Results
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£19.65Adam Zero, Suite from (Brass Band - Study Score) - 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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£64.95
Adam 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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£100.00Danceries (Set II) (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Hesketh, Kenneth
Danceries Set II, arranged for brass band, was first commission by Keith Allen for the Birmingham Symphonic Winds. This second set of Danceries continues the format, established in the popular Danceries (Set I), of using tunes and dances from Playford's Dancing Master (17th century) to form the basis of an extended dancesuite. In this set, the melodies have become more abstracted and project only a distant echo of their original forms. As before, each movement is self-contained, colourful and direct, with its own distinct mood. The outer movements - Jennie's Bawbee and Peascod's Galliarda - share driving percussion with a military air. Tom Tinker's Toye and Heart's Ease (movements two and three) are both settings of original melodies. All movements are more extended than in the first set, with a freer use and approach to the material; melodies now occur in various keys and are supported by a greater variety of harmonic colouring. The result is a richer, even more exhilarating set of dances. Suitable for 1st Section Bands and above. Duration: 15.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£66.65Pyrenean Carol Suite (Brass Band) David Taylor
This attractive suite for brass band by David Taylor features five traditional carols from the Pyrenees region of Spain, as follows: i. Nadal Tindaire (Jingling Christmas) - Occitan traditional This Occitan Christmas song tells of musical instruments used to celebrate the Nativity - 'fifes and trumpets, timpani and pipes, or you, clear little bells, along with the angels' choir.' ii. Gabriel's Message (Birjina Gaztetto Bat Zegoen) - Basque traditional The most widely-known of the chosen carols, honouring Jesus's mother Mary, this is often sung in its English version, but the melody came from the Basque country. The Basque words were adapted from the Mediaeval song Angelus ad Virginem. Here, we feature the flugel horn. This movement was originally written on its own, with organ accompaniment, for the composer's wife, Diane Scott. iii. El Noi de la Mare (The Child of the Mother) - Catalan traditional A beautiful Catalan carol celebrating the birth of Jesus, telling of the tasty gifts that the singer would bring - 'Raisins and figs and nuts and olives; Raisins and figs and honey and mato [a Catalan dessert cheese traditionally served with honey.]' Here we feature the euphonium. The tune was made famous by guitarist Andres Segovia, who used it as a favourite encore, and by John Rutter, who made a widely-used setting for choir. iv. Paure Satan (Poor Satan) - Occitan traditional This rather unusual carol tells of the pain that Satan is put to by the arrival of the infant Jesus. Its mocking and sarcastic tone is reflected here, where the tuba soloist (as Satan) is given musical trouble throughout by the other parts. At first they conflict with the soloist, then the soloist makes overtures of friendship, which are treated with suspicion followed by contempt. The soloist finally gives in to their accompaniment (or do they?). There are plenty of opportunities for little theatrical touches here, if the tuba player is so inclined! The tuba part in this movement is notably more difficult than the rest of the music, and a number of optional changes have been marked to make the part easier to play, if so desired. The player is also welcome to add suitable extra embellishments to taste if they wish, within the character of the music. v. Fum, Fum, Fum! - Catalan traditional A favourite Catalan Christmas song for centuries, this rousing melody provides a fitting way to round off the suite, with its repeated rhythmic refrain of the nonsense title phrase. It tells of the Nativity, and then it tells of the celebratory feasting and good times that the singers look forward to to honour it. Although the suite is intended to be performed whole, it is also intended for usage with a selection of movements on occasions where a shorter piece is wanted. Suggested formats include a single movement alone (2, 3, and 5 are likely most appropriate), a pair of movements (any of the first four, plus 5), and a suite of three or four movements (1 and 5, plus one or two of 2, 3, or 4 in the middle). It is suggested that a good way to design a 'pick-your-own-suite' from the movements is to think of the earlier movements as introductory to the final movement. To view a rolling score video featuring Kidlington Concert Brass please visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIGdul-yxxg PDF download includes score and parts. Sheet music available from: UK - www.brassband.co.uk USA - www.cimarronmusic.com Difficulty Level: 3rd Section + Length: 9.45 minutes Instrumentation: Soprano Cornet Eb Solo Cornet Bb Repiano Cornet Bb 2nd Cornet Bb 3rd Cornet Bb Flugel Horn Bb Solo Horn Eb 1st Horn Eb 2nd Horn Eb 1st Baritone Bb 2nd Baritone Bb 1st Trombone Bb 2nd Trombone Bb Bass Trombone Euphonium Bb Bass Eb Bass Bb Timpani Percussion 1-2
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£38.00Jubilee Gigue (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Wiseman, Debbie - Houlding, Christopher
Composer Debbie Wiseman is one of the UK's most successful female music ambassadors. Throughout the past 20 years, there are probably few people in the UK who have not heard a theme from one of Debbie's many film or television productions. Honoured in the Queen's New Year's with an MBE for services to the music and film industry, she has been awarded honorary fellowships at both the music colleges where she studied, Trinity College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. "Jubilee Gigue" was commissioned to be performed on the Georgian barge as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant. Inspired by the "Gigue" in Handel's original Water Music, the work has a rollicking, upbeat feel and is now newly arranged for brass band by Chris Houlding. Duration: 5.30. Suitable for 3rd Section Bands and above.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95Chalk Farm No.2 (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Gregson, Edward
Like so many of the best composers for brass band - Eric Ball, Wilfred Heaton, Elgar Howarth and Robert Simpson - Edward Gregson's youthful talents came to the fore in the Salvation Army. In 1975 Gregson was commissioned by the Chalk Farm Band of the Salvation Army to write a march for the centenary of the birth of the band's most long-serving bandmaster Alfred W Punchard, who conducted the band from 1894 to 1944. In 1909 the Salvation Army published a march called Chalk Farm featuring the old Army chorus 'March on, we shall win the day'.Gregson uses the same tune in his Chalk Farm No 2 march, but this is a symphonic march clearly to be played sitting down. He includes irregular bars of 5 and 7 beats as well as a tongue-in-cheek treatment of the tune, complete with bongos (in the march) and bi-tonality (in the trio). Chalk Farm No 2 imaginatively composed. Gregson's own main theme 'fits' the chorus as a counter-subject. The playful irreverence of the style has more in common with Wilfred Heaton's Praise or Glory, than the conventional Salvation Army March.Duration: 4.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£112.50The World Rejoicing (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Gregson, Edward
The World Rejoicing was commissioned by the National Brass Band Associations of Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and the British Open, as the test piece for their competitions in 2020/21. Although the work was completed in 2019, the pandemic of 2020 meant that these competitions were postponed until 2021/22. The premiere took place in September 2021 at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, UK.In searching for a common link between the brass band traditions of the various European countries that commissioned this work, I considered the fact that hymns have always played an important role in the relationship that brass bands have with their particular communities; and thus I turned to a well- known Lutheran chorale, Nun danket alle Gott (Now thank we all our God), written around 1636 by Martin Rinkart, with the melody attributed to Johann Cruger. A number of composers have incorporated this chorale into their music, most famously J.S. Bach in his Cantatas no. 79 and 192, and Mendelssohn in the Lobsegang movement of his 2nd Symphony (the harmonisation of which is usually used when this hymn is sung).It seemed fitting therefore for me to return to a compositional form I have used many times before (Variations) and to write a work based on this hymn. I have used it in a similar way to that which I employed in my Variations on Laudate Dominum of 1976 - that is, rather than writing a set of variations using elaborations of the complete tune, I have taken various phrases from the chorale and used them within the context of other musical material, applying an overall symphonic process of continuous variation and development. The structure, or sub-divisions of the work, which is through composed and plays without a break, is as follows:Prelude, Capriccio, La Danza 1, Processional, La Danza 2, Arias and Duets, Fuga Burlesca, Chorale, and Postlude.The work, which is around 16 minutes in length, is also partly autobiographical - in the manner say of Strauss's Ein Heldenleben - in that I have incorporated into the score brief quotations from many of my other major works for brass band. In that respect, The World Rejoicing sums up a particular facet of my life as a composer, and reflects the admiration I have always had for what is surely one of the great amateur music-making traditions in the world.Duration: 16.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£12.00The World Rejoicing (Brass Band - Study Score)
In searching for a common link between the brass band traditions of the various European countries that commissioned this work, I considered the fact that hymns have always played an important role in the relationship that brass bands have with their particular communities; and thus I turned to a well-known Lutheran chorale, Nun danket alle Gott (Now thank we all our God), written around 1636 by Martin Rinkart, with the melody attributed to Johann Crger. A number of composers have incorporated this chorale into their music, most famously J.S.Bach in his Cantatas no. 79 and 192, and Mendelssohn in the Lobsegang movement of his 2nd Symphony (the harmonization of which is usually used when this hymn is sung).It seemed fitting therefore for me to return to a compositional form I have used many times before (Variations) and to write a work based on this hymn. I have used it in a similar way to that which I employed in my Variations on Laudate Dominum of 1976 - that is, rather than writing a set of variations using elaborations of the complete tune, I have taken various phrases from the chorale and used them within the context of other musical material, applying an overall symphonic process of continuous variation and development. The structure, or sub-divisions of the work, which is through composed and plays without a break, is as follows: Prelude, Capriccio, La Danza 1, Processional, La Danza 2, Arias and Duets, Fuga Burlesca, Chorale, and Postlude.The work is also partly autobiographical - in the manner say of Strauss's Ein Heldenleben - in that I have incorporated into the score brief quotations from many of my other major works for brass band. In that respect, The World Rejoicing sums up a particular facet of my life as a composer, and reflects the admiration I have always had for what is surely one of the great amateur music-making traditions in the world.The World Rejoicing is dedicated 'in loving memory of my brother', Bramwell Logan Gregson, who sadly passed away in the Autumn of 2018.Edward Gregson
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£33.32King Lily of the Valley (Euphonium & Baritone Feature w/Brass Band) Espen Haukas
Based on a poem by Gustaf Froding, King Lily of the Valley is a poetic and regal musical tribute to the delicate flower that, in Froding's verse, appears as a young king surrounded by both sorrow and beauty. Originally composed by David Wikander and arranged for male choir (TTBB) by Rasmus Krigstrom, this evocative work has been masterfully reimagined for brass band by Norwegian arranger and composer Espen Wallacher Haukas and created for Bjorsvik Brass's performance at Siddis Brass 2025. The brass band version retains the choral character and emotional depth of the original, weaving lush harmonies and lyrical phrasing into a rich soundscape. A deeply expressive addition to any brass band repertoire - blending Nordic choral tradition with the grandeur and warmth of the brass band sound. Scoring: Standard brass band instrumentation.(Note: Solo Cornets are marked TACET, providing a welcome opportunity for rest in longer programmes.) To view a rolling score video of the work please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK5YPW4t3Oo Duration: Approx. 3.30 minutes Difficulty Level: 3rd Section + This PDF download includes the full score and parts. Sheet music available at www.brassband.co.uk (UK) or www.cimarronmusic.com (USA) Instrumentation: 1st Baritone Bb 1st Euphonium Bb 2nd Baritone Bb 2nd Euphonium Bb Soprano Cornet Eb Repiano Cornet Bb 2nd Cornet Bb 3rd Cornet Bb Flugel Horn Bb Solo Horn Eb 1st Horn Eb 2nd Horn Eb 1st Trombone Bb 2nd Trombone Bb Bass Trombone Bass Eb Bass Bb Timpani Percussion 1-2
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£33.32O Little One Sweet (Brass Band) J.S Bach arr. Andrew Wainwright
This delightful German lullaby-carol first appeared in print in Samuel Scheidt's Tablaturbuch of 1650, though it may have been written before then, either by Scheidt himself or by an unknown author. J. S. Bach's version (in the form of a melody and figured bass) was included in Schemelli's Gesangbuch of 1736, and it is that which this arrangement for brass band by Andrew Wainwright is based on. This setting includes all four verses. To view a rolling score video of the work please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YryayLe_uJo Duration: Approx. 3.45 minutes Difficulty Level: 4th Section + PDF download includes parts and score. Sheet music available from www.brassband.co.uk (UK) or www.cimarronmusic.com (USA) Instrumentation: Soprano Cornet Eb Solo Cornet Bb Repiano Cornet Bb 2nd Cornet Bb 3rd Cornet Bb Flugel Horn Bb Solo Horn Eb 1st Horn Eb 2nd Horn Eb 1st Baritone Bb 2nd Baritone Bb 1st Trombone Bb 2nd Trombone Bb Bass Trombone Euphonium Bb Bass Eb Bass BbTimpani
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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