a producer, he has worked on The Queen Album and Elaine Paige's Piaf. New Tricks follows New Scotland Yard's mythical Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad, which is staffed by retired police officers who have been recruited to look into unsolved crimes, including murders. Whilst this particular squad is fictitious, the concept is based firmly on fact. Although New Tricks does have serious plots, the series also contains a fair amount of humour, usually revolving around in-house banter, and the lyrics to Mike Moran's song does it justice. Dennis Waterman, who played Gerry Standing, one of the team, was the obvious choice of vocalist, although the song was never released commercially. Sadly Dennis died in May 2022.
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£29.95
Rhapsody in Brass (Score Only)
Rhapsody in Brass is in three movements and was written for the British Open Championships in 1949, held at Belle Vue in Manchester. The contest winners were Fairey Aviation Works Band under the baton of Harry Mortimer. Eric Ball came second with Ransome & Marles and Stanley Boddington 3rd with Munn and Felton Band. Rhapsody in Brass had the unusual distinction of being written as a test piece by a Salvation Army composer. Eric Ball's Resurgam was the only other piece to achieve that dual personality in that era.Dean Goffin was born in 1916 in Wellington, New Zealand, son of Henry Goffin, a Salvation Army officer and composer. At 19 he was appointed Bandmaster of the Wellington South Band and when World War II started, he enlisted in the New Zealand Armed Forces where he became Bandmaster of the 20th Infantry Battalion and later the 4th Brigade Band. During the time he served with them in the Middle East and Europe, he composed and arranged numerous pieces among which Rhapsody in Brass and the march Bel Hamid, later adapted for Salvation Army use and renamed Anthem of the Free.After the war, Dean kept on composing and his work was featured by the Wellington South Band. Later he transferred to Timaru for another job and became Bandmaster there. He was studying music at the time and as he wanted to take part in a competition for devotional selections for Salvation Army use, he sent some of his compositions to the International Headquarters. When Rhapsody for Brass was chosen as the test-piece for the British Open Championships, people at the Salvation Army started asking questions about the lack of publications of his work. It was discovered that the pieces submitted for the competition didn't meet the exact criteria. Among these pieces was one of his most appealing works The Light of the World which was published a year later, in 1950, the same year as he completed his Bachelor of Music studies at Otagu University.After entering the Salvation Army Training College in Wellington with his wife, Marjorie, Dean was in 1956 appointed National Bandmaster in the British Territory. Later he became National Secretary for Bands and Songster Brigades and in this period he organised the yearly festival in the Royal Albert Hall and was responsible for the national music schools in the UK. Dean returned to his home country in 1966 and to mark the centenary of the Salvation Army in New Zealand he was knighted by the Queen in 1983. Sir Dean Goffin died on 23 January 1984.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£40.00Dragons' Rise - Matthew Hall
Dragons' Rise was commissioned by the Tredegar Town Band in July 2008 for their CD recording Spirit of the Valleys, to represent the band beginning their resurrection from a difficult time in the bands history back through to becoming on of the best bands in the world. It was premiered by the Tredegar Town Band at the National Eisteddfod contest in Cardiff in August 2008, performed live on national television, where the band were victorious.Dragons' Rise was the first piece composed by Matthew as the bands new composer-in-residence. Subsequent pieces have included Legends of Cyfarthfa and Nightingale Dances, both winners of the Cyril Beere award for Best New Composition at Brass in Concert, The Smile and Activate.
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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£59.29Avifauna (Brass Band) Joshua Tyler Jameson
This highly descriptive work was commissioned by the National Youth Brass Band of America and will be a terrific concert or entertainment contest item. The music paints the picture of the lives of a variety of different birds. The composer writes: 'When I began thinking about this project I was sitting in my office in the early morning, the sun having just risen. There was a gentle breeze and the only thing that I could hear (aside from my hungry whining cats) was the gentle song of the birds outside my open window. As much of my work is programmatic, almost like symphonic poems, this immediately gave me the image of a majestic sunrise with all types of birds fluttering about, almost as if out of an episode of Planet Earth. When I was commissioned by the National Youth Brass Band of America, I knew the project had to be something the ensemble could grab onto. Something they could see. Something they could relate to. There being so many types of birds in North America, I selected a handful to help tell my story... The scene where I came up with this idea seemed to be the perfect starting point. Sunrise, tiny chirps of Morning Birds floating around the twilight of dawn, swiftly moving towards the majesty of the sun cresting the horizon. A new day, the beginning of a story. As the sun rises higher in the sky, animal activity stirs, becoming lively and wild. The flowers have opened up to drink in the sun's rays, leaving them open to nectar-seeking Hummingbirds. Whizzing by at lightning speed, the hummingbirds journey from flower to flower, drinking their fill until the sun begins to set back over the horizon. When daylight fades, the enigmatic Owl floats silently through the sky. The wonder of these creatures comes not just from their beauty, but also from their mystery and their ferocity. We see images in pop culture of majestic white owls and marvel in their beauty... but to a mouse roaming the forest floor in the dark of the night, the terror of suddenly being dropped upon by a silent predator is anything but peaceful. In the dead of night, soft rolling clouds thicken as a storm begins to brew. With the ensuing rain also emerges the grotesque scavenging Vulture; marching along from carcass to carcass, tearing into the rotting leftovers of another predator's kill, gorging themselves until over-full. However, from this nightmare fuel of a bird, a new day awaits... As the dawn of another day approaches, you begin to hear the same morning birds you heard the previous day. When the light finally breaks the horizon, the soaring majesty of the Eagle drives us to the end of our story; an exciting journey told through the eyes of the winged creatures that paint the skies of North America. This is Avifauna.' To view a follow-the-score video please visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2bhBpx9KvM Sheet music available from: UK - www.brassband.co.uk USA - www.solidbrassmusic.com Difficulty Level: 2nd Section + 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 Percussion 1-4
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£34.95Aristotle's Air - Christopher Bond
The Ancient Greeks believed that there were four elements that everything was made up of: earth, water, air and fire. This theory was suggested around 450 BC, and was later supported and added to by Aristotle. The idea that these four elements - earth, water, air and fire - made up all matter was the cornerstone of philosophy, science, and medicine for two thousand years. Air was considered a 'pure' element, but in fact the air that's all around us is made up of a variety of gasses. Of course, in music, air has a different meaning; a beautiful song-like melody or tune and Aristotle's Air is just that. The work was commissioned by and written for The Cory Band as part of their winning 2015 Brass in Concert programme 'The Four Elements of the Universe', being premiered at the contest at The Sage, Gateshead, on 15th November 2015. The work was awarded the Cyril Beere Memorial Trophy for the Best New Composition or Arrangement.
Estimated dispatch 10-14 working days
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£35.00One Small Step. Andrew Duncan
Recommended - Championship & 1st Section One Small Step is a programmatic piece describing the launch, the journey to the moon and the successful landing on the Moon's surface by the crew of the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Commissioned by The Flowers Band, helping to lead them to their 'Most Entertaining Band' award-winning performance at the 2013 Butlins Mineworkers Brass Band contest, the piece also won the 'Best New Composition' award at the 2013 West Lothian Festival of Brass with its performance by The Co-operative Funeralcare Band. It is an ideal concert feature for entertainment contests opening up opportunities to incorporate multi-media snippets of the associated Presidential speeches and video footage of the historic moments that the piece depicts. Includes Score & Parts
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£85.00
The Alchymist's Journal - Kenneth Hesketh
The Alchymist's Journal (Variants for Brass Band) was commissioned by Faber Music Band Consultant Paul Hindmarsh in 2001, with the support of the Brass Band Heritage Trust, as a substantial concert/contest challenge that would be within the compass of the country's most able youth and first section bands. It received its first performance in January 2002, by Black Dyke Band under Nicholas Childs, as part of the Royal Northern College of Music Festival of Brass.Since its original publication, composer Kenneth Hesketh has made a number of revisions to the work. Most of these were included in the recording made by Foden's Band (Bramwell Tovey) for NMC Recordings (NMC D142). This definitive new edition, including all the composer's revisions, has been specially prepared for the 2015 National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain and is the text that all bands performing will be required to use.Brass Band Grade 5: 1st SectionDuration: 12 minutes.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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