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£44.00Salute to a Hero - Philip Sparke
It is a tradition at Marlow High School, Oklahoma, that the band members' parents host a Band Banquet every May, at which the senior members of the band present a gift to the band director as a token of gratitude for his year's work. In 2009, clarinet player Brenna Hensley had the idea to commission a new piece from composer Philip Sparke to present to band director Billy Daniel, which would be played at the Spring Concert later that month. Salute to a Hero was the result.The piece opens with a decorated fanfare played on cornets and trombones and, after a short bridge passage, this reappears, played by the full band. A central lyrical section brings a mood of calm, utilising different brass colours, before the fanfare returns to close the work.
Estimated delivery 10-14 days
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£10.50A Bandsman's Overture - Philip Sparke
A Bandsman's Overture was commissioned by British Bandsman magazine to celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2012. It was premiered by Black Dyke Band, conducted by Dr Nicholas Childs, at a special anniversary concert held in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, on July 1st.British Bandsman was for a period known as British Bandsman and Contest Field, following an amalgamation of two magazines. The then owner, John Henry Iles, celebrated this new title by commissioning Ord Hume to write the famous march, BB & CF. As a salute to this heritage A Bandsman's Overture starts with the four notes, B(b)-B(b)-C-F, a motive which permeates an opening fanfare, which contrasts a busy opening with a more legato central section. This gives way to a bustling Vivo, based on repeated staccato notes. A change of key heralds a central cantabile melody, first on euphoniums and baritone and then played by the full band, which is followed by a short development section. This leads to a transformed reprise and a return of the opening fanfare, decorated this time by florid muted cornets.
Estimated delivery 10-14 days
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£54.95A Swiss Festival Overture - Philip Sparke
The Berne Music Association commissioned a Swiss Festival Overture for the Bern Canton Music Festival held in Langenthal in 1989. It was composed both for brass and wind bands as both types of band took part in the contest.The overture starts with a noble and spacious fanfare based on a Bb triad. A quieter moment follows with a long theme unfolding from echoes of the fanfare and this builds to a climax where the fanfare returns. Over a stained chord this triad figure echoesin free time and introduces a short euphonium cadenza. This leads back to the opening, which accelerates into a lively Vivo. Percussion hammers out a new rhythm and after a few bars a rhythmic accompaniment starts up over which a perky tune which starts quietly is then taken up by the full band. A short bridge passage on the horns leads to a legato tune from the middle of the band which is again taken up by the full band. After a climax this subsides to a sustained bass note with rhythmic echoes of the first vivo tune. Bit by bit this reappears until the a full-blown recapitulation leads to a short Coda based on the opening fanfare.
Estimated delivery 12-14 days
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£24.95
A Swiss Festival Overture - Score Only - Philip Sparke
The Berne Music Association commissioned a Swiss Festival Overture for the Bern Canton Music Festival held in Langenthal in 1989. It was composed both for brass and wind bands as both types of band took part in the contest.The overture starts with a noble and spacious fanfare based on a Bb triad. A quieter moment follows with a long theme unfolding from echoes of the fanfare and this builds to a climax where the fanfare returns. Over a stained chord this triad figure echoesin free time and introduces a short euphonium cadenza. This leads back to the opening, which accelerates into a lively Vivo. Percussion hammers out a new rhythm and after a few bars a rhythmic accompaniment starts up over which a perky tune which starts quietly is then taken up by the full band. A short bridge passage on the horns leads to a legato tune from the middle of the band which is again taken up by the full band. After a climax this subsides to a sustained bass note with rhythmic echoes of the first vivo tune. Bit by bit this reappears until the a full-blown recapitulation leads to a short Coda based on the opening fanfare.
Estimated delivery 12-14 days
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£119.00Between the Two Rivers - Philip Sparke
Between the Two Rivers was commissioned by Fanfare 'Prins Hendrik', from Aalst in the Netherlands. The title derives from the fact that the town of Aalst lies between two tributaries of the River Dommel. The community is a highly religious one, so the famous Luther chorale, Ein' Feste Burg, was an obvious choice for Philip Sparke to use as the theme for this new work. It takes the form of a theme with four contrasting variations. Variation 1 is a moto perpetuo, variation 2 has a slower march like feel, variation 3 is a sinister slow movement and the final variation is in the form of a lyrical fugue. Between The Two Rivers is sure to become a major work in modern brass band repertoire.
Estimated delivery 10-14 days
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£59.95The Land of the Long White Cloud (Aotearoa) - Philip Sparke
Dating from 1979, The Land of the Long White Cloud (Aotearoa) was Philip Sparke’s first test-piece. It was commissioned by the New Zealand Brass Band Association for their 1980 National Championships (their centenary year) and set for the European Brass Band Championships, the same year, at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Aotearoa was the name given to New Zealand by its Polynesian settlers whose first sight of the islands was a long, flat cloud lying low over the land. The work has no specific programme although many have seen pictures of the surging ocean in the opening bars. A faster dance-like section leads to a slow, haunting solo for soprano cornet; this is taken up by the whole band before earlier material returns. The dance-like tune is, this time, given a fugal treatment and the opening bars return to close the work.Philip Sparke was born in London and studied composition, trumpet and piano at the Royal College of Music, where he gained an ARCM. It was at the College that his interest in bands arose. He played in the College wind orchestra and also formed a brass band among the students, writing several works for both ensembles.At that time, his first published works appeared – Concert Prelude (brass band) and Gaudium (wind band). A growing interest in his music led to several commissions, his first major one being this featured piece for the Centennial Brass Band Championships in New Zealand – The Land of the Long White Cloud. He has written for brass band championships in New Zealand, Switzerland, Holland, Australia and the UK, including three times for the National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall.In September 2000, he was awarded the Iles Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians for his services to brass bands and in 2005 Music of the Spheres won the National Band Association/William D. Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest. In 2011, he received the BUMA International Brass Award for his contribution to brass music.His conducting and adjudicating activities have taken him to most European countries, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Canada and the USA. In May 2000, he took the major step of becoming a full-time composer by founding his own publishing company, Anglo Music Press. The company is devoted to publishing his brass band, concert band, fanfare band and instrumental publications as well as recordings dedicated to his latest works.
Estimated delivery 12-14 days
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£9.95Sunday in the Park - Philip Sparke
Sunday in the Park was written for tenor horn virtuoso Sheona White, and commissioned by her partner, Matt Wade, as a Christmas present. Composer Philip Sparke had known and admired Sheona's playing for many years, having produced her first solo CD and written pieces for her previously. Both composer and performer are huge fans of the late Karen Carpenter, Sheona in part modelling her sound on the singer's sultry voice; so it was decided that this new solo would be a piece which, whilst not being a 'Carpenters' pastiche, paid tribute to their relaxed style and rich harmonic language. Sunday in the Park opens with an accompanied cadenza for the soloist, which leads to a gentle rhythmic melody with a laid-back feel. This is taken up by the band but the soloist sparks a change of mood by introducing a faster light rock interlude. This reaches a climax, at which point the music unwinds until the original mood returns. A variation on the original melody leads to a short cadenza from the soloist, which brings the work to a peaceful close.
Estimated delivery 10-14 days
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£13.95Hail the Dragon! - Philip Sparke
Its title, Hail the Dragon!, references a work Philip Sparke wrote in 1984, The Year of the Dragon. The piece opens with a lively and energetic fanfare. The mood becomes more subdued in the centre section as the cornet introduces a new theme that builds to an emotional climax. This leads into a recap of the opening fanfare which acts as a type of descant to short quotations from the last movement of The Year of the Dragon before reaching a thunderous finale.
Estimated delivery 10-14 days
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£48.00Ukrainian Bell Carol - Mykola D. Leontovich - Philip Sparke
The Ukrainian Bell Carol is part of a large choral work entitled Shchedryk by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Dmytrovich Leontovych (1877-1921). The tune is an adaptation of an old 'shchedrivka', a song traditionally sung on Ukrainian New Year's Eve (January 13th) which hopes for good fortune in the year to come. The tune has since been the inspiration for at least four different Christmas carols, of which Carol of the Bells is the most famous. Philip Sparke has sourced the original Ukrainian melody to create this stirring arrangement.
Estimated delivery 10-14 days
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£44.00The Conqueror - Philip Sparke
This fantastic contest march was composed for the Alexander Brass Band from Stavanger, Norway, who wanted a brand new march to play when they took part in the world-renowned Whit Friday March Contest. In the march Philip Sparke has followed the traditional brass band contest march format and it is named as a tribute to Alexander the Great, rather than the Alexander brass band, who were actually named after their local pub!
Estimated delivery 10-14 days
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