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  £30.00

  

  Russian Rag - George L Cobb, Sandy Coffin

  Interpolating the world famous"Prelude" by RachmaninoffCommissioned by John Wallace, this arrangement of Russian Rag has been crafted by Sandy Coffin through close listening of the available recordings of the Harlem Hellfighters Band. Sandy had been heavily involved with the Historic Brass Society symposium 2017 held in New York and assisted John with his research on this fascinating band and the style of music it generated.Eye-witness accounts refer to the 369th band 'dancing' rather than 'marching'. Above all, in modern performance, finding a 'dancing beat' is crucial to a successful performance of this Ragtime march in order to do justice to the great pioneering work of James Reese Europe. Note the cheeky virtuosity and rubato!Look and Listen (courtesy of Tullis Russell Mills Band):Background to the Harlem HellfightersThe US Army 369th Regiment, made up largely of African-Americans from New York, became known as the Harlem Hellfighters because of the heroic reputation which accrued to them during the actions they engaged in during the First World War in Europe.James Reese Europe was one of the most active African-American composer/musical directors in the pre-war American music scene. The legendary Harlem Hellfighters Band, which he assembled in 1917 from African-American and Puerto Rican musicians, came at an important transitional point in musical history. A new form of music called jazz was emerging from Ragtime and the performing style of Europe's band was immersed in the flow of this new direction.Europe's Harlem Hellfighters influenced and inspired everyone who heard them, including the welcoming crowd when they disembarked in France, bowled over by their swinging rendition of La Marseillaise. Reese Europe became a war hero, commanding a machine-gun unit as well as the band.On return from War in 1919 the band led a ticker-tape parade along Fifth Avenue in New York and soon made about 30 shellac recordings. These recordings display some of the fingerprints of their performing style: ragging, improvising, muting, wailing, smearing (their word for glissando) - and from the evidence of their recordings they took the printed page as a blueprint for individuality.In May 1919 during the Hellfighters' triumphant coast-to-coast tour after their return, James Reese Europe was tragically murdered, bringing to premature close, at the age of 39, the work of a great musical innovator.

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  £38.95

  

  Unity Series Band Journal - Numbers 474 - 477, February 2019

  474: Prelude - Tell me the old, old story (Munashe Chikwezvero)Arabella Hankey's verses (S.A.S.B. 150) were originally written in 1866 while the author was recovering from a serious illness. The music was then added by William Howard Doane in 1868. This prelude comes to us from a Salvationist composer from the Hunyani Corps in the Zimbabwe Territory.475: My Redeemer lives (Marcus Venables)This lively arrangement of My Redeemer lives (S.A.S.B. 223) was written for the North York Temple Junior Band. The music is designed to emulate the more challenging Salvation Army band pieces to which younger musicians might aspire, as well as being a joyful announcement of our Redeemer's resurrection.476: Filte (Roger Trigg)Filte (FAHL-cheh) is the Irish word for welcome. This music was written to commemorate the start of The Salvation Army's work in Ireland. It features the tune The Eden Above (T.B. 503) which is purported to be the first song performed by a Salvation Army delegation on Irish soil. The next hymn presented is King of kings, majesty (S.A.S.B. 376) which has been a significant song in the life of Belfast Citadel Corps in its more recent past. The piece closes with the confident music of the song I believe we shall win (S.A.S.B. 990).477: Chorus Arrangement - Follow, I will follow thee (Morgan Juel Stavik)This is a gentle setting of H.L. Brown's melody Follow, I will follow thee.

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