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£35.00A Suffolk Prelude - Andrew Duncan
Written for the Ipswich & Norwich Co-Op Band, A Suffolk Prelude is based around five traditional tunes from Suffolk:'Nutting Time','Blackberry Fold','Cupid's Garden','A Seaman's Life''The Bold Richard'The piece begins on the percussion and timpani alone leading through a crescendo into the first statement of the fanfare which is derived from a motif from the tune 'Nutting Time'. This leads into a playing of the 'Nutting Time' tune which is then developed as the tune is passed around the band.'Nutting Time' is a jolly lighthearted tune about a 'fair maid' who meets a handsome young farmer called 'Johnny' when out gathering nuts in the wood. After a pause on the tubular bells the slow tune 'Blackberry Fold' is presented as a solo for Flugel Horn, then as a full band version.'Blackberry Fold' is a touching song about a Suffolk squire who gets married well below his station to a beautiful milkmaid, simply because he loves her! They live happily ever after.The next tune to be heard is the juanty 'Cupid's Garden' played firstly as a solo on the Euphonium, and again this is about the subject of love. This song is sung from a sailors prospective and he tells how he met a lovely maiden and has promised to marry her when he returns from duty at sea.The trombones then play the noble tune 'A Seaman's Life'. This tune seems to serve as a warning to young girls about the fickle nature and the total unsuitability of marrying a sailor! 'Oh a seaman's life is a merry merry life, they'll rob young girls of their heart's delight, they will leave them behind for to sail one morn, but they never know when they'll return'. Despite this it is a fine tune!The last tune featured is 'The Bold Richard' which is played by all the bass instruments in the band. This is a song telling how the Royal Navy friggate 'The Bold Richard' went to battle against a French friggate destroying her and taking her crew as prisoners.Suffolk Prelude goes on to feature a slow version of the tune 'A Seaman's Life' played alongside a fast version of the tune 'Cupid's Garden'. The opening fanfare then returns leading into a final coda section.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£35.00Divertimento (previously Spring's Awakening) - Andrew Duncan
This original solo for Eb Tenor Horn and brass band, composed by Andrew Duncan, has proved to be a welcome addition the solo repertoire.Written to demonstrate both the technical and lyrical sides of the Horn, the piece begins with a fast, bright (slightly Latin) section. This gives way to an expressive legato tune which, first played by the Soloist, is then taken up by the whole band. The central section, Andante, allows the soloist to really sing out and, following a short cadenza, the opening material returns to lead into an exciting Coda section.Also available for Eb Tenor Horn with piano accompaniment and F Horn with piano accompaniment.Difficulty Guide:Suitable for intermediate to advanced Tenor Horn players. Range: Low F# to high Db. (optional Bb).NB: The previous working title of Spring's Awakening has now been re-edited into this final title of Divertimento.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£57.50Erin's Isle - Philip Sparke
Erin's Isle was commissioned by euphonium player Micah Parsons and premiered by him in June 2024. The idea was to write a slow melody with an Irish flavour and the title is a romantic, 19th century name often used to refer to the island of Ireland itself. The work opens with fluttering, muted cornets, under which a tentative theme appears. This leads to an accompanied cadenza for the soloist, out of which the main theme emerges. This is a long and expansive melody, which winds through several related phrases with a folk-like flavour. A change of key heralds snatches of the theme by the band with interjections from the soloist, leading to a second cadenza. Eventually the band takes up the main theme again, over which the euphonium weaves an elaborate counter melody. The fluttering cornets return to allow the soloist to close the work with a brief and flowery coda.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£159.99Omaggio - Philip Sparke
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 musica 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 (piano), 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 5-14 working days
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£53.50Heritage - Philip Sparke
Philip Sparke wrote Heritage as a grand concert march in the tradition of Elgar and Walton. After a brief introduction, the march's long main theme is presented: first in subdued tones, then taken up by the full band, adding a tenor counter melody. The following bridge passage leads to a change of key and the traditional trio section. A repeat of previous motifs leads to a return of the main theme, followed by a short closing coda.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£91.99Pulcinella - Philip Sparke
Pulcinella was commissioned by the Taiwanese euphonium player Tzu-Hsiang Lin. Lin is a renowned soloist and teacher and a Besson Euphonium Artist. He teaches euphonium at Taipei National University of the Arts, National Taiwan University of Arts, Shih Chien University and National Kaohsiung Normal University. Lin gave the premiere of Pulcinella in both its concert band and brass band versions in January 2021. Pulcinella continues Sparke's series of euphonium solos named after characters of the Italian commedia dell'arte and opens with a long and expressive minor melody for the soloist over a brooding accompaniment. This is taken up briefly by the full band and is extended by the soloist after a change of key. A cadenza, accompanied by fragments of the main melody leads to a complete change of mood, tempo and tonality, introducing a Vivo section starting with a perky syncopated tune for the soloist. The band then uses elements of this new tune to introduce a change of key, where the soloist introduces a more lyrical second subject over a pulsing accompaniment. The band then takes this up and changes key to reintroduce the original Vivo melody, which leads to a short and acrobatic coda to bring the work to a spectacular close.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£24.95Prelude- The truth from above - Ralph Vaughan Williams
In hisPrelude - The Truth from Above, outstanding arranger and curator Paul Hindmarsh has distilled the essence of a timeless Christmas classic by Ralph Vaughan Williams into five minutes of ravishingly unforgettable music for brass band. The variants of the Herefordshire tune popular from theFantasia on Christmas CarolsandThe Oxford Book of Carolsare skilfully and stylishly woven together, from an evocative opening to an ecstatic, multi-layered coda. Unerringly true to the timeless spirit of the original, with the added beauty of the brass-band sound at its most sonorously grave and haunting,Prelude - The Truth from Abovemay be performed separately, or as the first of two preludes, preceding Paul's arrangement ofRhosymedre from the Three Preludes Founded on Welsh Hymn Tunes, also available from Stainer & Bell.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£68.99South Down Pictures - Philip Sparke
South Down Pictures was commissioned by Millenium Brass 2000, an organisation comprising three brass bands from the county of Sussex, England.The bands (Patcham Silver, Hangleton and Brighton Silver) had got together to organise many events to mark the new millennium and these culminated in a concert in Hove Town Hall on July 9th 2000 when all three bands combined to give the first performance of South Down Pictures. The composer spent much of his childhood amongst the South Downs, a range of hills in Sussex which runs parallel to the sea.Opening with a strong unison passage, interrupted briefly by faster figures based on the interval of a fifth, South Down Picturesdevelops with an often-passionate legato melody. Reaching a climax, this is then followed by the main vivo section of the work, whose main theme is based on the earlier 'fifth' figures. A bridge passage leads to a short chorale figure and a rhythmic climax which dissolves into a plaintive cornet solo over staccato chords. This theme is taken up by the whole band and leads back to a recapitulation of the main theme and earlier material. The cornet tune returns triumphantly in the major key before the opening unison passage reappears to provide a stirring coda.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£104.99Variations on a Chord - Jan de Haan
Variations on a Chord was composed on the occasion of the second lustrum of the Dutch Brass Band Championships celebrated in 1990. The piece is the immediate sequel to Contrasten a piece which was composed in 1986, and which is performed all over the world. Not only was the final chord of this previous work used as a starting point for the new composition, but Variations on a Chord is also the first concert piece for brass band composed by Jan de Haan since then. The several variations are based on a solemn theme. The so-called minor-major seventh chord is easily detectable. The structure of the piece is such that the lyrical theme is preceded by a majestic introduction, and isfollowed by eight variations each strongly contrasting in character. The piece finishes in a short but extremely spectacular coda.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£85.00Alchymist's Journal. - Kenneth Hesketh
'The Alchymist's Journal' gets its title from the book of the same name by American author Evan S. Connell. The book fictionalises a number of famous Alchemist's writings, each one developing another's thoughts thuscontinuing one idea but changing it subtly to provide a new view point or way of thinking. This process is, in fact, alchemical as one idea transmutes into another. This idea is parallel to the processes at work within thesevariants. The whole work is constructed from 6 notes (C, A, B flat, E flat, F sharp, E) and is presented in nine different sections, each individual in mood but still based upon the original pitches. This is not a thematic setofvariations, as the themes are developed one at a time from small segments of the six notes. For example, the opening theme is the complete number of pitches, the second theme uses three notes transposed then repeated at theoriginal level, and so on. Harmonically, the six notes can be divided into two triads, A minor and E flat minor - each key beginning and ending the piece respectively. Whilst this is essentially abstract music with noprogramme there is an introduction, menacing scherzo, slow reflective section followed by a recap of the scherzo and final coda. 'The Alchymist's Journal' was commissioned by the Brass Band Heritage Trust at the suggestionof Paul Hindmarsh, to whom the work is dedicated.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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