Results
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£29.95
Rhapsody in Brass (Score Only)
Rhapsody in Brass is in three movements and was written for the British Open Championships in 1949, held at Belle Vue in Manchester. The contest winners were Fairey Aviation Works Band under the baton of Harry Mortimer. Eric Ball came second with Ransome & Marles and Stanley Boddington 3rd with Munn and Felton Band. Rhapsody in Brass had the unusual distinction of being written as a test piece by a Salvation Army composer. Eric Ball's Resurgam was the only other piece to achieve that dual personality in that era.Dean Goffin was born in 1916 in Wellington, New Zealand, son of Henry Goffin, a Salvation Army officer and composer. At 19 he was appointed Bandmaster of the Wellington South Band and when World War II started, he enlisted in the New Zealand Armed Forces where he became Bandmaster of the 20th Infantry Battalion and later the 4th Brigade Band. During the time he served with them in the Middle East and Europe, he composed and arranged numerous pieces among which Rhapsody in Brass and the march Bel Hamid, later adapted for Salvation Army use and renamed Anthem of the Free.After the war, Dean kept on composing and his work was featured by the Wellington South Band. Later he transferred to Timaru for another job and became Bandmaster there. He was studying music at the time and as he wanted to take part in a competition for devotional selections for Salvation Army use, he sent some of his compositions to the International Headquarters. When Rhapsody for Brass was chosen as the test-piece for the British Open Championships, people at the Salvation Army started asking questions about the lack of publications of his work. It was discovered that the pieces submitted for the competition didn't meet the exact criteria. Among these pieces was one of his most appealing works The Light of the World which was published a year later, in 1950, the same year as he completed his Bachelor of Music studies at Otagu University.After entering the Salvation Army Training College in Wellington with his wife, Marjorie, Dean was in 1956 appointed National Bandmaster in the British Territory. Later he became National Secretary for Bands and Songster Brigades and in this period he organised the yearly festival in the Royal Albert Hall and was responsible for the national music schools in the UK. Dean returned to his home country in 1966 and to mark the centenary of the Salvation Army in New Zealand he was knighted by the Queen in 1983. Sir Dean Goffin died on 23 January 1984.
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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£54.99Prime Time - David Well
Only just a beginning musician but playing a 'grown-up' piece. This is possible with Prime Time because this is really cool!
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£14.00A Song for Bram (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
A Song for Bram is a short work, originally composed piano and brass band, and is dedicated to the memory of Bramwell Tovey, a close friend and colleague of the composer, and a conductor, composer, pianist and musician of huge talent, who sadly passed away before his time in the summer of 2022. In this short piece the composer has tried to imagine what kind of tune Bram would have improvised at the piano, something he frequently engaged in. No doubt it would have been a mixture of bluesy jazz, hymn tune, and love song, and this is how the solo piano takes off. In the middle section of a what is a simple tertiary structure, introduced are quotes from two hymn tunes Bram particularly loved, never having forgotten his Salvation Army roots. Bram's 'Song' returns, this time on a plaintive flugelhorn horn, and which reaches a climax with the full band before receding, literally, into the distance.....(to a new life beyond?).Duration: 6.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£15.00A Song for Bram (Piano Solo with Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
A Song for Bram is a short work, originally composed piano and brass band, and is dedicated to the memory of Bramwell Tovey, a close friend and colleague of the composer, and a conductor, composer, pianist and musician of huge talent, who sadly passed away before his time in the summer of 2022. In this short piece the composer has tried to imagine what kind of tune Bram would have improvised at the piano, something he frequently engaged in. No doubt it would have been a mixture of bluesy jazz, hymn tune, and love song, and this is how the solo piano takes off. In the middle section of a what is a simple tertiary structure, introduced are quotes from two hymn tunes Bram particularly loved, never having forgotten his Salvation Army roots. Bram's 'Song' returns, this time on a plaintive flugelhorn horn, and which reaches a climax with the full band before receding, literally, into the distance.....(to a new life beyond?).Duration: 6.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£35.00Concertante (Piano Solo with Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
This work was written in 1966, when I was a student at the Royal Academy of Music in London. It was the first major work to be written for this combination. The Concertante is unashamedly romantic in idiom and is cast in three movements: Prelude, Nocturne and Rondo.The Prelude is in sonata form with a contracted recapitulation. There are two main themes, the first announced after the opening flourish on piano. The second theme is lyrical in character and the interplay between these two themes forms the main focus of the movement.The pensive Nocturne opens with an introduction from the band which contains hints of the two main ideas to follow. The solo piano announces the main theme, which has a slightly 'blues' character in its flattened third and seventh notes of the scale. The band enters with the chorale theme already heard in the introduction. Eventually the first theme returns, this time from piano and band and building to a powerful climax before subsiding to a peaceful ending.The Rondo is full of energetic rhythms and changing time patterns. The main theme is 'giocoso' in character and in the first episode there is more than a hint of the tune 'Onward Christian Soldiers' in what amounts to a good humoured parody. Before the final coda there is a long piano cadenza underlying the virtuoso element of the work.The work had a number of public performances leading up to a memorable one in the Royal Albert Hall in 1989 as part of the Gala Concert that used to be held after the National Brass Band Championship in the Royal Albert Hall. That year, the 'centre band' in the massed bands concert were the GUS Band (then known for sponsorship reasons as 'Rigid Containers Group Band'!) conducted by my great friend and champion, Bramwell Tovey, with myself as the soloist.- Edward GregsonDuration: 18.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£12.00Postcard to Grimethorpe (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
I composed the original version of Postcard to Grimethorpe in 1993 at the request of Elgar Howarth, for a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, given by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. This was at a time when after the Grimethorpe Colliery pit closed the future of the band was in severe jeopardy. The concert was given in aid of the band, both through publicity and funding.Then in late 2022 Jack Stamp, the American composer, conductor and educator, and at that time international composer-in-association with Grimethorpe, contacted me to say that he had discovered my short piece in the band library, and asked if I might extend it for a recording he was sponsoring for the band - the repertoire to consist entirely of music specially composed for Grimethorpe.I agreed and decided to extend the piece by using the miner's hymn Gresford, as a symbolic gesture of protest at the many thousands of miners in the UK who were made redundant from their jobs. After an angular (quasi-atonal) first section, the hymn enters, softly at first, but with each phrase it becomes more powerful and insistent, ending with the final phrase triumphantly accompanied by melodic percussion (replacing the drums and cymbals of the earlier phrases, as if the band were then on the march). However, this short work ends softly and gently, as if anger has been replaced by quiet resolution and determination, looking to the future with confidence.- Edward GregsonDuration: 3.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£17.50March Of The Hours (Brass Band - Score only) - Soderstrom, Emil
March of the Hours was first performed at Star Lake Music Camp in 1962 with the composer supplying an informative listening guide which was printed in the published score; "The phrases are of 12 crotchets each (three bars) signifying the 12 hours. Up to the trio, the music describes the headlong search for pleasure by the thoughtless. Abruptly, the trio brings 'I need thee every hour', but an episode employing the original theme pushes it aside until it reappears, this time against a background of chimes of the full hour (Westminster chimes). While the hour strikes 12, a paraphrase of the opening strains of 'When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more' is heard. Here the music stops, to be followed by the trumpet sounding (cornets and trombones) and the rest of the band responds with 'When the roll is called up yonder' with a final 'I'll be there'."
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£14.95Cairo Red Shield (Brass Band - Score only) - Raikes, Albert Stanley
During World War Two, Salvation Army servicemen serving in Cairo formed a 'Red Shield Club', of which one of the elements was a band. Albert Stanley Raikes (more often known affectionately by his middle name, Stan) was for some time in charge of this band and wrote this march in memory of this wartime combination and the enthusiasts who were, at one time or another, members of it.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.95At The Edge Of Time (Brass Band - Score only) - Steadman-Allen, Ray
At the Edge of Time is a Sinfonietta of three movements. The first is based on The Head that once was Crowned with Thorns, whilst the second is an eloquently vocal cornet solo. The Finale is the closest that Steadman-Allen gets to the impish tonal humour of Heaton and has a glorious surprise ending and reprise of the opening hymn.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
