Results
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£85.00Concertante (Piano Solo with Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Gregson, Edward
This work was written in 1966, when I was a student at the Royal Academy of Music in London. It was the first major work to be written for this combination. The Concertante is unashamedly romantic in idiom and is cast in three movements: Prelude, Nocturne and Rondo.The Prelude is in sonata form with a contracted recapitulation. There are two main themes, the first announced after the opening flourish on piano. The second theme is lyrical in character and the interplay between these two themes forms the main focus of the movement.The pensive Nocturne opens with an introduction from the band which contains hints of the two main ideas to follow. The solo piano announces the main theme, which has a slightly 'blues' character in its flattened third and seventh notes of the scale. The band enters with the chorale theme already heard in the introduction. Eventually the first theme returns, this time from piano and band and building to a powerful climax before subsiding to a peaceful ending.The Rondo is full of energetic rhythms and changing time patterns. The main theme is 'giocoso' in character and in the first episode there is more than a hint of the tune 'Onward Christian Soldiers' in what amounts to a good humoured parody. Before the final coda there is a long piano cadenza underlying the virtuoso element of the work.The work had a number of public performances leading up to a memorable one in the Royal Albert Hall in 1989 as part of the Gala Concert that used to be held after the National Brass Band Championship in the Royal Albert Hall. That year, the 'centre band' in the massed bands concert were the GUS Band (then known for sponsorship reasons as 'Rigid Containers Group Band'!) conducted by my great friend and champion, Bramwell Tovey, with myself as the soloist.- Edward GregsonDuration: 18.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£107.95Symphony in Two Movements (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Gregson, Edward
Selected as the Championship Section test piece for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2025This work was jointly commissioned by the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain (NYBBGB) and the National Youth Brass Band of Wales (NYBBW), the latter with funding from T Cerdd (Music Centre Wales), to celebrate their 60th and 30th anniversaries respectively. The first performances were given at Cadogan Hall, London, in April 2012, by the NYBBGB, conducted by Bramwell Tovey; and at the Great Hall, Aberystwyth University, in July 2012, by the NYBBW, conducted by Nicholas Childs.When I was approached about a joint commission to write a new work to celebrate the anniversaries of these two outstanding youth bands I was delighted to accept, and decided to respond by writing a work apposite for the magnitude of these special occasions, namely a 'symphony for brass'.Through a long journey of writing music for brass band, which commenced with Connotations (1977), and continued with Dances and Arias (1984), Of Men and Mountains (1991), The Trumpets of the Angels (2000) and Rococo Variations (2008), I arrived at what I regard as the most important work of the cycle to date, combining as it does serious musical intent with considerable technical demands. It is perhaps my most abstract work for brass band, avoiding any programmatic content.The symphony lasts for some 19 minutes and is structured in two linked movements. The form is based on that used by Beethoven in his final piano sonata (Op.111), which is in two movements only: a compact sonata-form allegro, followed by a more expansive theme and four variations. Prokofiev also adopted this model in his 2nd Symphony of 1925.The opening Toccata of this Symphony is highly dramatic but compact, whilst still retaining the 'traditional' structural elements of exposition, development and recapitulation; indeed, it also has the 'traditional' element of a contrasting second subject - a gentle, lyrical modal melody first heard on solo cornets.In contrast, the longer and more substantial second movement Variations is built around a theme and four variations. The slowly unfolding chorale-like theme accumulates both added note harmony and increasing instrumentation, whilst the four variations which follow are by turn mercurial (fast, starting with all the instruments muted), march-like (menacing, with short rhythmic articulations underpinning an extended atonal melody), serene (a series of 'romances' for solo instruments alongside echoes of the chorale) with an emerging theme eventually bursting into a climax of passionate intent; whilst the final variation is a dynamic scherzo (concertante-like in its series of rapid-fire solos, duets, trios and quartets) with the music gradually incorporating elements of the main ideas from the first movement, thus acting as a recapitulation for the whole work. It reaches its peroration with a return to the very opening of the symphony, now in the 'home' tonality of F, and thus creating a truly symphonic dimension to the music.Most of the melodic material of the symphony is derived from the opening eleven-note 'row', which contains various intervallic sets, and although the work is not serially conceived it does use some typical quasi-serial procedures, such as canons, inversions, and retrogrades. The symphony uses somewhat limited percussion, in line with a 'classical' approach to the sound world of the brass band, alongside a use of multi-divisi instrumentation, whereby each player has an individual part rather than the traditional doubling within certain sections of the band.- Edward GregsonDuration: 19.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£57.95Symphony in Two Movements (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
Selected as the Championship Section test piece for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2025This work was jointly commissioned by the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain (NYBBGB) and the National Youth Brass Band of Wales (NYBBW), the latter with funding from T Cerdd (Music Centre Wales), to celebrate their 60th and 30th anniversaries respectively. The first performances were given at Cadogan Hall, London, in April 2012, by the NYBBGB, conducted by Bramwell Tovey; and at the Great Hall, Aberystwyth University, in July 2012, by the NYBBW, conducted by Nicholas Childs.When I was approached about a joint commission to write a new work to celebrate the anniversaries of these two outstanding youth bands I was delighted to accept, and decided to respond by writing a work apposite for the magnitude of these special occasions, namely a 'symphony for brass'.Through a long journey of writing music for brass band, which commenced with Connotations (1977), and continued with Dances and Arias (1984), Of Men and Mountains (1991), The Trumpets of the Angels (2000) and Rococo Variations (2008), I arrived at what I regard as the most important work of the cycle to date, combining as it does serious musical intent with considerable technical demands. It is perhaps my most abstract work for brass band, avoiding any programmatic content.The symphony lasts for some 19 minutes and is structured in two linked movements. The form is based on that used by Beethoven in his final piano sonata (Op.111), which is in two movements only: a compact sonata-form allegro, followed by a more expansive theme and four variations. Prokofiev also adopted this model in his 2nd Symphony of 1925.The opening Toccata of this Symphony is highly dramatic but compact, whilst still retaining the 'traditional' structural elements of exposition, development and recapitulation; indeed, it also has the 'traditional' element of a contrasting second subject - a gentle, lyrical modal melody first heard on solo cornets.In contrast, the longer and more substantial second movement Variations is built around a theme and four variations. The slowly unfolding chorale-like theme accumulates both added note harmony and increasing instrumentation, whilst the four variations which follow are by turn mercurial (fast, starting with all the instruments muted), march-like (menacing, with short rhythmic articulations underpinning an extended atonal melody), serene (a series of 'romances' for solo instruments alongside echoes of the chorale) with an emerging theme eventually bursting into a climax of passionate intent; whilst the final variation is a dynamic scherzo (concertante-like in its series of rapid-fire solos, duets, trios and quartets) with the music gradually incorporating elements of the main ideas from the first movement, thus acting as a recapitulation for the whole work. It reaches its peroration with a return to the very opening of the symphony, now in the 'home' tonality of F, and thus creating a truly symphonic dimension to the music.Most of the melodic material of the symphony is derived from the opening eleven-note 'row', which contains various intervallic sets, and although the work is not serially conceived it does use some typical quasi-serial procedures, such as canons, inversions, and retrogrades. The symphony uses somewhat limited percussion, in line with a 'classical' approach to the sound world of the brass band, alongside a use of multi-divisi instrumentation, whereby each player has an individual part rather than the traditional doubling within certain sections of the band.- Edward GregsonDuration: 19.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£94.95An Age of Kings (Mezzo-Soprano Solo with Brass Band and optional choir - Score and Parts) - Gregson, Edward
The origins of this work date back to 1988, when I was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company to write the music for The Plantagenets trilogy, directed by Adrian Noble in Stratford-upon-Avon. These plays take us from the death of Henry V to the death of Richard III. Later, in 1991, I wrote the music for Henry IV parts 1 and 2, again in Stratford. All of these plays are concerned with the struggle for the throne, and they portray one of the most turbulent periods in the history of the British monarchy.Much of the music used in these productions was adapted into two large symphonic suites for wind band - The Sword and the Crown (1991) and The Kings Go Forth (1996). An Age of Kings is a new version for brass band incorporating music from both the symphonic suites for wind band. It was specially composed for a recording made by the Black Dyke Band, conducted by Nicholas Childs, in 2004.An Age of Kings is music on a large-scale canvas, scored for augmented brass band, with the addition of harp, piano, mezzo-soprano solo, male chorus, as well as two off-stage trumpets. The music is also organized on a large-scale structure, in three movements, which play without a break - "Church and State", "At the Welsh Court", and "Battle Music and Hymn of Thanksgiving".The first movement, "Church and State", opens with a brief fanfare for two antiphonal trumpets (off-stage), but this only acts as a preface to a Requiem aeternam (the death of Henry V) before changing mood to the English army on the march to France; this subsides into a French victory march, but with the English army music returning in counterpoint. A brief reminder of the Requiem music leads to the triumphal music for Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, father of Edward IV and Richard III (the opening fanfare transformed). However, the mood changes dramatically once again, with the horrors of war being portrayed in the darkly-drawn Dies Irae and Dance of Death, leading to the final section of the first movement, a funeral march for Henry VI.The second movement, "At the Welsh Court", takes music from the Welsh Court in Henry IV part 1 with a simple Welsh folk tune sung by mezzo-soprano to the inevitable accompaniment of a harp. This love song is interrupted by distant fanfares, forewarning of battles to come. However, the folk song returns with variation in the musical fabric. The movement ends as it began with off-stage horn and gentle percussion.The final movement, "Battle Music and Hymn of Thanksgiving", starts with two sets of antiphonally placed timpani, drums and tam-tam, portraying the 'war machine' and savagery of battle. Trumpet fanfares and horn calls herald an heroic battle theme which, by the end of the movement, transforms itself into a triumphant hymn for Henry IV's defeat of the rebellious forces.- Edward GregsonDuration - 22'00"Optional TTBB available separately.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£89.95TRUMPETS OF THE ANGELS (Gregson) (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Gregson, Edward
The Trumpets of the Angels was commissioned by the Fodens (Courtois) Band for their centenary concert at The Bridgewater Hall in 2000. It is based on a work written for the BBC Philharmonic and Huddersfield Choral Society in 1998, the starting point of which was a quotation from the Book of Revelation:and I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpetsThus the idea behind the work is dramatic and I have tried to achieve this by the spatial deployment of seven solo trumpets around the band, four on-stage, the others off-stage. Six of the solo trumpets eventually join the band, but Trumpet 7 remains off-stage and, indeed, has the most dramatic and extended cadenza representing the words of the seventh angel ...and time shall be no more.The Trumpets of the Angels is a large-scale work, scored for seven solo trumpets, brass band, organ and percussion (deploying 'dark' instruments such as tam-tams, bass drum and two sets of timpani). The work opens with a four-note motif announced by off-stage horns and baritones and answered by fanfare figures on solo trumpets. In turn, each of the first four solo trumpets play cadenzas and then all four join together, independently playing their own music. The organ enters dramatically with its own cadenza, leading to the entry of solo trumpets 5 and 6 with music that is more urgent and rhythmic, describing the horsemen of the Apocalypse.The music reaches another climax, more intense this time, with the horns and baritones (now on-stage) again sounding the transformed motif, before subsiding into what might be described as a lament for humanity, slow music which builds from low to high, from soft to loud, with a melody that is both simple and poignant. At the climax, Trumpet 7 enters playing the opening four-note motif, dramatically extended to almost three octaves. This cadenza (to the partial accompaniment of tam-tams) introduces new material and foreshadows the ensuing scherzo which is fast and aggressive. Despite the somewhat desolate mood of this music, it slowly moves towards an optimistic conclusion, transforming the 'humanity' music into an affirmative and triumphant statement.- Edward Gregson
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95
TRUMPETS OF THE ANGELS (Gregson) (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
The Trumpets of the Angels was commissioned by the Fodens (Courtois) Band for their centenary concert at The Bridgewater Hall in 2000. It is based on a work written for the BBC Philharmonic and Huddersfield Choral Society in 1998, the starting point of which was a quotation from the Book of Revelation:and I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpetsThus the idea behind the work is dramatic and I have tried to achieve this by the spatial deployment of seven solo trumpets around the band, four on-stage, the others off-stage. Six of the solo trumpets eventually join the band, but Trumpet 7 remains off-stage and, indeed, has the most dramatic and extended cadenza representing the words of the seventh angel ...and time shall be no more.The Trumpets of the Angels is a large-scale work, scored for seven solo trumpets, brass band, organ and percussion (deploying 'dark' instruments such as tam-tams, bass drum and two sets of timpani). The work opens with a four-note motif announced by off-stage horns and baritones and answered by fanfare figures on solo trumpets. In turn, each of the first four solo trumpets play cadenzas and then all four join together, independently playing their own music. The organ enters dramatically with its own cadenza, leading to the entry of solo trumpets 5 and 6 with music that is more urgent and rhythmic, describing the horsemen of the Apocalypse.The music reaches another climax, more intense this time, with the horns and baritones (now on-stage) again sounding the transformed motif, before subsiding into what might be described as a lament for humanity, slow music which builds from low to high, from soft to loud, with a melody that is both simple and poignant. At the climax, Trumpet 7 enters playing the opening four-note motif, dramatically extended to almost three octaves. This cadenza (to the partial accompaniment of tam-tams) introduces new material and foreshadows the ensuing scherzo which is fast and aggressive. Despite the somewhat desolate mood of this music, it slowly moves towards an optimistic conclusion, transforming the 'humanity' music into an affirmative and triumphant statement.- Edward Gregson
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£89.95
TRUMPETS OF THE ANGELS - 2016 Edition (Gregson) (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Gregson, Edward
The Trumpets of the Angels is a large-scale work, scored for seven solo trumpets (or cornets), brass band and percussion (deploying 'dark' instruments such as three tam-tams, bass drum and two sets of timpani). The genesis of the work is a quotation from the Book of Revelation ... and I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.Thus the idea behind the work is highly dramatic and I have tried to achieve this by the spatial deployment of seven solo trumpets around the band. Trumpet 7 remains separate from the band throughout and, indeed, has the most dramatic and extended cadenza, representing the words of the seventh angel ... and time shall be no more.The work opens with a four-note motif announced by off-stage horns and baritones and answered by fanfare figures on four solo trumpets. In turn, each then play cadenzas before joining together, independently playing their own music. This leads to a sung Kyrie Eleison with accompanying solos for Flugel Horn and Baritone, after which we hear the entry of solo trumpets 5 and 6 with music that is more urgent and rhythmic, describing the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.The music reaches another climax, more intense this time, with the horns and baritones (now on-stage) again sounding the transformed motif, before subsiding into what might be described as a lament of humanity - slow, yearning music, which builds from low to high, from soft to loud, with a melody that is both simple and poignant. At its climax, Trumpet 7 makes a dramatic entry, playing the opening four-note motif, but expanded to almost three octaves. This cadenza (to the partial accompaniment of 3 tam-tams, representing the Holy Trinity) introduces new material and foreshadows the ensuing Scherzo, introduced by antiphonal timpani before the band enters with music that is fast and foreboding. Despite the somewhat desolate and 'unstable' mood of this music, it slowly moves towards an optimistic conclusion, transforming the 'humanity' music into an affirmative and triumphant statement.The original version of The Trumpets of the Angels was commissioned by the Fodens Band for their centenary concert at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, in 2000, and contained an important part for organ. In 2015 I was asked by Nicholas Childs to create a New Performing Edition for the Black Dyke Band; without organ, and including newly composed material. This New Performing Edition was given its first performance at the European Brass Band Festival in Lille in April 2016. The work is dedicated In tribute to Olivier Messiaen.- Edward Gregson
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95
TRUMPETS OF THE ANGELS - 2016 Edition (Gregson) (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
The Trumpets of the Angels is a large-scale work, scored for seven solo trumpets (or cornets), brass band and percussion (deploying 'dark' instruments such as three tam-tams, bass drum and two sets of timpani). The genesis of the work is a quotation from the Book of Revelation ... and I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.Thus the idea behind the work is highly dramatic and I have tried to achieve this by the spatial deployment of seven solo trumpets around the band. Trumpet 7 remains separate from the band throughout and, indeed, has the most dramatic and extended cadenza, representing the words of the seventh angel ... and time shall be no more.The work opens with a four-note motif announced by off-stage horns and baritones and answered by fanfare figures on four solo trumpets. In turn, each then play cadenzas before joining together, independently playing their own music. This leads to a sung Kyrie Eleison with accompanying solos for Flugel Horn and Baritone, after which we hear the entry of solo trumpets 5 and 6 with music that is more urgent and rhythmic, describing the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.The music reaches another climax, more intense this time, with the horns and baritones (now on-stage) again sounding the transformed motif, before subsiding into what might be described as a lament of humanity - slow, yearning music, which builds from low to high, from soft to loud, with a melody that is both simple and poignant. At its climax, Trumpet 7 makes a dramatic entry, playing the opening four-note motif, but expanded to almost three octaves. This cadenza (to the partial accompaniment of 3 tam-tams, representing the Holy Trinity) introduces new material and foreshadows the ensuing Scherzo, introduced by antiphonal timpani before the band enters with music that is fast and foreboding. Despite the somewhat desolate and 'unstable' mood of this music, it slowly moves towards an optimistic conclusion, transforming the 'humanity' music into an affirmative and triumphant statement.The original version of The Trumpets of the Angels was commissioned by the Fodens Band for their centenary concert at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, in 2000, and contained an important part for organ. In 2015 I was asked by Nicholas Childs to create a New Performing Edition for the Black Dyke Band; without organ, and including newly composed material. This New Performing Edition was given its first performance at the European Brass Band Festival in Lille in April 2016. The work is dedicated In tribute to Olivier Messiaen.- Edward Gregson
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95
TUBA CONCERTO (Gregson) (Tuba Solo with Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
Brass Band Score onlyThis work was commissioned by the Besses o' th' Barn Band with funds provided by the Arts Council of Great Britain. It was written for, and is dedicated to, John Fletcher, who gave the first performance in Middleton Civic Hall, near Manchester, on 24 April, 1976, with Besses o' th' Barn Band conducted by the composer. Another interesting feature about the premire was that it was recorded by BBC Television for an Omnibus programme with Andr Previn as presenter. The concerto exists in three versions: with brass band (1976), orchestra (1978) and wind band (1984).The concerto is in three movements, following the usual, quick-slow-quick pattern: Allegro deciso,Lento e mesto, Allegro giocoso. The first movement has a sonata form shell with two contrasting themes, the first one being rhythmic in character, the second lyrical. There is a reference made in passing to the Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto, but this merges into the other material in the development section.The second movement begins with a chorale, but after the entry of the tuba it leads to a cantabile theme, softly unfolded by the soloist. The opening chorale passage returns, this time briefly on muted brass, and leads to a middle section which is more chromatic in style and soon builds to a powerful climax, where the opening cantabile theme triumphantly returns. The music subsides, returning to the opening chorale and ending peacefully.The finale is light and breezy in style, and is cast in rondo form. After a brief introduction the tuba announces the main rondo theme, which is dance-like and a little jaunty. There are two episodes: the first a broad sweeping tune, the second a slowish waltz and a little jazz-like. After a virtuoso cadenza reference is made to the very opening of the concerto before the work ends with a triumphal flourish.The Tuba Concerto has established itself as one of the main works in the solo tuba repertoire. It has been performed and broadcast in over 40 countries all over the world. There are currently six commercial recordings of the concerto in its various versions.resolution in C major, pointed by a simple but expansive melody towards which the piece has been heading, and ending in a blaze of joyful colour.Duration: 18 mins
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95Funk Engine (Score and Parts)
'Funk Engine' was commissioned by Brass Bands England for the 2016 National Youth Brass Band Championships of Great Britain. What Ryan says about the piece:"When I was commissioned to write a piece for the Championships I decided that I wanted to create something a bit different to standard brass band repertoire. I decided that the best way to do this was to go a bit out of my comfort zone and explore some styles of music that I have yet to experiment with. I have always been a great lover of jazz, funk and big band music and the sounds associated with them. In 'Funk Engine' I have tried to capture some of these sounds, however I am a brass-bander at heart and as such I've tried to create a fusion of styles that hopefully combines the best of brass band and jazz into one piece.'Funk Engine' runs continuously, but is divided into three broad sections - fast, slow, fast. The opening is in driving big band style, which segues into a smoother lyrical section; the pace then picks up into a jazz inspired scherzo. After a delicate transition from the basses and trombones the euphonium plays a soaring scale - bringing us into the central movement - which begins with a series of languid solos before descending into a darker interlude. A flugel solo lightens the mood and the music gains momentum leading into a brief cornet chorale before a euphonium solo leads into a percussive climactic passage for full band. As this section winds down to settle on an open fifth, the Hi-hat and Bass section punctuate the texture with the first notes of the final section."The final section of the piece is in similar big band style to the opening and develops material from the first two movements. The percussion feature heavily at this stage and the tension builds towards a final statement, with the piece concluding with a bang!"
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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