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£29.50Eden (Score Only)
This work was commissioned by the Brass Band Heritage Trust as the test piece for the final of the 2005 Besson National Brass Band Championship, held at the Royal Albert Hall, London.The score is prefaced by the final lines from Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (completed in 1663), in which Adam and Eve, expelled from Paradise, make their uncertain way into the outside world:"...The world was all before them, where to chooseTheir place of rest, and providence their guide:They hand in hand with wandering steps and slow,Through Eden took their solitary way."My work is in three linked sections. In the first, the characters of Adam, Eve and the serpent guarding the Tree of Knowledge are respectively represented by solo euphonium, cornet and trombone. The music opens in an idyllic and tranquil mood and leads into a duet between euphonium and cornet. Throughout this passage the prevailing mood darkens, though the soloists seem to remain oblivious to the increasingly fraught atmosphere. A whip-crack announces the malevolent appearance of the solo trombone who proceeds to engage the solo cornet in a sinister dialogue.The second section interprets the Eden story as a modern metaphor for the havoc mankind has inflicted upon the world, exploiting and abusing its resources in the pursuit of wealth. Though certainly intended here as a comment on the present-day, it is by no means a new idea: Milton himself had an almost prescient awareness of it in Book I of his poem, where men, led on by Mammon:"...Ransacked the centre and with impious handsRifled the bowels of their mother earthFor treasures better hid. Soon had his crewOpened into the hill a spacious woundAnd digged out ribs of gold."So this section is fast and violent, at times almost manic in its destructive energy. At length a furious climax subsides and a tolling bell ushers in the third and final section.This final part is slow, beginning with an intense lament featuring solos for tenor-horn, flgel-horn and repiano cornet and joined later by solo baritone, soprano cornet, Eb-bass and Bb-bass.At one stage in the planning of the work it seemed likely that the music would end here - in despair. Then, mid-way through writing it, I visited the extraordinary Eden Project in Cornwall. Here, in a disused quarry - a huge man-made wound in the earth - immense biomes, containing an abundance of plant species from every region of the globe, together with an inspirational education programme, perhaps offer a small ray of hope for the future. This is the image behind the work's conclusion and the optimism it aims to express is real enough, though it is hard-won and challenged to the last.John Pickard 2005
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£33.00The Gloucestershire Wassail (Score and Parts)
A superb, choreographed opener to a concert. In traditional wassail fashion small groups of musicians play in various part of the hall eventually congregating as a full band on stage in a magnificent finale. Playable by most levels of bands with competent cornet sections.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.95Tournament for Brass (Score Only)
This is not descriptive music: the tournament is within the band!In the first movement, small groups of instruments are featured - mainly in duets and trios - in a kind of "conversation piece".The second movement is in the form of a Theme with Variations, the band's main soloists being given a chance to show their paces.In the final Scherzo there is more general ensemble playing, although soloists again carry some of the responsibility.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£33.00
Memoirs of a Drum Major - Barry, D
A march fantasy. The piece is dedicated toFred Edge who was Drum Major with theWalkden Band and loved hearing bands onthe march. This fun piece includes smallquotes from marches he would have heardon the street and also includes his favouritehymn, Blaenwern. There is also a run-inwith another band marching in theopposite direction.3rd section +
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£33.00
The Gloucestershire Wassail - Harper, P
A superb, choreographed opener to a concert. In traditional wassail fashion small groups of musicians play in various part of the hall eventually congregating as a full band on stage in a magnificent finale. Playable by most levels of bands with competent cornet sections.3rd section +
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£19.34Second Quartet - A Hint of Bach (Brass Quartet) Kenneth Downie
This thrilling work for brass quartet from the pen of Kenneth Downie is based on Bach's Two-part Invention in F major, BWV779. The composer writes: 'I wrote this quartet during the early days of Covid, when only small groups of instrumentalists were allowed to play together. Chamber music is something I enjoyed during my student days - it really is wonderful for developing good musicianship, requiring an awareness of what everyone in the group is doing, and calling for tight ensemble, keen balance and tuning, as well as a uniformity of style in performance. Playing the two and three part inventions of J.S. Bach formed an important part of my piano studies, and since I found myself writing more counterpoint than usual in these quartets, it seemed entirely appropriate to reference the great master of counterpoint in this work. At bar 49, the euphonium quotes from the opening of Bach's Two-part Invention in F major, BWV779, the first keyboard work of Bach that I ever learned, and this phrase pops up quite frequently thereafter. The rising arpeggio figure has a bouncy, positive feel to it, and I really enjoyed developing this material. I hope that players and listeners will share the fun as they rehearse and perform the quartet.' To view a rolling score video of this work please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG7LeUCan8U Difficulty Level: Medium Advanced Duration: Approx. 4 minutes Instrumentation: Part 1 - Cornet/Trumpet in Bb Part 2 - Cornet/Trumpet in Bb Part 3 - Horn in Eb or F Part 4 - Euphonium Bb (Treble Clef & Bass Clef parts provided)
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£61.91Sleigh Ride Suite (Brass Band) Leopold Mozart arr. Alex McGee
Today Leopold Mozart (1719-1787) is known almost exclusively as the stern father of Wolfgang, but he was a prominent and successful musician in his own time. The Sleigh Ride, composed just before Wolfgang was born, certainly shows that Mozart the elder had as good a sense of humour as his more famous son. Wolfgang must, in fact, have known and enjoyed his father's piece - he included a short Sleigh Ride in his German Dances, K.605, in 1791. Leopold's more complicated piece is a programmatic serenade, with short titles for each section: a musical picture of a cold evening's ride to a party. The score calls for sleigh bells, rattle, a whip, and triangle. The action begins with a short overture (Intrada), followed by the Sleigh Ride itself, a lively duple-meter dance accompanied by jangling sleigh bells and punctuated by the cracking of a whip. There is then a nice bit of musical pantomime - The Young Lady Shivers With Cold. The sleigh finally arrives at the party, a ball with a small dance orchestra. The Ball Begins, not surprisingly, with a courtly menuet, and the End of the Ball is a spirited Kehraus, a lively rondo-form dance. This transcription faithfully seeks to convey the light touch of the Age of Enlightenment to the modern brass band and provides ensembles with new material for their annual Christmas concerts. To view a rolling score video of the work please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgrBe1u8Xag Duration: Approx. 11.45 minutes Difficulty Level: 3rd Section + PDF download includes parts and score. Sheet music available from www.brassband.co.uk Instrumentation: Soprano Cornet Eb Solo Cornet Bb Repiano Cornet Bb 2nd Cornet Bb 3rd Cornet Bb Flugel Horn Bb Solo Horn Eb 1st Horn Eb 2nd Horn Eb 1st Baritone Bb 2nd Baritone Bb 1st Trombone Bb 2nd Trombone Bb Bass Trombone Euphonium Bb Bass Eb Bass BbTimpani Percussion 1-2
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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