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£74.95Adam Zero, Suite from (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Bliss, Arthur - Childs, Robert
Selected as the Section 2 test piece for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2025Following his ballet Checkmate, Bliss composed another score for the, by then, Sadler's Wells Ballet, Miracle in the Gorbals, which was choreographed by Robert Helpmann, to a scenario by Michael Benthall. Premired in 1944, the ballet made a considerable impact and was a box-office success. It was followed in turn by a further collaboration with Helpmann and Benthall, Adam Zero. This would serve Helpmann, in the eponymous role, as a vehicle in two respects: demonstrating his gifts as a dancer-actor and as a choreographer. First performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 8 April 1946, Adam Zero was conducted by Constant Lambert, the work's dedicatee. Bliss considered it 'his most varied and exciting ballet score'. Benthall provided a synopsis for the programme:There is a philosophy that life moves in an endless series of timeless cycles. As Nature passes through Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, so man is born, makes a success in his own particular sphere, loses his position to a younger generation, sees his world crumble before his eyes and only finds peace in death. This age-old story is told in terms of a Company creating a ballet and calling on the resources of the theatre to do so. Lighting, stage mechanism, dance conventions, musical forms and costumes and scenery of all periods are used to symbolize the world of 'Adam Zero'.Apart from Adam, as the Principal Dancer, other main roles included the Stage Director (representing Omnipotence), and Adam's Fates (Designer, Wardrobe Mistress, and Dresser). 'The Woman in this allegory', wrote Bliss, 'under the symbol of the Choreographer, was both the creator and destroyer of Adam: his first love, his wife, his mistress, and finally the figure of beneficent Death.' When the curtain rose, the 'audience saw the Covent Garden stage right back to the wall, completely empty except for the protagonists, 'the Company poised, still and expectant, as they await the birth of... Adam Zero.'Unfortunately, soon after the premire, Helpmann injured himself and had to withdraw from the remaining performances. Despite generally positive reviews, the ballet did not capture the imagination of audiences and, to Bliss's considerable disappointment, was not revived. Seventy years would elapse before its first major return to the stage, in 2016, performed by the ballet company of Stadttheater Bremerhaven with choreography by Sergei Vanaev.Bliss extracted a concert suite from the ballet, conducting its first performance with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on 28 October 1948. For his own suite, arranged for brass band in 2023, Dr Robert Childs chose three dances linked to the seasons, book-ending them with the ebullient 'Fanfare Overture' and 'Fanfare Coda'. After Adam has grown to manhood, his Fates clothe him in a costume synonymous with confident youth, appropriate for the virile, ardent 'Dance of Spring'. In the 'Approach of Autumn', Adam, now wearing a sombre costume, has grown older: his Fates have streaked grey in his hair and put lines on his face. But they had earlier raised Adam to the zenith of his power, and the 'Dance of Summer' depicts him in the prime of life, in music of sweeping grandeur. The 'Fanfare Coda' signals that the next cycle of life is about to begin.Duration: 10.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£104.99Brass Dynamics (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Cesarini, Franco
Composed for the 2nd section of the Swiss Brass Band Championships Brass Dynamics is perfect as a major work for any concert. It is centred on the form of an (A-B-A) overture with the initial dynamic theme setting the tone for the entire work and reoccurring in each movement. Composer Franco Cesarini has a masterful feel for brass band orchestration and brings out the best of all instruments and instrument combinations. Enrich your concert repertoire with this fascinating work.Duration: 8:45
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£112.00Zampa (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Herold, Ferdinand - Wilkinson, Keith M.
The opera, Zampa, was first performed in Paris in 1831 and over the next 50 or so years enjoyed frequent performances and remained extremely popular. Since the dawn of the 20th century the popularity of the opera has waned somewhat but the overture has continued to be one of the composer's most famous works and is a staple of the orchestral repertoire.This brass band transcription was prepared for Brass Band Of The Western Reserve and it has been extremely well-received on their concerts.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£59.95OVERTURE FOR AN EPIC OCCASION (Brass Band Set)
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.50A Muppet Christmas Carol - Paul Williams - David Hollings
The Muppets certainly need no introduction and their take upon the famous Charles Dickens classic novel was of course, a huge success. Released in 1992, the film was the first from the Muppets to be created following the death of their creator Jim Henson and fellow puppeteer, Richard Hunt. Now, arranged by David Hollings, the fun filled overture from the movie is now available for brass band for the first time. A welcome addition to a festive programme for bands that are looking for something different this Christmas.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£44.50Chicago (Highlights from) - Fred Ebb - Iain McKnight
The music from the 1975 musical by Fred Ebb, with lyrics by John Kander, is ranked up there with the best musicals of all time. Whilst the original Broadway production only ran for a couple of years, Chicago was revived in 1996. Following this new lease of life, the show continues to run to this day and has enjoyed over 7,000 performances on Broadway. In the first arrangement of its kind for brass band, this new 'Highlights from Chicago' has been made especially for the Leyland Band to feature on their new upcoming CD. Expertly arranged by Iain McKnight, the work features, 'The Overture', 'And All That Jazz', 'Nowadays' and 'Hot Honey Rag'. Sure to be a hit with all who play it, the music appeals to audiences of all ages and is a great concert item that will suit both outdoor and indoor concert events. Not to be missed.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£65.00
A Christmas Overture - Nigel Hess
Nigel Hess' vivacious and colourful A Christmas Overture, originally commissioned as an orchestral work by John Rutter for his 2007 Christmas Festival, proved an instant success with audience and orchestra alike. Traditional carols, skillfully juxtaposed and interwoven, provide the thematic material. These include Ding Dong! Merrily On High; Il Est N Le Divin Enfant; Infant Holy, Infant Lowly; Personent Hodie; We Wish You A Merry Christmas and Angels From The Realms Of Glory, which brings the overture to a majestic close. Fragments of other carols appear along the way to enrich the texture of what is surely one of the most attractive pieces written for the festive season.Brass Band Grade 4/5.Duration: 7 minutes, 30 seconds
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£44.95
TUNESMITH OVERTURE (Brass Band Set) - Stephen Bulla
The definition of a tunesmith is a person who composes popular music or songs. Howard Davies is such a person, having written dozens of songs (words AND music) for The Salvation Army. This overture takes a handful of his most popular melodies and turns them into a captivating Broadway-style medley which includes the light and witty 'God's Still the One' and 'The Good Lord Brought Him Through' as well as the devotional favourite, 'The Wonder of His Grace'.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£39.95Agincourt Song (Score and Parts) - Elgar Howarth trans. Ray Farr
This famous 15th-century song commemorating the English victory at the battle of Agincourt in 1415 has been adapted and arranged by many composers over the years, notably William Walton in his music for the film Henry V and by Ralph Vaughan Williams in his overture for brass band Henry the Fifth. Elgar Howarth originally made this stirring arrangement for 10-piece orchestral brass, and Ray Farr's transcription for British-style brass band employs antiphonal groups to magnificent effect.
Estimated dispatch 7-9 working days
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£44.95
TRAILBLAZERS (Brass Band Set) - Andrew Mackereth
This overture draws its inspiration from the story of the first Household Troops Band. It tells the story of the 1887 band, the subsequent lull of nearly a hundred years and the re-awakening of the Troops phenomenon in 1985. It was originally written in 1995 and featured prominently by the band on its North American tour of 2002. Given the history of the Household Troops Band, it is fitting that this composition is preoccupied with marching. It begins with a marching song played by a solitary muted cornet, symbolic not only of the call to bandsmen to join the evangelical effort but also a muso-dramatic device to indicate the steady increase in members and technical ability! The music quickly develops into stirring versions of 'A robe of white' and 'Storm the forts of darkness' with two early day Salvation Army tunes crucially adding to the narrative; 'Marching on in the light of God' and 'Soldiers of our God, arise!' The second section is a reflective setting of the Herbert Booth song, 'The penitent's plea'. This song serves to represent the many people who were 'saved' during those early day campaigns. The expressive music transports the listener through a period of uncertainty and angst until finally reaching the song, 'There is a message, a simple message, and it's a message for us all'. The final section deals first with the emergence from the annals of history with the muted cornet figure again before, symbolically, the present day band bursts forth with an emphatic statement of 'Would you be free from your burden of sin? There's power in the blood'. The stirring climax represents a fitting tribute to those gallant pioneering musicians and their equally impressive and dedicated contemporaries.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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