Results
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£32.00The Cistercians
DescriptionThe Cistercianswas written during December 2003 and January 2004 as an entry for Morecambe Band's Centenary New Music Competition, which it went on to win. The first two performances were at the final of this competition, part of the band's 100th Anniversary Concert at The Dome in Morecambe on 9 July 2004.The music was inspired by visits to three of Britain's great Cistercian Abbeys; Valle Crucis, Fountains and Rievaulx. The Cistercian Order was founded at Citeaux in France in the 11th Century and was based on the principles of austerity, humility and piety. Cistercian Abbeys were deliberately sited in remote, difficult areas. Despite this many of them, especially Rievaulx, became immense centres of commerce and power, with ever more complex administration and hierarchies.In a way the music reflects this; all the material in the piece is derived from two simple motifs played by flugel and solo horn in the opening bars and becomes more complex and further removed from the original material as the piece develops. After a tranquil opening section a fugal chorale develops over a medieval-style "tenor" - a stretched out version of one of the original motifs. A burst of semiquavers leads into a faster, folk-dance type section - our medieval abbey has become a bustling trade centre - before rhythmic quaver pulses in the horns and cornets accompany powerful chords in the low brass; this is another "tenor" derived from the opening motifs. A short development section, including the folk dance "hocketing" round the band and a slightly disjointed 10/8 section leads to a restatement of the fugal chorale from the beginning before a frenetic coda brings the work to a triumphant conclusion.Performance Notes:Percussion instruments required are Bass Drum, Suspended Crash Cymbal, Glockenspiel, 2 x Tom-toms, Snare Drum, Tambourine, Tam-Tam, 2 x Timpani (G-C, C-F), Triangle, Wood Block. All cornets will require metal stratight mutes and all except soprano require cup mutes. All trombones require cup and metal straight mutes.You can follow a preview of the score in the video below.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£12.00Canzonetta
DescriptionCanzonetta is a tenor horn solo with optional brass band or piano accompaniment.Canzonetta was one of my earliest compositions, written in my early days as an undergraduate. Along with a companion piece called Caprice it was written for an old friend, Louise Hunt (now Louise Skillander), to whom it is dedicated. We had both been in the Northop Youth Band together, and both pieces were the result of a conversation about the lack of 'good tenor horn solos' for lower section and youth players at the time.With more mature consideration the Caprice has been consigned to the dustbin of history, but the simplicity of Canzonetta has allowed it to stand the test of time with a few minor scoring revisions.Performance Notes:Percussion instruments required are 2 x timpani, glockenspiel, suspended cymbal, concert bass drum (NOT a kit/pedal bass drum) and tam-tam. All cornets will require cup mutes.Duration approximately 3'40"You can follow the score while listening to an audio preview below:
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£10.00The Once and Future King
DescriptionThe Once and Future King is a suite of three movements; each movement was inspired by an Arthurian legend. The first movement, 'Tintagel', concerns the famous Cornish promontory said to be the birthplace of King Arthur. In Arthur's time, Tintagel was part of the court of King Mark of Cornwall and the music imagines a visit by the King of the Britons to his Cornish neighbour and the place of his birth, reflecting the ceremony and drama of such an occasion; the music is strongly antiphonal, contrasting the more strident fanfares of the cornets and trombones with the warmth of the saxhorns and tubas.The second movement, 'Lyonesse', takes its inspiration from the mythical land which once joined Cornwall to the Isles of Scilly. One legend claims that after the disastrous battle of Camlan where Arthur and Mordred were both killed, the remnants of Arthur's army were pursued across Lyonesse to Scilly, whereupon Merlin cast a spell to sink Lyonesse behind them and drown the pursuers. Some say the bells of the 140 churches inundated that day can still be heard ringing. All the material in this movement derives from two short motifs heard in counterpoint at the very beginning, which are intentionally dissonant and bitonal in character.The final movement, 'Badon Hill', takes its title from the legendary site of Arthur's last battle with the Saxons and is a lively toccata based on the medieval secular song L'Homme Armee ('The Armed Man'). The music uses a number of medieval devices including "hocketing" (passing melody from one voice to another). The actual site of Badon Hill is unknown but it has been associated with Badbury Rings in Dorset and a lot of evidence now points towards the town of Bath. Arthur's victory at Badon Hill was the last great victory for Celtic Britain over the Saxon invaders, but in the end only set the conquest back by a few decades. Arthur himself was dead by then, betrayed and defeated by his nephew Mordred, but it is said that Arthur only sleeps and will return in a time of dire need - hence the legend that Arthur's dying words were: Bury me in Britain, for I am the Once and Future King.Performance NotesWhere space and practicality permits the opening movement should be played with cornets and trombones standing behind the band facing the audience; they should retake their seats for the second and third movements.PercussionConcert Bass Drum (ideally NOT Kit/Pedal Bass Drum), Suspended Cymbal, pair of Clash Cymbals, Glockenspiel, Snare Drum, Tambourine, 2 x Timpani (Eb-G, Bb-D), 2 x Tom-toms, Triangle, Tam-Tam* (only if available), Tubular Bells *(only if available).MutesBaritones, all cornets and trombones will require metal straight mutes; all trombones and cornets will require cup mutes.*The Once and Future King was set as the test-piece for the 3rd section of the Swiss National Championships in 2007. The score was then slightly revised in July 2008, the main alteration being the exclusion of the tubular bells part for the Regional Championships of Great Britain in 2009. Some parts which were optional (or cued on other instruments) at the request of the Swiss Brass Band Association were restored to their original octaves and instruments. In 2015 the tubular bells part was restored in the optional Percussion 3 part; all parts in Percussion 3 are optional, although some are cued in the percussion 1 & 2 parts (and the cues should be played if only two players are available).Listen to a preview and follow along with the score below!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£64.95Purcell Variants - Peter Meechan
Purcell Variants is based on Purcell's Queen Mary's Funeral Music, which consists of four canzonas (for brass), two elegies and an anthem. The first movement begins by sounding some of Purcell's original music in the trombones, underpinned by a timpani...
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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£84.99Pulse - Thomas Doss
Pulse is a solo work for euphonium and brass band. As the title suggests, this piece is very rhythmic in nature. Pulse represents life and vitality, which also characterises the work. The tempo remains virtually constant throughout the piece. Even during the cadenza, played by the euphonium, the pulse of the timpani continues to beat steadily. Even though the piece stays at a constant tempo, it can be performed at half speed.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£104.99Symphonic Contrasts - Etienne Crausaz
Symphonic Contrasts is an original composition in three harmoniously connected movements. The fi rst movement opens with a brilliant introduction and presents two themes that are developed simultaneously and become intermingled. The second movement is at a slower tempo and gives several soloists the opportunity to showcase their expressive skills. The last movement begins with a musical dialogue between timpani, bongos and cymbals. Symphonic Contrasts has been selected as the set piece (2nd section - Brass Band) for the 2010 Lucerne Cantonal Band Music Festival Competition in Willisau (Switzerland).
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£74.99Kingdom of Dragons - Philip Harper
The 'Kingdom of Dragons' is Gwent in South Wales, known in ancient times as the Kingdom of Gwent, and more recently home to the Newport Gwent Dragons Rugby Union team. This piece was commissioned by the Gwent Music Service with additionalfunding from Ty Cerdd - Music Centre Wales to celebrate the 50th anniversary in 2010 of the formation of the Gwent Youth Brass Band. Although the music is continuous, it is divided into four distinct sections, each one representing one of theunitary authorities which make up the County of Gwent. I. Monmouthshire, which has a large number of ancient castlesII. Blaenau Gwent, an historic area of iron and coal miningIII. Torfaen, where Pontypool Park is a notablelandmarkIV. Newport, the largest city in the region. The music begins with a two-bar fanfare, which sets out all the thematic material of the piece. The mood of pageantry that follows describes some of the ancient castles inMonmouthshire, with rolling tenor drums and fanfaring cornets. After a majestic climax the music subsides and quite literally descends into the coal mines of Blaenau Gwent. The percussion provides effects that suggest industrial machineryclanking into life, and the music accelerates to become a perilous white-knuckle ride on the underground railroad. There is a brief respite as a miner's work-song is introduced and, after a protracted build-up, this is restated at fortissimo beforethe music comes crashing to an inglorious close, much like the UK's mining industry itself. The middle sonorities of the band portray the tranquillity of Pontypool Park, a place of great natural beauty. Brief cadenzas for cornet and euphoniumlead to a full band reprise of the pastoral mood. At the end of this section we find ourselves at the top of the park's 'Folly Tower' from which the distant castle turrets of Monmouthshire are visible. Pontypool RFC was one of eleven clubs inthe first Welsh league in 1881 and a brief but bruising musical portrayal of the formidable Pontypool front-row, the 'Viet Gwent' leads into the work's final section. This portrays Newport, a symbol for progress and optimism for the future, idealsshared by the Gwent Youth Band itself. The music is a vigorous fugue which advances through various keys and episodes before the final triumphant augmented entry which brings the work to a magnificent conclusion. NOTES ONPERFORMANCEPercussion requirements: (3 players) Timpani, 2 Tenor Drums, 2 Tom toms, Snare Drum (sticks and brushes required), Bass Drum, Clash Cymbals, Suspended Cymbal, Hi-hat, Sizzle Cymbal, Tambourine, Metal block with metalbeater (eg hammer), Rattle (eg football rattle), Glockenspiel, Xylophone
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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£62.00Montage (Score only) - Peter Graham
Each of the movements of the symphony take as their starting point forms originating in music of the 16th and 17th centuries. The first, an intrada, introduces the main thematic material (based on the interval of a minor third) in its embryonic state. As the piece progresses, this material is developed and manipulated in a variety of ways. The interval of the third remains central to the overall scheme of the work, even unifying the three movements on a tonal plane (I: F (minor); II: A flat (major); III: C flat (minor). The internal structure of the intrada is an arch form: ABCBA, roughly modelled on the first movement of Concerto for Orchestra by Witold Lutoslawski, to whose memory the movement is dedicated. A chaconne follows - the basic material now transformed into expansive solo lines underpinned by a recurring sequence of five chords (again, a third apart). The movement's structure combines both ternary form and golden section principles and the chaconne's continuous cycle of chords may be visualised as circles. The final movement, a rondo, bears the dramatic weight of the entire work, as the underlying tonal tensions surface. A musical journey ensues, making diversions through lyrical territories as well as through more spiky, jazz-flavoured ones. The aural (and visual) montage is perhaps most apparent towards the climax of the piece, where three keys and polyrhythms sound simultaneously in the upper brass, xylophone, horns, and timpani. The climax itself combines the lyrical music heard earlier with the rondo theme, now presented by cornets and trombones in canon. The teleological thrust of the movement (if not the entire work) can be symbolized by the flight of an arrow, as it steers a predetermined course towards its target. Duration: 16:00
Estimated dispatch 7-9 working days
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£74.00Montage (Parts only) - Peter Graham
Each of the movements of the symphony take as their starting point forms originating in music of the 16th and 17th centuries. The first, an intrada, introduces the main thematic material (based on the interval of a minor third) in its embryonic state. As the piece progresses, this material is developed and manipulated in a variety of ways. The interval of the third remains central to the overall scheme of the work, even unifying the three movements on a tonal plane (I: F (minor); II: A flat (major); III: C flat (minor). The internal structure of the intrada is an arch form: ABCBA, roughly modelled on the first movement of Concerto for Orchestra by Witold Lutoslawski, to whose memory the movement is dedicated. A chaconne follows - the basic material now transformed into expansive solo lines underpinned by a recurring sequence of five chords (again, a third apart). The movement's structure combines both ternary form and golden section principles and the chaconne's continuous cycle of chords may be visualised as circles. The final movement, a rondo, bears the dramatic weight of the entire work, as the underlying tonal tensions surface. A musical journey ensues, making diversions through lyrical territories as well as through more spiky, jazz-flavoured ones. The aural (and visual) montage is perhaps most apparent towards the climax of the piece, where three keys and polyrhythms sound simultaneously in the upper brass, xylophone, horns, and timpani. The climax itself combines the lyrical music heard earlier with the rondo theme, now presented by cornets and trombones in canon. The teleological thrust of the movement (if not the entire work) can be symbolized by the flight of an arrow, as it steers a predetermined course towards its target. Duration: 16:00
Estimated dispatch 7-9 working days
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