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£29.50Eden (Score Only)
This work was commissioned by the Brass Band Heritage Trust as the test piece for the final of the 2005 Besson National Brass Band Championship, held at the Royal Albert Hall, London.The score is prefaced by the final lines from Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (completed in 1663), in which Adam and Eve, expelled from Paradise, make their uncertain way into the outside world:"...The world was all before them, where to chooseTheir place of rest, and providence their guide:They hand in hand with wandering steps and slow,Through Eden took their solitary way."My work is in three linked sections. In the first, the characters of Adam, Eve and the serpent guarding the Tree of Knowledge are respectively represented by solo euphonium, cornet and trombone. The music opens in an idyllic and tranquil mood and leads into a duet between euphonium and cornet. Throughout this passage the prevailing mood darkens, though the soloists seem to remain oblivious to the increasingly fraught atmosphere. A whip-crack announces the malevolent appearance of the solo trombone who proceeds to engage the solo cornet in a sinister dialogue.The second section interprets the Eden story as a modern metaphor for the havoc mankind has inflicted upon the world, exploiting and abusing its resources in the pursuit of wealth. Though certainly intended here as a comment on the present-day, it is by no means a new idea: Milton himself had an almost prescient awareness of it in Book I of his poem, where men, led on by Mammon:"...Ransacked the centre and with impious handsRifled the bowels of their mother earthFor treasures better hid. Soon had his crewOpened into the hill a spacious woundAnd digged out ribs of gold."So this section is fast and violent, at times almost manic in its destructive energy. At length a furious climax subsides and a tolling bell ushers in the third and final section.This final part is slow, beginning with an intense lament featuring solos for tenor-horn, flgel-horn and repiano cornet and joined later by solo baritone, soprano cornet, Eb-bass and Bb-bass.At one stage in the planning of the work it seemed likely that the music would end here - in despair. Then, mid-way through writing it, I visited the extraordinary Eden Project in Cornwall. Here, in a disused quarry - a huge man-made wound in the earth - immense biomes, containing an abundance of plant species from every region of the globe, together with an inspirational education programme, perhaps offer a small ray of hope for the future. This is the image behind the work's conclusion and the optimism it aims to express is real enough, though it is hard-won and challenged to the last.John Pickard 2005
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£33.62Pachelbel Rock (Brass Band) Johan Pachebel arr. Steven Ponsford
Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D is a cornerstone of the Baroque period, a work widely known and frequently heard at concerts and events globally. This brass band arrangement by Steven Ponsford offers a new perspective on this classical piece. The arrangement begins with the familiar ground bass theme, followed by a series of four-bar motifs. Ponsford has developed these motifs, distributing them across the band to give interest to every section of the band. A short fugue is included in the middle of the piece, referencing a style Pachelbel contributed to. The majority of the music is accompanied by a rock beat, aiming to create a fresh and lighthearted interpretation of the original work. This will be an ideal item for both concert and entertainment contest programmes. To view a performance video of the work please visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-yrBCM4xzQ Duration: approx. 4.00 minutes Difficulty Level: 2nd Section + PDF download includes parts and score. Sheet music available at www.brassband.co.uk (UK) or https://satradecentral.org (USA) 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 Bass Drum Timpani Percussion 1-3
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£59.77Sleigh Ride Suite (Brass Band) Leopold Mozart arr. Alex McGee
Today Leopold Mozart (1719-1787) is known almost exclusively as the stern father of Wolfgang, but he was a prominent and successful musician in his own time. The Sleigh Ride, composed just before Wolfgang was born, certainly shows that Mozart the elder had as good a sense of humour as his more famous son. Wolfgang must, in fact, have known and enjoyed his father's piece - he included a short Sleigh Ride in his German Dances, K.605, in 1791. Leopold's more complicated piece is a programmatic serenade, with short titles for each section: a musical picture of a cold evening's ride to a party. The score calls for sleigh bells, rattle, a whip, and triangle. The action begins with a short overture (Intrada), followed by the Sleigh Ride itself, a lively duple-meter dance accompanied by jangling sleigh bells and punctuated by the cracking of a whip. There is then a nice bit of musical pantomime - The Young Lady Shivers With Cold. The sleigh finally arrives at the party, a ball with a small dance orchestra. The Ball Begins, not surprisingly, with a courtly menuet, and the End of the Ball is a spirited Kehraus, a lively rondo-form dance. This transcription faithfully seeks to convey the light touch of the Age of Enlightenment to the modern brass band and provides ensembles with new material for their annual Christmas concerts. To view a rolling score video of the work please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgrBe1u8Xag Duration: Approx. 11.45 minutes Difficulty Level: 3rd 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 BbTimpani Percussion 1-2
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£34.95Fire & the Phoenix, The - Christopher Bond
The Fire & the Phoenix (2015) was commissioned by Brett Baker in early 2015 as the opening track to his solo CD 'Myths & Legends'. Whilst structurally a single-movement work, it is presented so that it can link directly into the next work on the CD, adding to a continuous theme comprising a number of pieces from a number of composers. Opening with huge strident chords in the full band, the representation of the phoenix is instantly reflected; bold, powerful and a bird of great intensity. This makes way for a more mystical section marked 'distant' which reflect the beauty of the Phoenix and it's mythical nature where the trombone soars up into its higher register with a sweeping melody. Soon after, the music takes a sharp turn, becoming dramatic and instantly moving away from the mystical mood created previously. Here, we imagine the Phoenix catching fire, burning intensely with huge flames as it gradually turns into ash. We reach a tonic pedal point in the music, over which chord progressions subtly weave in and out of the texture. Here, we imagine the Phoenix rising from the ashes, with the dynamics gradually increasing to reflect this, slowly taking shape as it is born again. A return to earlier material follows, this time manipulated to reflect the Phoenix in its new form - the same bird; the same animal; but at the same time different. A beautiful chorale-like passage is heard before the music transports us back into a magical land, where delicate rhythmic ideas are juxtaposed against bolder lower chords; both ideas together transporting the listener forward into the next piece.
Estimated dispatch 10-14 working days
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£79.95Grieg Variations - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 12'30". DIFFICULTY: 2nd+. . 'Grieg Variations' is a through-composed work in the traditional style of a 'theme & variations'. The work opens with the main melodic fragment featured throughout Grieg Variations which comes from Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No.2; the final movement - 'Solveig's Song'. . This theme is followed by a set of 9 variations, each taking inspiration from various melodies and styles found within the Peer Gynt Suite. The first variation, a light-footed scherzo based upon the tonal line of Solveig's Song is followed by an 'Alla marcia' variation - in which the music is inspired by the 2nd movement - 'Arab Dance' - of the original suite. The 3rd variation takes a far darker and more aggressive turn in a variation set around the music of the 1st movement of the Peer Gynt Suite before a relaxation into a solemne revisiting of the original theme. Opening with a sombre and longing solo for Flugel horn, the focal point of this 4th variation is an extended solo for the Solo Euphonium, marked 'molto espressivo'. The new material here is used as a theme throughout this variation, being reprised by the full band immediately after as the music builds to a climax point at the top of the musical line. . Following this, there are 2 cadenzas for the Solo Horn and Solo Cornet respectively; the former inspired by the thematic material of Solveig's Song, and the latter from the Oboe cadenza at the beginning of Grieg's '2 Lyric Pieces, Op.68'. These cadenzas lead swiftly into the 7th variation, a bustling rhyhm-driven movement set in complex time. The 3rd movement of the Peer Gynt Suite No.2 - 'Peer Gynt's Homecoming' - makes it's first appearance in variation 8 in a triumphant battle-like setting before a combination of both this material and the Solveig's Song combine to bring Grieg Variations to it's close -not without a little nod to potentially Grieg's most famous work - In The Hall of the Mountain King. . .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£59.95
PLANTAGENETS, The (Brass Band Set) - Edward Gregson
The Plantagenets was composed for the Championship Section of the Regional contests of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 1973. The work is not intended to be programme music but rather it tries to portray the mood and feelings of an age, that of the House of Plantagenet, which lasted from the middle of the 12th century to the end of the 14th century. To many, it conjures up an Age of Chivalry and this is represented by fanfare motifs which occur throughout the work in varied form. The opening thematic figure, rising through the band in thirds and followed by the fanfares, is important as nearly all the subsequent material is based upon it. There follows two themes, the second of which is lyrical and introduced by horns. In the long, slow middle section, a new theme is introduced by a solo horn (recurring on cornet and euphonium in canon) and is developed at some length. A lively fugato scherzino, however, leads to a recapitulation of the opening section music and the work ends with a maestoso statement of the slow movement theme. A final reference to the fanfares ends the work.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£60.00
Manchester Concertino - Peter Meechan
Manchester Concertino is a concertino in three movements for trumpet or cornet. It was written in late summer/early autumn in, as the title suggests, Manchester, UK.The first movement, Fanfare, was written for Belgian cornetist Harmen Vanhoorne, and explores the main musical idea behind the piece, a minor third. The loud fanfare gives way to a cadenza over a timpani roll, before a reprise of the opening fanfare.The second movement, Dream, was commissioned by Keith Johnson and is dedicated to Jess Tredrea. It is a slow, lilting, movement - almost as if the listener was hearing the piece through a summer haze.The final movement is simply titled Finale and is dedicated to Roger Webster. New material is fused with the fanfare from the opening movement leading to a climatic finish to the work.
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£60.00
Requiem Paraphrases - Peter Meechan
Requiem Paraphrases uses the opening bars of Mozartas Requiem as its musical material for the whole piece. An aggressive opening is followed by a sounding of Mozartas original theme, in a setting for low brass and solo euphonium. Percussion and woodwind then enter, as the soloist begins to elaborate. A brief return to the opening is followed by a new, percussion driven, section.The euphonium and various soloists in the ensemble interact, exchanging ideas over an ostinato in the marimba. As this section continues towards the cadenza, the ensemble gradually takes on more of an accompanying role, leaving the soloist to again break free, with flourishes and gestures leading to the cadenza.Following this, there is a short recapitulation, before the euphonium brings us to a dramatic conclusion!Requiem Paraphrases was commissioned by, and dedicated to Steven Mead.
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£89.95Orion (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Orion was named after the giant huntsman in Greek mythology and is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognisable constellations in the night sky. This piece and its inspiration were composed as a tone poem creating a musical picture of this amazing phenomenon.The opening introduces the constellation. Starting mysteriously with the percussion and basses this section develops a series of rhythmic and harmonic interludes from the upper brass. As this introduction develops, the melodic line lead by the Solo Cornet and Euphonium builds as the accompanying instruments increase in their rhythmic complexity. This section climaxes with a short fanfare motif which will be a prominent theme throughout this piece.The fast rhythmic section that follows serves as a technical test for the players. The thematic device introduced by the Solo Cornets is passed around various soloists and sections within the ensemble. This part of the tone poem gives the opportunity for the ensemble to highlight their technical prowess. The fanfare motif returns to conclude this section and takes the piece into the slow middle movement.Motifs heard earlier are mixed with new ideas in this slow section which give an opportunity for a variety of soloists to demonstrate their musical prowess. After the various solo passages and cadenzas, the mood shifts dramatically to a more ominous section that builds in texture and dynamic. Concluding with our returning fanfare motif the piece then builds in momentum towards our finale section.This finale is a technical showcase which will further test the playing ability and stamina of soloists, small groups and the full ensemble. Using prominent musical themes heard throughout this piece the music builds to a glorious conclusion fitting with wonderful constellation.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95By Water and the Word - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 4'00". DIFFICULTY: 4th+. 'By Water and the Word' was composed for 2020 Brass Band Summer School in memory of it's long-standing course administrator Philip Biggs, who passed away in 2019. Aside from his work with BBSS, Philip was also the renowned administrator for the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain where my first opportunities as a writer of brass music were presented. It's a certainty to say that without Philip's work at the head of this organisation, there's zero chance I would be able to do what I do today as a musician, and for that it was a huge honour to write this short work in his memory. Under Maestro Bramwell Tovey, each course would conclude with an encore of The Day Thou Gavest (St. Clements) and one of the most used hymn tunes throughout the week was The Church's One Foundation (Aurelia). Since then, these two tunes have become synonymous with the NYBBGB and in turn Philip's life & work, so I felt it fitting to combine these two wonderful sacred melodies into a new work paying homage to those memories. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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