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£20.00atrium phase
Descriptionatrium phase was inspired by listening to works performed at the 2013 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in the atrium of the Huddersfield University Creative Arts Building. The atrium, despite being a functional area incorporating meeting areas and a cafe, has almost coincidentally evolved into a fantastic (if somewhat resonant) performance space. Performers can be positioned on three different sides and three different levels, making the atrium ideally suited to spatially separated performances of a variety of music from Gabrieli to Christian Wolff.In atrium phase the band is separated into four groups - ideally these should be positioned around the audience as follows: group A to the left of the audience, group B in front of the audience, group C to the right of the audience and group D (the four basses) behind the audience. The music "phases" between the groups in the manner of contemporary electroacoustic music, with the bass group acting as a kind of "subwoofer". Starting very slowly, the music accelerates using metrical modulations to finish at considerable speed.The music is intended to be performed without a conductor wherever possible - the three percussionists should set and control the tempo, and there are clear points of overlap for percussionists to allow synchronisation between groups.atrium phase won the inaugural Foden's Band Composition Competition in 2014 and the first performance was given on 24 January 2015 at the RNCM Festival of Brass by Foden's Band.Performance Notes:The band is separated into four groups - ideally these should be positioned around the audience as follows: group A to the left of the audience, group B in front of the audience, group C to the right of the audience and group D (the four basses) behind the audience. The music "phases" between the groups in the manner of contemporary electroacoustic music, with the bass group acting as a kind of "subwoofer". Starting very slowly, the music accelerates using metrical modulations to finish at considerable speed.Instruments in group A require cup mutes (soprano, 2 x cornets, horn, baritone, trombone, euph), group B harmon mutes (4 x cornets, baritone and trombone - the baritone should use a trombone mute) and group C require fibre straight mutes (3 x cornets, flugel, 2 x horns, euph., bass trom - NOT metal mutes if possible).Percussion instruments required are claves, wood block and 2 x temple blocks. The music is intended to be performed without a conductor wherever possible - the three percussionists should set and control the tempo, and there are clear points of overlap for percussionists to allow synchronisation between groups.Approximate duration 6'17"
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£70.00
Apophenia - Peter Meechan
aApophenia is the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data.aApophenia is a trumpet concerto in three movements written for American trumpet virtuoso Rex Richardson. Each of the three movements features a different instrument; Movement 1 is for the Bb trumpet, the second is for flugel horn and trumpet, and the third is for trumpet and piccolo trumpet.Each of the three movements of Apophenia relate to the phenomenon of viewing Dark Side of the Rainbow - a name used to refer to the act of listening to the 1973 Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon whilst watching the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, where moments where the film and the album appear to correspond with each other.Movement 1 is a fast a furious movement. Solo and ensemble interact at high tempo, swapping and creating new ideas, leading each other in new directions. Aside from the trumpet soloist, the kit player also acts as a quasi soloist.The second movement takes its musical inspiration from the Pink Floyd song Us and Them. It is during this segment of the film that some of the most amazing moments of connection happen.The final movement is a dance - and a tour de force for the soloist who begins on the Bb trumpet, before switching to the piccolo trumpet (or Eb trumpet) for the fast and furious finale. Many of the coincidences from Dark Side of the Rainbow relate to dancing, however, as long as a piece of music is the same tempo as the original, and the time signature is a regular one, this could be the case across most films. So the composer chose to write a dance that wouldn't synchronise to too many existing dance scenes!The soloist is free to improvise their own cadenza.Apophenia is dedicated to Rex Richardson.
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£34.95
COVENANTERS, The (Brass Band Set) - Kenneth Downie
In 1638, many members of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland signed a document called the National Covenant. By doing so, they were declaring that they acknowledged only Jesus Christ as the spiritual head of their church, and not any king or queen. This had become necessary because the Stuart kings believed in the Divine Right of Monarchs and saw themselves as head of the church. In the previous year, Charles I had forcibly introduced the Book of Common Prayer, invoking the wrath of the common people who faced the threat of torture, transportation or execution if they did not use the new liturgy and worship at their local church. The net result of this was that many met illegally in the countryside or in barns and large houses. These meetings became known as 'conventides' and many took place in the south-west of the country. Anyone caught attending was at risk of execution by the muskets of the dragoons who were employed in the area for that specific purpose. This music was written to honour the bravery and loyalty of these Christians to their faith, in the face of extreme danger, in the hope that it will inspire us also to be faithful. There are overtones of military threat, secrecy and solidarity. An old pentatonic tune is used, which the composer heard as a boy being sung to the words The Lord's My Shepherd.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£69.95
ENGLISH HERITAGE (Brass Band Set) - George Lloyd
English Heritage was first heard in the pleasant surroundings of Hampstead Heath as part of a Kenwood Lakeside concert given on 2nd July 1988. It was commissioned for English Heritage by Michael Webber, the organiser of Kenwood Concerts for English Heritage and subsequently chosen as the Championship Section test-piece for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 1990. The sense of historic significance inherent in ensuring the preservation of England's fine buildings of the past drew from the composer music which seems to capture the essence of Olde England. This is a musical view of England's heritage concerned not only with pageantry and ceremonial but also catching some of the humour inherent in the English character as well as those quiet reflective moments which have surely fashioned England's past and influenced its present.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£60.99Klezmeriana - Jan de Haan
The instrumental music of the Yiddish-speaking Jews, especially those of Eastern Europe, is known as klezmer. This terminology was originally used in Jewish cultural life as the name of a musician who played at weddings. At Jewish weddings, which usually last several days, klezmer musicians played not only dance music but also ceremonial music - for example during the wedding ceremony, and also music that was listened to during the wedding feast. Originally, there was no special term for this style of music. It was simply referred to as 'Jewish wedding music'. In the 1970s, the music - which is actually a fusion of different influences - enjoyed a resurgence in popularity and came to be known as klezmer. This music contains not only the sounds of the Balkans, but also influences of oriental and gypsy music too. Jan de Haan used no original klezmer melodies for Klezmeriana, but composed a series of sound-alike in an instrumentation for brass band.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£94.9920,000 Leagues under the Sea - Philip Harper
Frenchman Jules Verne was a pioneer in science fiction during the late 19th Century, penning some classic stories such as Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Around the World in 80 Days - both of which have already been the subject of brass band test-pieces. It was therefore natural for me to choose Verne's 1869 watery magnum opus as the subject for this piece to which there are five sections, as well as an introduction and a finale.I. THE NAUTILUS. After a mysterious introduction we are introduced to The Nautilus - a fantastical submarine.II. THE CORAL KINGDOM. We visit awe-inspiring underwater coral formations.III. SQUID ATTACK. The Nautilus is attacked by a school of giant squid, or 'devilfish'.IV. CAPTAIN NEMO. Captain Nemo is a loner and an eccentric. Some say he is a madman. Soloists of the band help to uncover the character of this enigmatic but powerful figure.V. MAELSTROM. The Nautilus is dragged into the ocean's deadliest whirlpool but Captain Nemo lives to fight another day.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£94.99St James's - A New Beginning - Philip Harper
St James's - A New Beginning commemorates 300 years since the death of English architect Sir Christopher Wren who redesigned and rebuilt London after the Great Fire in 1666. It was used as the test-piece for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain (1st Section) in 2023.The piece is in four parts:I. THE GREAT FIREII. AFTERMATHIII. VISIONIV. RENAISSANCEThe bells ring the alarm and, as the capital city is engulfed by flames, panic and desperation spread. As the fire burns out, we are left to contemplate the aftermath of the inferno. Enter Sir Christopher Wren. His vision and courage were some of the most influential forces in the rebuilding of London which rose to reclaim its place as one of the great cities of the world.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£115.60Tuba Tornado - Hans Offerdal
This piece explores the life span of a tornado and which instrument is better suited for that than just the tuba? The piece has three movements: I - Impatient Storm Cell II - Cumulus Clouds III - Multiple Vortex Tornado This piece presents challenges in dynamics and articulation, as well as in the interplay with the soloist. The piece is based on a scale of seven pitches (as 'Tornado' has seven letters) and is notated as a concert Eb major scale with three accidentals. Only these seven notes are played throughout the piece. Playing time appx. 10 minutes.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£164.99Raveling Unraveling - Philip Sparke
Winning Performance EBBC Lille 2016 Raveling, Unraveling In Search of 'La Valse' was written for the Cory Band as their own-choice test piece for the 2016 European Brass Band Championships in Lille. The piece found its genesis in Sparke's The Unknown Journey (2014) for concert band, and the use of Ravel's La Valse as a structural undercurrent to the original piece is an act of reverence. Sparke's aim was to produce a work that is organic rather than episodic in nature. The composer's view is that little in music does this better than La Valse and for this reason he uses various sections of this masterpiece, both manipulated and quoted verbatim (including much of itsstunningclosing passages) to provide the overall geography of his new work. As the music progresses, more of the Ravel appears, surfacing completely as the piece reaches its climax - a gesture of homage to the French master.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£59.99Processional - Philip Sparke
Philip Sparke composed Processional as a wedding present for two of his friends. It is an extremely versatile piece as it can be played simply as a concert piece but has been designed specifically for occasions such as weddings or graduation ceremonies, where it?s duration can be altered according to your needs.A must for any ceremonial occasion.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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