Results
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£19.65Adam Zero, Suite from (Brass Band - Study Score) - Bliss, Arthur - Childs, Robert
Selected as the Section 2 test piece for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2025Following his ballet Checkmate, Bliss composed another score for the, by then, Sadler's Wells Ballet, Miracle in the Gorbals, which was choreographed by Robert Helpmann, to a scenario by Michael Benthall. Premired in 1944, the ballet made a considerable impact and was a box-office success. It was followed in turn by a further collaboration with Helpmann and Benthall, Adam Zero. This would serve Helpmann, in the eponymous role, as a vehicle in two respects: demonstrating his gifts as a dancer-actor and as a choreographer. First performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 8 April 1946, Adam Zero was conducted by Constant Lambert, the work's dedicatee. Bliss considered it 'his most varied and exciting ballet score'. Benthall provided a synopsis for the programme:There is a philosophy that life moves in an endless series of timeless cycles. As Nature passes through Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, so man is born, makes a success in his own particular sphere, loses his position to a younger generation, sees his world crumble before his eyes and only finds peace in death. This age-old story is told in terms of a Company creating a ballet and calling on the resources of the theatre to do so. Lighting, stage mechanism, dance conventions, musical forms and costumes and scenery of all periods are used to symbolize the world of 'Adam Zero'.Apart from Adam, as the Principal Dancer, other main roles included the Stage Director (representing Omnipotence), and Adam's Fates (Designer, Wardrobe Mistress, and Dresser). 'The Woman in this allegory', wrote Bliss, 'under the symbol of the Choreographer, was both the creator and destroyer of Adam: his first love, his wife, his mistress, and finally the figure of beneficent Death.' When the curtain rose, the 'audience saw the Covent Garden stage right back to the wall, completely empty except for the protagonists, 'the Company poised, still and expectant, as they await the birth of... Adam Zero.'Unfortunately, soon after the premire, Helpmann injured himself and had to withdraw from the remaining performances. Despite generally positive reviews, the ballet did not capture the imagination of audiences and, to Bliss's considerable disappointment, was not revived. Seventy years would elapse before its first major return to the stage, in 2016, performed by the ballet company of Stadttheater Bremerhaven with choreography by Sergei Vanaev.Bliss extracted a concert suite from the ballet, conducting its first performance with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on 28 October 1948. For his own suite, arranged for brass band in 2023, Dr Robert Childs chose three dances linked to the seasons, book-ending them with the ebullient 'Fanfare Overture' and 'Fanfare Coda'. After Adam has grown to manhood, his Fates clothe him in a costume synonymous with confident youth, appropriate for the virile, ardent 'Dance of Spring'. In the 'Approach of Autumn', Adam, now wearing a sombre costume, has grown older: his Fates have streaked grey in his hair and put lines on his face. But they had earlier raised Adam to the zenith of his power, and the 'Dance of Summer' depicts him in the prime of life, in music of sweeping grandeur. The 'Fanfare Coda' signals that the next cycle of life is about to begin.Duration: 10.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£64.95
Adam Zero, Suite from (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Bliss, Arthur - Childs, Robert
Selected as the Section 2 test piece for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2025Following his ballet Checkmate, Bliss composed another score for the, by then, Sadler's Wells Ballet, Miracle in the Gorbals, which was choreographed by Robert Helpmann, to a scenario by Michael Benthall. Premired in 1944, the ballet made a considerable impact and was a box-office success. It was followed in turn by a further collaboration with Helpmann and Benthall, Adam Zero. This would serve Helpmann, in the eponymous role, as a vehicle in two respects: demonstrating his gifts as a dancer-actor and as a choreographer. First performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 8 April 1946, Adam Zero was conducted by Constant Lambert, the work's dedicatee. Bliss considered it 'his most varied and exciting ballet score'. Benthall provided a synopsis for the programme:There is a philosophy that life moves in an endless series of timeless cycles. As Nature passes through Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, so man is born, makes a success in his own particular sphere, loses his position to a younger generation, sees his world crumble before his eyes and only finds peace in death. This age-old story is told in terms of a Company creating a ballet and calling on the resources of the theatre to do so. Lighting, stage mechanism, dance conventions, musical forms and costumes and scenery of all periods are used to symbolize the world of 'Adam Zero'.Apart from Adam, as the Principal Dancer, other main roles included the Stage Director (representing Omnipotence), and Adam's Fates (Designer, Wardrobe Mistress, and Dresser). 'The Woman in this allegory', wrote Bliss, 'under the symbol of the Choreographer, was both the creator and destroyer of Adam: his first love, his wife, his mistress, and finally the figure of beneficent Death.' When the curtain rose, the 'audience saw the Covent Garden stage right back to the wall, completely empty except for the protagonists, 'the Company poised, still and expectant, as they await the birth of... Adam Zero.'Unfortunately, soon after the premire, Helpmann injured himself and had to withdraw from the remaining performances. Despite generally positive reviews, the ballet did not capture the imagination of audiences and, to Bliss's considerable disappointment, was not revived. Seventy years would elapse before its first major return to the stage, in 2016, performed by the ballet company of Stadttheater Bremerhaven with choreography by Sergei Vanaev.Bliss extracted a concert suite from the ballet, conducting its first performance with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on 28 October 1948. For his own suite, arranged for brass band in 2023, Dr Robert Childs chose three dances linked to the seasons, book-ending them with the ebullient 'Fanfare Overture' and 'Fanfare Coda'. After Adam has grown to manhood, his Fates clothe him in a costume synonymous with confident youth, appropriate for the virile, ardent 'Dance of Spring'. In the 'Approach of Autumn', Adam, now wearing a sombre costume, has grown older: his Fates have streaked grey in his hair and put lines on his face. But they had earlier raised Adam to the zenith of his power, and the 'Dance of Summer' depicts him in the prime of life, in music of sweeping grandeur. The 'Fanfare Coda' signals that the next cycle of life is about to begin.Duration: 10.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£35.13Swan Theme from 'Swan Lake' (Brass Band) Tchaikovsky arr. Jack Lythaby
Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake is made up of folk tales from Germany and Russia, and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The ballet was premiered on 4th March 1877 by the Bolshoi Ballet company in the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, and despite its initial failure, has become one of the greatest ballets ever written. The Swan Theme depicts the magic and mystery of the lake, with the oboe (solo horn in this version) playing the famous melody, which returns in various guises throughout the ballet. Tchaikovsky's symphonic approach to ballet music was called "undanceable" by some critics after its premiere, but the score to Swan Lake has now become considered as the epitome of ballet music. Sheet music available from: UK - www.brassband.co.uk USA - www.solidbrassmusic.com Difficulty Level: 4th Section + Instrumentation: Soprano Cornet Eb Solo Cornet Bb Repiano Cornet Bb 2nd Cornet Bb 3rd Cornet Bb Flugel Horn Bb Solo Horn Eb 1st Horn Eb 2nd Horn Eb 1st Baritone Bb 2nd Baritone Bb 1st Trombone Bb 2nd Trombone Bb Bass Trombone Euphonium Bb Bass Eb Bass Bb Timpani Vibraphone
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£66.00Ballet for Band - Joseph Horovitz
Composer Joseph Horovitz will celebrate his 90th birthday in May, with 2016 already seeing a welcome retrospective of some his finest works at the RNCM Brass Band Festival in Manchester in January.It included Ballet for Band, written in 1983 at the set-work for the National Final at the Royal Albert Hall, and which has since become one his most popular major test-pieces - played on numerous occasions throughout the banding world. It is a wonderfully elegant, mischievous composition - a brass band ballet, not of programmatic intent but of fertile imagination; beautifully crafted with a delicacy of touch as light on its feet as any arabesque.The composer has admitted that he had a clear vision of the characters that inhabit his score, yet has never divulged any details - leaving the bands and listeners, as he says, "...to exercise their own imaginations rather than being influenced bymine!"
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£68.99Sarabande and Polka (from Solitaire) (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Arnold, Malcolm - Sparke, Philip
In 1956 Sir Kenneth MacMillan created a one-act ballet for the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, London. He selected the music from the two sets of English Dances which Sir Malcolm Arnold had written in 1950 and 1951 to great acclaim. The composer wrote two new dances, a Sarabande and a Polka, especially for the ballet, which was premiered at Sadler's Wells Theatre in June 1956. The two new dances have taken on a life of their own in the concert hall and are typical Arnold: the Sarabande contains one of his most memorable melodies and the Polka shows him at his quirky, tongue-in-cheek best. Duration: 5.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£43.50March (The Nutcracker Suite) (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich - Wilkinson, Keith M.
Tchaikovsky's extremely popular ballet, The Nutcracker, was first performed in December 1892. Earlier in the same year the composer extracted several movements from the ballet to form a concert suite. The first performance of the suite was conducted by the composer and the suite was immediately received with huge enthusiasm.This arrangement was originally made for the GUS Band while the arranger was its Music Director.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£50.00Sweeney Todd (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Arnold, Malcolm - Littlemore, Phillip
Malcolm Arnold's ballet, Sweeney Todd, was first staged in 1959 by The Royal Ballet Company with choreography by John Cranko. The music was later adapted as a concert work and it is from this version that this brass band arrangement, by Phillip Littlemore, is made. The original concert suite lasts some 20 minutes, but this version has been shortened to a more manageable eight minutes. The first performance of this arrangement was given on the 22nd October 2006 at the Malcolm Arnold Festival, Derngate, Northampton by the Rushden Windmill Band conducted by Richard Graves. Suitable for Advanced Youth/3rd Section Bands and above. Duration 8:00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£31.23March from 'The Love for Three Oranges (Brass Band) Prokofiev arr. Wilkinson
This thrilling brass band arrangement of the March from 'The Love for Three Oranges' by Prokofiev has been skillfully arranged by Keith M. Wilkinson. This setting captures the essence of the original orchestral work, while showcasing the power and brilliance of the brass band. In 1918, Sergei Prokofiev undertook his first visit to the United States. A number of concerts of his works were held in Chicago, which were received very favourably. As a result, the director of the Chicago Opera Association, Cleofonte Campanini, commissioned Prokofiev to write an opera. It just so happened that, during his trip, he had written a draft of a libretto, based on the Italian play by Gozzi, L'amore delle tre melarance, adding some additional surrealism to the text. Given Prokofiev's poor English, and Americans unlikely to accept an opera in Russian, French was his final choice. The result, L'amour des trois oranges (or The Love for Three Oranges), which premiered at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago on 30 December 1921, conducted by Prokofiev himself. The March from this opera is probably the most familiar part and has been used by CBS in the radio-drama series The FBI in Peace and War. It was also used in films such as The Brink's Job and Prokofiev quoted it in the second act of his ballet Cinderella. To view a rolling score video of the work please visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=I136sf8hxlU Duration: Approx. 2.10 minutes Difficulty Level: 3rd Section + PDF download includes parts and score. Sheet music available from www.brassband.co.uk Instrumentation: Soprano Cornet Eb Solo Cornet Bb Repiano Cornet Bb 2nd Cornet Bb 3rd Cornet Bb Flugel Horn Bb Solo Horn Eb 1st Horn Eb 2nd Horn Eb 1st Baritone Bb 2nd Baritone Bb 1st Trombone Bb 2nd Trombone Bb Bass Trombone Euphonium Bb Bass Eb Bass BbTimpani Percussion 1-2
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£39.04A Fugal Overture (Brass Band) Gustav Holst arr. Rob Bushnell
A Fugal Overture was written in 1922 by Gustav Holst. It was first performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 14 May 1923 and was used as an opening work to Holst's one-act opera The Perfect Fool. It received its concert premiere on 11 October 1923 at one of Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Promenade Concerts. It is an early example of neoclassicism and was influenced by the counterpoint of J. S. Bach, despite its unconventional use of the fugal process. Holst began writing the piece in the summer of 1922, having hoped to develop it into a ballet. It is divided into three sections, the fugal subject with its distinct 3+3+2 pattern, a slower section with solos at the end, and a third section where the subject returns. Although reviews of the piece were mixed at the time of its premiere, the likes of Adrian Boult have said it was "an invigorating work that could effectively start any [...] concert". In more recent years, it has been compared to John Adam's A Short Ride in a Fast Machine. This arrangement is for the British-style brass band, with alternative parts for horns in F and bass-clef lower brass. A recording of the original composition can be found here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8xfwJyFq2E. Duration: Approx. 5.40 minutes Difficulty Level: 1st Section + PDF download includes parts and score. Sheet music available from www.brassband.co.uk Instrumentation: Soprano Cornet Eb Solo Cornet Bb Repiano Cornet Bb 2nd Cornet Bb 3rd Cornet Bb Flugel Horn Bb Solo Horn Eb 1st Horn Eb 2nd Horn Eb 1st Baritone Bb 2nd Baritone Bb 1st Trombone Bb 2nd Trombone Bb Bass Trombone Euphonium Bb Bass Eb Bass BbTimpani Percussion 1-2
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£40.00The Nutcracker 'Sweet' (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Miller, Glenn - Freeh, Mark
The Tchaikovsky Classic a la big band!Tchaikovsky's ballet, The Nutcracker, is a fairy-ballet in two acts, three tableaux and was composed in 1891/2. It is based on The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann (1816). Mark Freeh has arranged this Tchaikovsky classic for brass band.Suitable for Advanced Youth/3rd Section Bands and aboveDuration: 12.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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