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£29.95The Plantagenets (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
A Symphonic Study for Brass BandThe Plantagenets was Gregson's first major test piece, written specially for the 1973 National Brass Band Championships.In this ambitious symphonic study he turned his attention to music which sets out to create a mood or atmosphere, in contrast to his earlier brass band works such as Essay and Partita where the underlying concerns are technical rather than expressive. However, Gregson is at pains to emphasise that The Plantagenets is not programme music. 'Symphonic' is the optimum word here. In its textural and harmonic complexity, its rhythmic and melodic variety, this was his most ambitious brass band piece so far. His language, with its roots in Hindemith and Bartok is further enriched here with the expressive language of Holst and Rachmaninov.As he says in his notes on the work: The Plantagenets attempts to portray the mood and feelings of an age - that of the House of Plantagenet which lasted from the middle of the twelfth century to the end of the fourteenth. To many it conjures up an age of chivalry and this is represented by fanfare motifs which occur throughout the work in varied form.Characteristically, the composer then goes on to describe not the atmosphere or mood he is trying to convey, but the means by which the music has been composed: the opening fanfares, based on the interval of the third, generating the musical material for the whole work; an exposition of two themes - one fanfare-like, one lyrical (on horns); a slow episode introducing a new melody on solo horn (answered by cornet and euphonium in canon); a little scherzo, fugal in character; and a recapitulation leading to a maestoso statement of the slow movement theme with a final reference to the fanfares as a triumphant conclusion.Duration: 11.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£69.95Concerto for Horn (Horn Solo with Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Gregson, Edward
Horn in F with Brass BandComposed in 1971 for Ifor James, the Concerto for French Horn and Band revealed some of those elements that have made Gregson's music so popular with audiences (and not just brass band audiences) worldwide: the boldness of his melodies, with the interval of the fourth revealing his admiration for the music of Paul Hindemith; his incisive rhythms, betraying the influence of another favourite composer, Bla Bartk; an admirable economy of means; and the clarity of his scoring.Each of the Concerto's three movements displays a different facet of the French Horn's character. The first is serious, symphonic in impulse, the rising fourths of the opening gesture giving the music an almost Germanic weight. In the slow movement, the soloist becomes the first among equals, sharing with the cornet soloist some typically haunting melodies. The lyrical flow is interrupted at the mid-point by mysterious, fleet-of-foot cadenzas. A rondo finale brings the concerto to a light-hearted conclusion. The rising fourths here are the impulse for a jaunty theme which reveals another of Gregson's early influences - William Walton, and in particular that composer's Partita for orchestra.Duration: 18.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£30.00Aviator - Keiron Anderson
Aviator is a bright, lively piece, which attempts to show the fast moving and complex world of the stunt pilot who mixes simplicity and style with mad aerobatic prowess. The work shows the take-off and landing, but in the middle, a multiple time signature section mixes cut common and triple time signatures to take the Band on a white-knuckle ride before returning to the main theme for a safe landing.
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£30.00Django - Jock McKenzie
Django is inspired by the sounds of 'Hot Club Jazz'. The origins of this style also known as Gypsy Swing or Jazz Manouche were to be found in France in the 1930s. Indeed, the most famous group, based in Paris was the "Quintette du Hot Club de France" and featured in its ranks the legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli. My composition Django seeks to provide a 'beginners guide' to some of the typical elements of this musical style: After a 'faux improvised' opening flourish, the main theme is in the characteristic minor key, including use of arpeggio figures to point the direction of the melodic line. The melodies throughout the piece are presented in a duet-like manner, spaced in intervals of 3rds and 6ths. The accompaniment based strongly around the minor 6th chords is designed to imitate the role of the rhythm section in a typical gypsy swing band.
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£30.00Fantasia on themes by Purcell - Ian Shepherd
Fantasia consists of three distinct sections that use thematic material from three separate pieces by Henry Purcell. The first section is based on the march from Funeral Music for Queen Mary which is dramatically dark and powerful but also uplifting. The Second section uses the devastatingly beautiful aria Dido's Lament or When I am laid in earth from the opera Dido and Aeneas as its basis and builds to enormous proportions, unlike the original aria. The third section begins with a haunting reference to the Rondo from Abdelazer. Gradually, this builds towards an exciting re-statement of the theme in the first section to the finale.
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£20.00Festive Fanfare - Traditional
Festive Fanfare is an ideal opening number for a Christmas programme, capturing the glow, the bustle and the excitement of the season in a medley of familiar traditional melodies. You will hear snatches of the well-known 'Deck the Halls' and 'Good King Wenceslas' woven around the main theme of 'Joy to the World' in an arrangement guaranteed to get your celebrations off to sparkling start.
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£30.00Jubilee Gigue - Debbie Wiseman
This piece was commissioned to be performed on the Georgian barge as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant. Inspired by the "Gigue" (sometimes referred to as "Country Dance") in Handel's original Water Music, the piece has a rollicking, upbeat feel and is now newly arranged for brass band. The story that inspired the piece is of a pirate ship attacking the flotilla. The pirates are then confronted by the courageous defenders of the flotilla who are, of course triumphant in the end. The piece concludes with a final defiant statement of the heroic theme, and the pirates are gone forever.
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£40.00Tientos y Danzas - Gareth Wood
Tientos y Danzas is a suite in four movements and was written especially for Superbrass. It is not literally descriptive, but conjures up a breezy, festive atmosphere. The title Tientos stems from the fact that a lot of the brass writing is reminiscent of virtuosic Renaissance keyboard finger-work (a "Tiento" is the Spanish equivalent of a toccata). Only later did we discover that the word is also the name of a style of flamenco dancing, which links nicely with Danzas (dances). The first movement is an extended fanfare, with military rhythms on the tenor drums and dramatic trumpet and horn calls. Next comes a witty waltz featuring the French horn. The music builds in complexity; the main horn theme returns before a playful coda. The following Andante makes effective use of the mutes, both in the haunting opening "pyramid" chords, and in the elaborate, recurrent trumpet duets; the two trumpets have the last word. After a couple of false starts, the finale sets off at a cracking pace, with dislocated accents creating an irregular rhythmic pulse. There are opportunities for every instrument to shine (metaphorically) and the music gets even faster for a thrilling conclusion.
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£24.99Loddon - MARCH Joseph Knight
This march was written for the Loddon brass band as their signature march. This commission was undertaken in 2007 and is an example of a standard contest march. One of the main inspirations for this composition was the reading of the role of lost servicemen and women during the remembrance day service. The phrase was later used "Loddon the brave" which has been used in the rhythm of the main theme of the piece.
Estimated dispatch 5-9 working days
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£32.99A Christmas Meditation By Joseph Knight
This is a Christmas piece with a difference. In this piece I have taken the Rocking Carol and used it as my theme. I then put it into sonata form using a minor key for the second subject. In the recapitulation I have layered The Love Came Down At Christmas over the second subject. This is a wonderful reflective piece that complements any Christmas program.
Estimated dispatch 5-9 working days
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