Results
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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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£40.00
Spanning Revolutions - Matthew Hall
Spanning RevolutionsSpanning Revolutions was commissioned by The Ironbridge Gorge Brass Band Festival in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Ironbridge Gorge being made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.The premiere performance was given at the Festival in 2011, based at the Museum of Iron, Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, performed by the combined bands of Tongwynlais Temperance and Wellington (Telford) under the direction of the composer.The Ironbridge Gorge is seen as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution; the section between G and I is a representation of a steam engine starting up.Spanning Revolutions
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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Walking in Greendale - Bryan Daly - Len Jenkins
The composer Bryan Daly was responsible for the music in the original Postman Pat series, including its well-known signature tune. Tucked away in only one episode, (not the one about Pat learning to play a tuba), is the delightful piece "Walking in Greendale", which features a jolly tuba part. Bryan kindly gave permission for its arrangement for Tuba and Brass Band, and this was originally played by Graham Cooper in The Woburn Sands 'B' Band at Whaddon Church Fete (one branch of Graham's family comes from Whaddon, in Buckinghamshire). The piece is ideal for fetes, concerts and similar engagements. Sadly, Bryan Daly died in January 2012, but with the agreement of his son, Robert, this revised arrangement is dedicated to his memory.
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Eye Level - Jack Trombey - Len Jenkins
Eye Level was originally produced for the De Wolfe Music Library and selected by Thames Television for the theme tune to their Netherlands based detective series Van der Valk. Based on a German/Dutch nursery rhyme, which in turn takes its melody line from Mozart's Nozze di Figaro, Dutch composer Jan Stoeckart adapted it under the name Jack Trombey, and Simon Park arranged it for his own orchestra. In 1973 his single was top of the UK charts for 4 weeks and in the top 40 for 22 weeks. It gained the award of a platinum disc. Fully entitled 'Eye Level (Theme from the TV series Van der Valk)', the tune has also been used in various TV adverts for clients such as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in the 70's and Oranjeboom lager in the 1980's. This new arrangement is straightforward and within the capabilities of most 4th section and village brass bands. The tune is instantly recognisable and ideally suited to fetes, concerts and programmes of light entertainment.
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The Wombles Song - Mike Batt - Len Jenkins
The Wombles are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures that live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in creative ways. They were created by author Elisabeth Beresford, and originally appeared in a series of children's novels from 1968 that featured the inhabitants of a burrow on Wimbledon Common in London, England.The characters gained a higher national profile in the UK in the mid-1970s as a result of a BBC commissioned children's television show, and a number of spin-off novelty songs also became hits in the British music charts. The Wombles pop group was the idea of British singer and composer Mike Batt who wrote the series' theme tune, and who went on to perform and produce a number of successful albums and singles with 'The Wombles'.This is a brass band arrangement of that well-known theme tune. Caution! This may provoke a sing-along.
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Introduction & Allegro Spiritoso - Jean Baptiste Senaille - Len Jenkins
Introduction and Allegro Spiritoso appears in many forms within the music compendium, frequently as a piece demonstrating a solo string, woodwind or brass instrument with Piano or other accompaniment. It was originally composed by the baroque composer Jean Baptiste Senaille, and includes the fast 2/4 movement from one of his 50 or so violin sonatas. It is probably one of his most recognised pieces. This arrangement for a brass quintet with optional Glockenspiel is presented in two formats. One is for Brass Band instruments, the other for Orchestral Brass, both with appropriate Parts to match that genre.
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Merry Christmas Polka - Sonny Burke - Len Jenkins
"Sonny" Burke was an American arranger, composer, Big Band leader and producer who during the 1940s and 1950s worked as an arranger for the Charlie Spivak and Jimmy Dorsey bands, among others. In 1955, along with Peggy Lee, he wrote the songs to Disney's Lady and the Tramp.Later he became musical director of Warner Bros. Records / Reprise Records and was responsible for many of Frank Sinatra's albums, and produced Sinatra's recording of "My Way". He was also the bandleader for recordings of leading singers such as Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras, and it was with them that Merry Christmas Polka became famous.
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Codebreakers : Bletchley Park - Len Jenkins - Len Jenkins
Bletchley Park was the centre for Allied codebreaking in World War 2, responsible for decoding secret military codes used by enemy forces, in particular those related to the use of the 'Enigma' and other encoding machines. In the course of its endeavours it developed what was effectively the first electronic computer and brought to prominence the genius of Alan Turing when its wartime work was declassified and made public. The composer, Len Jenkins, still lives near Bletchley Park, went to school nearby, and attended training courses there when, after the war, it was used as a telecommunications training centre. This march is dedicated to the memory of all those who worked at Bletchley Park.
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