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£40.51Verklarte Nacht (Brass Band) Arnold Schoenberg arr. Rob Bushnell
Composed in just three weeks in 1899, Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night) is a string sextet in one movement by Arnold Schoenberg. Whilst known better for tone rows, his dodecaphonic music and the Second Viennese School, Schoenberg was a master of harmony (writing a number of books on the subject) and, in his early life, was inspired by the music of Brahms and Wagner. This is his best-known tonal work. Its description as a tone poem is not surprising given it takes its inspiration from Richard Dehmel's poem of the same name, as well as Schoenberg's strong feelings towards his future wife, Mathilde Zemlinsky, sister of his teacher, Alexander von Zemlinsky. The work is said to have five sections, one for each of the stanzas in the poem. The poem, from 1896, describes a man and woman walking through a dark forest on a moonlit night. The woman shares a secret with him, that she is pregnant but not with his child. The man reflects upon this before warmly accepting (and forgiving) the news. The work premiered on 18 March 1902 in the Vienna Musikverein by the Rose Quartet. As was normal at the time, Schoenberg produced a string orchestra version that was premiered on 29 November 1916 in Prague, conducted by Zemlinsky, which was later revised in 1943 to better support the soloists, also adding more articulation and tempo markings. Whilst the piece was controversial at the time, both musically and due to the poem's "inappropriate" subject matter, Richard Dehmel himself was impressed, writing "I had intended to follow the motives of my text in your composition, but soon forgot to do so, I was so enthralled by the music." This arrangement is for the British-style brass band, with alternative parts for horns in F and bass-clef lower brass. To view a recording of the original composition please visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqODySSxYpc. Difficulty Level: 2nd Section + Duration: approx. 6.40 minutes 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 1-3
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£40.00Little Christmas - Elaine Agnew
An atmospheric, contemporary piece for brass band by prolific composer Elaine Agnew. The work was originally commissioned by the North of Ireland Bands' Association as the 'B Section' test piece for the 2006 European Brass Band Championships, with funds from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Lottery Unit and Belfast City Council.Programme notes:The night of Sunday the sixth of January 1839 was a night of madness. On this night, Ireland was hit by a devastating storm. Little Christmas focuses on the events of that day, leading to the arrival of the storm itself.The piece opens with a blast, which is quickly hushed by a motionless phrase whose silence suggests something not quite right. A solo euphonium mimics the local seer who prophesizes the coming of the storm but who is ignored by the locals, who are well used to his rantings and ravings.A brief percussion improvisation hints at an uncertainty in the air but this is quickly ignored by the following fast section with the bustle and excitement of the day's preparations.Quiet solo chromatic lines swoosh over harmonic pillars of sound before the final "dizzy" section where the band lets rip at the arrival of the storm!
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£120.00
Rhapsody in Black (Bra) - Andi Cook
The primary inspiration for this work comes from the composer's first encounter with the genre of Symphonic Metal - the opening track of the 2004 Nightwish album 'Once', entitled Dark chest of Wonders. The combination of full orchestra, operatically trained female vocals and the raw power of a Scandinavian metal band was a potent mix that instantly had me hooked.That same dark and powerful sound is one that a brass band can generate, and I've tried to capture that in this composition. Heavy Rock/Metal as a genre is arguably fifty years old now, but symphonic metal is a newer concept, and I feel possibly the one that can bridge the gap between two musical styles very dear to me.Composer Gilbert Vinter had explored through music the connotations that different colours held for him, and his movement Purple from 'Spectrum' gave me an idea for the structure of 'Rhapsody in Black'. Andi Cook explored the different connotations of one colour within his own life, black being an easy choice due to the personal dichotomy of the black leather jacket he wore to the rock club on Friday night and the black suit jacket and tie he wore to the concert hall the next day.To avoid repetition the word 'black' is omitted from the five movement titles, each of which is a different episode. '...as Thunder' is a furious argument between two people - the top and bottom of the band - set against the backdrop of a storm, with lightning flashing outside while barbs, insults, sarcasm, tears and even violence is traded inside. Following that '...Satin and Pearls' is an old black-and-white movie with a wistful character to it as if we're looking back a screen icon with fondness long after their career or even their life has ended. '...as the Raven's Wing.' is deliberately gothic and funereal, hinting at Edgar Allen Poe's similarly named poem, with undertones of death and afterlife. The shift into F/C Minor (band pitch) represents the descent - alive - into the grave that Poe had a paranoid fear of his entire life. Family and friends standing around grieving, oblivious as we're lowered into the earth despite frantic attempts to make ourselves heard. '...and Chrome' is an unashamed motorcycle reference with all its born-to-be-wild, open air, high speed and freedom overtones. In a deliberate contrast to what went before it continues several of the same motifs though this time in the major key. Lastly, we reprise the second movement with '...as the Night Sky' which is simply the feeling of walking home under the summer stars, with someone important - who that is, is left to the listener, but a walk under the stars is always that bit special.There's an old saying that very few things are black and white. I hope this work will prove that even black alone isn't quite as simple as it's often made out....'Rhapsody in Black' is dedicated to the composer's friend and mentor John Roberts, who shares his love of both brass and rock.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£60.00General Series Band Journal August 2013 Numbers 2123-2126
No. 2123 Carol Setting - Joy to the world! (Lieut. Colonel Norman Bearcroft)'Joy to the world' is a melody often attributed to Handel, but it is a bringing together of a couple of brief snippets of themes from his oratorio, 'Messiah'. These were put together by Lowell Mason to form the tune, 'Antioch', which we use for this carol. The carol has been arranged in majestic style by Lieut-Colonel Norman Bearcroft.No. 2124 Night of Joy (Andrew Wainwright)'Night of Joy' is based on a traditional Spanish Christmas song entitled 'Cantemos a Maria' ('Let's sing to Mary').No. 2125 Dedication (Dr Kenneth Downie)A setting of Colonel Brindley Boon's beautiful song of dedication, 'I dedicate myself to thee' (Musical Salvationist, November 1950).No. 2126 Cornet Duet - Synergy (Captain Martin Cordner)This piece celebrates the Biblical principle of believers working together in the Body of Christ and incorporates the song with words by Catherine Baird 'We're in Gods Army and we fight together with the composers own melody to Philip Paul Bliss's words 'Whosoever heareth! shout, shout the sound.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£35.00strange geometry
Descriptionstrange geometrywas commissioned by Morgan Griffiths and the Hammonds Saltaire Band for their performance at the Brass in Concert Championships of 2015.As a bit of a space/sci-fi geek, as well as a musician, two events during the summer of 2015 had a particular effect on me. The first was the tragic early death in a plane crash of the famous film composer James Horner. Horner's music, particularly in films like 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan', 'Avatar', 'Apollo 13' and even his debut in Roger Corman's 1980 budget film 'Battle Beyond the Stars', defined for a generation the sound of sci-fi at the cinema. Along with John Williams he created the vocabulary for those who wish to express other-worldly wonder in music and his inventive talent will be much missed in an industry where originality has become something of a dirty word in recent years.The second event was the epic flyby of Pluto by the NASA New Horizons spacecraft. There are many reasons to find this mission inspiring - for example, the scientists and engineers behind it created a craft that has travelled at 37,000 mph for nine years and three billion miles to arrive within seventy-two seconds of the predicted time for the flyby. That they achieved this with such accuracy is an outstanding tribute to humanity's ingenuity and insatiable curiosity. However, the most exciting aspect of the mission was the clear, high resolution pictures of this unthinkably remote and inhospitable world beamed back to mission control. The best previous image of Pluto was an indistinct fuzzy blob - suddenly we could see mountains made of ice, glaciers of methane and carbon monoxide and nitrogen fog - features previously unimagined on a world thought to be a slightly dull ball of cold rock. The BBC's venerable astronomy programme 'The Sky at Night' waxed lyrical about these newly discovered features, referring to "the surprising discoveries of mountains and strange geometry on the surface of this cold distant world".I like to think that Horner would have been as inspired as I have been by this real-life science story, and this piece uses some of the vocabulary of the sci-fi movie soundtrack in a tribute to the memory of a great musician and to the inspirational geeks at NASA who have boldly taken us where no-one has gone before.Note: This work comes with a B4 portrait score. Listen to a preview and follow the music below!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£60.00
Red Flame - Peter Meechan
Red Flame was inspired by a night spent in Groningen, Netherlands, whilst Katrina and the composer were attending the 2005 European Brass Band Championships.Queens night was in full flow outside, but whilst we were inside, there was a kind of surreal calm. However, that all changed as soon as we headed into the centre of Groningen, where the streets were full of happy people, all singing and dancing (And drinking!).The title refers to one particular drink in a bar that came to us on fire!The work was commissioned by, and dedicated to, Katrina Marzella.
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£149.40Winter Solstice - Stig Nordhagen
This work describes the shortest day og the year, but also the longest night. The solo cornet summarizes the struggle of the winter and darkness. The solo rises out of the coral in the beginning of the piece, and escapades into rhapsodic parts, until the coral again catches all players in the ensemble.Throughout the piece we hear the soloist take us on a journey from despair and darkness, through gratitude for the solstice that turns the night into day. And gives us all light and hope for a better tomorrow.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£84.99Christmas Brass - Richard Peaslee
Christmas Brass is a fantasy on six carols, originally commissioned by Mark Freeh for the Manhattan Brass Choir. Duration: 16:30The well-known tune, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, a hymn originally based on a plainsong melody, is here set in 5/4 meter. Modal harmonies are combined with big band style as the piece gains momentum, greatly accentuating the mood of the words, "Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel." The opening 5/4 statement of the theme returns, and the piece ends quietly.In Beautiful Savior (also known by the title Fairest Lord Jesus), a hushed beginning featuring horns, euphoniums, and a muted trumpet, leads through a key change to a satisfying, chorale-likeclosing passage.In Away in a Manger, Peaslee sets two tunes, Cradle Song and Away in a Manger. Following a straightforward presentation of each melody, Peaslee plays them against one another. The music swells to a full climax followed by a hushed ending.Peaslee employs a gentle hand in It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, using flugelhorn solos and duets in a jazz-waltz style.In Silent Night, the traditional carol gets an untraditional harmonization, propelled forward by give-and-take between the two groups of brass instruments in the brass choir: trumpets and trombones versus horns, euphoniums, and tuba.Hark! The Herald Angels Sing begins with a humorous blast of discordant harmonies as multiple carols are sounded at the same time. An up-tempo 4/4 announcement of the melody in the trombone is followed by a metrical modulation in 6/8-3/4 time. An additional metrical modulation bring the music back into 4/4, but at a slower tempo and in a pronounced jazz style. Tempo I returns, and the set of six pieces closes with a big ending.Instrumentation: 4 Trumpets, 2 Horns in F, 4 Trombones, 2 Euphoniums, Tuba, Guitar, Bass, Percussion
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£102.60Cherubic Hymn of Ukraine - Yakiv Yatsynevych - John Philip Hannevik
Ukraine was invaded on February 24, 2022, and the world again became spectators to a conflict between unequal opponents. Once again we saw lies, injustice and brutality up close.I must admit that a feeling of powerlessness arose when experiencing this, an empty feeling of not being able to do anything useful.One early Monday morning, a few weeks into the conflict, I sat down to listen to Ukrainian music.I hardly knew any Ukrainian music, but I was familiar with the composer Mykola Leontovych, the man who composed "Carol of the Bells". He was a member of the Ukrainian liberation movement, and he was assassinated by a Soviet agent in 1921.One of his contemporary colleagues was the composer, teacher and conductor Yakiv Yatsynevych (1869-1945). He wrote church music and choral music, and I became very taken by his Hymn to the Cherubim, a part of the Orthodox Mass.I could not find any sheet music for this. But I have listened to numerous choral recordings, and I have tried to notate the music as I believe the composer himself has done originally.I chose to do the arrangement for a solo group of 4 players. These players can be placed at a distance from the ensemble, maybe on a gallery or at the back of your concert hall.The arrangement was made for Brottum Brass for their participation in the Oslo Brass Festival in April 2022.The performance in the church this particular night was met with a long-lasting silence after the last note. The warm respect, the moving response and love we felt from the audience is a memory I will carry with me for a long time.In the lyrics to this psalm, one finds the phrase:Let us now lay aside all earthly cares- John Philip Hannevik -
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£35.00
Match Day - Peter Meechan
Match Day takes itas inspiration from a night in May 2005, when the team I have supported from my childhood, Liverpool FC, won the European Cup in what was considered by many to be one of the greatest football matches of all time.The piece is not only inspired by a football match, but also takes its musical material from chants and songs that you will hear at 3PM on a Saturday afternoon at any football ground in the country.Match Day was written as a result of a commission from the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, and their Musical Director, Bramwell Tovey, to whom the piece is dedicated.First performance:National Youth Brass Band of Great BritainBramwell Tovey - Conductor
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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