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£30.00Janacek's 'Taras Bulba' - Janacek
Comments from Tim Paton, the arranger of Janacek's 'Taras Bulba': "I will never forget the day in 1967 when I was introduced to the music of Leos Janacek, a Czech composer born in 1854, who died in 1928. Janacek was little known in Britain until the 1960's, when the conductor Charles Macherras introduced his unique music. I heard a recording of Macherras conducting the Pro Arte Orchestra in a performance of Janacek's "Sinfonietta".It was in 1969 that I first heard Janacek's Symphonic Rhapsody, "Taras Bulba".Janacek's music is exciting, powerful, emotive, impassioned and unpredictable.I have taken the first and third movements of this piece, and adapted them for Brass Band, which was at times extremely difficult, but rewarding. It sometimes took up to an hour to be satisfied that a mere several bars had been reproduced to convey the composer's intentions.The Death of AndriThe Cossaks, under the leadership of Taras Bulba, are fighting against the Poles in the 17th century. Taras's son Andri seeks to rescue his love, a Polish princess, from a city which is being besieged by the Cossaks. Having found her, he throws in his lot with the Poles, but is finally captured by his father, who executes him as a traitor before riding off again to battle.Prophesy and Death of Taras BulbaTaras himself is finally captured and condemned to be nailed to a tree and burned alive. As the flames creep around him, Taras has the satisfaction of seeing histroops escape, and as he dies, sees a vision of his country freed at last.This is incredibly descriptive music. The mood is constantly changing, creating feelings of love and anger, celebration and melancholy, despair and triumph.This Brass Band EditionThe duration of the original symphonic rhapsody, three movements, is approximately 23 minutes. I chose the first and third movements, so the Brass Band edition is approximately 14 minutes. The main reason is twofold: Being realistic about the demands this music would place on the stamina of the brass player; Keeping the piece less than 15 minutes, so that, if desired, it could be used on the contest platform.Two unique qualities of Janacek's music had to be taken into account when preparing this brass band version. His compositional technique was individual, at times not sticking to traditional expectations, in both form and orchestration. I imagined what the genius himself would have said looking at my work, and how to tackle a particular section to emulate his original intentions. This was particularly the case when dealing with high woodwind and violin parts, the use of tremolo in string parts, and the orchestral harp.Percussion: Janacek included timpani, side drum, cymbals, triangle and tubular bells. For reasons stated previously, I have also included xylophone and glockenspiel. I have also added the gong in a couple of places to enhance the dramatic effect of the music.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£40.00Nightingale Dances - Matthew Hall
Matthew Hall Nightingale DancesNightingale Dances opens with a mellophonium-esque ensemble sound of 5 flugel horns, 3 tenor horns and trombones inspired by the Manhattan Transfer version of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, leading into a fast quickstep section for full band.Solo flugel horn takes the lead into the paso-doble middle section of the piece before the original opening to A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square becomes the main focus in the euphonium and baritone.A big build up into the final kit-led Hollywood-style show dance section with a half tempo feel ends the work with a real thumping ending to any contest or concert performance.Matthew Hall Nightingale Dances
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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£45.60Bleak Forest - Andreas Ziegelbäck
Bleak Forest is a piece for smaller concert bands and offers the musicians above all space to improve their sound and their effect playing. The technical requirements are therefore deliberately kept low. With this piece, the composer won the VLAMO International Composition Contest 2022. Thematically, the work is influenced by the composer's childhood memories. In his hometown there was a dark and mysterious forest, that seemed to the children in the small village to be magical. Without a reasonable explanation, every trip into the woods was exciting and somewhat terrifying. There were tales of dangerous animals, which can be heard at the beginning of the piece, as well as magical beasts. The magic of the forest is depicted musically from bar 70 in the andante section. The snapping of the fingers represents single raindrops. From bar 99 onwards, we hear the trek home, with the occasional moments of trepidation as the children spook each other with their fanciful tales. In the end, though, we arrive safely at home because after all, magical beasts only exist in fairy tales... don't they? Andreas Ziegelback studied music education at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, and history at the Paris Lodron Universitat, Salzburg. In addition to his studies, he trained in ensemble conducting for wind orchestra with conductor and composer Thomas Doss. It was Doss who sparked Ziegelback's interest in composing. In 2021, Andreas Ziegelback completed his composition studies with Johannes Maria Staud. In 2020, he took part in a brass band composition masterclass in Bern with Oliver Waespi, followed by a premiere by the Swiss Army Brass Band.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£169.99Explorers on the Moon - Paul Raphael
Composed by Paul Raphael, Explorers on the Moon, the sequel to his 2017 work Destination Moon, was composed in 2019 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Moon Landings. It is inspired by the Belgian author Herge and his most famous creation, Tintin. The music uses Herge's story from 1950 almost twenty years prior to the first ever moon landing - following Tintin and his fellow adventurers as they become the first humans on the Moon. This fantastic piece is split into three parts, titled 'Space', 'Nightmare Land' and 'The Journey Home' and is one of the most spectacular contest pieces in recent years.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£113.00Peregrination - Ingebjørg Vilhelmsen
Peregrination is about embarking on a long journey by foot, and all the impressions and experiences this journey entails. A source of inspiration has been the character Frodo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien in which Frodo embarks for the long journey to Mount Doom. The work was commissioned by Oslofjord Brass for the Siddis Brass contest in 2017.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£118.99Lions of Legends - Thierry Deleruyelle
This work was commissioned by Eurofestival. Ever since antiquity, mankind has been fascinated by the lion: symbolising courage, strength and temperance. Many have made use of the lion to represent themselves in symbols and emblems. In five movements the composer describes both the history of the lion throughout centuries, as well as the characteristics. A challenging idea to turn into music! The final movement 'King of Kings' is extremely spectacular. A great choice for thematic concerts or as a main piece in your concert or contest.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£118.99Introduction and Variations on "Dies Irae" - Jan de Haan
After the introduction, in which the landscape of Groningen with its beautiful wide views is presented, follows five variations based on the 13th-century Gregorian theme Dies Irae that is attributed to Thomas van Celano. Each variation can be seen as a stage or a scene in the rich history of the village of Grijpskerk, making this work a very exciting and expressive piece of music for a contest or a concert.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£204.00Ascension For Brass Band and Percussion - Fredrick Schjelderup
"Ascension" was commissioned in 2014 for the Norwegian school band, Hellen Skoles Musikkorps for their 60th anniversary.The piece is based on two themes, processed through rhythms, chords and solos in various time signatures.The title, "Ascension" which means rising, is central for the main thematic material and describes the band's hard work for a coming event (concert or a contest) where the musical level is ascending/rising.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£89.95Cambridge Variations - Philip Sparke
Cambridge Variations was commissioned by Philip Biggs and Richard Franklin with funds provided by All England Masters Brass Band Championship Ltd for their 1992 contest. The basis of the variations are the six musical notes in the word"Cambridge", (CABDGE), used mostly in reverse. The work falls into five sections (variations), which are all (to some extent) derived from the six-note row.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£76.99Sambezi - Philip Sparke
Sambezi is the brass band version of the last movement of Philip Sparke's Trombone Concerto. It starts in a joyful and outgoing mood with the soloist playing a carefree samba tune. A jazz-in uenced central tune explores the higher ranges of the trombone before the samba rhythms set up a 'contest' between the soloist and the band's trombone section. The soloist is the eventual 'winner' and he celebrates by reintroducing the samba melody before bringing the work to a virtuosic close. A real treat for your trombone soloist.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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