-
Saviour's Day - Chris Eaton - Len Jenkins
Chris Eaton wrote "Saviour's Day" in October 1989 and took the original version of the song to a Christmas party to show Cliff Richard, despite having been told that his songs had already been selected for the following year. Nevertheless, they listened to the tape in Cliff's Rolls Royce. He liked it and predicted it could be a 'number one'. The following year it became just that; the second Christmas solo 'number one' for Cliff, following the success of "Mistletoe and Wine" in 1988. Since then it has variously been voted into lists of both the best and the most annoying Christmas songs. A music video of the song was filmed at Durdle Door near Swanage in Dorset, in warm, sunny September weather but with extras wearing winter clothes as if at Christmas. Enjoy!
-
Savoy Christmas Medley - Traditional - Len Jenkins based on an original arrangement by Debroy Somers
The Savoy Christmas Medley is a well-known and often played piece originally arranged from traditional music by Debroy Somers a big-band bandleader in the 1920's. William Henry (Debroy) Somers was an ex-army bandmaster who formed the Savoy Orpheans dance band, resident at the famous Savoy Hotel between 1923 and 1927. Whilst there are several editions of this music for full Brass Band, this latest arrangement has been tailored to suit a brass quintet with optional percussion. In many cases the availability of players around the festive season, or the space to accommodate a full band in some of the venues for Christmas engagements or for fundraising, means that a Quintet can be the preferred option. In order to achieve a good Quintet arrangement, it is necessary to achieve the same quality and diversity of sound as a full band but within a smaller group. A challenging objective which we believe has been achieved in this publication. In common with our developing practice, the arrangement is scored for both Brass Band and Concert Brass instruments.
-
Scotch Missed - Len Jenkins - Len Jenkins
Back in the late 1980's a crowd of us went to Scotland to see in the New Year. We were dismayed to find that the pubs were shut early on New Year's Eve, and the only drink and merriment would be in an hotel (if resident or invited), or by 'first footing'. This involved taking a bottle of Scotch and presenting oneself at the door of a complete stranger, whereupon we were relieved of the bottle and welcomed into the general hubbub. The bottle was passed around those gathered there, so that by the time it got back to us it was empty. Just like its homonym, when it got around to us, it simply did not exist.
-
Sharpe's Theme - John Tams & Dominic Muldowney - Len Jenkins
"Sharpe" is a popular British series of television dramas starring Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, principally in Spain, Portugal and France. His activities and adventures are based on a number of novels by Bernard Cornwell, which reflect the military campaigns of the Duke of Wellington (as he became) and were filmed mainly in Turkey and Crimea, although some filming was also done in England, Spain and Portugal. This music, composed by John Tams and Dominic Muldowney, contains two aspects of the series; the iconic introductory signature tune and the equally familiar 'Over the Hills and Far Away' originally sung by John Tams (who also acted in the series) which features in the closing scenes of each episode. This arrangement is within the capabilities of a good 4th section brass band.
-
Slap Dash - Len Jenkins - Len Jenkins
Slap Dash is an original composition by Len Jenkins and takes you back to the days of black and white films, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy. You can almost see, and can certainly hear the frantic dashing about of the characters as they attempt to get things 'right' and of course inevitably get into a 'right' pickle.
-
Sortie Funebre - Pearl Everett - Len Jenkins
In two very short movements, this piece is a realisation of the type of music played by church organists as things are being prepared in a service, or, in this particular case, a coffin is moved from the Crossing of the church to the west door, to prepare for the funeral procession. Each movement is a mere 30 seconds or so long .
-
The Crown of Roses - Tchaikovsky - Len Jenkins
Tchaikovsky wrote this in his 'Songs for Young People' in Moscow in 1883 to words by Pletchtcheev. The story it tells is about Jesus Christ when he was a young child, having a small wild garden in which roses grew. Passing children saw the roses and plucking them mockingly asked if he wove rose garlands in his hair. Christ says to take the roses, but to leave the thorns. Instead, they make a crown of these and forced it onto his head so that it bleeds, symbolic of what was going to happen later in his lifetime. The melody contains all the passion that we associate with Russian church music and is equally suitable for a contemplative Christmas or Passiontide. This arrangement is faithful to the four verses of the original lyrics, but with an optional ending half-way if preferred.
-
The Giddy Goat - Traditional Swiss - Daniel von Siebenthal
The Giddy Goat is a silly folk song that everyone knows in Switzerland. It is about a white goat that does not want to get milked, so she kicks the milker. Thinking that this is because the goat is white, the owner decides that he will buy a brown one instead. From there on, people make up their own verses in which the goat is often replaced with past loves, enemies, and anyone or anything worthy of ridicule. Daniel, the arranger, lives in Gstaad in the Saanen district and the "Saanen goat" is a breed of white goat known throughout the world. As a farm boy, he did his share of goat milking and received the occasional hoof under his chin for his trouble. So, this piece is a tribute to a local breed that became world-famous, especially in America where the tune also meets its counterpart Billy Grogan's Goat (a similar silly song). The Giddy Goat should always be played as a "silly song" reflecting the goat's nature; capricious and cantankerous. The low bass line is important in Swiss folk music and should approximate to a plucked string-bass whose strings are dampened, to give it a pulsating feel. For those who would like to yodel we include the following Swiss tongue twister:- Holeduli duliduli, holeduli duli duli duuli, Holeduli duliduli, holeduli duli duli duu
-
The Hippopotamus Song - Flanders & Swann - Len Jenkins
The Flanders and Swann masterpiece 'Mud, Mud-glorious Mud!' arranged to feature a tuba soloist (Eb or Bb) OR as a duet between 2x Eb or 2x Bb tubas OR one of each! True flexibility-and such fun! This piece is absolutely perfect for Entertainment Contests..
-
The Wombles Song - Mike Batt - Len Jenkins
The Wombles are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures that live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in creative ways. They were created by author Elisabeth Beresford, and originally appeared in a series of children's novels from 1968 that featured the inhabitants of a burrow on Wimbledon Common in London, England.The characters gained a higher national profile in the UK in the mid-1970s as a result of a BBC commissioned children's television show, and a number of spin-off novelty songs also became hits in the British music charts. The Wombles pop group was the idea of British singer and composer Mike Batt who wrote the series' theme tune, and who went on to perform and produce a number of successful albums and singles with 'The Wombles'.This is a brass band arrangement of that well-known theme tune. Caution! This may provoke a sing-along.