Results
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£29.95Music from The Royal Palaces (Brass Band - Score only) - Bliss, Arthur - Halstenson, Michael
Selected as the Section 3 test piece for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2025Music from 'The Royal Palaces', arranged by Michael Halstenson in 2023, is also cast in five movements: the quietly regal 'Queen Victoria's Call to the Throne'; 'The Ballroom in Buckingham Palace' waltz evoking the gaiety of functions at Buckingham Palace; 'Joust of the Knights in Armour' (George V's reign) depicting knights preparing to joust; 'Melodrama' characterising the murder at Holyrood House (Edinburgh) of Mary, Queen of Scots' Secretary, David Rizzio; and the majestic 'The Royal Palace Theme' march.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£43.9920,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Brass Band - Score only) - Harper, Philip
Frenchman Jules Verne was a pioneer in science fiction during the late 19th Century, penning some classic stories such as Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Around the World in 80 Days - both of which have already been the subject of brass band test-pieces. It was therefore natural for me to choose Verne's 1869 watery magnum opus as the subject for this piece to which there are five sections, as well as an introduction and a finale.THE NAUTILUS. After a mysterious introduction we are introduced to The Nautilus - a fantastical submarine.THE CORAL KINGDOM. We visit awe-inspiring underwater coral formations.SQUID ATTACK. The Nautilus is attacked by a school of giant squid, or 'devilfish'.CAPTAIN NEMO. Captain Nemo is a loner and an eccentric. Some say he is a madman. Soloists of the band help to uncover the character of this enigmatic but powerful figure.MAELSTROM. The Nautilus is dragged into the ocean's deadliest whirlpool but Captain Nemo lives to fight another day.Duration: 12.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£14.00Fanfare for a New Era (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
Fanfare for a New Era is the most substantial of Edward Gregson's fanfares and was the result of a private commission by Lady Sheila Stoller to celebrate the opening in April 2017 of the Stoller Hall at Chetham's School of Music, Manchester. Gregson dedicated it to Sir Norman Stoller, who donated the funding for the new concert hall. The Fanfare was designed to fill the whole space, with separate brass choirs - trumpets, horns, trombones and tuba - playing their own music. A solo trumpeter playing 'on high' announces first the four horns and timpani, who enter with a stately measure. Next the herald trumpeter ushers in trombones, tuba and drums, with a faster dance. Finally, the remaining three trumpets amplify the peeling of bells. All four elements then come together, surrounding the audience with a 'joyful noise' of festive brass and percussion.Duration: 3.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£14.95Shine (Brass Band - Score only) - Gott, Barrie
This is another work in a series of swing pieces which began in 1986 with Light-walk (F.S. 462). Shine was written to commemorate 30 years since Light-walk's conception at Star Lake Music Camp. As such, there are brief references to it within the piece. A good understanding of swing style is essential and the articulations should be observed as much as possible. The martellatos should be short and accented. This music should be played with a sense of fun and audience participation is encouraged.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£25.00EPISODES FOR BRASS (Brass Band - Score only) - Churcher, Gareth
Despite the title's inference, the work's form is not episodic, but more a depiction of various episodes in the life of the composer, who penned it for his wedding to capture the excitement and majesty of the day. The piece is in three movements: Fanfare and Bells of Celebration, Solenne (dedicated to the late Shaun Thomas), and Finale, which starts with a wake-up call, followed by a fanfare for cornets and trombones.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£22.50Princethorpe Variations (Brass Band - Score only) - Downie, Kenneth
Colourful harmony, rhythmic flair and melodic invention are the hallmarks of this excellent set of variations by Kenneth Downie, based on the well known church tune, Princethorpe.This major work demonstrates the well-known characteristics of the composer: colourful harmony, rhythmic flair and melodic invention, all encapsulated in scoring which is engulfing both to players and listeners alike. Following a presentation of the theme there are five variations culminating in what can be described as either a finale or coda.Theme. The composer shows his originality in the harmonic sense of this introduction. Perhaps it could be suggested that over-indulgence of rubato may be a temptation to be avoided.Sections A to F. Relentless rhythmic drive is of paramount importance in this first variation. Conscientious observance of dynamics is of course an essential requirement in conveying the exciting quality of the music; there are moments of sudden contrast of which all will need to be aware. Moving between the time-signatures of 5/4 and 6/4 these sections are built from strong easily-identifiable fragments of the theme. These is a significant increase in temp at letter F which will further the exciting impact of the music.Sections G & H. In a pastorale style this short, gentle variation affords a contrast in style between the previous and succeeding ones. The gentle undulating character of the melodic lines is governed by the Allegretto grazioso directive.Sections I to M. Commencing two bars before letter I the music is now exuberant and the tempo and style is that of a march in compound time. In this exhilarating movement there are moments of contrast and indeed of delicacy which are a foil to the more energetic moments. Rhythmic control will be essential to maintain a consistent tempo. As elsewhere in the work, the percussion section will contribute much to the success of the performance there are bars where this section alone is heard and there are important entries for glockenspiel.Sections N & O. With emotional content this Adagio variation has the first two notes of the melody as its melodic impetus. Apart from just over two bars at O (where there is an interpolatory phrase from Cornets and Trombones), the melodic line is entrusted to the plaintive sounds of the horn section. Cornets and Trombones provide a change of tone colour at the beginning of section O. Under a poco rall, this very expressive variation is concluded; there is an important link supplied by Eb Bass.Sections P & Q. A lively march-tempo is launched immediately and these sections are in the nature of an introduction to the final variations. There is a quickening of pace at Q which assists the generation of excitement which should be an essential part of the performance. Solo Cornets introduce a melodic line at Q which anticipates the compound time of the following section.Sections R & S. The Solo Cornet theme of the previous section is now a contrapuntal line accompanying the theme tune. With an elongation of the notes in the melody, the conductor will need to call on the sustaining powers of the band and at no time should the interesting accompanying lines be allowed to detract from the sonorous presentation of the basic theme.Sections T, U & V. Following a poco rit, the finale begins at letter T with the directive, molto vivace. There is much detail to be rehearsed, not least being the dynamic contrasts which are encountered. As throughout the work, the listener should have no difficulty in identifying the thematic sources of the composer's music.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95Machine (Brass Band - Score only) - Dobson, Simon
Machine, was commissioned by the Salvation Army Trading Company for the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain.The work speaks of the perils of the fast fashion industry, the part it plays in our current understanding of late-stage capitalism and it's complicity in the destruction wrought on our one home planet. It also seeks to portray the incredible efforts of the Salvation Army in their quest to slow the fast fashion industry and recycle clothing in the most innovative and progressive ways.The work is through composed and comprises five movements.Movement 1: The great Machine. The band is placed into 8 groups of three (expect tubas, in their normal position as a 4), who stand in specific places on the stage. This will create machine like antiphonal movement in the written music. The great Machine in question is the fast fashion industry, in all its chaos, seeming grandeur and relentless momentum.Movement 2: Mode phmre is fast, angular and quirky, a nod to the perilous speed and waste of the fast fashion industry (the movement title is the French for fast fashion).Movement 3: A planet to treasure (for DA) is a love letter to our home planet and its finite resources and as well as the beauty of the natural world, which unfortunately, we are destroying (hence the dedication to David Attenborough on his 100th year).Movement 4: The wheels keep turning, returns to the fast, angular, almost unstoppable grasp of capitalism and the damaging structures it promotes.Movement 5: Recycle, re-use, mirrors the opening (though without stage directions) in reference to the cyclic nature of fast fashion and the wonderful work that The Salvation Army do in trying to halt this system.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£36.50A Road Less Travelled By (Brass Band - Score only) - Sparke, Philip
A Road Less Travelled By was commissioned by Palangos Orkestras for the Championship Section of the 2020 European Brass Band Championships held in Palanga, Lithuania.The following was written by the composer, Philip Sparke:The title alludes to a poem by American author, Robert Frost, which appeared in his 1916 collection, Mountain Intervals: The Road Not Taken.In common with most of my larger works, this piece in not programmatic, but purely abstract; there is no extrinsic musical story. The choice of title shares my view of how composers can often develop. There can be no 'destination' in a composer's career, but rather a continuing journey to an unknown place. From piece to piece a composer needs to decide his or her next steps, never really knowing where they might lead. As Frost so eloquently describes, these sorts of instinctive decisions guide all our lives.Set in three movements, which play without a break, A Road Less Travelled By opens with a Moto Perpetuo firmly rooted in classical language, form and syntax. A continuous river of semiquavers, veering from melody to accompaniment and back again, adds drive, every and motion. The second movement, Nocturne, is in the form of a free fantasia; solos for vibraphone, flugel horn and euphonium set the stage for a central cornet solo, quietly echoed by the full band. A triumphal climax is reached before the movement dissolves into a Scherzo Finale. Mercurial and quixotic in nature, this third movement starts jovially until trios for trombones and horns darken the atmosphere. A change of mood and meter leads to a reprise of the opening and a return of the cornet melody, this time accompanied by figures derived from the scherzo theme. A brief coda based on earlier material drives the piece to a close.Duration: 15.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£17.99Penlee (Brass Band - Score only) - Dobson, Simon
2013 Finals of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain - 3rd SectionTo 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.Suitable for Advanced Youth/3rd Section Bands and aboveDuration: 13:30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£39.95The Plantagenets (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
A Symphonic Study for Brass BandThe Plantagenets was Gregson's first major test piece, written specially for the 1973 National Brass Band Championships.In this ambitious symphonic study he turned his attention to music which sets out to create a mood or atmosphere, in contrast to his earlier brass band works such as Essay and Partita where the underlying concerns are technical rather than expressive. However, Gregson is at pains to emphasise that The Plantagenets is not programme music. 'Symphonic' is the optimum word here. In its textural and harmonic complexity, its rhythmic and melodic variety, this was his most ambitious brass band piece so far. His language, with its roots in Hindemith and Bartok is further enriched here with the expressive language of Holst and Rachmaninov.As he says in his notes on the work: The Plantagenets attempts to portray the mood and feelings of an age - that of the House of Plantagenet which lasted from the middle of the twelfth century to the end of the fourteenth. To many it conjures up an age of chivalry and this is represented by fanfare motifs which occur throughout the work in varied form.Characteristically, the composer then goes on to describe not the atmosphere or mood he is trying to convey, but the means by which the music has been composed: the opening fanfares, based on the interval of the third, generating the musical material for the whole work; an exposition of two themes - one fanfare-like, one lyrical (on horns); a slow episode introducing a new melody on solo horn (answered by cornet and euphonium in canon); a little scherzo, fugal in character; and a recapitulation leading to a maestoso statement of the slow movement theme with a final reference to the fanfares as a triumphant conclusion.Duration: 11.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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