Results
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£30.00Flanfayre - Stephen Deazley
I was asked by Music for Youth to write a flexibly scored fanfare for the school proms at the Royal Albert Hall and at their National Festival in Birmingham in 2013. At its first performance at the National Festival, over 200 young brass players performed Flanfayre in Birmingham Town Hall, directed by Roger Argente, members of Superbrass and myself. The score is a progressive romp through some increasingly dance-like grooves, borrowing some of its swing from South America, from marches and big band, moving from a really quite straight opening to a "let-go" moment at the end. It is more like a flan full of different flavours, than a fanfare, hence the title. I set myself a challenge to write 100 bars but ended up with 102, which, after the introduction, can be broken down into 10 easily discernible sections each with their own mini-musical narrative. If you have time feel free to teach the audience the clapping groove. I also modelled the slow moving melody of the final section on the following words; "nothing beats a nice big cheesy, nothing beats a nice big cheesy, nothing beats a nice big cheesy, nothing beats a cheesy flan". Feel free to incorporate these too, and perform only under the strict instruction that you have fun ! - Programme Note copyright of Stephen Deazley
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£30.00Meanwhile - Jock McKenzie
Just imagine being free of stress, anxiety, time pressures, workload & the general 'busy-ness' of everyday life... For the lucky few that may find themselves in this position, the clock keeps ticking for the rest of us. "Meanwhile" seeks to represent the relentless challenges of the 'everyday'. It is a full-on, driving swing number, very much in the style of a big band chart. In my orchestration of this piece I have deliberately treated the brass dectet somewhat similarly to that of a big band / jazz orchestra. The two 'rows' of four trumpets and four trombones are employed in the typical way, with the horn representing a unison / octave saxophone section. The tuba busily walks around the harmonic foundation of the piece. This piece was conceived out of the chaos of an overcrowded school music department. In one room I was rehearsing a brass ensemble whilst the other side of a (very) thin wall was a saxophone group attempting to make themselves heard over our dulcet tones. The brass ensemble would stop regularly to receive pearls of wisdom from yours truly, MEANWHILE the saxes could be heard in these gaps, plodding through their material. This seemed to go on interminably. In this piece the independent horn line represents the work weary saxes; occasionally breaking through the textures of the other brass lines. J.M.
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Blake's 7 - theme - Dudley Simpson - Len Jenkins
Blake's 7 was a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC and broadcast between 1978 and 1981. It was popular from its first broadcast, watched by approximately 10 million people in the UK and shown in 25 other countries. Although many aspects of space opera were present, its budget was inadequate for its interstellar narrative. It still remains well regarded for its strong characterisation, ambiguous morality and pessimistic tone - but has also been described as "classically awful". It has cult status. After over 30 years of silence, the theme music has now been arranged for full Brass Band and is a strident 'opener', or 'closer' for any concert.
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Aldebaran - Maurice Forslund - Maurice Forslund
We are pleased to offer this new piece from our colleague, Maurice Forslund, in Sweden. "Aldebaran" is a traditional-style brass band march, named after one of the brightest and largest stars in the Northern sky. (The star is a red giant over 40 times the size of our Sun). The music starts off in a sombre minor key that turns progressively brighter step by step. This sequence is arrested by a brief section featuring a setting of the hymn tune 'Bangor' which dramatically puts the march firmly back into the minor key before setting it up for progression to the finale. This piece is graded in the range 'easy' to 'intermediate' and is well within the capabilities of most bands.
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Wild Flower Variations - Traditional - Len Jenkins
The theme for this delightful piece is believed to be Spanish and was originally heard in a Mediterranean church over 30 years ago, sung by the local choir accompanied by local musicians. The theme is not stated separately, and the piece begins directly with the First Variation. The following Variations are subtly different from the First, yet both retain the essential warmth of the Mediterranean sun in their harmonic progression. A short Coda rounds off this relaxing and escapist siesta. Time to wake up...The piece is scored to be playable by most Third or Fourth Section bands.
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Sharpe's Theme - John Tams & Dominic Muldowney - Len Jenkins
"Sharpe" is a popular British series of television dramas starring Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, principally in Spain, Portugal and France. His activities and adventures are based on a number of novels by Bernard Cornwell, which reflect the military campaigns of the Duke of Wellington (as he became) and were filmed mainly in Turkey and Crimea, although some filming was also done in England, Spain and Portugal. This music, composed by John Tams and Dominic Muldowney, contains two aspects of the series; the iconic introductory signature tune and the equally familiar 'Over the Hills and Far Away' originally sung by John Tams (who also acted in the series) which features in the closing scenes of each episode. This arrangement is within the capabilities of a good 4th section brass band.
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Diamonds - Jerry Lordan - Len Jenkins
In November 1962, ex-Shadows members Jet Harris and Tony Meehan decided to work as a duo and went to No 1 with a Jerry Lordan composition, "Diamonds". Harris, a bass player, took an ordinary Fender guitar and detuned every string a whole tone to enable him to hit notes which were lower than an ordinary guitar. However, it was apparently difficult to work with on stage since once the strings were slackened they would go out of tune very easily. The duo went on to have a second Top 10 hit with "Scarlett O'Hara" which is also available from Wobbleco Music in an arrangement for brass band. Both arrangements seek to capture the characteristic style of 60's rock music and retain the signature drum solos for which they are rightly remembered. But in addition, both pieces also appeal to a younger generation who may not have heard the originals. Our young kit drummer in Woburn Sands 'A' Band commented "...the (drum) part has the slightest shuffle feel to it, which improves the groove of the song, and to replicate the vintage snare-drum sound, I have heard that you can place a towel or a cloth over the head of the drum. I think it would work well...(otherwise) the drum part stays relatively simple and repetitive"...Chance to re-create the sound of the 60's.....Go for it!
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Left Bank Two - Wayne Hill - Len Jenkins
In the 1960's, a group of session musicians had some studio time left over and asked if anyone had something they wanted to try. The young vibes player, Wayne Hill came up with this tune, which they recorded on the spot, almost as a 'throwaway' piece. To viewers in the UK, it is best known as the music used in "The Gallery" sequence of 'Vision On', which was a British children's television programme, shown on BBC1 from 1964 to 1976. Tony Hart, artist and co-presenter of the programme, made pictures in a variety of sizes and media, and encouraged children to submit their own paintings to "The Gallery" for display on TV. They did so in their thousands. The piece has been used in a number of adverts including those for Volkswagen, Castrol Oil and Waitrose, and TV programmes such as NBC's America's Got Talent, The X Factor (U.S) and the BBC panel show QI. Left Bank Two features a Vibraphone solo with Brass Band accompaniment. For those bands that do not have a Vibraphone, an alternative solo for a B flat instrument is included.
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Paint It Black - Mick Jagger & Keith Richards - Len Jenkins
"Paint It Black" (originally released as "Paint It, Black") was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and first released as a single on 6 May 1966. It became the Rolling Stones' sixth number one in the UK and has remained influential as the first number one hit featuring a sitar. The song came at a pivotal period in The Rolling Stones' recording history, a time that saw the song-writing collaboration of Jagger and Richards assert itself as the principal composers of the band's original material. Its lyrics are for the most part meant to describe bleakness and depression and describe the extreme grief suffered by one stunned by the sudden and unexpected loss of wife, lover or partner. It famously plays during the end credits of the film Full Metal Jacket. Beginning in the style of an ironic minuet, which can be by-passed by starting at bar 54 where the heavy rock beat takes over, the piece is interesting and within the capabilities of 3rd or 4th section bands. For those bands with a drummer and one percussionist, an alternative percussion part is provided.
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Duet For Two Cats - G. Rossini - Len Jenkins
"Duet For Two Cats" is often performed as an encore to vocal recitals and operatic galas. It may be sung by two sopranos, male-female pairs, or even as a tomcat duet and can be accompanied by a piano or a full orchestra. The lyrics are simple; the single word 'Miaow', repeated with various styles of inflexion and attitude throughout the piece. Our arrangement is for a cornet and trombone. The piece is generally ascribed to Rossini, though there is some doubt as to its actual origins and whether it is an authentic work by that composer. It is believed that an English composer, Robert Lucas Pearsall under the pseudonym G. Berthold may have assembled the various elements from Rossini and perhaps other composers into the piece as we now know it. In order to achieve the correct balance between band and soloists, there is a need to mute most of the band instruments. Recognising that not all bands will have the larger mutes which are expensive and sometimes unwieldy, we suggest a form of muting made famous by a jazz trumpeter and which works well on most instruments. It consists of a circle of heat resistant padded table covering or felt, slightly larger than the bell diameter, with an elasticated edge like a 'mop-hat'. With 3 holes in it to let the sound out, the mute is then simply stretched over the bell to achieve the desired effect and folded up when not required.