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£74.75Gothique Fantasy - On a theme by Boellmann (Brass Band) Andrew Wainwright
This magnificent work was commissioned by The Illinois Brass Band for the 2024 North American Brass Band Championships. Based on Leon Boellmann's epic organ work Suite Gothique, the 3rd movement of which is entitled Priere a Notre-Dame (A Prayer for Notre Dame), it pays tribute to the nearly 700-year-old Notre-Dame de Paris after the fire which did so much damage to this iconic building. Notre-Dame stands out for its three pipe organs (one historic) and its immense church bells, which are referenced at various times in Gothique Fantasy. Two of the other movements from Boellmann's work also provide inspiration for the piece, firstly the Introduction - Choral, and the famous Toccata, snippets of which appear at various times in the piece. Gothique Fantasy opens with the Choral, a solo offstage cornet sounding the opening statement. A quintet, stood to the side of the stage, takes up the Choral, while the rest of the band enters on held muted notes, creating a sustained effect evoking the harmonies spreading across the vast cathedral. Colossal organ-like sounds announce themselves as the full band takes on the theme. A lively Animato follows. Here there are continued references to the Choral, while the famous Toccata motif starts to appear. A Misterioso section ensues, which leads into a poignant Prayer for Notre Dame featuring a euphonium duet, where the music reflects upon the devasting fire and centuries of history and artefacts that were lost. A lone euphonium the sounds, representing the remaining remnants of the cathedral. A chaotic and rhythmic Presto, based on the Toccata, then follows and tests the technique of the band from top to bottom, whilst moving through various time signatures, the pulse lacking any sense of stability. A return to the Choral theme leads into a further reflective section, this time featuring the secondary theme from the Toccata with a flugel and solo horn duet. Next the music arrives at an aleatory section (Senza Misura), which depicts the remnants of the fire, followed by the grand cathedral emerging out of the ashes. Various motifs from earlier in the piece are heard across the band. At this point, various parts enter at different times on the conductor's signal, before building towards a 6/8 Presto. Here the music gathers momentum as it leads to a Grandioso finale featuring the Choral in all its glory. However, to conclude the work, the final strains of the Toccata sound, bringing the work to a glorious conclusion as Notre-Dame rises again! To view a video of The Illinois Brass Band performing the work please visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG3JB6Ye5aU Duration: 15.00 minutes approx. Difficulty Level: Championship Section This PDF download includes parts and score. Sheet music available from www.brassband.co.uk 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 Percussion 1-4
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£67.27Armistice at Flanders Fields (Brass Band) Dwayne Bloomfield
This poignant and powerful work for brass band by Dwayne Bloomfield describes the day peace was announced to end World War I. The piece was written in 2023 to be played by bands around the world to mark Armistice Day. The composer writes: 'Unless you were there, it's impossible to imagine what it must have been like the day peace was announced ending World War I. The feelings soldiers experienced, who after years of fighting and suffering, to know it was over and they would return home to see family and loved ones again. This piece tries to tell their story. The work begins by approaching the front, distant artillery and battle sounds heard while the carnage and loss of lives was already known to the world. The band builds as we enter the thick of battle, the death and destruction, the conditions faced and the loss of hope of ever surviving. The next section, in 7/8 time, reflects the two sides fighting - both sides attacking and defending with mostly little result, but for the loss of more lives. Two euphoniums then depict the news and hope of peace talks. However, fighting did continue right up to the very end and on the last day there would be another 2,738 casualties. The Canadians were still battling to capture the town of Mons that morning. A song is sung in reflection of the estimated 5.5 million allied soldiers who lost their lives during World War I, then a clock ticks down the final minutes. The last three known casualties are depicted with French soldier Augustin Trebuchon, killed at 10:45am by a single shot as he rushed down the trenches to spread the news of coming peace; Canadian George Lawrence Price killed by a sniper round at 10:58am at the battle of Mons, and lastly a machine gun burst that killed American Henry Gunther, who is believed to have fallen on the 11th hour. Bells then toll ringing around the world announcing the end of the war. After years of war, it must have been jubilation for the families at home knowing their loved ones would be returning to them. The band builds with a hymn for peace as a final tribute to those who fought, before the piece resides with one of the most dreaded sounds at that time, the knock on the door from a telegram delivery boy or better known then as the Angels of Death. It wasn't just the 2,738 families from the casualties of the last day who would receive such a knock, but many more who expected their loved ones to be returning home would instead find out they were instead killed in the last weeks. So close. Driving around the battlefields today one comes across many intersections in the countryside which have cemetery signposts pointing in every direction. While the last post sounds in ceremonies today, this last bugle call instead depicts the horrors, devastation and death the soldiers faced during the war and right up the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Armistice at Flanders Fields.' To view a video of Dallas Brass Band performing the work please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljfyVz3cMgk Duration: Approx. 15.00 minutes Difficulty Level: 2nd Section + PDF download includes parts and score. Sheet music available from www.brassband.co.uk 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 Percussion 1-3
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£79.95Amundsen - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 14'00". DIFFICULTY: 1st+. 'Amundsen' was commissioned by rskog Brass, Norway for their winning performance at the 2020 Norwegian National Championships held at the Grieghallen in Bergen. In December 1911, Norwegian Roald Amundsen gained global fame by becoming the first explorer to lead a team to the geographic South Pole. Amundsen and 4 other members of his team arrived 5 weeks ahead of a rival team from the UK led by Robert Falcon Scott, all of which perished on their attempted return from the pole. Initially when Amundsen's team set out in 1910, they were under the impression that they would be making the far shorter journey to the arctic drift to attempt to reach the North Pole, but Amundsen had received news that American explorers Peary and Cook had beaten them to this goal, and so Amundsen's focus changed southward. 'Fram, Forward' - 'Fram' (translating to English as "forward") was the name of the ship Amundsen used for this particular polar expedition. Amundsen had only informed 2 people of his real intentions of conquering the South Pole when the ship first left port in Kristiansand before heading south to the Portuguese island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean. After weeks at sea - causing the uninformed members of the crew to raise a number of questions and produce a general feel of uncertainty and low spirits - it was here that Amundsen announced his true plans to the rest of his crew. They were asked whether they wished to continue with their expedition, to which all - some begrudgingly - agreed to sail on to the South Pole, through the great Ice Barrier before docking in the Bay of Whales on the Ross Ice Shelf. 'Ross Ice Shelf' - Upon Amundsen's arrival in the Bay of Whales, the team were greeted by the sight of the enormous ice plateau's and glaciers, towering into the Antarctic sky. In 1907, Ernest Shackleton had attempted - and failed - to reach the South Pole, but his route and mapping was by now well documented. Scott and the UK team were to follow this route, whereas Amundsen and his men forged their own way to the pole through unchartered territory and deadly terrain littered with deep crevasses and canyons. The music here though, is a picture of tranquility. The eerie silence of total emptiness with only the heavy snow falling around Amundsen as Fram and the Bay of Whales disappears into the distance, faced by the maginute of the expedition ahead. 'Advance to Polheim' - The first new challenge Amundsen discovered on this route was a rough, sharp and extremely steep glacier (which was later named the Axel heiberg Glacier after the Norwegian monarch who funded much of the expedition), which would take his team up from sea level to an altitude of over 9,000ft in just 20 miles, with most of this over just 7 miles. Once scaled, only the vast Antarctic Plateau stood between Amundsen and the pole. Here the race began, with only one aim - victory for himself, his team, and for the whole of Norway. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£10.00Endurance
DescriptionMen wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success. - Ernest Shackleton, 4 Burlington StreetEndurance takes its title from the ship used by Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914-15. After many months of fundraising (and reputedly running the above advert in The Times) the Endurance set sail from Plymouth on 6 August 1914. Whilst at sea news of the outbreak of war led Shackleton to put his ship and crew at the disposal of the Admiralty, but their services were not required and they were encouraged to continue. On October 26 1914 they left Grytviken on South Georgia for the Antarctic continent, hoping to find the pack ice shrinking in the Antarctic spring. Two days later, however, they encountered unseasonable ice which slowed their progress considerably. On 15 January 1915, when Endurance was only 200 miles from her intended landfall at Vahsel Bay, the ship became beset by ice which had been compressed against the land to the south by gale force winds. Trapped in the ice of the Weddell Sea, the ship spent the Antarctic winter driven by the weather further from her intended destination until, on 21 November 1915 Endurance broke up forcing the crew to abandon ship and set up camp on the ice at a site they named "Patience Camp".The crew spent several weeks on the ice. As the southern spring started to reduce the extent of the ice shelf they took to their three lifeboats, sailing across the open ocean to reach the desolate and uninhabited Elephant Island. There they used two of the boats to build a makeshift shelter while Shackleton and five others took the largest boat, an open lifeboat named the 'James Caird' and sailed it for 800 terrifyingly dangerous miles across the vast and lonely Southern Atlantic to South Georgia - a journey now widely regarded as one of the greatest and most heroic small-boat journeys ever undertaken. After landing on the wrong side of the island and having to climb over a mountain range in the dark with no map, Shackleton and his companions finally stumbled back into the Grytviken whaling station on 19 May 1916.After resting very briefly to recover his strength, Shackleton then began a relentless campaign to beg or borrow a ship to rescue the rest of his crew from Elephant Island; whaling ships were not strong enough to enter polar ice, but on 30 August 1916, over two years after their departure from Plymouth, Shackleton finally returned to Elephant Island aboard a steam tug borrowed from the Chilean government. Although some were in poor health, every member of the Endurance crew was rescued and returned home alive.Endurance is dedicated to the memory of my mum, who passed away in September 2017.Listen to a computer generated preview and follow the score below:
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£120.00
Origins - Peter Meechan
Origins is in three movements, with each movement having a different subject matter, all linked by the idea of origins: the first movement refers to musical origins; the second to the origins of life; and the final movement to the space exploration - the research of all origins. The first movement is based on a short motif, heard in the first three notes the soloist plays. These three notes cover the interval of a minor third (an interval that often plays a crucial role in my music) on which the whole concerto is built. The soloist and accompaniment interplay freely throughout the opening section, before an ostinato accompaniment appears - over which the soloist sounds a long legato melody. A short cadenza follows and a return to the opening material leads the movement to an end. The second movement, titled Harryas Song, is - as tradition dictates - a slow movement. Happy and reflective in nature, the main melody was written on the evening that my closest friend, Mark Bousie (a fine euphoniumist himself), and his wife Jayne, had their first child - Harry Bousie. It seemed only fitting that this song should be written for Harry in celebration. The final movement brings me back to a lifelong fascination with space, and in this particular movement, the Space Shuttle Discovery. Having completed 39 missions (including flying the Hubble telescope in to orbit), and spent a total of 365 days in space, SS Discovery made its final voyage in 2011 and was taken to the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. in April 2012. This final movement, titled Discovery, pays tribute to the great shuttle whose missions inspired millions across the generations. Origins was commissioned by Marco Schneider, Adrian Schneider and the Dunshan Symphonic Wind Orchestra, Beijing, China.
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£54.95Sonata - Derek Bourgeois
This work, composed in 1998, was commissioned by the American trombonist Don Lucas as a work for trombone and piano and first performed by him in Birmingham on 19th May 2000. Subsequently, I arranged the music for both solo trombone and brass band and solo trombone and wind band so that it now exists in three formats. The first movement, in B flat major, is brisk and energetic, and is cast in sonata form. The second subject is gentler and more lyrical. The second movement, a scherzo in C major, is the most complex of the four. Basically the structure is a rond. For a long time the music remains in the opening 5/8 time until a new theme introduces more broken rhythms in a more jazzy idiom. After a return of the opening theme the following episode is more tonally ambiguous. Finally, the main theme returns to round off the movement. The third movement, a lyrical adagio, is really one long extended melodic flow. The harmonies are lush and the textures simple and direct. The tonal center is A minor, but the music meanders through so many keys, that this key centre is heavily disguised. The finale is a fiery affair. G minor is really its home key, but throughout the movement the music moves about a lot and the second subject is first heard in A flat minor. The movement's underlying sonata structure is masked not only by its loose tonality but also by its frequently changing time signatures. Like the first movement the second subject is more lyrical in nature and for a while it seems that the music will end peacefully, but a final flurry heralds a triple forte unison on the home note of the first movement - B flat. Derek Bourgeois
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£80.00St. Magnus - Kenneth Downie
Dedicated to Alastair Massey, an inspirational music teacher. Commissioned by the Scottish Brass Band Association for the 2004 European Brass Band Championships in Glasgow. This music is a set of variations on the tune known as St Magnus, which is attributed to Jeremiah Clarke. Most people will associate it with Thomas Kelly's hymn which begins: "The Head that once was crowned with thorns is crowned with glory now". The tune is very simple, consisting of just two, four-bar phrases. Neither is there much in the way of rhythmic variety, every note being a crotchet with the exception of two quavers, and the last note in each phrase. Within such a simple structure, however, lies considerable strength. THEME The listener is given the opportunity of hearing it twice, in full, at the beginning, starting with one player but soon taken up by the full ensemble. It returns in the middle of the music and is stated again near the end. This has been done quite deliberately in the hope that there will be an appreciation of what material is being developed, by the listener as well as by those with access to the score, who are able to see the visual connections. VARIATION 1 This takes the rhythm of the last part of the theme and also uses the shape of the opening as a recurring figure. The mood is whimsical and skittish, with short, teasing rhythmic figures tossed around the band, and quick interplay with percussion, at a fast tempo. An energetic flourish finishes this variation before the Andante espress. VARIATION 2 This commences with chords related to the opening of Variation 1. The cantabile on solo comets establishes a new, lyrical mood and there is scope for expressive playing in a series of short solo passages. The theme works its way unobtrusively into the texture before a reprise of the solo cornet melody and some more lyrical interchanges between Eb bass, euphonium, flugel horn and comets. The variation ends serenely with clear references to the last phrase of the theme. VARIATION 3 The first idea to dominate is clearly linked to the shape of the theme's first phrase. There is a frenetic feel to much of this variation, with considerable energy and instability created by extensive use of cross-rhythms. A thinning-out of the score marks a clear change to development of the start of the second phrase of the theme. This proves to be short-lived however, and the opening material returns leading to a restatement of the theme, "Maestoso," after which a euphonium cadenza links to Variation 4. VARIATION 4 Here we have some solos for euphonium, cornet, trombone and Eb bass set against a background of horns and baritones presenting a pensive statement of the theme's opening. VARIATION 5 This commences Allegro, with lively work for cornet and euphonium spreading to the whole band before attention focuses on the beginning of the second phrase of the theme which is initially presented in diminution, then in regular rhythm, then in inversion. An increase in tempo coupled with a decrease in volume, requires dexterity and control, with several metrical challenges thrown in for good measure. The same fragment of phrase becomes an ostinato which generates a frenzied climax, punctuated by short, dramatic silence, before the opening figure returns and the music gradually winds down. The tubular bells herald the final return of the theme, in augmentation, marking the start of the Finale. FINALE This features the running semiquavers of the previous variation sounding in counterpoint. A fast, furious coda speeds the work to a conclusion while references to the opening of the theme are still trying to break into the texture of the music. Kenneth Downie
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£89.99Ross Roy - Jacob de Haan
In this composition, Jacob de Haan sees the "Ross Roy" as a metaphor for the years spent at school (a monument in time), where one's personality is formed. So, the opening theme the artist calls the Ross Roy theme initially has monumental characteristics.The rhythmic motion, which strides along in the lower register and percussion at the beginning of the next section is typical of "Tempo di Marcia". This movement, accompanied by repetitions of sound, is a metaphor for the structure and discipline in school. This is the introduction to a march theme, symbolic of "passing through" the classes up to the final examinations.Then, the Ross Roy theme is dealt with again, now in aplayful, humorous variation. As if the composer is saying there should also be time for a smile in school. The same theme can be heard in major key and a slower tempo in the following section, expressing pride and self-confidence. This is also the introduction to the expressive middle section that represents love, friendship and understanding.We then return to the march theme in a slightly altered construction. The oriental sounds, constituting the modulation to the final theme, are symbols of the diversity of cultures in the school. The characteristic final theme first sounds solemn, but turns into a festive apotheosis. It is no coincidence that the final cadence is reminiscent of the close to a traditional overture, for the school years can be considered the "overture" to the rest of one's life.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£104.99High Flyers - Andrew R. Mackereth
From the composer: High Flyers are regarded as people with promise and potential.They are winners. This is music for winners.The title, as well as being a play-on-words, implies the nature of the work. It is a bright, optimistic, and upbeat piece attempting to depict an exhilarating ride on flying carpet. The opening rising chords immediately suggest the gentle elevation of the carpets' ascent towards unknown heights, leading to a hint of a first theme in the horns at Fig. B. The first four notes provide the thematic material for the whole work: C F G A.A perpetual sense of movement is achieved through accented quaver chords punctuating the melodicmaterial of the first main theme. Fig. E sees the music of the opening bars fully realised, with flourishes from the euphonium and baritones representing swirling clouds, shooting stars, or passing birds in flight.The same subject is developed into a lyrical second theme with a new lush harmonic treatment, evocative of gliding over an expanse of sparse countryside.This section ends with a note of serenity but is shattered by the urgent insistence of the percussion rhythms.The third section introduces a new idea with a slightly distorted fanfare in the cornets and trombones. This figure suggests for the first time that there may be trouble ahead. In fact, there is no need to fear and the journey can continue without aggravation. This fanfare returns near the end to signal a final note of triumph.A new rhythmic variant of the cell motif emerges as the third theme now transformed by the addition of a triplet figure. The music steadily gains momentum before moving inexorably towards the climactic return of the music and tonality of the opening bars of the piece.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£74.99Olympus - Philip Harper
Selected as the test-piece for the 3rd Section Regional contests of the National Brass Band Championships 2012The music begins with a depiction of the exciting Opening Ceremony where noisy fanfares and sudden swells add to the cosmopolitan flag-waving clamour. Without a break the music leads to The Chariot Race, a fast compound-time gallop withthundering hooves in the basses and percussion, and a heroic melody introduced by the tenor horns. Chariot racing was the main equestrian event in the Ancient Greek Games, which were founded in memory of King Oenomaus. In the Greek legend he suffereddefeat in a chariot race to his son-in-law and Zeus' grandson, Pelops, but much of the music is bitter-sweet to symbolise the fact that Pelops had to cheat to win drawing parallels with some of the issues still facing modern-day athletics. A slow, mystical passage follows, describing The Temple of Zeus at Olympia. The statue of Zeus, who was honoured throughout the Ancient Games' history, was housed inside the temple and was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Themusic depicts this period of the dawn of one of mankind's most ancient civilisations and there is a series of solo passages above a drone. The next section is called The Olympic Flame and a broad and lyrical anthem-like melody develops slowly in the euphoniums, which gradually ascends until the horns can take it over before passing upwards again to the cornets (Higher). The musicbursts into bright life at the lighting of the flame and the regular rhythmic pattern which has been established goes through an accelerando (Faster). The final section is called The Olympic Truce and aims to capture the cooperative spirit of the ancient practice of ending wars for the duration of the games. The anthem-like melody makes an affirmatory return (Stronger) and the work ends asit began with a blaze of colour and a real sense of optimism and global celebration. "Citius, Altius, Fortius" (Faster, Higher, Stonger)NOTES ON PERFORMANCEPercussion requirements: 1 to 3 players (3 Timpani, Snare Drum, Tenor Drum, Cymbals, Glockenspiel, Triangle)
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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