Results
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£29.95Ballet for Band (Score Only)
Ballet for Band was written as the test-piece for the Championship section finals of the National Brass Band Championships, held at the Royal Albert Hall in October 1983.Although the work is not programmatic, within the space of ten minutes, the composer uses a form which might be considered to be the form of a ballet. Therefore there is a fanfare at the beginning which might be the overture, different characters appear, and scenes are quite clearly marked by, for instance, baritones or by muted trombone, although the listener is encouraged to use his own imagination.Thematically the work is tightly controlled, with the same material re-appearing in many different guises, as a flugel horn solo, as a waltz on the horns, and on the euphonium. Horovitz employs a rich harmonic pallet, but the work is most definitely rooted in a tonal language, with hints of Straussian richness later in the work.The work is notable for its middle section, in which the music gets slower and slower, providing a real test of control throughout the band.Ballet for Band was by no means Joseph Horovitz's first work for the medium: his fine "Concerto for Euphonium and Band" is frequently played, and he has also written a cantata entitled "Samson" for choir and band.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95Elixir of Youth (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Elixir of Youth (2013) was written for the 2013 Brass for Heroes charity event where it was premiered on 19th October 2013 at St Paul's Hall in Huddersfield under the baton of Philip Harper. The title of the work reflects the nature of the band that was put together for that premiere performance; an all-star youth band comprising a selection of the country's young brass banding talent, with the term Elixir referring here to the everlasting talent seen in young brass players throughout the United Kingdom's brass bands and bands' and teachers abilities to keep producing such high quality musicians for the banding movement.The work, structured in three sections, is a showcase for band with a heroic opening where fanfare-like gestures in the cornets and trombones juxtapose rapid euphonium and baritone runs, alongside sweeping horns and percussion effects. As the piece progresses, a grove is introduced - just in the tubas at first, accompanied by a hi-hat - before spreading through the band, definitely stuff to tap your toes to! The middle, slower section of the work sees both flugel and cornet solos, with additional inputs from the euphonium and solo horn before a climax and return to the tempo and music of the opening section. A rousing close concludes the work where all of the work's themes are interweaved to create a sense of power, unity and grandeur; an Elixir of Youth.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£74.95Eden (Score and Parts)
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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£99.95Malcolm Arnold Variations (Score and Parts)
MALCOLM ARNOLD VARIATIONS was commissioned by Philip Biggs and Richard Franklin for the 20th All England Masters International Brass Band Championship held in the Corn Exchange, Cambridge on 25 May 2008. The work is dedicated to Anthony Day, long time carer of Sir Malcolm Arnold in his final years. I first met Malcolm and Anthony in 1990 and remained in constant touch until Malcolm's passing in 2006. Anthony, of course, remains a friend and plays his own role subliminally in this piece. The work is not based on any of Malcolm Arnold's own themes, rather it is a portrait of him (and by association Anthony Day) through my eyes and as a result of my friendship with both parties over some 18 years. If there is any theme as such it is the personalities of the players, the protagonist and his carer placed together by my own efforts coloured and influenced by aspects of Arnold's style and technique without recourse to direct quotation but through allusion and parody. It is of course designed as a brass band test piece but in my eyes is first and foremost a musical challenge. The pyrotechnical elements are there but always secondary to the musical thrust of the work's structure. I have long beforehand submerged myself in Malcolm Arnold's music and ultimately delivered this tribute. Music Directors will be advised to acquaint themselves with the composer's personal music, particularly the film scores, symphonies, concertos and ballets: the solutions towards a successful interpretation of my piece are all in there - and YES, I want, and sanction, this piece to be interpreted, and therein lies the challenge for those of you 'up front'! The challenge for players is that of virtuosity, ensemble and careful attention to where they are individually in relation to their colleagues - a question of balance, taste and insight. With regard to tempi, as is my usual custom, I have indicated all metronome marks with the prefix circa. I would suggest that the fast music is played at these tempos but that the more rubato moments can be allowed some freedom in expression and fluidity of line. With regard to the type of mutes to be employed - this decision I leave to the discretion of players and conductors. Structurally the work is cast as an Introduction, 20 Variations and a Finale. Some variations are self contained, others run into each other as sequences in the same tempo. In other variations, segments are repeated and developed. I could describe the overall concept as a miniature ballet or a condensed film score - there is much drama and character and the repeated elements assist this in driving the action forward. I have deliberately avoided the more extremely dark qualities of Malcolm's own music in this, my celebration of this master-composer, as I have always viewed (and evidenced by my previous Masters scores Tristan Encounters and Chivalry) that the Cambridge contest is a 'sunshine- affair' and firmly believe that Malcolm Arnold would have had it no other way too!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£89.95Tuba Concerto (Score and Parts)
This work was commissioned by the Besses o' th' Barn Band with funds provided by the Arts Council of Great Britain. It was written for, and is dedicated to, John Fletcher, who gave the first performance in Middleton Civic Hall, near Manchester, on 24 April, 1976, with Besses o' th' Barn Band conducted by the composer. Another interesting feature about the premire was that it was recorded by BBC Television for an Omnibus programme with Andr Previn as presenter. The concerto exists in three versions: with brass band (1976), orchestra (1978) and wind band (1984).The concerto is in three movements, following the usual, quick-slow-quick pattern: Allegro deciso,Lento e mesto, Allegro giocoso. The first movement has a sonata form shell with two contrasting themes, the first one being rhythmic in character, the second lyrical. There is a reference made in passing to the Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto, but this merges into the other material in the development section.The second movement begins with a chorale, but after the entry of the tuba it leads to a cantabile theme, softly unfolded by the soloist. The opening chorale passage returns, this time briefly on muted brass, and leads to a middle section which is more chromatic in style and soon builds to a powerful climax, where the opening cantabile theme triumphantly returns. The music subsides, returning to the opening chorale and ending peacefully.The finale is light and breezy in style, and is cast in rondo form. After a brief introduction the tuba announces the main rondo theme, which is dance-like and a little jaunty. There are two episodes: the first a broad sweeping tune, the second a slowish waltz and a little jazz-like. After a virtuoso cadenza reference is made to the very opening of the concerto before the work ends with a triumphal flourish.The Tuba Concerto has established itself as one of the main works in the solo tuba repertoire. It has been performed and broadcast in over 40 countries all over the world. There are currently six commercial recordings of the concerto in its various versions.resolution in C major, pointed by a simple but expansive melody towards which the piece has been heading, and ending in a blaze of joyful colour.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£183.99Perihelion: Closer to the Sun - Philip Sparke
Perihelion was commissioned by the Cory Band as their own-choice piece for the 2013 European Brass Band Championships, held in Oslo, Norway. Winning the set piece section of the contest and coming second to Eikanger-Bjorsvik Musikklag with their own choice selection, Cory went on to become European Champions for the fifth time.Cory MD Philip Harper had asked for a 'Concerto for Band' to fully exploit his outstanding band of virtuosi, and composer Philip Sparke created a one-movement work with contiguous sections, first featuring horns and flugel, then trombones followed by cornets and a slower central section for percussion and baritones, euphonium andbasses.The piece is abstract in nature, without a specific programme, and the title merely reflects the fact that the piece was begun on January 2nd 2013, the day of Earth's perihelion - the point in its orbit when it is closest to the sun. It could also be argued that the piece weaves between moments of brilliant optimism and dark shadow, both of which can be the result of bright sunshine.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£44.95Deus Solus (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Wainwright, Andrew
Deus Solus (meaning God Alone) was composed for the Melbourne Staff Band's 130th anniversary at the request of Bandmaster Ken Waterworth. It is based on three Christian tunes - the 18th century hymn O God, our help in ages past, and the more contemporary songs God and God alone (Phill McHugh) and Chris Bowater's Faithful God. The work begins quietly and with a sense of the unknown, with references to O God, our help in ages past, alluding to the formation and early days of the band.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95Powerhouse (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Downie, Kenneth
Spirit divine, come as of old. So begins the song by Brindley Boon, and that phrase becomes the message of this piece, and an important motif in the music. It appears at the very beginning of the work and recurs at important points during the piece. The theme of the need for spiritual power is further underlined by the use of the hymns Show your power, Wonder-working power and the very old chorus Send a new touch of power on my soul, Lord.The composer first heard Boon's song Spirit Divine when it was sung by Parkhead Songsters in the Sunday morning meeting at his home Corps of Greenock Citadel. They were visiting for the weekend from Glasgow, and were conducted by Songster Leader Walter Chalmers, himself a beautiful lyric tenor soloist. They sang it in a moving fashion, unaccompanied, and such was the impact that, at the conclusion, many people went to the mercy seat. It made a huge impression on the young composer. It was the first time that Downie discovered the enormous power of music in worship. It also serves as a reminder to us all that young people of a tender age are very capable of grasping deeply significant events happening around them. This music was written for the 2020 UK Territorial Youth Band course.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£39.95Liberty Trail (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Bulla, Stephen
The Melbourne Staff Band celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2015 and this work was commissioned by Staff Bandmaster Ken Waterworth to feature in their programmes throughout the year.The music opens with fiery rhythmic figures, drawing on the band's technical brilliance. As the music progresses there are hits of traditional marches from early years, both in form and the minor key harmony used.The Trio section features The Homeward Trail, a song from the pen of Colonel Arthur Arnott, a Salvation Army officer who spent the majority of his career serving in Australia. The tune is then developed thematically and, following an interlude and key change, receives another treatment filled with fanfare and flourish that leads into the concluding moments of the work.Just prior to the closing bars, the music pays a brief homage to Australian composer Arthur Gullidge with a quote from his classic march Liberty, published in 1948, as a final salute to the great music that has come from this country.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£159.99Omaggio (Euphonium Concerto No.4) (Euphonium Solo with Brass Band - Score and Parts)) - Sparke, Philip
Omaggio was commissioned by Steven Mead in celebration of his 60th birthday and in memory of his father, Rex. He gave the premiere of the brass band version in Rome in March 2022, accompanied by the Italian Brass Band conducted by Filippo Cangiamilla. The concert band premiere took place on 6th July that year as part of the 2022 Spanish International Tuba Euphonium Conference, accompanied by the Banda municipal de msica de Malaga.The concerto is set in 3 continuous movements, which are united by a recurring syncopated interval of a fifth. The first movement, Fantasia, opens with this motive accompanying an extended monologue for the soloist. This is followed by a lengthy bridge passage by the band, which is eventually joined by the soloist, who guides the music back to the opening soliloquy, leading to an energetic central section. This develops until the opening material again returns to introduce the second movement, Ballad, which revolves around an expressive melody for the soloist, interspersed by accompanied cadenzas. The third movement, The King Triumphant, pays homage to Steven's late father, Rex, and its title alludes both to Rex's name (Rex being Latin for king) as well as his love of Eric Ball's Salvationist masterpiece, The Kingdom Triumphant. The finale is an energetic tour-de-force featuring an acrobatic 6/8 melody, which is interrupted twice by the magnificent hymn tune, Helmsley, which Ball uses so effectively in The Kingdom Triumphant. A galloping coda brings the work to a close.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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