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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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£30.00The St Louis Blues - Sandy Coffin, W C Handy
Two-Step MarchCommissioned by John Wallace, this arrangement of The St Louis Blues has been crafted by Sandy Coffin through close listening of the available recordings of the Harlem Hellfighters Band. Sandy had been heavily involved with the Historic Brass Society symposium 2017 held in New York and assisted John with his research on this fascinating band and the style of music it generated.Eye-witness accounts refer to the 369th band 'dancing' rather than 'marching'. Above all, in modern performance, finding a 'dancing beat' is crucial to a successful performance of this Ragtime march in order to do justice to the great pioneering work of James Reese Europe.Note the flutter-tonguing and use of muting, the counter-melody in soprano cornet, and the wilder and yet wilder nature of each repetition of the Chorus.Look and Listen:Background to the Harlem HellfightersThe US Army 369th Regiment, made up largely of African-Americans from New York, became known as the Harlem Hellfighters because of the heroic reputation which accrued to them during the actions they engaged in during the First World War in Europe.James Reese Europe was one of the most active African-American composer/musical directors in the pre-war American music scene. The legendary Harlem Hellfighters Band, which he assembled in 1917 from African-American and Puerto Rican musicians, came at an important transitional point in musical history. A new form of music called jazz was emerging from Ragtime and the performing style of Europe's band was immersed in the flow of this new direction.Europe's Harlem Hellfighters influenced and inspired everyone who heard them, including the welcoming crowd when they disembarked in France, bowled over by their swinging rendition of La Marseillaise. Reese Europe became a war hero, commanding a machine-gun unit as well as the band.On return from War in 1919 the band led a ticker-tape parade along Fifth Avenue in New York and soon made about 30 shellac recordings. These recordings display some of the fingerprints of their performing style: ragging, improvising, muting, wailing, smearing (their word for glissando) - and from the evidence of their recordings they took the printed page as a blueprint for individuality.In May 1919 during the Hellfighters' triumphant coast-to-coast tour after their return, James Reese Europe was tragically murdered, bringing to premature close, at the age of 39, the work of a great musical innovator.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£20.00The Windmills of La Mancha - Steve Robson
Composed by Steve Robson and scored specifically for our Flexi-Collection World Tour Series, this lively piece brings a truly Spanish flavour to the stage. Using the colourful story of Don Quixote as its inspiration, the composer has used the distinctive Spanish rhythms and harmonies to create a memorable performance that will no doubt get the audience finishing off with a loud "Ole"!The Windmills of La Mancha is part of the Flexi-Collection World Tour Series.Look and Listen (courtesy of Ushaw's Youth Brass Concert - World Tour 2019):Our Flexi-Collection Series:Flexible scoring tailored to your needs - a perfect solution for expanding the repertoire of Junior/Youth brass bands and ensembles. The Flexi-Collection currently offers two series and these will be regularly expanded to offer groups an even wider variation of music. Based on four-part harmony, these collections provide brass groups with the advantage of complete flexibility when may not be balanced.Added Extras:Each part of The World Tour Series also includes rudimentary theory reference sheet and Learn Together Moments (warm-up passages which relate to each of the styles of pieces included in the whole series). The score also includes background/programme notes and Check It Out ideas to encourage the players to find out more about the music style and/or inspiration behind the piece.If players or instruments are missing, the show can still go on! The thoughtful scoring and arranging by Steve Robson now means that groups of all abilities have access to a truly flexible set of music for their needs.Available for Brass Band (with world parts included), pieces included in our World Tour Series offer flexibility in every sense of the word.(Available individually or as part of the completeFlexi-Collection World Tour Series Album).
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£45.00Cuban Overture - George Gershwin arr. Phillip Littlemore
Originally entitled Rumba, the Cuban Overture was a was written some time following a two-week holiday which Gershwin took in Havana in February 1932. The overture is dominated by Caribbean rhythms and Cuban native percussion, with a wide spectrum of instrumental colour and technique. It is a rich and exciting work with complexity and sophistication, illustrating the influence of Cuban music and dance. Although it received it's premiere under the title Rumba, it was renamed Cuban Overture three months later at a benefit concert conducted by Gershwin at the Metropolitan Opera to avoid giving audience the idea that it was simply a novelty item. The new title provided, as the composer stated, "a more just idea of the character and intent of the music".Duration: 6'20"Difficulty: 1st Section and above
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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£25.00Fanfare from La PA(c)ri - Paul Dukas arr. Phillip Littlemore
La Peri is a 1912 ballet in one act by French composer Paul Dukas, about a man's search for immortality and an encounter with a mythological Peri (a winged, fairy-like creature). The original music to La Peri was written in 1911 as a Poeme Danse En Un Tableau (Dance Poem in One Scene), and was his last published work.The ballet itself is preceded by this brilliant Fanfare which is often performed separately. This arrangement is for full brass band, and would make a good opener for any concert or event. It can also be performed with or without percussion.Duration: 1'40"Difficulty: Suitable for all grades
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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£30.00I Vow To The, My Country - Gustav Holst/Geoff Knorr arr. Phillip Littlemore
Gustav Holst wrote his suite The Planets during the early years of the first world war. The expansive movement, Jupiter, contained a tune that Holst later used to set the poem by Cecil Spring-Rice, I Vow To Thee, My Country. Originally set for unison voices with orchestra, Holst adapted it as a hymn tune and called it Thaxted, named after the village where he lived for many years.The American composer, Geoff Knorr, incorporated Holst's music into his score for the strategy-based video game Civilisation V, where it is used to depict the England of Elizabeth I. It is from this music that this transcription is made.Although originally written in 1908 and entitled Urbs Dei, Spring-Rice revisited the text of his poem in January 1918 and significantly altered both the first and second verses to reflect his feelings about the war, and those that gave the ultimate sacrifice. He also renamed the poem with the title we know today. Because of its sentiment, it has now become a staple of Remembrance services.A video of this arrangement can be found here: I Vow To Thee, My CountryDuration: 5'40"Difficulty: Suitable for all
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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£40.00Night On Bare Mountain - Modeste Mussorgsky arr. Phillip Littlemore
Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky claimed to have been inspired by the confession of a witch who was burned at the stake in the 1660s. Bare Mountain is in fact Mount Triglav near Kiev, and the music depicts the legendary Sabbath celebrations of Russian witches held on the eve of St. John's Feast. Preliminary sketches for the piece date back as early 1858 when he was planning an opera on Gogel's tale. However, in 1867 he completed a work he called St. John's Eve of St. John's Night on Bare Mountain.Following Mussorgsky's death in 1881, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov reimagined the work and gave it the name we know today as Night on Bare Mountain. Duration: 10'00"Difficulty: First Section and above
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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£35.00Pomp & Circumstance March No.4 - Edward Elgar arr. Phillip Littlemore
Pomp & Circumstance March No. 4 was completed in June 1907, shortly after his fiftieth birthday. Like the first, it contains an equally impressive 'big tune' in the trio section, but it also matches No.1 in that it has a lively, rhythmic march element to envelope it.Unlike No.1 though, Elgar cleverly superimposes one on top of the other for the final, extended coda. Several attempts have been made to fit words to the main tune, the first of which were by the composer's wife, Alice, for her song The King's Way to celebrate the opening of a road in London. The music was then set to Alfred Noye's Song of Victory before a later attempt to make a patriotic Song of Liberty for World War II by the author A P Herbert.Duration: 4'50"Difficulty: 3rd Section and above
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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£40.00Sorcerer's Apprentice, The - Paul Dukas arr. Phillip Littlemore
French composer Paul Dukas wrote his symphonic poem, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, between 1896 and 1897. Subtitled 'Scherzo after a ballad by Goethe', the piece was inspired by Goethe's 1797 poem of the same name. By far the most performed and recorded of Dukas' works, perhaps it's most notable appearance was in the Walt Disney animated film Fantasia from 1940, which led to the piece becoming widely known to audiences outside the classical concert hall.The original orchestral work is some 10 minutes in length, however this brass band transcription has been abridged to create a more manageable 6-minute work, yet it still retains the urgency, magic and colour of the original. Duration: 6'00"Difficulty: 2nd section and above
Estimated dispatch 5-7 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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