Results
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£30.00The St Louis Blues - Sandy Coffin, W C Handy
Two-Step MarchCommissioned by John Wallace, this arrangement of The St Louis Blues has been crafted by Sandy Coffin through close listening of the available recordings of the Harlem Hellfighters Band. Sandy had been heavily involved with the Historic Brass Society symposium 2017 held in New York and assisted John with his research on this fascinating band and the style of music it generated.Eye-witness accounts refer to the 369th band 'dancing' rather than 'marching'. Above all, in modern performance, finding a 'dancing beat' is crucial to a successful performance of this Ragtime march in order to do justice to the great pioneering work of James Reese Europe.Note the flutter-tonguing and use of muting, the counter-melody in soprano cornet, and the wilder and yet wilder nature of each repetition of the Chorus.Look and Listen:Background to the Harlem HellfightersThe US Army 369th Regiment, made up largely of African-Americans from New York, became known as the Harlem Hellfighters because of the heroic reputation which accrued to them during the actions they engaged in during the First World War in Europe.James Reese Europe was one of the most active African-American composer/musical directors in the pre-war American music scene. The legendary Harlem Hellfighters Band, which he assembled in 1917 from African-American and Puerto Rican musicians, came at an important transitional point in musical history. A new form of music called jazz was emerging from Ragtime and the performing style of Europe's band was immersed in the flow of this new direction.Europe's Harlem Hellfighters influenced and inspired everyone who heard them, including the welcoming crowd when they disembarked in France, bowled over by their swinging rendition of La Marseillaise. Reese Europe became a war hero, commanding a machine-gun unit as well as the band.On return from War in 1919 the band led a ticker-tape parade along Fifth Avenue in New York and soon made about 30 shellac recordings. These recordings display some of the fingerprints of their performing style: ragging, improvising, muting, wailing, smearing (their word for glissando) - and from the evidence of their recordings they took the printed page as a blueprint for individuality.In May 1919 during the Hellfighters' triumphant coast-to-coast tour after their return, James Reese Europe was tragically murdered, bringing to premature close, at the age of 39, the work of a great musical innovator.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£32.00California Legend (Score only) - Bruce Broughton
California Legend was inspired by Las Sergas de Esplandian by Garci Ordonez de Mantalvo, published in Seville in 1510. Quoting from 'A Companion to California', the story recounts the fictional adventures of Esplandian. Among the places he visits is one "on the right hand of the indies, an island called California, very near to the Terrestial Paradise, which was peopled with black women, accustomed to live after the fashion of Amazons, there arms were full of gold. The land was ruled by a Queen named Calafia."
Estimated dispatch 7-9 working days
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£42.00California Legend (Parts only) - Bruce Broughton
California Legend was inspired by Las Sergas de Esplandian by Garci Ordonez de Mantalvo, published in Seville in 1510. Quoting from 'A Companion to California', the story recounts the fictional adventures of Esplandian. Among the places he visits is one "on the right hand of the indies, an island called California, very near to the Terrestial Paradise, which was peopled with black women, accustomed to live after the fashion of Amazons, there arms were full of gold. The land was ruled by a Queen named Calafia."
Estimated dispatch 7-9 working days
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£32.00Cityscapes (Score only) - Stephen Bulla
The music of Cityscapes intends to parallel the impressions, sights, and sounds of a modern city to what a painter might convey with a landscape portrait. 'Morning Scene - Awakening': the quiet solitude of a sunrise, birdsong, and empty streets can betray the crowded jungle of city life. These are the last moments of sleep before the alarm goes off and the coffee goes on. 'Faces in Motion': The pavements come alive, streets fill with cars, office buildings open, the rush hour is on - and everyone is late! 'Museum Visit': To step into a museum is to visit another world. Looking at what we've been and where we've been, there's always a sense of awe at how much has gone before; and the realisation of how much there is yet to come... 'Nightlife': After hours is not the time to slow down, for the city never really sleeps. Nightclubs open, and the jazz circuit is alive with swinging sounds. This is the soul of the city. Duration: 12:00
Estimated dispatch 7-9 working days
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£42.00Cityscapes (Parts only) - Stephen Bulla
The music of Cityscapes intends to parallel the impressions, sights, and sounds of a modern city to what a painter might convey with a landscape portrait. 'Morning Scene - Awakening': the quiet solitude of a sunrise, birdsong, and empty streets can betray the crowded jungle of city life. These are the last moments of sleep before the alarm goes off and the coffee goes on. 'Faces in Motion': The pavements come alive, streets fill with cars, office buildings open, the rush hour is on - and everyone is late! 'Museum Visit': To step into a museum is to visit another world. Looking at what we've been and where we've been, there's always a sense of awe at how much has gone before; and the realisation of how much there is yet to come... 'Nightlife': After hours is not the time to slow down, for the city never really sleeps. Nightclubs open, and the jazz circuit is alive with swinging sounds. This is the soul of the city. Duration: 12:00
Estimated dispatch 7-9 working days
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£42.00Partita for Band (Postcards from Home) (Score only) - Philip Wilby
The sound and culture of brass bands was part of Philip Wilby's childhood, and this short Partita seeks to commemorate his childish memories in the musical terms of today's currency. Although the music makes technical demands on the players the piece is, nevertheless designed to involve rather than impress its audiences. There are four movements: 'Towers and Chimneys' which is both heraldic and mysterious; 'Churches: Lord of the Dance' is an arrangement of the famous shaker melody made popular in Martin Shaw's hymn of Jesus' life and history; 'Pastorale: Sunday Afternoon recalls those long and languorous days before television, and 'Coronation Day Parade' - a community celebration with a brass band at its centre. Duration: 12:00
Estimated dispatch 7-9 working days
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£52.00Partita for Band (Postcards from Home) (Parts only) - Philip WIlby
The sound and culture of brass bands was part of Philip Wilby's childhood, and this short Partita seeks to commemorate his childish memories in the musical terms of today's currency. Although the music makes technical demands on the players the piece is, nevertheless designed to involve rather than impress its audiences. There are four movements: 'Towers and Chimneys' which is both heraldic and mysterious; 'Churches: Lord of the Dance' is an arrangement of the famous shaker melody made popular in Martin Shaw's hymn of Jesus' life and history; 'Pastorale: Sunday Afternoon recalls those long and langorous days before television, and 'Coronation Day Parade' - a community celebration with a brass band at its centre. Duration: 12:00
Estimated dispatch 7-9 working days
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£42.00Prisms (Score only) - Peter Graham
Dating from 1986 Prisms (Symphonic Study No. 2 for Brass band) was extensively revised in 1988 to form the preent work. Though not programmatic as such, the work has its roots in traditional brass band music, being strongly melodic and adopting a broad ternary form. The main themes call all be traced to the fourth-based first subject, these offshoots drawing a parallel with light refraction - Prisms. As well as the lyrical sections, much of the music is highly rhythmic, with a busy percussion section, and accesible and enjoyable to all. Duration: 13:00
Estimated dispatch 7-9 working days
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£52.00Prisms (Parts only) - Peter Graham
Dating from 1986 Prisms (Symphonic Study No. 2 for Brass band) was extensively revised in 1988 to form the preent work. Though not programmatic as such, the work has its roots in traditional brass band music, being strongly melodic and adopting a broad ternary form. The main themes call all be traced to the fourth-based first subject, these offshoots drawing a parallel with light refraction - Prisms. As well as the lyrical sections, much of the music is highly rhythmic, with a busy percussion section, and accesible and enjoyable to all. Duration: 13:00
Estimated dispatch 7-9 working days
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£44.95Fantasy on Sempre Libera (Euphonium Solo with Brass Band)
During the 19th century the great instrumental virtuosi reined supreme. Pianists Liszt and Thalberg and violinists Paganini and Saraste amazed audiences with their wide-ranging technical and artistic abilities, fuelled by increasingly difficult paraphrases and variations on popular tunes of the day.The Fantasy on Sempre Libera looks back with affection to this period and provides an opportunity for present day euphonium virtuoso David Thornton to demonstrate the skills which mark him out as one of the world's finest players.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days