Results
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£21.95Adam Zero, Suite from (Brass Band - Study Score)
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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£96.99Beecher Variations (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
In this beautiful composition, melodic fragments of the hymn tune Beecher are morphed into a series of variations, showing the melody in various moods from expressive, then quiet and soft, to bright and triumphant in the end. Written as a test piece in the 4th division for the Dutch Brass Band Championships in 2015, the music features challenging solo parts for cornet, soprano cornet, flugelhorn and euphonium. A great work for the concert or contest stage!Duration: 12.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£89.95Orion (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Orion was named after the giant huntsman in Greek mythology and is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognisable constellations in the night sky. This piece and its inspiration were composed as a tone poem creating a musical picture of this amazing phenomenon.The opening introduces the constellation. Starting mysteriously with the percussion and basses this section develops a series of rhythmic and harmonic interludes from the upper brass. As this introduction develops, the melodic line lead by the Solo Cornet and Euphonium builds as the accompanying instruments increase in their rhythmic complexity. This section climaxes with a short fanfare motif which will be a prominent theme throughout this piece.The fast rhythmic section that follows serves as a technical test for the players. The thematic device introduced by the Solo Cornets is passed around various soloists and sections within the ensemble. This part of the tone poem gives the opportunity for the ensemble to highlight their technical prowess. The fanfare motif returns to conclude this section and takes the piece into the slow middle movement.Motifs heard earlier are mixed with new ideas in this slow section which give an opportunity for a variety of soloists to demonstrate their musical prowess. After the various solo passages and cadenzas, the mood shifts dramatically to a more ominous section that builds in texture and dynamic. Concluding with our returning fanfare motif the piece then builds in momentum towards our finale section.This finale is a technical showcase which will further test the playing ability and stamina of soloists, small groups and the full ensemble. Using prominent musical themes heard throughout this piece the music builds to a glorious conclusion fitting with wonderful constellation.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£94.95Chaucer's Tunes (Score and Parts)
Chaucer's Tunes (two sections of which began life as the theme music for a BBC radio series The Road to Canterbury) consists of six interconnected sections. These can equally well be played either as one complete continuous movement or as independent individual pieces. Includes: Intrada; Fantasia: Alma redemptoris mater; Intermezzo: The Wife of Bath; Carol: Es ist ein' Ros' entsprungen; Chase: Chauntecleer and the Fox; Finale.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95Chaucer's Tunes (Score Only)
Chaucer's Tunes (two sections of which began life as the theme music for a BBC radio series The Road to Canterbury) consists of six interconnected sections. These can equally well be played either as one complete continuous movement or as independent individual pieces. Includes: Intrada; Fantasia: Alma redemptoris mater; Intermezzo: The Wife of Bath; Carol: Es ist ein' Ros' entsprungen; Chase: Chauntecleer and the Fox; Finale.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£55.95Vertex
Vertex is influenced by Swiss folk music. Melodically and harmonically the composer has taken some ideas from the series of natural harmonics, innate to brass instruments and also the alphorn.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£18.50Vertex (Score Only)
Vertex is influenced by Swiss folk music. Melodically and harmonically the composer has taken some ideas from the series of natural harmonics, innate to brass instruments and also the alphorn.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£33.00
Hawaii 5-O - Stevens, M - Harper, P
The theme music from the Hawaii 5-O TV series which ran from 1968 to 1980. It is considered to be one of the best television themes of all time.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£33.00
Star Trek Voyager - Goldsmith, J - Barry, D
Take a short trip to the Delta Quadrant with the super theme from Star Trek: Voyager, the latest "trek" series. Bold and majestic tunes from the pen of movie music guru Jerry Goldsmith and faithfully transcribed by Darrol Barry - playable by all levels of bands.4th section +
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£44.95
TURRIS FORTISSIMA (Brass Band Set) - Steven Ponsford
The geographical position of Plymouth (the composer's home city) means that, at various times in history, the city has been the United Kingdom's first line of defence. A series of forts around the coast bears testimony to this and forts have featured on the city's coat of arms ever since. However, the city's forefathers believed that physical security was worthless without a faith in God's protection and this is reflected in the city motto; Turris fortissima est nomen Jehovah (The name of Jehovah is our strongest tower) (Proverbs 18:10). Written for Enfield Citadel Band's tour of the USA in 2007, the music attempts to portray this assurance with the use of the tune Ein' Fest Burg (A mighty fortress is our God) along with the more contemporary Blessed be the Name of the Lord and Shout to the Lord. There is also an apt reference to Dean Goffin's My Strength, My Tower as the music builds to its dramatic final bars.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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