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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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£32.95Variations for Brass Band (Score Only)
The great British brass band tradition has been fostered since 1860 by an annual competition for bands. Held in the Crystal Palace until that edifice burned in the 1930s, it is a major event at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Each year there is a new test piece, required of all bands and in 1957, Ralph Vaughan Williams (by then a revered, grandfatherly figure in British music) was finally persuaded to write a composition for that purpose.The 12-minute composition comprises a theme and 11 variations. The brief variations are in a variety of moods and styles, including a waltz, a polonaise, a chorale, a canon, an arabesque, and a fugue. It tests ensemble coordination, command of and flexibility concerning styles, and richness of sound.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£107.99Around the world in 80 days - Otto M. Schwarz
The novel Around the World in Eighty Days by the French author Jules Verne, was first published in 1873. In this story, the Englishman Phileas Fogg sets off for a journey around the world as a result of a bet with his friends at the LondonReform Club. He sets off that very night, together with his servant Passepartout, heading for Egypt, through France, and across Europe, then to Egypt and India, Hong Kong, China, Japan, and to New York where the bet appears to be lost. But they are lucky. On their arrival in London as they have saved a day by crossing the date line they succeed after all.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£59.95Essay - Edward Gregson
This work was specially commissioned as the test piece for a new brass band competition in 1971, held at the Royal Albert Hall, London. It is in three movements, the titles of which all have literary connotations. The first movement, Dialoguetakes the form of 'conversations' between the instruments. The second movement, Soliloquy is dedicated to the memory of Gilbert Vinter - a composer who did so much in the 1960s to bring the brass band into the modern world. The final movement,Epigram, creates strong rhythmic contrasts and exploits the more virtuoso character of the brass band.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£89.99Broken Sword - Kevin Houben
The Broken Sword is one of the five ceremonial swords kept in the Tower of London and is used during the coronation of a new king or queen. Legend has it that an angel broke off the tip of the sword in an effort to prevent an unjust killing. Composer Kevin Houben lets his music retell this intriguing legend. Broken Sword resembles a film score in many ways and will paint vivid images as the band plays its way through the legend. Many different moods create a contrast-rich work that makes for an exciting listening and playing experience every time!
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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