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£45.00The Pilgrim - Josiah Walters
Josiah describes his composition'The Pilgrim' as a journey of development and emotion, encompassing three key stages of emotional state: from the opening sounds which are full of anticipation and uncertainty, through to a passage of disillusionment and frustration, then moving on to a concluding stage which reintroduces the positive elements of the opening optimism, yet closing quietly, symbolizing an inner peace and contentment at the end of the musical journey.The composer's emotive approach to the creation of the work embraces a wealth of passion, anguish and enlightenment. Through his use of imaginative melody, themes and harmonic texture, Josiah has represented a collection of powerful emotions. Essentially non-programmatic, the piece opens in a contemplative manner, building with enthusiasm, and first introducing the use of bells and bell effects as a musical metaphor which is used throughout the piece to signify the journey's destination.As the sentiment continues, the music evolves in to an Allegro Furioso section, opening up a strong sense of frustration. At this section's climax, the symbolic use of the bells is reintroduced to create an over-tone of hope and purpose, although this does not last long as they fade into the Misterioso Molto Rubato section.As the melodies and harmonies develop onwards, 'The Pilgrim' evolves into a more reflective phase, reintroducing the sounds and motifs of the more strident opening.This closing section symbolizes the realisation that everything needed was already available to The Pilgrim, but travelling the journey, confronting and overcoming all of the challenges was the only route of discovery - peacefulness prevails, bringing the work to a close with a sense of contentment and enlightenment.'The Pilgrim', highly emotive in its creation, offers a wealth of musical imagery.Even to the uninformed listener, this fascinating, powerful and beautiful work stirs and stimulates a variety of emotional reactions - offering each listener an opportunity to apply the music to their own journey, their own personal pilgrimage.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£40.00Finale from Symphony No. 1 - Sergei Rachmaninov arr. Phillip Littlemore
Rachmaninov composed his First Symphony in 1895, at the age of just 22 years. It received its first performance on March 27, 1897, at a Russian Symphony Society concert in St. Petersburg with Alexander Glazunov conducting. The premiere was not well-received, and Rachmaninov himself blamed Glazunov for a lacklustre approach for beating time rather than finding the music. Some contemporary reports even suggested that Glazunov was inebriated when he took to the stage!Despite the disappointment of the premiere performance, Rachmaninov never destroyed the score but left it behind when he left Russia to settle in the West, eventually it was given up for lost. After the composer's death, a two-piano transcription of the symphony surfaced in Moscow, followed by a set of orchestral parts at the conservatory in Saint Petersburg. In March 1945, the symphony was performed in Moscow for the first time since its 1897 premiere. It was a grand success, and this led to a new and more enthusiastic evaluation of the symphony. In March 1948 it received a similarly successful American premiere and the work proceeded to establish itself in the general repertory.The final movement (Allegro con fuoco) is colourful and grand but not without its darkly contrasting, menacing episodes that intensifies its malevolence. It is a work overflowing with ideas demonstrating a strong, highly individual, and self-assured young talent.Duration: 5'40"Difficulty: 2nd Section and above
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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£40.00Finale from Symphony No. 5 - Pyotr Tchaikovsky arr. Phillip Littlemore
Tchaikovsky composed his Fifth Symphony in the summer of 1888. He suggested that the opening-and recurrent-theme of the symphony represented "a complete resignation before Fate." The finale begins with a slow introduction of the 'fate' theme which segues into an Allegro Vivace of drive and energy, during which a majestic version of the fate theme periodically emerges. Finally, after a notorious "false" ending, the music courses ahead to a dramatic climax.Duration: c.7'30"Diffculty: 3rd Section and above
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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£121.20Prelude Festivo - John Brakstad
Prelude Festivo is intended to be performed both in concerts and in competitions and includes solo passages for most instrument groups. Duration 7,5 minutes. Form: Fast slow fast. The piece is built on two themes: Theme 1 (Allegro con spirito) is first presented as a cornet solo after a fanfare-like opening. Theme 2 is hinted at in the opening bars, but is presented fully in the slow (Andante) section (bar 141). This theme is developed and also appears as melodic and rhytmic fragments throughout the composition. In the concluding section (bar 196) both themes are played in conjunction before the piece concludes with the fanfare theme from the opening bars. Parts thatare marked piu mosso ed leggiero should be played in a cheerful light staccato style in contrast to Andante cantabile.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£104.99Sinfonietta No. 4 - Etienne Crausaz
This work was composed for the occasion of the 28. Fete Cantonale des Musiques Vaudoises (28th Music Festival of the Canton Vaud), taking place in the Valley of Joux in June 2018. The music begins with a very simple fanfare consisting of five ascending legato notes which constitute the fundamental framework of the piece. This contrasts with the more cantabile sounding theme we hear after. The following Allegro section uses the sequence in a contrapuntal style reminding us of the Renaissance period, but with more modern day harmonies. Two solo cadenzas played by cornet and euphonium initiate the middle section, in which a theme also based on the sequence builds uptowards the climax of the piece. The sequence in the last section is played in time but gives the feeling of a "one to the bar" beat. Shortly before the festive finale, the music heard in the middle part resumes.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£59.99Movements - Patrick Millstone
The three sections of Movements demonstrate the concept of motion in all its orms. The March briskly gets the band going (in motion). section 2 (Sarabande) is solemn and melodious (slow motion), and the Allegro con Brio in section 3 forms an energetic conclusion (commotion) to this enchanting and instructive composition by Patrick Millstone.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£119.99Amsterdam - Rob Goorhuis
Rob Goorhuis schreef de compositie Amsterdam voor Amsterdam Brass in 2002. Het werk beleefde haar premi?re in 2003 in een uitvoering van de opdrachtgever. De componist, zelf Amsterdammer van geboorte, heeft in dit werk zijn herinneringen aan de toen ook al bruisende stad muzikaal verwerkt in een combinatie met het heden. De geluiden van de stad zoals Goorhuis die in de 50-er jaren hoorde zijn al dan niet abstract weergegeven in Amsterdam. Amsterdam bestaat uit drie in elkaar overgaande delen. Het eerste deel (Allegro Moderato) beschrijft de grote drukte in de Nederlandse hoofdstad die altijd leeft, beweegt, zindert en schijnbaar nooit 'slaapt'. Devoortdurende zestiende beweging in de diverse instrumenten benadrukken die immer aanwezige drukte in de stad die in de volksmond bekend staat als 'Mokum'. Zelfs de klanken van een Amsterdams draaiorgel zijn goed hoorbaar in dit eerste gedeelte. De karavaan vuilnisauto's die elke ochtend om 5 uur door de straat van de nog jonge Rob Goorhuis reed is een hoorbare herinnering aan vervlogen tijden. Het tweede deel brengt ons in het Vondelpark aan de rand van het centrum. Het thema wordt voorgesteld door de bugel en voert via variaties op dit thema in diverse andere instrumenten naar een drukker gedeelte van het stadspark om vervolgens weer kort terug te keren naar de oase van rust.Het tempo en de begeleidende beweging zijn bepalend voor het bijzondere karakter van dit middendeel. Het derde deel zet ons weer met beide benen in het bruisende hart van de stad. De euphonium introduceert het grillige thema, met karakteristieke toonladderfiguren en kwartsprongen, dat in de verschillende stemmen canonisch wordt verwerkt. Halverwege duikt onopvallend het thema van het middendeel weer op dat steeds opvallender naar voren komt resulterend in een verrassend slot. Verplicht werk Nederlandse Brassband Kampioenschappen 2004 - 1e divisie.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£80.00St. Magnus - Kenneth Downie
Dedicated to Alastair Massey, an inspirational music teacher. Commissioned by the Scottish Brass Band Association for the 2004 European Brass Band Championships in Glasgow. This music is a set of variations on the tune known as St Magnus, which is attributed to Jeremiah Clarke. Most people will associate it with Thomas Kelly's hymn which begins: "The Head that once was crowned with thorns is crowned with glory now". The tune is very simple, consisting of just two, four-bar phrases. Neither is there much in the way of rhythmic variety, every note being a crotchet with the exception of two quavers, and the last note in each phrase. Within such a simple structure, however, lies considerable strength. THEME The listener is given the opportunity of hearing it twice, in full, at the beginning, starting with one player but soon taken up by the full ensemble. It returns in the middle of the music and is stated again near the end. This has been done quite deliberately in the hope that there will be an appreciation of what material is being developed, by the listener as well as by those with access to the score, who are able to see the visual connections. VARIATION 1 This takes the rhythm of the last part of the theme and also uses the shape of the opening as a recurring figure. The mood is whimsical and skittish, with short, teasing rhythmic figures tossed around the band, and quick interplay with percussion, at a fast tempo. An energetic flourish finishes this variation before the Andante espress. VARIATION 2 This commences with chords related to the opening of Variation 1. The cantabile on solo comets establishes a new, lyrical mood and there is scope for expressive playing in a series of short solo passages. The theme works its way unobtrusively into the texture before a reprise of the solo cornet melody and some more lyrical interchanges between Eb bass, euphonium, flugel horn and comets. The variation ends serenely with clear references to the last phrase of the theme. VARIATION 3 The first idea to dominate is clearly linked to the shape of the theme's first phrase. There is a frenetic feel to much of this variation, with considerable energy and instability created by extensive use of cross-rhythms. A thinning-out of the score marks a clear change to development of the start of the second phrase of the theme. This proves to be short-lived however, and the opening material returns leading to a restatement of the theme, "Maestoso," after which a euphonium cadenza links to Variation 4. VARIATION 4 Here we have some solos for euphonium, cornet, trombone and Eb bass set against a background of horns and baritones presenting a pensive statement of the theme's opening. VARIATION 5 This commences Allegro, with lively work for cornet and euphonium spreading to the whole band before attention focuses on the beginning of the second phrase of the theme which is initially presented in diminution, then in regular rhythm, then in inversion. An increase in tempo coupled with a decrease in volume, requires dexterity and control, with several metrical challenges thrown in for good measure. The same fragment of phrase becomes an ostinato which generates a frenzied climax, punctuated by short, dramatic silence, before the opening figure returns and the music gradually winds down. The tubular bells herald the final return of the theme, in augmentation, marking the start of the Finale. FINALE This features the running semiquavers of the previous variation sounding in counterpoint. A fast, furious coda speeds the work to a conclusion while references to the opening of the theme are still trying to break into the texture of the music. Kenneth Downie
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£179.50Abstractions - Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen
1. Aurora Borealis (Lento espressivo) The first movement is inspired by the northern lights. It constantly changes in colour and shape. 2. Rocks (Moderato ben ritmico) The title of the second movement is a play with the word "rock" is a well-known word describing a musical genre. But it is also a giant stone or a part of a mountain. 3. Seascape (Allegro) The third movement is inspired by different aspects of the sea. It also sums up different ideas that occurs in the two previous movements to round off the whole piece. Third Edition - 2015
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£154.99Spiriti - Thomas Doss
A Bach chorale stands at the centre of this work (Fur deinen Thron tret ich hiermit).Anton Bruckner was one of Johann Sebastian Bach's great admirers. His work is full of the spirit of that musical genius. For Thomas Doss, it was Bruckner's spirit that always seemed to be with him while working on Spiriti. Bruckner's spirit is captured in this composition by a quote from the chorale of his Fifth Symphony at the end of the piece.The introduction, written in the style of a funeral march, already displays the first fragments of the chorale. Like splinters they are strewn throughout the first Allegro, combining and recombining in turbulent, powerful tuttipassages. As the music becomes more rambunctious, the Bach-like fragments begin to swirl around each other, only to be scattered once more.The middle-section is of a more pensive nature. The Religioso character gives the audience time to reflect. The music is meditative and the quarter-note (or crotchet) elements mimic a soul that is yearning and crying out.The third part of the piece finally leads, by way of minimalist elements and the fragments mentioned earlier, to a magnificent presentation of the Bach chorale. As the church bells ring out, one can almost hear the great masters presiding at the organ.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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