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£35.00
strange geometry
Descriptionstrange geometrywas commissioned by Morgan Griffiths and the Hammonds Saltaire Band for their performance at the Brass in Concert Championships of 2015.As a bit of a space/sci-fi geek, as well as a musician, two events during the summer of 2015 had a particular effect on me. The first was the tragic early death in a plane crash of the famous film composer James Horner. Horner's music, particularly in films like 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan', 'Avatar', 'Apollo 13' and even his debut in Roger Corman's 1980 budget film 'Battle Beyond the Stars', defined for a generation the sound of sci-fi at the cinema. Along with John Williams he created the vocabulary for those who wish to express other-worldly wonder in music and his inventive talent will be much missed in an industry where originality has become something of a dirty word in recent years.The second event was the epic flyby of Pluto by the NASA New Horizons spacecraft. There are many reasons to find this mission inspiring - for example, the scientists and engineers behind it created a craft that has travelled at 37,000 mph for nine years and three billion miles to arrive within seventy-two seconds of the predicted time for the flyby. That they achieved this with such accuracy is an outstanding tribute to humanity's ingenuity and insatiable curiosity. However, the most exciting aspect of the mission was the clear, high resolution pictures of this unthinkably remote and inhospitable world beamed back to mission control. The best previous image of Pluto was an indistinct fuzzy blob - suddenly we could see mountains made of ice, glaciers of methane and carbon monoxide and nitrogen fog - features previously unimagined on a world thought to be a slightly dull ball of cold rock. The BBC's venerable astronomy programme 'The Sky at Night' waxed lyrical about these newly discovered features, referring to "the surprising discoveries of mountains and strange geometry on the surface of this cold distant world".I like to think that Horner would have been as inspired as I have been by this real-life science story, and this piece uses some of the vocabulary of the sci-fi movie soundtrack in a tribute to the memory of a great musician and to the inspirational geeks at NASA who have boldly taken us where no-one has gone before.Note: This work comes with a B4 portrait score. Listen to a preview and follow the music below!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£79.00
Bring Him Home (From "Les Miserables") - Boublil-Kretzmer-Schoenberg - Bjorn Morten Kjaernes
The novel by Victor Hugo which the story of this musical is based on, received only limited success in France when it was published. After translating the entire piece into English and adding a a great deal of new material it was still very poorly recieved in London ad well. But satisfied audiences spread the word and soon the ticket sales went through the roof. The show is now in it's 25th year in London!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£79.00
Expectation - Geir Sundbo
"Expectation" is composed in a traditional ABA-form. The A-part exploits different rhythmical elements, mixed meters and dissonances while the B-part is calm and melodic with harmonies that challenge the players to "accept" dissonant tones as a colouring element. The composer wishes that this piece makes young musicians curious and interested in the exiting field of new contemporary music.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£60.00
Requiem Paraphrases - Peter Meechan
Requiem Paraphrases uses the opening bars of Mozartas Requiem as its musical material for the whole piece. An aggressive opening is followed by a sounding of Mozartas original theme, in a setting for low brass and solo euphonium. Percussion and woodwind then enter, as the soloist begins to elaborate. A brief return to the opening is followed by a new, percussion driven, section.The euphonium and various soloists in the ensemble interact, exchanging ideas over an ostinato in the marimba. As this section continues towards the cadenza, the ensemble gradually takes on more of an accompanying role, leaving the soloist to again break free, with flourishes and gestures leading to the cadenza.Following this, there is a short recapitulation, before the euphonium brings us to a dramatic conclusion!Requiem Paraphrases was commissioned by, and dedicated to Steven Mead.
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£70.00
Shine - Peter Meechan
Shine is my second large scale work for solo tuba, following on from my concerto Episodes and Echoes. Like the concerto, Shine was commissioned and premiered (with the Grimethorpe Brass Band, conducted by Howard Evans) by Les Neish - the title being an anagram of the soloist surname.Although in one movement, Shine has 3 broad sections, each requiring virtuosic skill and dexterity from the soloist. The opening section features lots of bright, metallic sounds - especially in the percussion section - providing the accompaniment to soloist as they demonstrate the range and flexibility of the tuba.The second section gives the soloist the opportunity to demonstrate the considerable lyricism that the tuba is capable of. The solo line weaves in and out of textures in the accompaniment, exchanging snippets of melody with other players in the ensemble.After a short unaccompanied passage, the final section emerges juxtaposing new solo lines and material from the opening section. This builds in momentum - and difficulty for the soloist - as the piece reaches its climatic ending.Shine is dedicated to my good friend, fellow Liverpool supporter, and amazing musician, Les Neish.Peter Meechan, 2011
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
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£34.95
He is Starlight - Anthony Ritchie
He is Starlight was commissioned by Margaret Austin with financial support from UNESCO, for performance by The Woolston Band at the 2015 Festival of Star Light in Twizel, New Zealand. The piece is a commemoration for composer John Ritchie (J.A.R.),...
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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£24.95
Postcard from Rio - Steven Ponsford
This exciting new addition to the brass band repertoire comes from the pen of Steven Ponsford. Infused with Latin-American rhythms, this evocative portrait of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro explores Samba and Bossa Nova styles in a piece...
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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£24.95
Trip the Light Fantastic - Dan Price
Horn virtuoso Owen Farr commissioned a new concert item for tenor horn from composer Dan Price in 2009, Trip the Light Fantastic was the resulting work. The piece is music absolute, with no particular aim to tell a story or...
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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£59.95
VARIATIONS ON 'MACCABEUS' (Brass Band Set) - Kevin Norbury
This set of variations was composed for the ISB's tour of Australia, New Zealand and Japan in 1995. Handel's majestic tune is associated with the great resurrection hymn 'Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son' and melodic fragments of the tune form the basis of the four variations. The tune is heard in its entirety at the beginning and near the end and the piece finishes with a vigorous coda.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£30.00
Building on Sand - Jock McKenzie
This piece was composed with the intention of replicating some of the sounds of the New Orleans Brass Bands; particularly those whose music has a funky, riff-based edge to their sound e.g. the Hot 8, Rebirth, Dirty Dozen and Soul Rebels brass bands. As well as elements of the second line parade, the music also has a full-on, swing out section.