TORCH OF FREEDOM (Brass Band Set) - Eric Ball

TORCHBEARERS! (Brass Band Set) - Eric Ball

This march was written for the Musical Troopers of 1933 to feature as a signature tune on their campaigns. This band was part of the Torchbearers session at the Salvation Army Training College (or School for Officer Training) and their sessional song can be heard sounding majestically in the third strain, the composer giving special emphasis to the first two words; Out there! Out there! Where the darkness reigns out there! Torchbearers are going...

TOURNAMENT FOR BRASS (Brass Band Set) - Eric Ball

TRAILBLAZERS (Brass Band Set) - Andrew Mackereth

This overture draws its inspiration from the story of the first Household Troops Band. It tells the story of the 1887 band, the subsequent lull of nearly a hundred years and the re-awakening of the Troops phenomenon in 1985. It was originally written in 1995 and featured prominently by the band on its North American tour of 2002. Given the history of the Household Troops Band, it is fitting that this composition is preoccupied with marching. It begins with a marching song played by a solitary muted cornet, symbolic not only of the call to bandsmen to join the evangelical effort but also a muso-dramatic device to indicate the steady increase in members and technical ability! The music quickly develops into stirring versions of 'A robe of white' and 'Storm the forts of darkness' with two early day Salvation Army tunes crucially adding to the narrative; 'Marching on in the light of God' and 'Soldiers of our God, arise!' The second section is a reflective setting of the Herbert Booth song, 'The penitent's plea'. This song serves to represent the many people who were 'saved' during those early day campaigns. The expressive music transports the listener through a period of uncertainty and angst until finally reaching the song, 'There is a message, a simple message, and it's a message for us all'. The final section deals first with the emergence from the annals of history with the muted cornet figure again before, symbolically, the present day band bursts forth with an emphatic statement of 'Would you be free from your burden of sin? There's power in the blood'. The stirring climax represents a fitting tribute to those gallant pioneering musicians and their equally impressive and dedicated contemporaries.

TRANSFORMATION (Brass Band Set) - Kenneth Downie

I believe in transformation, God can change the hearts of men, And refine the evil nature, till it glows with grace again'. So wrote John Gowans in the second verse of his great hymn, 'I believe that God the Father, can be seen in God the Son', written specifically to affirm Salvationists' beliefs. It is sung to the tune Bethany and in seeking to explore this great subject at the heart of the Christian gospel in musical terms, the composer has used this fine tune as the basis. Although it never appears in its entirety, it is seldom out of the picture and much of the work is derived from it. The other main source of material is the lovely, simple chorus, 'Some day I shall be like him, changed to heavenly beauty, when his face I see'. This chorus is especially prominent in the middle section but there are important references to it throughout. There are also brief references to Charles Wesley's hymn, 'Love Divine' and, in particular, the telling lines, 'Changed from glory into glory, till in Heaven we take our place'. The work suggests that, at times, the process of being transformed is a struggle, portrayed with many passages of fraught and demanding music. Considerable reserves of stamina and technique are required while, in contrast, the chorus, 'Some day I shall be like him' provides the warm, gentle centre of the work. The premiere of the work was given by The International Staff Band of The Salvation Army in Cadogan Hall on Friday 3rd June 2011, as part of the band's 120th anniversary celebrations.

TRAVELLING ALONG (Euphonium Solo with Brass Band Set) - Chris Mallett

This cheerful and energetic solo includes two Salvation Army songs, 'Travel along in the sunshine' and 'Sunshine', the composer having emigrated from the UK to 'sunny' California. (Look out for musical quotes from 'California, here I come')! The solo was written for himself to play during a return visit to the UK hence the witty quote from 'Raindrops keep falling on my head'.

TREPAK (Brass Band Set) - Tchaikovsky

TRIUMPH OF PEACE, The (Brass Band Set) - Eric Ball

This ever popular Eric Ball 'classic' is played as much today as it has ever been. Composed in the wake of the Munich crisis and the return of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain after his talks with Hitler, this tone poem juxtaposes music of urgency (the chromatic opening subject) with Eric Ball's own hymn for peace, 'Peace in our time O Lord'.

TROMBONE CONCERTO (Brass Band Set) - Derek Bourgeois

TROMBONIOSO (Trombone Trio with Brass Band Set) - Ronald Binge