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£15.00The 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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£59.95Bonnie Northumbria - Brass Band - LM786
COMPOSER: Laurie JohnstonProgramme NotesNorthumberland, or Northumbria as it is also known, is the most northern county in England and has magnificent and stunning landscapes just waiting to be explored. Filled with mystical castles, atmospheric ruins and historical sites and edged by spectacular coastal scenery, there is something wonderful to see at every turn. The Devils Causeway passes through Northumbria and reaches Berwick upon Tweed at the coast. Walkers and cyclists can also take the Coast and Castles Cycle Route or the North Sea Trail which journey through some of the most beautiful scenery along the way.The Blaydon Races is aGeordiefolk songwritten in the 19th century byGeordie Ridley, in a style deriving frommusic hall. It is regarded by many as the unofficialanthemofTynesideand is frequentlysungby supporters ofNewcastle United Football ClubandNewcastle Falconsrugby club.Blaydonis a small town inGateshead, situated about 4 miles (6.4km) fromNewcastle upon Tyne, inNorth East England. The race used to take place on the Stella Haugh 1 mile (1.6km) west of Blaydon.Stella South Power Station(demolished in 1995) was built on the site of the track in the early 1950s, after the races had stopped taking place in 1916.Water of Tyne (sometimes rendered as The Waters of Tyne) is a folk song (Roud number1364) from the north-east of England. The song is sung by a girl or woman lamenting the fact that her paramour is on the opposite bank of theRiver Tyne. Sleeve notes to Michael Hunt's recording of Tyneside songs states that "the ferry is believed to be that atHaughton Castleon theNorth Tyne". Alternatively the "rough river" in the last line may indicate a point further downstream, possiblyTynemouth.The song was collected byJohn Bellin 1810 and published two years later inRhymes of Northern Bards.The Keel Row is a traditional Tyneside folk song evoking the life and work of thekeelmenofNewcastle upon Tyne. A closely related song was first published in aScottishcollection of the 1770s, but may be considerably older, and it is unclear whether the tune is Scottish or English in origin.The opening lines of the song set it inSandgate, that part of the quayside overlooking the River Tyne to the east of the city centre where the keelmen lived and which is still overlooked by theKeelmen's Hospital.Versions of the song appear in both England and Scotland, with Scottish versions referring tothe Canongaterather than Sandgate. The earliest printing was in the 1770s inEdinburghin A Collection of Favourite Scots Tunes, edited by Charles Maclean, though the tune was also found in several late eighteenth-century English manuscript collections. As the term "keel" was used both sides of the border, it has not been determined which version was the original, althoughFrank Kidsonsurmised that like many other songs collected by Maclean it may originally have been aJacobiteair from the time of the1745 rebellion. Some versions of the song make reference to a "blue bonnet[...] with a snowy rose upon it", a clear attempt to evoke Jacobite symbolism, whether dating from 1745 or not.Kidson, however, also noted that he had found the tune of The Keel Row associated with an early dance called "The Yorkshire Lad" as early as 1748.By the 19th century the tune was well associated with the River Tyne; a few years before the 1850s the keelmen had met yearly to celebrate the founding of the Keelmen's Hospital, perambulating the town to the accompaniment of bands playing The Keel Row.Dance To Thy Daddyis a traditional Englishfolksong, originating inNorth East England. An early source for the lyrics, Joseph Robson's "Songs of the bards of the Tyne", published 1849, can be found on the Farne archive. In Farne's notes to the song, it is stated that these lyrics were written by William Watson around 1826.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£34.95The Mansions of Glory (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Bates, Jonathan
"A young, talented and tender-hearted actress was passing along the street of a large city. Seeing a pale, sick girl lying upon a couch just within the half-open door of a beautiful dwelling, she entered, with the thought that by her vivacity and pleasant conversation she might cheer the young invalid. The sick girl was a devoted Christian, and her words, her patience, her submission and heaven-lit countenance so demonstrated the spirit of her religion that the actress was led to give some earnest thought to the claims of Christianity, and was thoroughly converted and became a true follower of Christ. She told her father, the leader of a theatre troupe, of her conversion and of her desire to abandon the stage, stating that she could not live a consistent Christian life and follow the life of an actress. Her father was astonished beyond measure and told his daughter that their living would be lost to them and their business ruined if she persisted in her resolution. Loving her father dearly, she was shaken somewhat in her purpose and partially consented to fill the published engagement to be met in a few days. She was the star of the troupe, and a general favourite. Every preparation was made for the play in which she was to appear. The evening came and the father rejoiced that he had won back his daughter and that their living was not to be lost. The hour arrived; a large audience had assembled. The curtain rose and the young actress stepped forward firmly, amid the applause of the multitude. But an unwonted light beamed from her beautiful face. Through Christ she had conquered and, leaving the audience in tears, she retired from the stage, never to appear upon it again. Through her influence her father was converted, and through their united evangelistic labours many were led to God."
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£17.50The Mansions of Glory (Brass Band - Score only) - Bates, Jonathan
"A young, talented and tender-hearted actress was passing along the street of a large city. Seeing a pale, sick girl lying upon a couch just within the half-open door of a beautiful dwelling, she entered, with the thought that by her vivacity and pleasant conversation she might cheer the young invalid. The sick girl was a devoted Christian, and her words, her patience, her submission and heaven-lit countenance so demonstrated the spirit of her religion that the actress was led to give some earnest thought to the claims of Christianity, and was thoroughly converted and became a true follower of Christ. She told her father, the leader of a theatre troupe, of her conversion and of her desire to abandon the stage, stating that she could not live a consistent Christian life and follow the life of an actress. Her father was astonished beyond measure and told his daughter that their living would be lost to them and their business ruined if she persisted in her resolution. Loving her father dearly, she was shaken somewhat in her purpose and partially consented to fill the published engagement to be met in a few days. She was the star of the troupe, and a general favourite. Every preparation was made for the play in which she was to appear. The evening came and the father rejoiced that he had won back his daughter and that their living was not to be lost. The hour arrived; a large audience had assembled. The curtain rose and the young actress stepped forward firmly, amid the applause of the multitude. But an unwonted light beamed from her beautiful face. Through Christ she had conquered and, leaving the audience in tears, she retired from the stage, never to appear upon it again. Through her influence her father was converted, and through their united evangelistic labours many were led to God."
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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Das Boot - Klaus Doldinger - Len Jenkins
Traditionally, submarines are referred to as 'boats' rather than 'ships' and the German U- boat (Unterseeboot) was originally a craft primarily designed for surface attack that also had an underwater capability, an aspect that was subsequently developed into the submarine craft that we now know. Das Boot was a 1980's TV series/film that followed the patrol of U-96 and is reckoned by many to be the best (anti) war film produced. Authenticity was achieved by filming in a full size replica with actors who were denied washing or shaving to get the right 'atmosphere' of life in a U-boat. Despite the havoc and distress caused by attacks on Allied shipping by U-boats one cannot but be saddened by the fact that out of 40,000 who went to sea in them, 30,000 never returned. The music is characterised by a theme that has a haunting, deep, sonorous quality penetrated by the sharp, regular 'ping' of ASDIC (sonar) that was used by surface vessels to echo-locate submarines prior to attacking them with depth-charges. This 'ping' may be approximated to, at modest cost, by the percussion section using either a cymbal dome (select an appropriate beater) or a high-pitched wooden 'agogo'. Alternatively, more complex and expensive electronics may be employed. The piece needs to be played with confidence because of its discordant and intentionally sombre nature.
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£45.00Caerfyrddin - Brass Band - LM957
COMPOSER: Alex McGeeA four movement work describing the historic county town of Carmarthen.1. FanfareThe first movement is an opening Fanfare,2. Castell Caerfyrddyn(Carmarthen Castle)The second movement is a lament describing the now ruined castle.Carmarthen Castle(Welsh:Castell Caerfyrddin) is a ruinedcastleinCarmarthen,West Wales. First built by Walter, Sheriff of Gloucester in theearly 1100s, the castle was captured and destroyed on severaloccasions before being rebuilt in stoneduring the 1190s. The castle was captured byOwain Glyndrin 1405.Henry VII's father died at Carmarthen Castle in 1456. During theWars of the Rosesthe castle fell toWilliam Herbertand, during theCivil War,was captured by Parliamentary forces. It was dismantled by order ofOliver Cromwellin the mid 1600s.It has been used as the site of Carmarthen's gaol until the 1920s.The remains of the castle were given a Grade Iheritage listingin 1954and is currently a tourist attraction and site of the town's Tourist Information Centre.3. Pysgota Cwrwgl(Coracle Fishing)The third movement is a Scherzo which depicts coracle fishing on the river Towy.Should you take an evening stroll down by the River Towy,if the weather and river conditions are suitable, you may be lucky enough to see apair of coracles float gently down river with a net suspended between them.The coracle man will hold the net in one hand and skilfully moving the paddle in afigure of eight motion in the other. As soon as a fish in caught, which many havedescribed as a 'silent noise travelling from the fish, into the net and up into thefisherman's arm', the two coracles are drawn together by pulling at the net.Sewin (sea trout) or salmon being the chosen catch.4. MarchThe Fourth movement is a March representing the town itself. Carmarthenshire in West Wales lies on the River Towy and claims to be the oldest town in Wales. Some variants of theArthurian legendclaim thatMerlinwas born outside the town and that he lies imprisoned in a cave in nearbyBryn Myrddin(Merlin's Hill), which stands right by the A40 trunk road.The myth maintains that his groans can be heard issuing forth from the hill and will continue until he is called to help his fellow countrymen. It is also claimed that, when Merlin's Oak fell, it would be the downfall of the town.For many years great effort was employed to brace the tree, situated in the town.Although it eventually died, it is hoped that catastrophe was averted by preservingsome bits in theCarmarthenshire County Museum.Larger branches are in the Civic Hall in Nott Square and a statue of Merlincarved from another local tree stands in the town centre.St. Peter's Church, the largest parish church in Wales,also has thelongest navemeasuring 60 metres and its tower containseight bellswith the heaviest weighing just under a tonne.It is surprising that few traces survive of the medieval town; however,a small section ofCivil War defences, thrown up by the Royalists, survives on the south-west of the town. They are known as "The Bulwarks," and consist of an earthwork bank and a well-preserved four-sided bastion.Suitable for Most Bands - Duration 8 mins (Approx.)
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£22.50Edward Gregson: Concertante for Piano and Brass Band
DescriptionProgramme NoteThe Concertante for Piano and Brass Band was written in 1966, when the composer was an undergraduate student at the Royal Academy of Music in London. It received its first public concert performance in 1967 at the Royal Festival Hall, London, when the composer was the soloist with the International Band of the Salvation Army, conducted by Bernard Adams. It was one of the first major works to be written for this particular combination.The Concertante is unashamedly romantic in idiom and is in three movements: Prelude, Nocturne and Rondo. The Prelude is cast in sonata form and opens with a short cadenza-like flourish from the soloist, followed by two main ideas - the first sweepingly dramatic, the second highly lyrical. The interplay between these two themes forms the main focus of the movement, and after a return to the opening theme, an exuberant codetta brings the music to a close, albeit a quiet one. https://morthanveld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Gregson-Concertante-1st-movt-clip.mp3The tender Nocturne opens with an introduction from the band that contains precursors of the two main ideas to follow. The solo piano announces the main theme, which has a slightly 'bluesy' character with its flattened third and seventh notes of the scale, and is a love song dedicated to the composer's wife-to-be. The band enters with phrases of a chorale already hinted at in the introduction - Ray Steadman-Allen's hymn tune 'Esher' - but never quite presented in its complete state. Both ideas are developed alongside each other, with eventually the first theme returning, this time with piano and band together, and building to a majestic climax, before subsiding to a peaceful coda - a return to the very opening of the movement. https://morthanveld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Gregson-Concertante-movt-2-clip.mp3The final Rondo is full of energetic rhythms and changing time patterns. The main theme is playful in character, with much interplay between soloist and band, whilst the middle section presents a new theme, and one that has more than a hint of the hymn tune 'Onward Christian Soldiers', in what amounts to a good humoured parody. The opening Rondo theme returns, this time leading to a powerful and dissonant climax from the band. This is followed by an extended piano cadenza, underlying the virtuoso aspect of the work, and leading to an energetic and life-affirming coda, which brings the work to a triumphant conclusion. https://morthanveld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Gregson-Concertante-movt-3-clip.mp3Duration: 18 minutesInstrumentation:Please note that there is no 1st/Repiano Cornet part in this work. The 1st/Repiano Cornet player should join the Solo Cornet bench. As such an extra Solo Cornet part is provided in the set of parts.Version for two pianosA version of the Concertante for two pianos is available for rehearsal purposes. Piano 1 is the solo part and Piano 2 the band reduction. However, for those pianists not needing to rehearse the work in this way, a solo piano part is also provided with the main set of band parts.To view a preview of the solo part for the first movement click here.The youthful Gregson (his work was written as a third year undergraduate) was seemingly a bit of a musical magpie - but one heck of a skilful one at that.These were shiny baubles of poise, panache and pastiche, with affectionate, remarkably mature nods of appreciation towards Gershwin, Rachmaninov, Ireland and even Elmer as well as Leonard Bernstein.The rich colour palette and flowing lines (with the tenderest of central Nocturnes) were a joy - as were the little buds of motifs that dotted the score like seeds ready to be planted on a future fertile brass band compositional field. - Iwan Fox, 4Barsrest.com, June 2019For more information on Edward Gregson's music please visit the composer's website: www.edwardgregson.com
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£90.00
Fragile Oasis - Peter Meechan
Fragile Oasis is the name of a collective who describe themselves as aaa grass-roots participatory initiative that connects the shared perspective of astronauts from different countries and cultures with people on Earth, encouraging all to work together so that our planet is not only visibly beautiful, but beautiful for alla.Many involved in the project are astronauts on the International Space Station (I.S.S.), who post, on their website (http://www.fragileoasis.org) many different details of their experiments, photos from space, and some incredible video footage of our Earth.One such time lapse video (a video made up many still images) was posted on their website by astronaut Ron Garan (http://www.fragileoasis.org/blog/2011/11/coming-back-down-to-our-fragile-oasis-2/) in 2011. It is made up of images taken from the I.S.S. of what Garan described as aaa couple of laps around our Fragile Oasis before coming back down [to Earth]a and features all kinds of amazing views from space.Each of the five sections of this work relate to an aspect of the video - either something literal or something more metaphorical. The opening section, i: The lights from Above, is a musical description of the view of the Aurora Australis from above the lights. The second section, ii: The Storm from Above (part i), is also a musical portrayal of portions of the video clip - in this case the many lightning storms we see from above. The storms that are so powerful on Earth appear as small bolts of electricity dancing through the clouds.The third section, iii: Freya, has its roots in personal family tragedy. The name Freya derives from a Norse goddess who was associated with both beauty and love, and in this central section I wanted to write music that not only acknowledged how fragile life itself is, but that every day of it counts and should be celebrated.iv: The Storm from Above (part ii) is a again a reference to the lightning storms, but also to the huge hurricanes we see in the video. It leads us to the final section, v: The Oasis from Above - a description of the size and grandeur of Earth, our Fragile Oasis.Fragile Oasis was commissioned by Leyland Brass Band and Michael Bach, and partly funded by The John Golland Trust, for their appearance at the 2013 European Brass Band Championships in Oslo, Norway. It is dedicated to Natalie Youson, in friendship
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£45.00Lament (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Bridge, Frank - Hindmarsh, Paul
The English composer Frank Bridge (1879 - 1941) did not take an active part in the First World War. However, he was devastated by the slaughter on the western and the eastern fronts, especially the loss of so many of his musicians friends and colleagues. Writing in 1963, his former pupil Benjamin Britten confessed that 'a lot of my feelings about the First World War which people seemed to see in the War Requiem came from Bridge. He had written a piano sonata in memory of a friend killed in France and though he didn't encourage me to take a stand for the sake of a stand, he did make me argue and argue and argue. His own pacifism was not aggressive, but typically gentle'.Bridge composed this Lament for string orchestra on 14 June 1915, in memory of Catherine Crompton, who drowned when the Cunard liner Lusitania was torpedoed by a German submarine on 7 May, 1915. According to figures researched by Liverpool historian Kevin Roach (www.lusitania.net), 1201 men, women and children lost their lives out of the 1962 people aboard. Ninety-four children died, including Catherine, her twin brother Paul and four other siblings. Paul Crompton, Snr. (44), a British businessman working in Philadelphia, his wife Gladys (40) and the family nanny were also drowned. How Bridge's dedication came about is uncertain. The music critic Edwin Evans, who knew Bridge well, has written that the Catherine was a young friend. It is also possible that he came across the family photograph which was published in many newspapers in the wake of the tragedy. By that time, Bridge was greatly distressed by the war as a whole. It seems perfectly in keeping with his pacifist leanings and the strength of his reaction, that this poignant and deeply touching 'war memorial' should mourn a child who he did not know, rather than one of the thousands of young men who fell in battle.Through the musical tears of this melancholy lullaby, Bridge may have regarded the death of young Catherine Crompton as symbolic of the loss of so many innocent lives in wartime. His response to this personal tragedy was characteristically spontaneous and utterly sincere. It is one of his most effective miniatures, poignant yet restrained in its lyrical beauty, with a compelling directness and simplicity of construction.This brass band transcription is pitched one tone lower than the original for string orchestra.- Paul HindmarshDuration: 5.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£168.50Music of the Spheres (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Sparke, Philip
Music of the Spheres was commissioned by the Yorkshire Building Society Band and first performed by them at the European Brass Band Championships in Glasgow, May 2004. The piece reflects the composers fascination with the origins of the universe and deep space in general. The title comes from a theory, formulated by Pythagoras, that the cosmos was ruled by the same laws he had discovered that govern the ratios of note frequencies of the musical scale. ('Harmonia' in Ancient Greek, which means scale or tuning rather than harmony - Greek music was monophonic). He also believed that these ratios corresponded to the distances of the six known planets from the sun and thatthe planets each produced a musical note which combined to weave a continuous heavenly melody (which, unfortunately, we humans cannot hear). In this work, these six notes form the basis of the sections Music of the Spheres and Harmonia. The pieces opens with a horn solo called t = 0, a name given by some scientists to the moment of the Big Bang when time and space were created, and this is followed by a depiction of the Big Bang itself, as the entire universe bursts out from a single point. A slower section follows called The Lonely Planet which is a meditation on the incredible and unlikely set of circumstances which led to the creation of the Earth as a planet that can support life, and the constant search for other civilisations elsewhere in the universe. Asteroids and Shooting Stars depicts both the benign and dangerous objects that are flying through space and which constantly threaten our planet, and the piece ends with The Unknown, leaving in question whether our continually expanding exploration of the universe will eventually lead to enlightenment or destruction.Duration: 18:00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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