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£90.00
Fragile Oasis - Peter Meechan
Fragile Oasis is the name of a collective who describe themselves as aaa grass-roots participatory initiative that connects the shared perspective of astronauts from different countries and cultures with people on Earth, encouraging all to work together so that our planet is not only visibly beautiful, but beautiful for alla.Many involved in the project are astronauts on the International Space Station (I.S.S.), who post, on their website (http://www.fragileoasis.org) many different details of their experiments, photos from space, and some incredible video footage of our Earth.One such time lapse video (a video made up many still images) was posted on their website by astronaut Ron Garan (http://www.fragileoasis.org/blog/2011/11/coming-back-down-to-our-fragile-oasis-2/) in 2011. It is made up of images taken from the I.S.S. of what Garan described as aaa couple of laps around our Fragile Oasis before coming back down [to Earth]a and features all kinds of amazing views from space.Each of the five sections of this work relate to an aspect of the video - either something literal or something more metaphorical. The opening section, i: The lights from Above, is a musical description of the view of the Aurora Australis from above the lights. The second section, ii: The Storm from Above (part i), is also a musical portrayal of portions of the video clip - in this case the many lightning storms we see from above. The storms that are so powerful on Earth appear as small bolts of electricity dancing through the clouds.The third section, iii: Freya, has its roots in personal family tragedy. The name Freya derives from a Norse goddess who was associated with both beauty and love, and in this central section I wanted to write music that not only acknowledged how fragile life itself is, but that every day of it counts and should be celebrated.iv: The Storm from Above (part ii) is a again a reference to the lightning storms, but also to the huge hurricanes we see in the video. It leads us to the final section, v: The Oasis from Above - a description of the size and grandeur of Earth, our Fragile Oasis.Fragile Oasis was commissioned by Leyland Brass Band and Michael Bach, and partly funded by The John Golland Trust, for their appearance at the 2013 European Brass Band Championships in Oslo, Norway. It is dedicated to Natalie Youson, in friendship
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£70.00
Milestone - Peter Meechan
Milestone is a concerto commissioned by Mark Wilkinson (with funds provided by the Arts Council England) to celebrate 21 years as Principal Cornet with Fodens Band. In three movements, the work is intended to not only demonstrate the soloistas virtuosic skills, but also his ability to communicate to the audience.The first movement, titled Milestone, combines sections of driving rhythms (intended to represent Markas years of continuing hard work), in the accompaniment with long legato phrases from the soloist interspersed with dexterous, virtuosic, passages.The second movement, Song, features a simple chord sequence, over which the soloist asingsa a melody, each time varying and each time becoming more expressive, leading to an emotional climax.The final movement, Twenty One, is a quasi-celebratory dance. Opening with the band clapping, the soloist weaves their way through the various textures in the band. Occasionally making both a musical and metaphorical nod to the industrious nature of the first movement, the chord sequence of the second movement also re-appears, before a brief coda takes us to the conclusion of the work.
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£127.95Music of the Angels (Symphonic Brass Ensemble - Score and Parts)
In 1998 Gregson was commissioned by conductor Martyn Brabbins to write a short concert opener with choir to mark his debut as Music Director of the Huddersfield Choral Society. Entitled ...and the seven trumpets... this ten minute flourish is founded on a verse from Chapter 8 of the Revelation To John (The Apocalypse), the last book in the Bible: 'and I saw the seven Angels which stood before God: and to them were given seven trumpets'. The performance employed the full power of the Huddersfield Town Hall organ and the brass section of the BBC Philharmonic, including seven trumpets and four horns placed strategically around hall.The following year, when Gregson received a commission from the Cheshire-based Foden's Brass Band (conducted at that time by Nicholas Childs) for a work to mark its centenary in 2000, he turned to the first portion of ...and the seven trumpets... as the basis for an ambitious celebratory work entitled The Trumpets of the Angels. "The opportunity to create an extended work which would break out of the brass band mould was an important milestone for me," the composer says. In 2015 he was asked by Nicholas Childs to create a new performing edition without organ for the Black Dyke Band. This received its first performance in April 2016 at the European Brass Band Festival in Lille. In 2018, Gregson revisited the music for a third time, returning the opening fanfares to orchestral brass and transforming substantial portions of the 'Black Dyke' version to create Music of the Angels, a dramatic canvas for symphonic brass and percussion.An array of bells and gongs offer an unmistakable key to the source of Gregson's inspiration. Inscribed In tribute to Olivier Messiaen, the work's principal material and its sound world, but crucially not the underlying musical processes, are influenced by Messiaen's masterpiece for wind and percussion, Et exspecto ressurectionem mortuorum (1964). Music of the Angels begins with braying of horns suggestive of the start of an ancient ritual. Six 'angel' trumpeters, set behind the ensemble, answer in sequence, with the evocative sound of tam-tams creating the Messiaen-like aura. Once the horns have reached the performing space, four of the trumpeters deliver highly contrasting fanfare cadenzas. At the climax of this episode, the individual fanfares are presented together, as if, perhaps, to reflect the Biblical writer's apocalyptic visions of hail, fire, seas of blood and the cataclysmic destruction of man and beast.This powerful vision of death and destruction gives way to a prayerful lament, re-imagining a sung Kyrie Eleison from the 'Black Dyke' edition, with flugel horn and euphonium obligati. The hushed atmosphere is broken by tenor and side drums, and trumpets five and six, which gallop away like the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In the biblical account their steeds had 'heads like lions with fire and smoke and sulphur issuing from their mouths'.As the reverberation of a dramatic climax dies we hear the entry of the seventh trumpet, from 'on high', blazing forth with a version of the main that extends across the entire compass of the instrument - almost three octaves. Supported by a 'holy trinity' of gongs, an 'epic' final cadenza introduces new material which is further developed in a frenetic final section. This is announced by two sets of timpani, to the left and right. Braying brass (euphoniums and horns) once more adds an air of foreboding. As the music builds towards a magisterial conclusion, the Messiaen-inspired tritones of the principal motif are smoothed out into perfect 5ths and combined with the earlier material in a full-voiced chorale, over which the seventh trumpet blazes in triumph.- Programme note by Paul HindmarshScored for1 Trumpet in E flat (Trumpet 5)6 Trumpets in B flat (Trumpet 4 doubling Flugel Horn)4 Horns in F3 Tenor Trombones1 Bass TromboneEuphonium2 Tubas2 Timpani (Percussion 3 doubles Timpani 2)Percussion (3 players): 3 Tam-tams, 3 Suspended Cymbals, Bass Drum, Tenor Drum, Snare Drum, Tubular Bells.Duration: 16.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£80.00The Unfortunate Traveller (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
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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£40.00
The Unfortunate Traveller (Brass Band - Score only)
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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£94.95Waiting for a Pain Hit!??!!? (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Waiting For a Pain Hit!??!!? was written during November and December 2006 as an entry in the 2006/07 Swiss Brass Band Association Composers Competition. It was later chosen as the Championship Section set test piece for the 2010 Swiss National Brass Band Championships.The piece originates from sketches for a Brass Quintet which was written whilst I was in my second year of studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. The piece, now being much more elaborate both musically and structurally than the original, aims to explore the many various textures available to a large brass ensemble. The aims of the piece, from its earliest stages, were mainly exploration of textures as well as dealing with issues of continuity and whilst the piece certainly contains challenging technical elements, they were not a driving force behind its inception and more organically grew from the primary aims of the piece. I was purposefully looking throughout the writing and editing process to create a piece of music with a seamless, ethereal quality to both the structure and the musical content.There are no 'performance directions' throughout the piece, the reasoning for this is explained below. However, I have spent much time and thought over the tempo markings throughout the piece and the tempos throughout the piece are the desired tempi and care should be taken with these. The tempo markings contained throughout the piece form a vital part of the structure and affect the continuity of the piece. Metronome marks contained within a box show the tempo of the new section in relation to the tempo that precedes it by use of metronome modulations. Any alterations to the tempo of the section that precedes it will alter the boxed metronome marks.The title of a piece of music, please forgive my generalisation, is to give an insight into 'what a piece is about'. I suppose that this piece is no different, but with the title being slightly abstract I shall resist the temptation to reveal what it means to me. The title, I feel, needs to be open to interpretation along with the music within. That's the way, with this piece especially, I like my music to be. Freedom to find our own meaning and a way to express it from within the score is vital. It is only then that the piece can take on its own identity and grow in ways that even I might not have imagined, revealing different sides to its personality with each performance.Before the music begins I have included some text. Do these words hold the key to the music?! Can they help??! I DON'T KNOW!!! I just like the rhythms, the pulse and the imagery. Hopefully, all of this can help to create a picture. But let it be your picture...- Paul McGhee, June 2010
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£59.77Sleigh Ride Suite (Brass Band) Leopold Mozart arr. Alex McGee
Today Leopold Mozart (1719-1787) is known almost exclusively as the stern father of Wolfgang, but he was a prominent and successful musician in his own time. The Sleigh Ride, composed just before Wolfgang was born, certainly shows that Mozart the elder had as good a sense of humour as his more famous son. Wolfgang must, in fact, have known and enjoyed his father's piece - he included a short Sleigh Ride in his German Dances, K.605, in 1791. Leopold's more complicated piece is a programmatic serenade, with short titles for each section: a musical picture of a cold evening's ride to a party. The score calls for sleigh bells, rattle, a whip, and triangle. The action begins with a short overture (Intrada), followed by the Sleigh Ride itself, a lively duple-meter dance accompanied by jangling sleigh bells and punctuated by the cracking of a whip. There is then a nice bit of musical pantomime - The Young Lady Shivers With Cold. The sleigh finally arrives at the party, a ball with a small dance orchestra. The Ball Begins, not surprisingly, with a courtly menuet, and the End of the Ball is a spirited Kehraus, a lively rondo-form dance. This transcription faithfully seeks to convey the light touch of the Age of Enlightenment to the modern brass band and provides ensembles with new material for their annual Christmas concerts. To view a rolling score video of the work please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgrBe1u8Xag Duration: Approx. 11.45 minutes Difficulty Level: 3rd Section + PDF download includes parts and score. Sheet music available from www.brassband.co.uk 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 BbTimpani Percussion 1-2
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£95.00
Penlee (Score & Parts) - Simon Dobson
To some, the tragic story of the Penlee lifeboat, Solomon Browne, would need no introduction, and to some the pain felt is still very much a reality. The composer, born just a few weeks before that fateful night on the 19th December 1981, has created this work as a musical homage to the bravery of the souls who lost their lives and has dedicated it to their memory.Penlee was commissioned by the Cornwall Youth Brass Band using funds bequeathed by Michael Pickett. The first performance was given by the Cornish Youth Brass Band, conducted by Ian Porthouse, at St. Michael's Church, Newquay, on 30th December 2008.Penlee has been voted into the Classic FM Hall of Fame 2011 at No.106. Not only is it the first time a brass work has been featured in the Hall of Fame, but it was also the highest new entry.The work has subsequently been recorded by the Leyland Band, conducted by Jason Katsikaris, on the CD entitled Penlee.Brass Band Grade 4: Advanced Youth and 3rd SectionDuration: 13 minutes
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£79.95Neverland - Christopher Bond
"All children, except one, grow up" wrote J.M. Barrie about Peter Pan in 1911; the first line and an expression of beautiful melancholy and fantasy, coming to represent one of the best-loved children's stories of the twentieth century. 'Peter & Wendy', as the book was first released, has subsequently been transformed into adaptations for film and stage, with subsequent books based on this iconic tale. In writing this new work for brass band, the composer has taken three of the main themes from J. M. Barrie's book, and used these themes to create new musical material, forming a work in three contrasting sections. I. Journey to Neverland The opening of the work, mysterious in its style, reflects the opening chapters of the story - a leafy London street, still in the dead of night - with the music transforming quickly as it builds in texture and momentum - a Journey to Neverland through the night sky; Second Star to the Right and straight on 'til morning. "Then Peter knew that there was not a moment to lose. 'Come,' he cried imperiously, and soared out at once into the night, followed by John and Michael and Wendy. Mr & Mrs Darling and Nana rushed into the nursery too late. The birds were flown." II. The Windows that Closed The central section of the work takes its inspiration from the sense of longing throughout the book, mainly by Peter Pan, the Darling Children & The Lost Boys. Distant memories of life before Neverland, memories of the Lost Boys' mothers, and regret at what the children have missed. Peter says "Long ago, I thought like you that my mother would always keep the window open for me; so I stayed away for moons and moons and moons, and then flew back; but the window was barred, for mother had forgotten all about me, and there was another little boy sleeping in my bed." III. Aboard the Pirate Ship The final section of the work takes its inspiration from the Pirate Ship, and Peter Pan's ultimate battle with its infamous Captain Hook. "In person, he was cadaverous and blackavized, and his hair was dressed in long curls, which at a distance looked like black candles, and gave a singularly threatening expression to his handsome countenance. His eyes were the blue of the forget-me-not, and of a profound melancholy, save when he was plunging his hook into you, at which time two red spots appeared in them and lit them up horribly."
Estimated dispatch 10-14 working days
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£55.00Triumph Series Brass Band Journal, Numbers 1383 - 1386, March 2026
1383: Festival March - Lead On! (Andrew Wainwright)A dynamic march, commissioned by Majors Paul and Dawn McFarland during their appointment as Area Commanders of The Salvation Army's Dallas-Fort Worth Area, premiered at the 2023 Thanksgiving service at the Dallas Adult Rehabilitation Centre. Featuring the classic hymns Storm the forts of darkness (S.A.S.B. 980) and Lead on, O King eternal (S.A.S.B. 964), the piece captures the drive, hope, and mission at the heart of The Salvation Army's work in North Texas.1384: Confession (Kenneth Downie)This arrangement is based on the tune Lord of all (T.B. 440), one of the welcome additions to the 2015 Salvation Army tune book. Introduced to the arranger by Andrew Blyth, whose appreciation for the melody highlighted its gentle charm, the piece is dedicated to Andrew and the Peterborough Citadel Band, where he served as Bandmaster and continues to play.The music pairs the tune with the reflective words of We have not known thee as we ought (S.A.S.B. 630), a hymn often used in worship as a moment of confession and heart-searching before God. Its inclusion encourages both performers and listeners to approach worship with humility and sincerity.Although labelled simply as "German traditional," the tune's graceful simplicity is immediately evident. This arrangement preserves that character while introducing subtle harmonic colour and developing the tune's rising fourth motif as a unifying musical thread. The gentle nature of the melody remains central throughout, with a slightly heightened energy in the fifth phrase carefully drawn out without disrupting the overall serenity. The sharing of thematic material between Cornets and Horns calls for smooth, unobtrusive ensemble playing, allowing the tune's beauty to speak naturally.1385: God in good (Stephen Hull) This arrangement brings together two much'loved melodies: Goodness of God, a favourite from the final years of the arranger's service as Divisional Music Director in the Wisconsin/Upper Michigan Division, and the simple, enduring chorus God is so good. Heard often at summer camps, the song's message stayed with him, eventually inspiring this thoughtful musical pairing that highlights God's unwavering goodness throughout our lives.1386: A march in time (Martin Cordner)Written to celebrate the 130th anniversary of Thetford Corps (UKI Territory), this lively march pays tribute to a legacy of faithful witness, joyful service, and a community moving forward in God's light. Premiered by Cambridge Citadel Band during the anniversary weekend, the piece weaves together three cherished songs: Marching on in the light of God (S.A.S.B. 968), Jesus, precious Saviour (S.A.S.B. 501), and Light up the sunshine in your heart.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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