Results
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£37.95Connotations (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
Connotations was commissioned for the 1977 National Brass Band Championship finals, held in the Royal Albert Hall, London (the winner, incidentally, of that particular competition was the famous Black Dyke Mills Band).At the age of 32 Gregson was the youngest composer to have received the honour of such a commission. It came at the end of a productive five years writing for the brass band publisher R Smith. Some of those works - The Plantagenets, Essay and Patterns for example, with their direct and tuneful style, have remained popular with brass bands the world over.For Gregson, these were the means by which he sharpened the tools of his trade, preparing the ground, as it were, for his finest work to date - Connotations. He thought of calling the piece Variations on a Fourth, but with due deference to Gilbert Vinter perhaps (Variations on a Ninth), he chose a more appropriate one. As Gregson has written, 'Connotations suggests more than one way of looking at something, an idea, and this is exactly what the piece is about'.Writing a competition piece brought its own problems. 'It has to be technically difficult and yet musically satisfying. I didn't like being kept to an eleven-minute maximum. The inclusion of short cadenzas for less usual solo instruments seems to signify a certain test-piece mentality'.Gregson solved the problems admirably by adopting a symphonic approach to variation form: Introduction - fanfares, a call to attention, in effect Variation 1; Theme - a six-note motif, given a lyrical and restrained first statement; Variation 2 - a delicate toccata; Variation 3 - typically robust in melody and rhythm; Variation 4 - lyrical solos; Variation 5 - a scherzo; Variation 6 - cadenzas; Variations 7-9 - an introduction, fugato and resounding restatement of the theme.Duration: 10.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£39.95The Plantagenets (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
A Symphonic Study for Brass BandThe Plantagenets was Gregson's first major test piece, written specially for the 1973 National Brass Band Championships.In this ambitious symphonic study he turned his attention to music which sets out to create a mood or atmosphere, in contrast to his earlier brass band works such as Essay and Partita where the underlying concerns are technical rather than expressive. However, Gregson is at pains to emphasise that The Plantagenets is not programme music. 'Symphonic' is the optimum word here. In its textural and harmonic complexity, its rhythmic and melodic variety, this was his most ambitious brass band piece so far. His language, with its roots in Hindemith and Bartok is further enriched here with the expressive language of Holst and Rachmaninov.As he says in his notes on the work: The Plantagenets attempts to portray the mood and feelings of an age - that of the House of Plantagenet which lasted from the middle of the twelfth century to the end of the fourteenth. To many it conjures up an age of chivalry and this is represented by fanfare motifs which occur throughout the work in varied form.Characteristically, the composer then goes on to describe not the atmosphere or mood he is trying to convey, but the means by which the music has been composed: the opening fanfares, based on the interval of the third, generating the musical material for the whole work; an exposition of two themes - one fanfare-like, one lyrical (on horns); a slow episode introducing a new melody on solo horn (answered by cornet and euphonium in canon); a little scherzo, fugal in character; and a recapitulation leading to a maestoso statement of the slow movement theme with a final reference to the fanfares as a triumphant conclusion.Duration: 11.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£19.99Handel in the Band (Brass Band - Score Only)
Handel in the Band is a virtuoso set of symphonic variations on one of Handel's best known keyboard dances, the Sarabande from his Suite in D minor, HWV 437, based on the Spanish traditional dance La Folia. Kenneth Downie's work was commissioned by Brass Band Treize Etoiles, for performance at the 2013 Swiss National Brass Band Championships, where it was conducted by James Gourlay. The title is a reference to Percy Grainger's popular Handel in the Strand, and is indicative of the witty and theatrical nature of the music, which is more playful than conventional competition pieces and as such offers different challenges to brass bands as well as being thoroughly entertaining for audiences.Kenneth Downie is one of the most respected and experienced brass band composers. His music has been widely performed and published throughout the brass band world since the 1960s.Handel in the Band was selected as the set work for the Championship Section final of the 2018 National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, which took place at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on 6th October 2018.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£14.95Pandemic 1342 (Score Only)
'Pandemic 1349' was written during September and October 2016 and received its premiere on Sunday 20 th November at the 40 th Brass in Concert Championships at the Sage, Gateshead where it received the best new composition/arrangement award.'Pandemic 1349' is a concert work that aims to capture the atmosphere of fear and terror as the plague spreads throughout the city. The cries and screams get louder and reach a chaotic climax, before a calmer and reflective passage takes over - although the chaos and fear never totally leaves as the melodic material is played against the backdrop of what has gone before.London lost almost half of its population during the Black Death, making this one of the single most devastating events in the city's dark history. The outbreak not only shaped the number of inhabitants in London but also changed their mind-sets with many turning to religion - even the English language was to be forever altered.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£64.95Platform to the Heavens
The piece takes its inspiration from the mountain ranges from one of my favourite countries, Switzerland.I have visited the Swiss Alps on many occasions and I am still taken back by its sheer awesome beauty with every visit. This commission gave me the opportunity to pay homage to this wonderful landscape and paint my own musical picture of it.The piece opens with what I imagine daybreak would be like at one of its many peaks. With the sun growing behind the mountain range, the piece builds from a single note to a huge climatic chord revealing Mother Nature's creation.Then at rehearsal figure 'C' the tempo changes dramatically as we fly through the many slopes of the mountains as if on a manic skiing expedition, revealing the many dangers within the Swiss Alps.The twists, turns and climaxes begin to die away as we enter rehearsal figure 'M' - nightfall over the mountains. As the sun disappears, the sky darkens to reveal the beautiful starlit sky above the mountain range. This middle section starts with the various cadenzas that serve as echoes around the Alps. It then leads to a lyrical solo at rehearsal figure 'O' as the moonlight illuminates the icy mountain peaks. A final cadenza to conclude this section highlights the end of nightfall as the sun starts to rise again.This recapitulation from the opening, signals a new dawn as the sun rises above the snowy peaks once again. The music at this point in its slightly altered state highlights the dawn of a new day in the Alps. The fast manic ski ride follows which takes the piece to its grand finale conclusion.The idea behind the title of this piece is that the Swiss Alps are so beautiful and vast; I can only imagine that they could be a platform connecting the earth to the heavens above.Paul Lovatt-Cooper
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.95
Rhapsody in Brass (Score Only)
Rhapsody in Brass is in three movements and was written for the British Open Championships in 1949, held at Belle Vue in Manchester. The contest winners were Fairey Aviation Works Band under the baton of Harry Mortimer. Eric Ball came second with Ransome & Marles and Stanley Boddington 3rd with Munn and Felton Band. Rhapsody in Brass had the unusual distinction of being written as a test piece by a Salvation Army composer. Eric Ball's Resurgam was the only other piece to achieve that dual personality in that era.Dean Goffin was born in 1916 in Wellington, New Zealand, son of Henry Goffin, a Salvation Army officer and composer. At 19 he was appointed Bandmaster of the Wellington South Band and when World War II started, he enlisted in the New Zealand Armed Forces where he became Bandmaster of the 20th Infantry Battalion and later the 4th Brigade Band. During the time he served with them in the Middle East and Europe, he composed and arranged numerous pieces among which Rhapsody in Brass and the march Bel Hamid, later adapted for Salvation Army use and renamed Anthem of the Free.After the war, Dean kept on composing and his work was featured by the Wellington South Band. Later he transferred to Timaru for another job and became Bandmaster there. He was studying music at the time and as he wanted to take part in a competition for devotional selections for Salvation Army use, he sent some of his compositions to the International Headquarters. When Rhapsody for Brass was chosen as the test-piece for the British Open Championships, people at the Salvation Army started asking questions about the lack of publications of his work. It was discovered that the pieces submitted for the competition didn't meet the exact criteria. Among these pieces was one of his most appealing works The Light of the World which was published a year later, in 1950, the same year as he completed his Bachelor of Music studies at Otagu University.After entering the Salvation Army Training College in Wellington with his wife, Marjorie, Dean was in 1956 appointed National Bandmaster in the British Territory. Later he became National Secretary for Bands and Songster Brigades and in this period he organised the yearly festival in the Royal Albert Hall and was responsible for the national music schools in the UK. Dean returned to his home country in 1966 and to mark the centenary of the Salvation Army in New Zealand he was knighted by the Queen in 1983. Sir Dean Goffin died on 23 January 1984.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£22.50Petite Suite de Ballet (Score Only)
This composition consists of four 'miniatures', simple in construction, yet not without technical demands upon the players.The music is for a ballet which so far exists only in the imagination! Like most ballet, it has a touch of the fantastic, and must be interpreted with a light, deft touch.The first movement, Parade, brings many characteristics on to the stage, marching perkily, leggily, with almost puppet-like movements.In the next movement, Pas Seul (Solo Dance), one lone figure holds the stage, with a mixture of grace and sauciness. At the end he (or she) runs off with a snap of the fingers.The third movement is a Minuet. A chosen few, richly garbed, perform this stately, courtly dance, while the rest of the company look on at some ritual in which they are not allowed to join.The final Ensemble commencing with the return of the lone figure, gradually brings the whole company to the stage. Various groups come forward for a few moments, and then rejoin the general pattern of the dancing. Towards the end a stately procession is formed, but this finally breaks up in a sudden flurry of leaping and capering, and in a moment, as though at some magic call, the dances have disappeared, whilst the sonorous tones of the final bars of music follow them with a rather disapproving air.Our little fantasy in over.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£49.95Genesis (Sinfonia quasi una Fantasia) (Brass Band - Score only) - Ellerby, Martin
One of the composer's most personal works, Genesis is cast in three independent movements but played in close (attacca) proximity to each other. Part One: Out of Darkness... quotes the German chorale Nun Danket (Now thank we all our God) text by Martin Rinkart (1586-1649) and the music by Johann Cruger (1598-1662) in a symbolic, somewhat cynical, style. Part Two: Les Chansons du Monde... (the songs of the earth or earth-songs) is composed with full attention to solo, duo and other combinations of instruments consistently in a cantabile style. Part Three: Into Light... concentrates on rhythmic agility and dance like qualities in a most exuberant fashion, bringing the work to a very positive conclusion. Duration: 14.45
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£60.00From the Shores of the Mighty Pacific (Cornet Solo with Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Clarke, Herbert L. - Wilkinson, Keith M.
Cornet Solo with Brass BandHerbert L. Clarke (1867 - 1945) is regarded by many as one of the finest cornet players of all time, noted not only for his amazing technique but also for his warm, lyrical tone. He has left a multitude of cornet solos as well as collections of studies which are still very widely used. He was a member of The Sousa Band briefly in 1893 and then from 1898 to 1917 where he was not only the distinguished cornet soloist but also became assistant director.From The Shores Of The Mighty Pacific is an all-time favourite rondo-caprice cornet solo and was first published in 1912. A brass band arrangement was requested by Chris Lichtler, principal cornet of Brass Band of the Western Reserve, musical director Dr. Keith M. Wilkinson. Chris has performed it many times with BBWR and it was recorded by them on the CD, Without Reserve!.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£22.50
Euphony (Euphonium Solo with Brass Band - Score only) - Redhead, Robert
Previously only available in manuscript form, this euphonium solo with brass band accompaniment is now available in printed format. Euphony (meaning a pleasant, sweet sound) is based on the tunes of Sidney Cox with material taken from the songs; 'He found me', 'This one thing I know', 'You can tell out the sweet story' and 'Deep and wide'. At the time of writing, the composer remarked; 'The euphonium is often associated with melodies and harmonies that lend themselves to pleasing sounds'. That is true of this solo but it also presents considerable technical challenges for the soloist in terms of range and technique.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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