Results
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£44.95Christmas Truce, The - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 7'30". DIFFICULTY: 2nd Section+. 'The Christmas Truce' was composed in 2018 for the Strata Brass Band and was used as part of their Christmas programme to mark 100 years since the end of the First World War. On the 24th December 1914, just a few weeks after war broke out, one of the most notable events of the 4-year conflict took place on the front line as the guns from both sides fell silent and soldiers came together on Christmas Eve. This composition for brass band and narrator tells the story of that night, painting a musical picture of the events as they unfolded. Using material from the carols 'In The Bleak Midwinter', 'O Tannenbaum' and 'Silent Night', the music weaves it's way around the events leading upto, during, and directly following the Christmas Truce, before culminating in a grand finale which incorporates the famous "the souls of the righteous are in the hands of God" quote from Eric Ball's 'Resurgam'. . .
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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£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
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£29.95March: The Royal Green Jackets - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 3'00". DIFFICULTY: 3rd+. 'The Royal Green Jackets' is a march composed for BD1 Brass as part of a set of music inspired by the British astronaut Tim Peake. . Following his graduation from the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst in 1992, Peake became a member of the Royal Green Jackets - a former infantry regiment of the British Army, later to become The Rifles - serving as a Platoon Commander before commencing his flight training. 2 years later in 1994, Peake received his Army Flying Wings and spent 15 years serving in military operations in the likes of Yugoslavia and Afganistan. . In 2009, Peake was selected as a European Space Agency astronaut and completed his basic training in November 2010.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£89.95Songs of Ascent - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 14 minutes. DIFFICULTY: Championship. 'Songs of Ascent' was composed for the Royal Northern College of Music Brass Band, as part of their programme for the 2019 RNCM Festival of Brass. In my view, the festival itself is the leading showcase for original contemporary music for the medium (in a concert setting) in the world and therefore an ideal place to explore new ideas and sounds, which was a notion fundamental to the construction of this work. The piece is subtitled 'Out of the Depths, I cry to you, O Lord'; the opening line of Psalm 130 (which forms part of a set of 15 psalsm, 120-134 known as the Songs of Ascent") which forms the main inspiration for much of the musical material. Following an extended opening for four individual tuba lines, there are a number of solos for members of the band off stage, with bleak and deep accompaniment lines, reflecting the words of Psalm 130. Amongst these 'songs of ascents', the most common and strong themes are repentance and redemption; with the central core of this work emerging 'from the depths' to reveal one of very few calming and reflective passages of the work utilising the tune of 'Guide Me O Thy Great Redeemer' in a new setting, featuring the Solo Horn and Bass Trombone, before returning to the ethereal and dark timbres that form much of the music up to this point. In terms of compositional technique, this work is solely based on a set of 4 9-note scales in their various unique transpositions (below). Each of these scales provide a set of 2 whole tone scales, 6 minor triads, 6 major triads and is built on 9 augmented triads. Whilst most of the music in this work is based melodically on the set of notes (heard right at the outset in the motif in the tuba line), the central section delves into the harmonic capabilities of these 'modes', using a number of the 7 'keys' which can be derived from the minor & major chords derived in each scale. All 4 scales are used independantly to each other, with whole sections of the work focussing on each mode. 'Songs of Ascent' was selected as the set work for the Championship Section at the Butlin's Mineworker's Championships in 2020.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£34.95Beneath The Stars - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 5'00". DIFFICULTY: 3rd+. 'Beneath The Stars' was composed for Mark Wilkinson and the Foden's Band for the 2023 Brass in Concert Championships held at The Glasshouse, Gateshead. The theme for the programme celebrated 30 years of Aladdin's premiere on screens in the United Kingdom and in this section of the story, Aladdin and Jasmine take a magic carpet ride beneath the starry skies as their love for one another grows stronger, during which Aladdin reveals his true self to Jasmine as being Prince Ali Ababwa and not the poor commoner that he dresses as to escape the stresses of royal life. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£117.00Decennium - Eric Swiggers
'Decennium' was composed in 2003 as a commission by the municipality of Berheze for its tenth anniversary. The composition describes the history of this town in the Province of Brabant, consisting of 6 different villages: Heesch, Heeswijk, Dinther, Nistelrode, Loosbroek and Vorstenbosch. The composition starts with a slow introduction, Adagio Misterioso, suggesting the atmosphere in long-ago days when the area consisted mainly of swamps, meres and low woods. (The word 'Bern' is a synonym of 'Born' meaning source or water, whereas 'Hese' is derived from 'Haisjo' meaning brushwood ). Above the dark sounds we hear far away trumpet signals announcing the Middle Ages. After a piercing crescendo, we hear the full sound of festive trumpets. A medieval dance, as was to be heard in the Heeswijk castle, follows. This dance gets a more and more stirring character and finally turns into a merry popular dance ending with a burst of laughter reproduced by descending scales with the muted trombones and trumpets. A slow transition with a quotation from a Gregorian plainsong (Domine Deus) and church bell ringing, referring to the Abbey of Berne, brings us to a romantic Larghetto. This part describes the quiet rural life in a beautiful natural surrounding. The last dying note contrasts with the threatening ostinato, referring to the rise of the industrialization, which provoked quite some resistance with the local people. Once more we hear the 'Domine Deus' but much more powerful this time. When the resistance calms down, the work concludes with an Alla Marcia. The first notes of the main theme could be heard all through the composition and now we hear the complete main theme again. The new town is born. A festive conclusion refers both to the tenth anniversary and the optimism and confidence as to the future.
Estimated dispatch 10-14 working days
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£69.00The Highlights from Elisabeth - Michael Kunze/Erik Janssen/Peter Kleine Schaars
The life of the Austrian empress Elisabeth (1837-1898) which started as a fairy tale but ended as a tragedy, inspired the librettist Michael Kunze and the composer Silvester Levay to write a musical based on the life of the popular 'Sissi'. The musical was premiered in Vienna on 3 September 1992 and was very successful for many years. The story is told by Luigi Lucheni, Elisabeth's murderer. So death, represented by a mysterious and seductive young man, is omnipresent throughout the musical. Several songs have become hits and, of course, you can hear them in this fine selection by Peter Kleine Schaars who gathered various music and dance styles such as the rock shuffle, the jazz waltz and the classical Viennese waltz.
Estimated dispatch 10-14 working days
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£57.00The Exodus Song - Ernest Gold/Johan de Meij
The movie picture 'Exodus' by film director Otto Preminger with Paul Newman in the cast is based on a novel with the same title by Leon Uris. The title-song (with lyrics by Pat Boone) survived the film, as is often the case, and has been performed by great artists and has also been arranged several times.This arrangement can be performed as well instrumentally, as with a singer, with a mixed choir or a male choir.
Estimated dispatch 10-14 working days
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£31.50Edward Gregson: Postcard to Grimethorpe
DescriptionComposer's NoteI composed the original version of Postcard to Grimethorpe in 1993 at the request of Elgar Howarth, for a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, given by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. This was at a time when after the Grimethorpe Colliery pit closed the future of the band was in severe jeopardy. The concert was given in aid of the band, both through publicity and funding.Then in late 2022 Jack Stamp, the American composer, conductor and educator, and at that time international composer-in-association with Grimethorpe, contacted me to say that he had discovered my short piece in the band library, and asked if I might extend it for a recording he was sponsoring for the band - the repertoire to consist entirely of music specially composed for Grimethorpe.I agreed and decided to extend the piece by using the miner's hymn Gresford, as a symbolic gesture of protest at the many thousands of miners in the UK who were made redundant from their jobs. After an angular (atonal) first section, the hymn enters, softly at first, but with each phrase it becomes more powerful and insistent, ending with the final phrase triumphantly accompanied by melodic percussion (replacing the drums and cymbals of the earlier phrases, as if the band were then on the march). However, this short work ends softly and gently, as if anger has been replaced by quiet resolution and determination, looking to the future with confidence.For more information on Edward Gregson's music please visit the composer's website: www.edwardgregson.com
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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