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£64.95Adam 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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£30.00Deus in Adjutorium
DescriptionMonteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine (Vespers for the Blessed Virgin) is a musical setting by Claudio Monteverdi of the evening vespers on Marian feasts, scored for soloists, choirs, and orchestra. It is an ambitious work in scope, style and scoring, and has a duration of around 90 minutes. Published in Venice with a dedication to Pope Paul V dated 1 September 1610 as Sanctissimae Virgini Missa senis vocibus ac Vesperae pluribus decantandae, cum nonnullis sacris concentibus, ad Sacella sive Principum Cubicula accommodata ("Mass for the Most Holy Virgin for six voices, and Vespers for several voices with some sacred songs, suitable for chapels and ducal chambers"), it is mercifully regularly shortened to Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610.Monteverdi was born and spent the first part of his working life in Cremona before moving to Mantua (where he composed the Vespers) and finally attaining one of the top jobs in Italian renaissance music as Maestro di Capella at the Basilica di San Marco in Venice. He is most famous for his vocal music, notably his madrigals and the earliest surviving opera, Orfeo.Performance notes:The opening "versicle" on euphonium should be declamatory, in a recitative style - i.e. in free tempo and not conducted. Ideally the player should stand for this.Where practical, the soprano and 1st & 2nd solo cornets should stand to the left of the band, and the repiano and 3rd & 4th solo cornets to the right. If three percussionists are available, the third player should double the Percussion 2 part, and in that event it is often effcetive to have the 2nd and 3rd percussion players stand to the left and right of the band with the cornets.Watch a preview video of the score below:
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£30.00Finale from Tosca, Act 1 (Te Deum)
DescriptionPuccini's opera Tosca, one of his most successful and popular works is set in 1800 in Rome, as Napoleon's invading army is approaching. There are rebels in Rome who see Napoleon as a liberator from Neapolitan rule and are plotting secretly. One of those is the young firebrand artist Cavaradossi. He and his lover, the beautiful and tempestuous Tosca, are being pursued by the evil chief of the secret police, Scarpia. At the end of Act 1, Scarpia is revelling in his plot to capture Cavaradossi and trick Tosca into sleeping with him to buy her lover's freedom, all inside a church in Rome while a Te Deum service is being sung; in the background the bells are tolling and we hear distant cannonfire from the approaching army.In this arrangement the part of Scarpia is played mostly by the solo trombone. There is an optional organ part, although all of the organ part is covered in the band parts.This arrangement was first performed by the Harrogate Band conducted by Andrew Baker in 2022. Watch a video preview of the score below!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£106.50La Figlia del Reggimento - Gaetano Donizetti - Ray Farr
The Selection from La Figlia del Reggimento (The Daughter of the Regiment) by Gaetano Donizetti comes from the second of a series of works (No. 6 in the advertisement below) called Distin's Brass Band Scores published in 1855 by Henry Distin. These publications represent an important stage in the history of bands in Britain. The popular music of the day was mostly opera extracts, and the music of Donizetti was particularly popular.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
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£84.99Pacific Dreams (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - De Haan, Jacob
Pacific Dreams describes the experience of Miguel, a travelling composer from Spain who, feeling somewhat alienated from his homeland, is wandering through an area of Sydney known as The Rocks. At a small outdoor market in a typical street of this old colonial neighbourhood, he discovers a print of William DeShazos painting "Pacific Dreams" Portrayed in the painting is the surf of one of the exotic islands in the Pacific. Next, with the impressive Sydney Harbour Bridge looming over the narrow streets of The Rocks, he envisions sultry Pacific beaches. Suddenly a theme he once composed about the lakes in Japan comes to him. Is it the Asian influences present in cosmopolitan Sydney that bring this theme to mind? Or perhaps the waters around Sydney, over which he could sail to Tahiti? He is uncertain. Could this same theme be used to create a new composition about his feelings for the metropolis Sydney? How then to work his Pacific Dreams into the mix? Miguel is certainly no fan of Hawaiian music. Maybe he could use the vocabularies of islands like Hawaii and Tahiti, their beautiful vowel combinations being sung ad libitum by a mixed choir.With these ideas and his newly purchased print of "Pacific Dreams", he boards the Metro at Circular Quay. He has a final glimpse of the harbour and the Sydney Opera House as the train races into the ground. On to the hotel! To work! He must compose! Maestoso : Miguel is impressed as he gazes upon the Sydney Harbour Bridge. And yet, he wants to go away from this city. Away, to an exotic island in the Pacific.Steady Rock : In the Rocks, musicians are playing at a square. Miguel basks in the atmosphere but at the same time he is fantasising about Hawaii and Tahiti. Andante Lamentoso : In his hotel room, Miguel is feeling sad and lonely in this big city. He takes comfort in his "Pacific Dreams". Allegro : Miguel boards the boat that takes him from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay. In his mind he is travelling on to Hawaii. Or is it home, where the bolero is playing? He is pulled back to reality by the skyline of Sydney.Duration: 9.15
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£36.77Polonaise from 'Scenes de Ballet' (Brass Band) Glazunov arr. Rob Bushnell
Alexander Glazunov was a Russian composer who was a gifted musician from childhood. He was seen as the natural heir to the nationalist revolution that had started with the Mighty Handful. Despite quickly turning from this to absolute forms of music, taking a keen interest in ballet music, his compositions still alludes to Russian folk tunes. He wrote four dance compositions, of which Scenes de Ballet was the first in 1894. The suite Scenes de Ballet, opus 52 has eight movements and was dedicated to the orchestra of the Russian Opera, St Petersburg. First performed in 1895 at a concert of the Imperial Music Society with Glazunov conducting. This arrangement of the final movement is for the British-style brass band, with alternative parts for horns in F and bass-clef lower brass. A recording of the original composition can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS-Yx-bmxPg Duration: approx. 5.20 minutes Difficulty Level: 2nd Section + PDF download includes parts and score. 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 1 - Snare Percussion 2 - Triangle, Cymbal & Bass Drum
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£60.99
Charming Salzburg - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Henk Hogestein
Salzburg, birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, inspired Dutch composer Henk Hogestein to write this musical tribute. Mozart was born in this charming Austrian town in January 1756. He was a musical prodigy - at the age of four he began receiving lessons from his father Leopold and at the age of six he was composing smart minuets and other short pieces. The composition Charming Salzburg is based on a theme from Mozart's opera Die Zauberflote, which he completed in 1791. The greatest composer of his day - the greatest of all time according to some - the brilliant Mozart wrote some of the world's best operas with Die Zauberflote was his last.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£115.60Coronation March - Giacomo Meyerbeer - Ray Farr
This Coronation March is from the opera Le Prophete (The Prophet) by Giacomo Meyerbeer and was arranged for brass band by James Smyth. The march was performed during a series of brass band events which took place at the Crystal Palace, London 1860 - 1863. Enderby Jackson was the organiser of these historically important occasions and also conducted the massed band concerts.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
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£33.09Nessun Dorma (Trombone Solo with Brass Band) Puccini arr. Ian Jones
This trombone solo with brass band was arranged by Ian Jones for Ronald Prussing, principal trombone of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, for a recording with the Melbourne Staff Band. Nessun Dorma is an aria from the final act of Puccini's opera Turandot. It is one of the best loved of all Puccini's arias. To view a follow-the-score video featuring Ronald Prussing performing the solo with the Melbourne Staff Band, please visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9fREiH41sQ Sheet music available from: UK - www.brassband.co.uk USA - www.solidbrassmusic.com Instrumentation: Trombone Soloist Bb Soprano Cornet Eb Solo Cornet Bb 1st Cornet Bb 2nd 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
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£29.95El Torero - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 4'00". DIFFICULTY: 3rd Section+. 'El Torero' was commissioned by the Elland Silver Youth Band for their appearance at the 2019 Brass in Concert Youth Championships, held at The Sage, Gateshead. 'Torero' is the generic term referring to any individual who takes part in bullfighting on foot, with this definition acting as an umbrella term for all ranks of Matador (whom often might sit on a horse for the fight). It also acts as the modern-day alternative to the popular 'Toreador', popularized by Bizet in his opera, 'Carmen'. . 'El Torero' paints every aspect of a bullfight, from the cautios and steady entrance into the bullring, the wild frenzy of the bullfight and ultimately the grandioso conclusion as the bull is slain and the Torero rises victorious. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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