Results
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£55.00Purcell Variations (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Purcell Variations, composed in 1995, the year of the tercentenary of the death of the great English composer, was a watershed work in that it was Downie's first extended composition to be published independently of The Salvation Army and intended for wider use.For his theme, Downie has chosen what has come down to us as the hymn tune Westminster Abbey, which is in fact an adaptation made in 1842 by Ernest Hawkins, who was a Canon of Westminster Abbey where Purcell himself had been organist. Purcell's original is actually the closing section of an anthem, O God, Thou art my God, where it provides the final paean of praise, sung to repeated 'Hallelujahs'. Purcell's tune, particularly the opening triadic gesture, is used as a source of thematic and harmonic material - a quarry for ideas if you like: "I was obsessed with the intervals of thirds in Purcell's tune, rather like Brahms in his Third Symphony", the composer says.There are five variations, preceded by an extended introduction and theme. In the first variation, Purcell's lilting dance pulse has been transformed into a bright, playful sequence, in which each phrase of the melody is given its own transformation. In the second, Purcell's opening gambit is extended into a graceful, flowing waltz, featuring solo and first horn at the top of the register. The composer offers a range of metronome speeds in this movement, in which he is emulating the wistful elegance of Erik Satie's famous Gymnopedie. We enter the world of big band jazz in variation three, where Purcell's tune strides along with added syncopation and bluesy major/minor thirds to the fore. After the breathless energy and blazing brass of the big band, Downie moves into his 'home territory' for a beautifully worked lyrical variation. There is an enhanced urgency about the final variation, which opens with an extended reprise of the work's introduction. Purcell's second and third phrases provide the preparation for the exuberant return, in customary triumph of Purcell's 'Hallelujah'.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95A New Dawn (Tenor Horn Solo with Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Tenor Horn Solo with Brass BandA New Dawn (2013) was commissioned by and written for British tenor horn virtuoso Owen Farr in late 2013, to provide the title track of his new CD album. With a specific brief, the work was to include a bold ear-catching fanfare-esque opening to bring maximum impact to the opening of the album, before settling in a rhythmic groove which allows the new tempo and reduced texture to settle before the entry of the tenor horn, who's initial four bar motif is what forms the basis of much of the work. Following this, structurally, the work follows with a set of variations, carefully demonstrating the capabilities of the instrument and indeed the player. Bar 90 sees the return of the bold opening gestures, this time followed with a harmonic transformation, before a recapitulation at bar 120 which sees a return to the original tenor horn material and an increase in intensity, volume and virtuosity through to the close.A New Dawn was premiered by Owen Farr and the Cornwall Youth Brass Band on 30th December 2013, and was recorded by Owen and the Cory Band in March 2014, featuring as the title track on his CD release of the same name.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£19.95Mythical Tales (Brass Quintet)
Mythical Tales (2012) is a ten minute work in three movements which represents three of the most popular folk stories or indeed in the case of the first movement, true stories, in Welsh culture.I. Owain GlyndwrOwain Glyn Dwr was born around the 1350s into an Anglo-Welsh gentry family. His estates provided him with a modest power base in north-east Wales. After a number of disputes, he proclaimed himself prince of Wales in September 1400.Glyn Dwr led several battles with the English, although he was never captured. Over the next few years punitive measures were enacted to keep control of Wales, but these were matched by many acts of Welsh rebellion - among them the capture of Conwy Castle in April 1401. In June 1402, at the Battle of Pilleth on Bryn Glas Hill, Glyn Dwr led his troops to victory over an English army. By now Glyn Dwr was leading a national revolt. In 1404, he led a march towards Wocester, but failed, with the English capturing parts of Wales. He died defending his country.II. MyfanwyMyfanwy was the most beautiful woman in Powys, but she was vain and liked nothing better than to be told how beautiful she was. Many handsome men would court her, but she would not show interest because they couldn't sing and play to her, reflecting her true beauty.Luckily, a penniless bard, Hywel ap Einion was in love with Myfanwy, and one day plucked up the courage to climb up the hill to the castle with his harp, to sing and play to her. He's allowed in to play for her, and while he's playing and complimenting her on her beauty she can neither listen nor look at any other man. Because of this Hywel believes that she has fallen in love with him. But his hopes are dashed when a richer, more handsome and more eloquent lover comes along. The music of the second movement portrays the despair and upset that Hywel must have felt.III. Battle of the DragonsMany centuries ago when dragons roamed the land, a white ice dragon descended on a small village and decided to live there, not knowing that a red fire dragon was already living nearby.Six months later the red dragon awoke to find a huge white dragon wrapped around his village that he cared for. He could tell that his people were ill from the cold. The Land was bare; nothing was able to grow not even the pesky dandelions. The people were starving. The people longed for the red dragon to free them from the icy misery, so that their life and land could return to the sunny and warm climate that it was once before.The red fire dragon challenged the white ice dragon to a single combat fight at the top of the cliff the next day. The people of the village watched in terror awaiting their fate. The red dragon beat the white dragon, and the crowd cheered with joy as the red dragon roared with triumph. The mayor of the village declared that the land should always fly a flag with the symbol of a Red dragon on it. The flag's background should be half green and half white; the green to represent the lush green grass of the land and the white to represent the ice. This way no one would ever forget what happened.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95Over the Horizon (Soprano Cornet Solo)
Soprano Cornet Solo with Brass BandOver the Horizon (2017), whilst both harmonically and compositionally a simple endeavour, is a spine-tingling beautiful melody for soprano cornet. Based on the painting seen in the sleeve notes of Steve Stewart's album of the same name, the work takes its inspiration from the open expansiveness of the ocean, glistening in the moonlight as four people sit quietly - two parents, a boy, and a girl. A feeling of heartfelt longing throughout the work which is developed both melodically and texturally by soloist and accompaniment; perhaps reflecting the desire to know indeed what is over the horizon. The longing intensifies with a climatic section of grandeur - a feeling of longing which arguably isn't resolved until that all-important - and high - last note.Over The Horizon was written for and commissioned by Steve Stewart and Cory Band in Spring 2017.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£79.99Journey of the Lone Wolf (Score and Parts)
Championship Section Finals Test Piece for National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2016Journey of the Lone Wolf tells the story of the hungarian composer Bla Bartk. It was commissioned by Dr. Nicholas Childs for Black Dyke Band, who gave the first performance on Sunday 26 January 2014 at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester as part of the Royal Northern College of Music Festival of Brass.The composer's programme notes for each movement:1. Capturing the Peasants' SongAfter the upheaval of moving to Budapest the young Bla Bartk meets Zoltn Kodly and the pair embark on summertime adventures throughout the Hungarian countryside to collect and catalogue the astonishing variety (both harmonically and rhythmically) of gypsy and folk music heard in the Balkans. The arrival of WW1 plunges Bartk's beloved Hungary into chaos.2. Night MusicBartk was at times a cold man, aloof and lonely. The odd moments of tenderness he showed are portrayed here in a series of evocative solos. His brief but intense affairs speak of a love he could only long for. Jazz is my night music and here there are hints of what Bartk may have heard in the USA later in his life.3. Flight and FightHaving been forced by the world's evils to leave his homeland of Hungary for America, Bartk, the anti-fascist, felt isolated and angry. In this movement we hear his longing for a simpler time of gypsy folk dances as well as his maturity and depth as a composer finally exploring deeper colours and darker themes.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95Oklahoma Show Selection
Includes: I Cain't Say No; Out Of My Dreams; The Surrey with the Fringe on Top; Oh What a Beautiful Mornin' Many a New Day; People Will Say We're in Love; Oklahoma.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£42.50The Way We Were
Regret, things past, former friends, in a word, memories... are what this music conjures up.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£74.95Variations on an Enigma (Score and Parts)
Variations on an Enigma was commissioned by Howard Snell for the Desford Colliery Band and first performed by them in Gillingham, Dorset, England in September 1986.The 'Enigma' is a short snatch of a phrase taken from a well-known brass band test piece - a phrase which caught the imagination of the composer who took it as the basis of a sort of concerto for band with each section featured in turn. First the cornets have their turn, with a 'moto perpetuo', and they are followed by the horns and flugel whose variation is delicate and decorative. Trombones follow, each having there own tune in turn and then combining them together. Euphoniums and baritones have an expressive funeral march which is interrupted by percussion and basses who share a rhythmic, syncopated variation. A climax is reached and this is followed by a fugue (based on the theme) against which snatches of the preceding variations appear. The fugue heralds what turns out to be the theme on which all the variations are based, appearing in full at last, whose first five notes are derived from the 'enigma' theme. The piece ends with an emphatic final statement by the timpani.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£37.95Variations on an Enigma (Score Only)
Variations on an Enigma was commissioned by Howard Snell for the Desford Colliery Band and first performed by them in Gillingham, Dorset, England in September 1986.The 'Enigma' is a short snatch of a phrase taken from a well-known brass band test piece - a phrase which caught the imagination of the composer who took it as the basis of a sort of concerto for band with each section featured in turn. First the cornets have their turn, with a 'moto perpetuo', and they are followed by the horns and flugel whose variation is delicate and decorative. Trombones follow, each having there own tune in turn and then combining them together. Euphoniums and baritones have an expressive funeral march which is interrupted by percussion and basses who share a rhythmic, syncopated variation. A climax is reached and this is followed by a fugue (based on the theme) against which snatches of the preceding variations appear. The fugue heralds what turns out to be the theme on which all the variations are based, appearing in full at last, whose first five notes are derived from the 'enigma' theme. The piece ends with an emphatic final statement by the timpani.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£57.50Barbie's World - Christopher Bond
From the blockbuster movie Barbie comes the equally sensational soundtrack album featuring an all-star lineup of performers and songwriters. This upbeat and entertaining medley for brass band includes: Barbie Dreams Barbie Girl What Was I Made For? Dance the Night.
Estimated dispatch 10-14 working days
