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Duet For Two Cats - G. Rossini - Len Jenkins
"Duet For Two Cats" is often performed as an encore to vocal recitals and operatic galas. It may be sung by two sopranos, male-female pairs, or even as a tomcat duet and can be accompanied by a piano or a full orchestra. The lyrics are simple; the single word 'Miaow', repeated with various styles of inflexion and attitude throughout the piece. Our arrangement is for a cornet and trombone. The piece is generally ascribed to Rossini, though there is some doubt as to its actual origins and whether it is an authentic work by that composer. It is believed that an English composer, Robert Lucas Pearsall under the pseudonym G. Berthold may have assembled the various elements from Rossini and perhaps other composers into the piece as we now know it. In order to achieve the correct balance between band and soloists, there is a need to mute most of the band instruments. Recognising that not all bands will have the larger mutes which are expensive and sometimes unwieldy, we suggest a form of muting made famous by a jazz trumpeter and which works well on most instruments. It consists of a circle of heat resistant padded table covering or felt, slightly larger than the bell diameter, with an elasticated edge like a 'mop-hat'. With 3 holes in it to let the sound out, the mute is then simply stretched over the bell to achieve the desired effect and folded up when not required.
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Eye Level - Jack Trombey - Len Jenkins
Eye Level was originally produced for the De Wolfe Music Library and selected by Thames Television for the theme tune to their Netherlands based detective series Van der Valk. Based on a German/Dutch nursery rhyme, which in turn takes its melody line from Mozart's Nozze di Figaro, Dutch composer Jan Stoeckart adapted it under the name Jack Trombey, and Simon Park arranged it for his own orchestra. In 1973 his single was top of the UK charts for 4 weeks and in the top 40 for 22 weeks. It gained the award of a platinum disc. Fully entitled 'Eye Level (Theme from the TV series Van der Valk)', the tune has also been used in various TV adverts for clients such as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in the 70's and Oranjeboom lager in the 1980's. This new arrangement is straightforward and within the capabilities of most 4th section and village brass bands. The tune is instantly recognisable and ideally suited to fetes, concerts and programmes of light entertainment.
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Foyle's War Theme - Jim Parker - Len Jenkins
Foyle's War was a TV crime drama created by screenwriter Anthony Horowitz, and tells the story of Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle, played by Michael Kitchen, fighting a personal war against crime amidst the turmoil of World War Two. The music for the series was composed by 4 time BAFTA winning Jim Parker and has an ethereal minor key melody, sparsely orchestrated and Wobbleco Music has attempted to capture this atmosphere in its arrangement for Brass Band. An arrangement for a Brass Ensemble is also available. The last episode of the Foyle's War was written in 2014 but such is its popularity that there have been many requests for it to return to the screens, particularly as the writer says that one of the wartime years has yet to be covered. We shall see. Meantime enjoy this beautiful theme.
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Galloping Home (The theme from TV's Black Beauty) - Dennis King - Len Jenkins
"The Adventures of Black Beauty" was a British children's television drama series produced by London Weekend Television and shown by ITV in the United Kingdom between 1972 and 1974. The theme tune, "Galloping Home", written by Denis King and performed by the London String Chorale, was released as a single and peaked at number 31 in the UK charts in the week of 2 February 1974. It was later used at the climax of the first series of Absolutely Fabulous, with Edina Monsoon dreaming of running through a field as Black Beauty does in the series' title sequence. The piece has been arranged for both Full Brass Band and Brass Ensemble, in this case a Quintet with optional percussion. Both arrangements are well within the capabilities of most bands.
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Game Of Thrones - Ramin Djawadi - Len Jenkins
"Game of Thrones" is an American fantasy drama television series based on George Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" and has received widespread acclaim by critics, although its use of nudity and violence has caused controversy. Filmed in Belfast and on location elsewhere in Northern Ireland, Malta, Croatia, Iceland, and Morocco, it premiered in 2011 and continues into a fourth season in 2014. The series interweaves several plot lines and through its morally ambiguous characters, explores the issues of social hierarchy, religion, loyalty, corruption, sexuality, civil war, crime, and punishment. It is set in a period that contains elements from the dark ages through to the medieval. The music for the series was composed by Ramin Djawadi and is noted for its popular main theme which is presented here as an arrangement for Brass Band. In keeping with the period depicted, the piece contains a significant contribution from the percussion section and care has been taken to achieve the desired effect with the normal resources of the average band.
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I Believe - Drake, Graham, Shirl & Stillman - Len Jenkins
"I Believe" is a popular song written by Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl and Al Stillman in 1953. It was commissioned with the intent of offering people hope and faith against the backdrop of the Korean War that followed so soon after World War 2. The number has been recorded by many artists and the edition by The Bachelors is perhaps the best well-known in Britain. This arrangement, which is very suitable for fetes and concerts, features the Flugel and Tenor Horns in a duet, with band accompaniment. It is dedicated to the twins Hazel and Heather who play these instruments in the Woburn Sands Band. Graham Cooper
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I'm The Urban Spaceman - Neil Innes - Len Jenkins
Made famous by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, "I'm the Urban Spaceman" was written by Neil Innes who won an Ivor Novello Award in 1968 for the song. The record which was released in the same year and went to No5 in the hit-parade, was produced by Sir Paul McCartney and Gus Dudgeon. It has been used to accompany various humorous sketches including one by Monty Python, and lends itself to anarchic behaviour by the band. A jolly piece which we leave to your imagination as to how you present it......
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In Dreams - Roy Orbison - Len Jenkins
"In Dreams" is a song composed and sung by rock and roll performer Roy Orbison, and was released as a single on Monument Records in February 1963. Orbison later claimed that the origin for "In Dreams" came to him while he was sleeping, as many of his songs did. When he woke up the next morning, the entire composition was written in 20 minutes. Like many of Orbison's songs, but unlike the majority of rock and roll ballads, in under 3 minutes it goes through seven movements with distinct melodies and chord progressions without repeating itself. It was for that reason that I have always believed it was a suitable piece for brass where one does not have lyrics to distinguish changes between verses to avoid monotony. Graham Cooper
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Introduction & Allegro Spiritoso - Jean Baptiste Senaille - Len Jenkins
Introduction and Allegro Spiritoso appears in many forms within the music compendium, frequently as a piece demonstrating a solo string, woodwind or brass instrument with Piano or other accompaniment. It was originally composed by the baroque composer Jean Baptiste Senaille, and includes the fast 2/4 movement from one of his 50 or so violin sonatas. It is probably one of his most recognised pieces. This arrangement for a brass quintet with optional Glockenspiel is presented in two formats. One is for Brass Band instruments, the other for Orchestral Brass, both with appropriate Parts to match that genre.
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It's Alright - Mike Moran - Len Jenkins
"It's Alright", the theme song for the BBC TV series New Tricks, was written by Mike Moran, whose credits also include composing the song "Barcelona" for Freddy Mercury, the theme to the UK crime series 'Taggart' and the Lynsey de Paul entry to the Eurovision Song Contest. As a producer, he has worked on The Queen Album and Elaine Paige's Piaf. New Tricks follows New Scotland Yard's mythical Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad, which is staffed by retired police officers who have been recruited to look into unsolved crimes, including murders. Whilst this particular squad is fictitious, the concept is based firmly on fact. Although New Tricks does have serious plots, the series also contains a fair amount of humour, usually revolving around in-house banter, and the lyrics to Mike Moran's song does it justice. Dennis Waterman, who played Gerry Standing, one of the team, was the obvious choice of vocalist, although the song was never released commercially. Sadly Dennis died in May 2022.