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£77.00General Series Brass Band Journal, Numbers 2246 - 2249, August 2024
2246: Christmas Prelude - David's City (Noel Jones)In 2 Samuel 5, we read of David's anointing as King of Israel at the age of thirty, a reign that lasted for forty years. Bethlehem was known as 'David's city' because he was born there and worked as a shepherd on the nearby hills. Verses 1, 2 and 5 of Once in Royal David's City (C.C. 68) are featured in this Christmas Prelude. There are also brief references to the carols O come, all ye faithful and O little town of Bethlehem between verses.2247: Cornet and Euphonium Duet - This Kingdom (Stephen Bulla)Geoff Bullock's song, This Kingdom, has been made well known by the American gospel singer Ron Kenoly. Stephen Bulla wrote this duet for a Brass Spectacular concert held in Basel, Switzerland, in May 2019.2248: Wonder (Stephen Gibson)When we stop to consider the mystery of God's love for each one of us, its enormity can only cause us to wonder. The opening bars of this music create an atmosphere, using a rolling accompaniment underneath sustained, music and chromatic Cornets, setting the style for the entire piece. Occasional references to Albert E. Webber's chorus Can you wonder? are heard throughout.2249: O to love thee! (Michael Davis)This piece takes its title from the first verse of Francis Bottome's words, Precious Jesus, O to love thee! The introduction establishes the baroque form of a prelude which leads into the tune Glory to the lamb (T.B. 327). Following a brief interlude, the melody is passed through several sections of the band, with delicate countermelodies in the Flugel and Horns. The majestic ending eventually comes to rest on the final tonic chord.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£59.95Judd: Caelum Corona - Stephen Bulla
Stephen Bulla's 'Caelum Corona' ('Crown of Heaven') portrays, in sound, a Christian's walk in faith, intended metaphorically via a musical narrative reminiscent of the early church pilgrims, their struggles and triumphs. The composer initially evokes the atmosphere of Rome at the time of St. Paul and other martyrs, thus the Latin title. Bulla marks his imaginative tone poem with dark, brooding music in the first two of three parts, in each of which he has embedded an appropriate hymn or song reference as thematic material. The first of these sounds in a minor key following a symphonic exposition made up primarily of fanfare-like motives, the music at times quite harsh and abrasive. The song is Paul's statement of exuberant faith (2 Timothy 1:12) in the midst of prison and persecution: 'For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day.' More challenging, aggressive music returns until a further point of reflection on Christ's sacrifice is reached. The music graphically evokes the barren landscape of Golgatha, the horror of the crucifixion, including stark wind sounds, a loss of stability via eerie, dissonant chord clusters, and even the nails being driven into Christ's body. The Baritones and then Flugel Horn softly play 'He died of a broken heart.' Yet the Christian life, despite its perils - both at the time of Paul and now - is a victorious life, and the composer resolves the tensions of the work in a scintillating finale, a brilliant setting of the old song about spiritual warfare and the ultimate triumph of Christ the King: 'Victory for me!' (T.B. 841). The chorus of that tune proclaims: 'No retreating, hell defeating, shoulder to shoulder we stand; God look down, with glory crown our conq'ring band.' That crowning is the same one sought and claimed by St. Paul (2 Timothy 4:8): 'Now there is in store for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.' Believers look forward to participating in the final coronation of their Saviour - King of Kings and Lord of Lords - while humbly desiring their own 'crown of heaven.'
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days