Results
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£19.65Adam 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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£94.9920,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Frenchman Jules Verne was a pioneer in science fiction during the late 19th Century, penning some classic stories such as Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Around the World in 80 Days - both of which have already been the subject of brass band test-pieces. It was therefore natural for me to choose Verne's 1869 watery magnum opus as the subject for this piece to which there are five sections, as well as an introduction and a finale.THE NAUTILUS. After a mysterious introduction we are introduced to The Nautilus - a fantastical submarine.THE CORAL KINGDOM. We visit awe-inspiring underwater coral formations.SQUID ATTACK. The Nautilus is attacked by a school of giant squid, or 'devilfish'.CAPTAIN NEMO. Captain Nemo is a loner and an eccentric. Some say he is a madman. Soloists of the band help to uncover the character of this enigmatic but powerful figure.MAELSTROM. The Nautilus is dragged into the ocean's deadliest whirlpool but Captain Nemo lives to fight another day.Duration: 12.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£43.99
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Brass Band - Score only)
Frenchman Jules Verne was a pioneer in science fiction during the late 19th Century, penning some classic stories such as Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Around the World in 80 Days - both of which have already been the subject of brass band test-pieces. It was therefore natural for me to choose Verne's 1869 watery magnum opus as the subject for this piece to which there are five sections, as well as an introduction and a finale.THE NAUTILUS. After a mysterious introduction we are introduced to The Nautilus - a fantastical submarine.THE CORAL KINGDOM. We visit awe-inspiring underwater coral formations.SQUID ATTACK. The Nautilus is attacked by a school of giant squid, or 'devilfish'.CAPTAIN NEMO. Captain Nemo is a loner and an eccentric. Some say he is a madman. Soloists of the band help to uncover the character of this enigmatic but powerful figure.MAELSTROM. The Nautilus is dragged into the ocean's deadliest whirlpool but Captain Nemo lives to fight another day.Duration: 12.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£38.95Unity Series Band Journal - Numbers 522 - 525, October 2023
522: Festival March - The Rescuers (Andrew Hedley)This exciting and bright festival march comes from a new contributor to the band journals. Andrew Hedley is a bandsman at Chester-le-Street Corps and a member of the Euphonium Section of the International Staff Band. This work contains inventive harmonic and melodic patterns and we hope this will be the first of many works from this composer to be seen in our journals.523: Moses and Pharaoh (Ralph Pearce)This piece owes its creation to the playing of the Montclair Citadel Young Peoples' Band in the Sunday School assembly every weekend. The song Pharaoh, Pharaoh is extremely popular and is sung with gusto and much movement. The presentation of this song derives for an accompaniment written for the band to play along with the singing. To widen its use, the spiritual Go down, Moses (STTL Vol.7, Part 2) was added to make the present composition. This music should have drive throughout and be played with a sense of fun.524: Lord, to thee (Alan Williams)This is a setting of the tune Hendon (T.B. 249). The piece uses the first verse of Frances Ridley Havergal's commonly associated text 'Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee' (S.A.S.B. 623), and from there it takes its title.525: Song Arrangement - This is why (Noel Jones)This music is based on the tune This is why (T.B. 353) by Elisha Albright Hoffman and this two-verse arrangement reflects the great song of testimony Would you know why I love Jesus (S.A.S.B. 912). An associated scripture reference is found in Mark 10:45 'For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many'. The motif 'Would you know' occurs in the opening bars and is repeated throughout the piece, along with fragments of the first verse. The chorus confirms the hoy that Christians experience knowing that Christ's sacrifice has bought forgiveness for our wrongdoings.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95Trusting Faith (Euphonium Solo with Brass Band - Score and Parts)
This piece is based on the melody Faith is the victory (T.B. 128) and throughout the solo we follow a person's journey of faith. In the first movement, the bold and confident opening depicts a seemingly strong and certain faith, although perhaps a little naive and immature. The music suggests that if we are certain enough, then we will see our prayers immediately answered and will witness miracles. But what happens when we don't see those miracles happen, or our prayers seem unanswered? Doubt creeps in and the music quickly becomes a full struggle continuing through to the end of the moment.What do you do when you faith amounts to something other than what you thought it to be? The beginning of the second movement reflects this questions and starts hesitantly and full of doubt. Soon, a new melody is introduced, Trusting as the moments fly (T.B. 263). The words of the chorus remind us that true faith should bot be affected by fears or disappointments, that our trust in God should remain. Realising that a faith that holds firm, though being tested over time, becoming deeper and stronger, is a liberating truth. We no longer need to struggle in our strength alone, but can lean on God instead.When we lean on God, reset in his care, and feel. safe in his hands, then faith has really become our victory. We will then become strong disciples who can meet life's various challenges without wavering or being afraid. This is depicted in the final movement of the solo when both melodies, whose messages complement each other, are woven together in an explosive finale.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£75.00Music from The Royal Palaces (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Selected as the Section 3 test piece for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2025Music from 'The Royal Palaces', arranged by Michael Halstenson in 2023, is also cast in five movements: the quietly regal 'Queen Victoria's Call to the Throne'; 'The Ballroom in Buckingham Palace' waltz evoking the gaiety of functions at Buckingham Palace; 'Joust of the Knights in Armour' (George V's reign) depicting knights preparing to joust; 'Melodrama' characterising the murder at Holyrood House (Edinburgh) of Mary, Queen of Scots' Secretary, David Rizzio; and the majestic 'The Royal Palace Theme' march.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.95
Music from The Royal Palaces (Brass Band - Score only)
Selected as the Section 3 test piece for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2025Music from 'The Royal Palaces', arranged by Michael Halstenson in 2023, is also cast in five movements: the quietly regal 'Queen Victoria's Call to the Throne'; 'The Ballroom in Buckingham Palace' waltz evoking the gaiety of functions at Buckingham Palace; 'Joust of the Knights in Armour' (George V's reign) depicting knights preparing to joust; 'Melodrama' characterising the murder at Holyrood House (Edinburgh) of Mary, Queen of Scots' Secretary, David Rizzio; and the majestic 'The Royal Palace Theme' march.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£59.95Ballet for Band (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
1st Section Test Piece 2016 National Finals of the British Brass Band Championship. Recorded on Polyphonic DPRL901D Joseph Horovitz (The Brass Band Music of)
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95Follow the Flame (from the Torchbearer) (Flugel Horn or Cornet Solo with Brass Band)
The Torchbearer was commissioned as the test piece for the 2009 National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain and the FABB Open Contest respectively and pays musical tribute to Eric Ball, considered by many to be the 20th century's most influential composer of brass band music. The thematic material is derived from the first phrase of the trio from Eric Ball's Salvation Army march, Torchbearers.Follow the Flame is a main theme from the larger work, now fully metamorphosised and mirroring in music a concept at the centre of Ball's broader philosophy, that of transformation.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£102.99Lake of the Moon (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
3rd Section Test Piece 2016 National Finals of the British Brass Band Championship.The travels of the Aztec people as they headed south through North America looking for a new home, acted as the inspiration for Lake of the Moon. The composition contains small fragments of Oriental music and South American rhythms and occasionally, Russian Cossacks seem to raise their heads. The journey from North to South is not without danger, which is represented by threatening sounds within the music. In the Adagio divoto the composer takes us along to the Texcoco Lake, which the Aztecs called the lake of the moon. Bring a little bit of South American history to your concert with Lake of the Moon.Duration: 11:15
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days