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£33.98E lucevan le stelle (Cornet/Euphonium Duet with Brass Band) Puccini arr.Bushnell
Tosca is an opera in three acts by the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. The opera is set in June 1800 in Rome, and tells the story of the Kingdom of Naples and the threat to its control of Rome by Napoleon's invasion of Italy. Some of Puccini's best-known arias can be found in Tosca. The opera is based on Victorien Sardou's dramatic play of the same name (La Tosca). Puccini saw the play at least twice in 1889 and begged his publisher, Giulio Ricordi, to obtain the rights to turn it into an opera, which were secured in 1891 - although Puccini relinquished the rights to Alberto Franchetti before being recommissioned in 1895. Puccini wrote "I see in this Tosca the opera I need, with no overblown proportions, no elaborate spectacle, nor will it call for the usual excessive amount of music." It took four years to write, with Puccini arguing with his librettists (Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa) and his publisher. Although the first performance was delayed by a day due to the unrest in Rome at the time, the opera was premiered on 14 January 1900 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. The critics reviews were indifferent, but it was an immediate success with the public. The opera is through-composed, with the different musical elements weaved from piece to piece. Puccini used the Wagner's leitmotif concept to identity different parts of the opera. Taken from Act 3, E lucevan le stelle is sung by Cavaradossi, a painter, who has fallen for the singer Tosca. The corrupt Chief of Police, Baron Scarpia, longs for Tosca himself and, upon suspecting Cavaradossi of helping a political prisoner escape, he takes the opportunity to get rid of Cavaradossi and blackmail Tosca into being with him. The guards lead Cavaradossi to the roof of Castel Sant'Angelo, where he is told he has 1 hour to live before being executed. He asks to write a letter to Tosca, overcome by memories, he sings E lucevan le stelle (And the stars shone). It was selected by the tenor Wynne Evans as one of the most romantic songs for his top ten arias for Classic FM. He described it as "another tenor classic, both tragic and beautiful." This arrangement (for cornet and euphonium duet with brass band) includes alternative parts for horns in F and lower brass in bass clef. A recording of the original song can be found here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAqHQMX7GHY
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£34.95New Dawn, A - Christopher Bond
A New Dawn (2013) was commissioned by and written for British tenor horn virtuoso Owen Farr in late 2013, to provide the title track of his new CD album. With a specific brief, the work was to include a bold ear-catching 'fanfare-esque' opening to bring maximum impact to the opening of the album, before settling in a rhythmic groove which allows the new tempo and reduced texture to settle before the entry of the tenor horn, who's initial four bar motif is what forms the basis of much of the work. Following this, structurally, the work follows with a set of variations, carefully demonstrating the capabilities of the instrument and indeed the player. Bar 90 sees the return of the bold opening gestures, this time followed with a harmonic transformation, before a recapitulation at bar 120 which sees a return to the original tenor horn material and an increase in intensity, volume and virtuosity through to the close. A New Dawn was premiered by Owen Farr and the Cornwall Youth Brass Band on 30th December 2013, and was recorded by Owen and the Cory Band in March 2014, featuring as the title track on his CD release of the same name.
Estimated dispatch 5-10 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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£57.50Erin's Isle - Philip Sparke
Erin's Isle was commissioned by euphonium player Micah Parsons and premiered by him in June 2024. The idea was to write a slow melody with an Irish flavour and the title is a romantic, 19th century name often used to refer to the island of Ireland itself. The work opens with fluttering, muted cornets, under which a tentative theme appears. This leads to an accompanied cadenza for the soloist, out of which the main theme emerges. This is a long and expansive melody, which winds through several related phrases with a folk-like flavour. A change of key heralds snatches of the theme by the band with interjections from the soloist, leading to a second cadenza. Eventually the band takes up the main theme again, over which the euphonium weaves an elaborate counter melody. The fluttering cornets return to allow the soloist to close the work with a brief and flowery coda.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£61.00Postcards from Tomorrow - Gauthier Dupertuis
During their childhood, some people have the tradition to put their toys, drawings and wishes for the future into a timebox that they bury somewhere to dig up when they are adults. This has inspired Gauthier Dupertuis for the title of this work: Postcards from tomorrow. What wishes would we put in those boxes for the future; what kind of postcards would we send to our grandchildren? To compose this work, Gauthier Dupertuis was also inspired by three pictures that have some symbolic meaning linked to the question above and that give the names to the three movements that make up this piece.The first movement, Abandoned Blockhouses, refers to war and other horrors in the history of humanity, while Pagoda at the Lake, the second movement, was inspired by the pagoda, a religious building whose function is to house the relics of holy people in Asian worship. The third and last movement, Building Bridges, is a call for hope. In July 221, Postcards from Tomorrow was awarded the first prize at the "La Bacchetta d'Oro" international composition contest in Italy.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£183.20Folklore - Kjetil Djønne
"Folklore" is a work for brass band and percussion loosely based on the story of the Norwegian woman accused of witchcraft, Anne Pedersdotter. She was sentenced to be burned at the stake in Bergen in the spring of 1590 and has since been frequently highlighted as Norway's most famous and talked-about witch.The work begins with the movement "Lyderhorn," depicting the mountain outside Bergen where witches gathered to plan magical actions against the city. Here, we hear the quietness of nature and the wind blowing through the trees before a new theme appears, which will come to life in the next movement. In the distance, the witches have started their ceremony.In the next movement, "Walpurgis Night," the witches perform their rituals to afflict the city with fire, disease, and natural disasters. The ceremony becomes more and more chaotic, violent, and compelling until the darkness of the night envelops us, concluding the section.The third movement describes the women's inner struggle against the harassment they faced when the people of Bergen suspected them of being witches. Rumors often turned into formal accusations from the legal system, and many were sentenced to death after undergoing trial. "From life to death through the fire."The fourth and final movement, "The Pyre," depicts the actual death sentence. You can hear the pyre being ignited and the flames growing and intensifying. It all culminates in a chorale as a memorial to the lives that were taken.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£154.99A Brussels Requiem - Bert Appermont
The attacks in Brussels on 22 March 2016 created a shockwave throughout Belgium and the rest of the world. Equally, the attacks in Paris and Nice led to great public indignation, fear and disbelief.What has happened to the western world? Have our cultures grown apart to such an extent that we do not understand each other anymore? Bert Appermont's intention was to voice certain emotions that these acts of terror have caused: particularly fear, grief, anger, and helplessness. He uses the French children's song Au Claire de la Lune as a connecting thread throughout the work.This piece is also about hope and faith in another world, andis meant to pay homage to all victims, resulting in a dignified remembrance. The musical development is presented in four through-composed parts, titled Innocence, In Cold Blood, In Memoriam - We Shall Rise Again and A New Day.This work was commissioned by the Brassband Obersterreich (Brass Band Upper Austria) to be played at the European Brass Band Championships 2017.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£228.70Myte - Myth - Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen
Commissioned by Radoy Brass for their 20 years anniversary.This version was first performed by Manger Skulemusikklag in 2005.The Work is devided into Five Scenes:1. Sverdet (The Sword) 3:452. Advarsel - fra en vis mann (Warning - from a Wise Man) 2:303. Dragen (The Dragon) 3:004. Advarsel II - fra syngende fugler (Warning II - from singing birds) 1:355. Gull - forbannelsen (Gold - The Curse) 2:50Total durata 13:30This work is based on five scenes from the tale about "Sigurd Favnesbane" (Sigurd the dragonslayer). Moods and atmospheres in the piece represent my way of retelling the old myth.1. The SwordThe dwarf blacksmith Regin is hammering and sharpening the edges of the magical sword Gram. After three attempts the sword is finally sharp enough to kill a dragon. 2. Warning - from a Wise manRichard Wagners opera Sigfried is based on the same story. In the opera the hero get warned by a wise man. He tells the secret of how to survive an attack of the dragon by hiding in a hole in the pathway and then kill the dragon with the sword as thedragon passes on its way to the river to drink water.3. DragonThe Dragon (Favne) guards a fantastic treasure, but he is also the brother of the blacksmith Regin. Favne get killed and his blood flows slowly while he laments (trombone/bass trombone).4. Warning II - from singing birdsWhile frying the heart, Sigurd burns his thumb and put it into his mouth to cool it down. Then he swallow a drop of fresh magic dragon blood which transfers the ability to understand the birdlanguage. The birds sing warnings to Sigurd telling himthat Regin will betray him and later kill him. Sigurd then kills Regin instead.5. Gold - the CurseSigurd takes the gold treasure and escapes on the horseback of Grane. But his robbery of the gold lead him into trouble: The gold is banned and a curse will hit everyone whotakes it...Myth is a programmatic work where the story is quite clearly illustrated throughout the piece:In the first movement you can hear the blacksmith working with hammer on ambolt while the heat is intense from the glows. The dwarf has got his own theme i lower brass (bar 4-5). The hero Sigurd has his own identifying chord (2 bars before F). Thechord is also a symbol of the sword.In the second movement the warning from the wise man is expressed in the lyric bass line.The airblow in instruments illustrate the dragon Favne on his way out of his cave, and later the blood flows slowly. The dragon takes his last deep breath after a painful duet in trombones. The birds sing their motifs (lightly, but not cheerfulthough), until Sigurd cuts the head off Regin and it hits the ground.The last movement describes the atmosphere andstate of mind as the curse infects the obsessed thief.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£122.10Den store dagen - Benny Borg
This beautiful song contains a huge contrast between the hopeful and the disappointing. A mother has her birthday and is waiting her children to celebrate it. Each verse starts optimistically, but the short chorus is characterized by the disappointment, that everyone calls, and cannot come. This has been tried recreated musically, mostly in the last two choruses, as it dawns on her that she will not receive a visit. It's a beautiful tune, but with a serious message that it's easy to take someone for granted.One of the elements Hjorring Brass Band (DK) came up with after rehearsal, was that they really liked the change between the ballad parts with even eights and the swing parts. This also gives the piece a sense of "parlando" character, which tells a story, and is therefore important to focus. It is not quite simple, as the melody also in those parts with even eights has some triplet rhythms. Therefore, this is a topic you can work on very consciously.If you have heard the Wind Band version, you can notice that both keys and modulation are different in the Brass Band arrangement to sound better for this instrumentation.Regarding instrumentation, Flugelhorn, Solo Horn and Euphonium have important roles, in addition to Solo Cornet.It is also possible to use a vocal soloist, but then you have to soften the melody voices, especially, where small variations in the melody have been made for the wind instruments.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£69.99South Down Pictures - Philip Sparke
South Down Pictures was commissioned by Millenium Brass 2000, an organisation comprising three brass bands from the county of Sussex, England.The bands (Patcham Silver, Hangleton and Brighton Silver) had got together to organise many events to mark the new millennium and these culminated in a concert in Hove Town Hall on July 9th 2000 when all three bands combined to give the first performance of South Down Pictures. The composer spent much of his childhood amongst the South Downs, a range of hills in Sussex which runs parallel to the sea.Opening with a strong unison passage, interrupted briefly by faster figures based on the interval of a fifth, South Down Picturesdevelops with an often-passionate legato melody. Reaching a climax, this is then followed by the main vivo section of the work, whose main theme is based on the earlier 'fifth' figures. A bridge passage leads to a short chorale figure and a rhythmic climax which dissolves into a plaintive cornet solo over staccato chords. This theme is taken up by the whole band and leads back to a recapitulation of the main theme and earlier material. The cornet tune returns triumphantly in the major key before the opening unison passage reappears to provide a stirring coda.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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