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£124.95Hyperlink - Peter Graham
Hyperlink was commissioned by the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain (funded by Arts Council England and the Department for Education) for its 70th Anniversary Year. Since the anniversary coincided with other significant celebrations in 2022 (including the Royal Albert Hall/Ralph Vaughan Williams 150th and the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II) it was requested that these also be recognised in some way.
Where better to begin this challenging brief but with a computer search for the NYBBGB founder Dr Denis Wright (coincidently born in Kensington, home of the RAH). The subsequent rabbit warren of hyperlinks led me to structure the work through a series of "associations":
Movement I - The Voice of Jupiter.
Alongside the discovery that Denis Wright had been a church organist was the realisation that while the RAH has hosted thousands of musical events the fabric of the building actually incorporates a musical instrument, the famous Henry Wills organ (aka The Voice of Jupiter).Organ and J S Bach are synonymous (e.g. Toccata in D min) and so both become fundamental to the content of the movement. An opening 7 note quote from the Toccata leads to a mammoth sound cluster, as if every note on the huge RAH organ is sustained. The material which follows is based upon the notes BACH (in German notation). The notes are manipulated in various ways in a 12 tone matrix; reversed, inverted and so on. Other techniques employed in the movement are ones of which Bach was master, including ground bass and fugue.
Movement II - Remember Me.
The lives of Salvationist composer Ray Steadman-Allen (born 1922) and Ralph Vaughan Williams are remembered here, with "RSA" in musical notation and fragments of RVWs famous Tuba Concerto providing the source material.While writing the movement my father passed away and to close his funeral service the family chose the uplifting Robert Lowry hymn They'll sing a welcome home. It seemed fitting to conclude the movement with a reflective setting of the chorus, the repeated phrase "Welcome, welcome home" eventually disappearing into the ether.
Movement III - Vivat.
The finale takes the form of a short fantasy upon Hubert Parry's marvellous coronation anthem I Was Glad, truly a celebratory note with which to conclude.The first performance of Hyperlink was given by the NYBBGB conducted by Martyn Brabbins at the Royal College of Music, London on August 6th 2022.
Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£49.95Bestowal of a Century - Christopher Bond
Bestowal of a Century (2014) was commissioned by Lowenna Taylor, and funded through her Harry Mortimer Trust award which she was presented with at the 2013 British Open Championship following the completion of her studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music in Cardiff. The 15-minute work received its world premiere at the Cornwall Youth Brass Band Christmas concert in 2014 with solosit, Lowenna, working alongside the band under the baton of Les Neish. The 'Bestowal' refers to the presentation of the Royal Trophy by the then Prince of Wales to the famous West of England Bandsman's Festival in Bugle in 1913. Over the years it has been won by some of the greatest names in brass banding, including Black Dyke and Munn & Feltons - although more recently it has become a wonderful open festival that includes sections for local bands as well as visitors from all over the banding globe. 2014 marked the one-hundredth anniversary of the presentation of the trophy, which is the only brass band trophy to have the official seal of royal patronage. The work, in three distinct sections, opens in a mysterious way, building progressively with interjections from the horn. The composer notes its as though one can imagine different part of the trophy being put together, piece by piece, until the trophy is complete and a climax is reached. Following this, a playful theme is presented which is developed throughout the first section and interacting between soloist and band. The second movement, in complete contrast, is a lyrical melody; heart-wrenching throughout, and sits well both as part of the concerto and also as a stand-alone solo item. The third movement is light-hearted and virtuosic, demonstrating the technical capabilities of the instrument with fast and virtuosic playing, and a cadenza towards the end of the work.
Estimated dispatch 5-10 working days
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£70.00
Canzonetta - Pjotr Iljitsj Tsjaikovski - Geert Jan Kroon
Canzonetta is an arrangement for violin and brass band of the slow section from Violin Concerto Op. 35 by Pjotr Iljitsj Tsjaikovski.
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£34.95Spring: Reloaded - Jonathan Bates
DIFFICULTY: 2nd+. DURATION: 3'00". 'Spring:Reloaded' is composed as a response to Vivaldi's famous 'Spring' from his Violin Concerto in E Major - more commonly known. as 'The Four Seasons' - and was composed for Strata Brass' seasons themed sets for their 2019 entertainment competition programmes. . This composition sets a number of the original Vilvaldi melodies from each movement of 'Spring' against a far more contemporary . harmonic backdrop, featuring antiphonal cornet & percussion choirs, with each 'choir' having it's own mini concertino group to accompany . them which is formed from a selection of the remaining lower brass and percussion. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 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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£70.00
Episodes and Echoes - Peter Meechan
Episodes and Echoes is a concerto in three movements for tuba. The title of the work relates directly to the way the composer approached writing the piece.aAlthough the work is scored with piano and wind band accompaniments, Episodes and Echoes was originally written for tuba and brass band. I had several problems to overcome - the brass band contains 4 tubas, and 2 euphoniums, all of which could obscure the solo line, so I decided to write for the soloist in a manner that meant they were either playing alone, in episodes, or repeating/echoing phrases.aIn addition to this, the composer combined the characteristics of the tuba with other instruments: in the second movement the tuba is similar to a singer performing an aria and a recitative, and third movement a bass guitar.Episodes and Echoes was commissioned by, and dedicated to, Les Neish who premiered the work in 2005, accompanied by the Beaumaris Brass Band, conducted by Gwyn Evans.
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£35.00
Harry's Song - Peter Meechan
Harry's Song is the second movement of Origins, a concerto for euphonium. Happy and reflective in nature, the main melody was written on the evening that my closest friend, Mark Bousie (a fine euphoniumist himself), and his wife Jayne, had their first child - Harry Bousie. It seemed only fitting that this song should be written for Harry in celebration.
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£70.00
Milestone - Peter Meechan
Milestone is a concerto commissioned by Mark Wilkinson (with funds provided by the Arts Council England) to celebrate 21 years as Principal Cornet with Fodens Band. In three movements, the work is intended to not only demonstrate the soloistas virtuosic skills, but also his ability to communicate to the audience.The first movement, titled Milestone, combines sections of driving rhythms (intended to represent Markas years of continuing hard work), in the accompaniment with long legato phrases from the soloist interspersed with dexterous, virtuosic, passages.The second movement, Song, features a simple chord sequence, over which the soloist asingsa a melody, each time varying and each time becoming more expressive, leading to an emotional climax.The final movement, Twenty One, is a quasi-celebratory dance. Opening with the band clapping, the soloist weaves their way through the various textures in the band. Occasionally making both a musical and metaphorical nod to the industrious nature of the first movement, the chord sequence of the second movement also re-appears, before a brief coda takes us to the conclusion of the work.
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£70.00
Origins - Peter Meechan
Origins is in three movements, with each movement having a different subject matter, all linked by the idea of origins: the first movement refers to musical origins; the second to the origins of life; and the final movement to the space exploration - the research of all origins. The first movement is based on a short motif, heard in the first three notes the soloist plays. These three notes cover the interval of a minor third (an interval that often plays a crucial role in my music) on which the whole concerto is built. The soloist and accompaniment interplay freely throughout the opening section, before an ostinato accompaniment appears - over which the soloist sounds a long legato melody. A short cadenza follows and a return to the opening material leads the movement to an end. The second movement, titled Harryas Song, is - as tradition dictates - a slow movement. Happy and reflective in nature, the main melody was written on the evening that my closest friend, Mark Bousie (a fine euphoniumist himself), and his wife Jayne, had their first child - Harry Bousie. It seemed only fitting that this song should be written for Harry in celebration. The final movement brings me back to a lifelong fascination with space, and in this particular movement, the Space Shuttle Discovery. Having completed 39 missions (including flying the Hubble telescope in to orbit), and spent a total of 365 days in space, SS Discovery made its final voyage in 2011 and was taken to the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. in April 2012. This final movement, titled Discovery, pays tribute to the great shuttle whose missions inspired millions across the generations. Origins was commissioned by Marco Schneider, Adrian Schneider and the Dunshan Symphonic Wind Orchestra, Beijing, China.
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£60.00
Song (from Milestone) - Peter Meechan
Song (from Milestone) is the middle movement of a concerto for cornet, titled Milestone. Commissioned by Mark Wilkinson, with funds provided by the Arts Council England, this song allows the soloist to demonstrate their lyrical skills.
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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