Results
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£34.95Agrabah Sunrise - Jonathan Bates
DIFFICULTY: 1st+. DURATION: 4'00". 'Agrabah Sunrise' was composed for the Foden's Band's Aladdin themed programme at the 2023 Brass in Concert Championships, held at The Glasshouse, Gateshead. The music uses a traditional Western Asian Raga called 'Bhairav' - traditionally practised in the early hours of the morning - as it's base and features extensive technical solos for Soprano, Cornet, Tenor Horn and Euphonium.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£79.95Amundsen - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 14'00". DIFFICULTY: 1st+. 'Amundsen' was commissioned by rskog Brass, Norway for their winning performance at the 2020 Norwegian National Championships held at the Grieghallen in Bergen. In December 1911, Norwegian Roald Amundsen gained global fame by becoming the first explorer to lead a team to the geographic South Pole. Amundsen and 4 other members of his team arrived 5 weeks ahead of a rival team from the UK led by Robert Falcon Scott, all of which perished on their attempted return from the pole. Initially when Amundsen's team set out in 1910, they were under the impression that they would be making the far shorter journey to the arctic drift to attempt to reach the North Pole, but Amundsen had received news that American explorers Peary and Cook had beaten them to this goal, and so Amundsen's focus changed southward. 'Fram, Forward' - 'Fram' (translating to English as "forward") was the name of the ship Amundsen used for this particular polar expedition. Amundsen had only informed 2 people of his real intentions of conquering the South Pole when the ship first left port in Kristiansand before heading south to the Portuguese island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean. After weeks at sea - causing the uninformed members of the crew to raise a number of questions and produce a general feel of uncertainty and low spirits - it was here that Amundsen announced his true plans to the rest of his crew. They were asked whether they wished to continue with their expedition, to which all - some begrudgingly - agreed to sail on to the South Pole, through the great Ice Barrier before docking in the Bay of Whales on the Ross Ice Shelf. 'Ross Ice Shelf' - Upon Amundsen's arrival in the Bay of Whales, the team were greeted by the sight of the enormous ice plateau's and glaciers, towering into the Antarctic sky. In 1907, Ernest Shackleton had attempted - and failed - to reach the South Pole, but his route and mapping was by now well documented. Scott and the UK team were to follow this route, whereas Amundsen and his men forged their own way to the pole through unchartered territory and deadly terrain littered with deep crevasses and canyons. The music here though, is a picture of tranquility. The eerie silence of total emptiness with only the heavy snow falling around Amundsen as Fram and the Bay of Whales disappears into the distance, faced by the maginute of the expedition ahead. 'Advance to Polheim' - The first new challenge Amundsen discovered on this route was a rough, sharp and extremely steep glacier (which was later named the Axel heiberg Glacier after the Norwegian monarch who funded much of the expedition), which would take his team up from sea level to an altitude of over 9,000ft in just 20 miles, with most of this over just 7 miles. Once scaled, only the vast Antarctic Plateau stood between Amundsen and the pole. Here the race began, with only one aim - victory for himself, his team, and for the whole of Norway. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£34.95By Water and the Word - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 4'00". DIFFICULTY: 4th+. 'By Water and the Word' was composed for 2020 Brass Band Summer School in memory of it's long-standing course administrator Philip Biggs, who passed away in 2019. Aside from his work with BBSS, Philip was also the renowned administrator for the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain where my first opportunities as a writer of brass music were presented. It's a certainty to say that without Philip's work at the head of this organisation, there's zero chance I would be able to do what I do today as a musician, and for that it was a huge honour to write this short work in his memory. Under Maestro Bramwell Tovey, each course would conclude with an encore of The Day Thou Gavest (St. Clements) and one of the most used hymn tunes throughout the week was The Church's One Foundation (Aurelia). Since then, these two tunes have become synonymous with the NYBBGB and in turn Philip's life & work, so I felt it fitting to combine these two wonderful sacred melodies into a new work paying homage to those memories. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£69.95Ceremony - Jonathan Bates
DIFFICULTY: 2nd+. DURATION: 10'00". 'Ceremony' was commisioned by Musica da Domat, Switzerland and their Musical Director Gian Stecher in 2019. The concept of the work revolves around a number of religious processions which take place around the mountainous region of Graubunden in the south of the country and in more musical terms, a specific setting of the 'Stabat Mater' (heard in fragments throughout the piece, but only at the finale is it heard in it's entirety) which is traditionally the ceremonies around this area. Through-composed yet in 4 clear sections, 'Ceremony' opens with 3 fanafare trumpets/cornets positioned antiphonally across the back of the stage, each paired with a different pitched tenor drum, and in a different key - inspired by the idea of being able to hear the different ceremonies from all regions of Graubunden echoing up the valley in equal strength. Following this opening fanfare section, the procession around the hills begins with a tongue-in-cheek quasi-march in a far more upbeat and jovial mood. The centrepiece of the work is simply entitled 'Echoes', and once again returns to the idea of music breaking the almost eerie-silence as it reverberates around the vast valleys, before the culmination of the piece returns to material from the opening 'Ceremony' section in a more grandioso and bold style. . .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£34.95Charles Dickens Christmas, A - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 4'00". DIFFICULTY: 4th+. Composed for Strata Brass in 2020 as part of their COVID-19 induced, virtually recorded 'A Christmas Carol' (a new suite for brass band lasting around 30 minutes in total), 'A Charles Dickens Christmas' was used as the opening number for the event. The work utilises a number of instantly recognisable fragments of much-loved Christmas carols but acts more as a quasi-premonition into the original Charles Dickens novel which follows. Each section is marked with the point in the story which the music refers to and ends in a celebratory manner. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£34.95Christmas Carol, A - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 4'00". DIFFICULTY: 3rd+. Composed for Strata Brass in 2020 as part of their COVID-19 induced, virtually recorded 'A Christmas Carol' (a new suite for brass bandlasting around 30 minutes in total), 'A Christmas Carol' was used as the grand finale to the whole show in which Ebenezer Scrooge has been shown the error of his ways by 3 ghosts on Christmas Eve and becomes a transformed man just in time for Christmas day. This uplifting and energetic work portrays all the joyous emotions associated with the festive period, incorporating a number of well-cherished Christmas carols and various quotes from through the 'A Christmas Carol' suite of music. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£34.95Cloak and Dagger - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 4 minutes. DIFFICULTY: 1st+. Cloak and Dagger was composed for the Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band's 'Murder Mystery' set at the 2018 Brass in Concert Championships. The work acts as a feature for Flugel Horn, Baritone and Trombone, each acting as a suspect in a pseudo musical 'who dunnit?'. Each solo is starkly different in charcter revealing the personality traits of the 3 mysterious suspects!.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£29.95El Torero - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 4'00". DIFFICULTY: 3rd Section+. 'El Torero' was commissioned by the Elland Silver Youth Band for their appearance at the 2019 Brass in Concert Youth Championships, held at The Sage, Gateshead. 'Torero' is the generic term referring to any individual who takes part in bullfighting on foot, with this definition acting as an umbrella term for all ranks of Matador (whom often might sit on a horse for the fight). It also acts as the modern-day alternative to the popular 'Toreador', popularized by Bizet in his opera, 'Carmen'. . 'El Torero' paints every aspect of a bullfight, from the cautios and steady entrance into the bullring, the wild frenzy of the bullfight and ultimately the grandioso conclusion as the bull is slain and the Torero rises victorious. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£34.95Eternal Source of Light Divine (Euphonium Solo) - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 4 minutes. DIFFICULTY: 1st+. 'Eternal Source of Light Divine is a new Euphonium solo in the style of a set of theme and variations on the famous aria by Handel. The song was most recently performed to a global audience at the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018, which ties into Foden's Band's 'Kings & Queens' theme for Brass in Concert. The solo itself is a virtuosic showpiece for the soloist, showcasing extremes of range throughout, technical flexibility and dexterity and a demanding yet lighthearted cadenza passage - all based on melodic fragments from the original Handel theme.'. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£29.95Fall of Icarus, The - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 4 minutes. DIFFICULTY: 2nd+. The Fall of Icarus was composed for the Lions Youth Brass Band as the finale to their runers-up set at the 2018 National Youth Brass Band Championships of Great Britain. The music is inspired by the steady rise towards the sun of the Greek mythological character Icarus, as his impending fate becomes closer and closer. This work was designed as a more widely accesible alternative to the much loved March from the Pines of Rome by Respighi.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days