Results
-
£29.50Eden (Score Only)
This work was commissioned by the Brass Band Heritage Trust as the test piece for the final of the 2005 Besson National Brass Band Championship, held at the Royal Albert Hall, London.The score is prefaced by the final lines from Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost (completed in 1663), in which Adam and Eve, expelled from Paradise, make their uncertain way into the outside world:"...The world was all before them, where to chooseTheir place of rest, and providence their guide:They hand in hand with wandering steps and slow,Through Eden took their solitary way."My work is in three linked sections. In the first, the characters of Adam, Eve and the serpent guarding the Tree of Knowledge are respectively represented by solo euphonium, cornet and trombone. The music opens in an idyllic and tranquil mood and leads into a duet between euphonium and cornet. Throughout this passage the prevailing mood darkens, though the soloists seem to remain oblivious to the increasingly fraught atmosphere. A whip-crack announces the malevolent appearance of the solo trombone who proceeds to engage the solo cornet in a sinister dialogue.The second section interprets the Eden story as a modern metaphor for the havoc mankind has inflicted upon the world, exploiting and abusing its resources in the pursuit of wealth. Though certainly intended here as a comment on the present-day, it is by no means a new idea: Milton himself had an almost prescient awareness of it in Book I of his poem, where men, led on by Mammon:"...Ransacked the centre and with impious handsRifled the bowels of their mother earthFor treasures better hid. Soon had his crewOpened into the hill a spacious woundAnd digged out ribs of gold."So this section is fast and violent, at times almost manic in its destructive energy. At length a furious climax subsides and a tolling bell ushers in the third and final section.This final part is slow, beginning with an intense lament featuring solos for tenor-horn, flgel-horn and repiano cornet and joined later by solo baritone, soprano cornet, Eb-bass and Bb-bass.At one stage in the planning of the work it seemed likely that the music would end here - in despair. Then, mid-way through writing it, I visited the extraordinary Eden Project in Cornwall. Here, in a disused quarry - a huge man-made wound in the earth - immense biomes, containing an abundance of plant species from every region of the globe, together with an inspirational education programme, perhaps offer a small ray of hope for the future. This is the image behind the work's conclusion and the optimism it aims to express is real enough, though it is hard-won and challenged to the last.John Pickard 2005
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£15.00Perseverance
DescriptionPerseverance was commissioned by Middleton Band to mark their 140th anniversary in 2016, supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and featured on Middleton Band's CD of the same name.The title is taken from the original name of the 1876 band, the Middleton Perseverance Drum and Fife Band. According to the band's historical records, the Drum and Fife band was formed by six Middleton youngsters eager to learn music but short of funds. Following a whip round, they visited a music shop in Oldham where they purchased a 'one key flute' for six shillings and sixpence, and ('later on') a drum.This determination to make music despite the odds has been a characteristic of the band ever since; at the end of the second world war the band was again down to six players, who rebuilt the 'Middleton Borough Band' back to twenty-six players. After a period of some considerable success throughout the sixties and seventies culminating in winning the National Third Section title in 1983 the band hit hard times again in the late eighties and was down to only four members in 1987 before again being brought back to life. In recent decades the band has built a strong relationship with the East Lancashire Railway, another organisation which has battled sometimes mighty obstacles in its struggle to survive, and has maintained a thriving and successful youth band.The band's will to survive through adversity is reflected in the music, which builds from a sextet of four brass and two percussion players three times, only to fall back to the sextet twice. In the central slow movement the bass drum plays a 'heartbeat' rhythm as the remaining players remember those lost in the war. The relentless pace of the final section culminates in the band triumphing over the adversity which has curtailed the previous two sections. As a former member of Middleton Band (and one of the team that regained the National Third Section title in 2007) it is my pleasure to dedicate this work to the 'Pop and Ale Boys', Middleton Band.You can read more about the piece here.To view the accompanying video by Andy Marshall, designed to precede the piece, clickhereand find out more about the link between the video and the music here.Recording with Score VideoPerformance NotesIn performance the four brass members of the sextet (soprano, solo horn, solo trombone and solo euphonium) should stand at the sides of the band - soprano and horn behind the cornets, trombone and euphonium behind the trombones. Percussion may stand with them at the conductor's discretion, but only if the band has TWO snare drums and TWO concert bass drums available, as these are also needed at the back of the band in the tutti sections. In the second sextet snare drum should be muffled with a heavy cloth OR have the snares turned off (not both).Percussion and mutesPercussion required:snare drum (muffled with a heavy cloth at one point)concert bass drum, kit bass drum, hi-hat, suspended (crash) cymbal2 x tom-tomswood blockclash cymbals3 x timpanitam-tamglockenspielSoprano cornet, repiano and 2nd cornets, flugel and all trombones require metal straight mutes. Soprano, Solo Cornet 3/4, Repiano 2nd and 3rd cornets require cup mutes. Solo Cornet 1/2, Repiano, 2nd and 3rd cornets require harmon mutes.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£15.00My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose - Helen Douthwaite
Robert Burns' beautiful melody is brought to life as a euphonium solo with brass band accompaniment in this simple, yet highly effective, arrangement by Helen Douthwaite.Originally arranged by Helen for the Kirkintilloch Youth Band, the piece not only features the soloist with a carefully crafted, accessible solo line, but also enables the rest of the band to shine through the tutti elements.Set includes score and parts for:Solo CornetRepiano Cornet2nd Cornet3rd CornetFlugelhornSolo Eb Tenor Horn1st Eb Tenor Horn2nd Eb Tenor Horn1st Baritone2nd Baritone1st Trombone2nd TromboneBass TromboneEuphoniumEb BassBb Bass (optional)GlockenspielPercussionAdditional world parts also provided include F Horn 1/2/3, Baritone 1/2 in bass clef, Trombone 1/2 in bass clef, Euphonium in bass clef, Tuba.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
-
£102.60Milonga del Angel - Astor Piazzolla
This arrangement was made after hearing Astor Piazzolla's 1986 recording of his own work written in 1965.The original instrumentation of bandoneon, violin and string bass is here arranged for three wind soloists with Concert Band.The Eb Cornet is the main soloist (filling the bandoneon role), while the trombone and Solo Bb Cornet shares the violin part as a kind of flirting undertone to the Eb Cornet.It's not possible to make a 100% correct notation of the solo parts, so it's recommended to listen to the record album "Zero Hour" from 1986 to get the best impression of the work.Enjoy "Milonga Del Angel" and imagine a small, dark cafe in Buenos Aires!
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
-
£35.00
Apex - Peter Meechan
Apex was commissioned by Mark Bousie and David Armitage (President of Sellers International Ltd.) for the Sellers International Youth Band to perform at the Action Research Entertainment Contest in Blackpool, 2007. Originally commissioned as part of a stage act with a magician, who levitated the soloist, Apex takes its title from the literal meaning of the word - the highest point.As well as being a solo for cornet, the piece also strongly features the percussion section, as well as the band singing!The solo part is equally suitable for cornet, flugel horn or trumpet.First performance:Sellers International Youth BandMark Bousie - ConductorJoe Murray - CornetPerformance notes:* The singing parts are written in transposed pitch, and should be sung to an aaha sound* The percussionists should feel free to add instruments (Such as bongos) and treat section C to the end as a guide, which they can change and build on* From section C until the end, percussion parts 1 and 2 may be played by one percussionist on a drum set
Estimated dispatch 12-14 working days
-
£30.00Hard Hats and Cornets - Terry Johns
This lively and melodic piece was commissioned by Maltby Colliery Band in 2000. It was written as a feature for solo cornet and the cornet section. For its first broadcast performance on Radio Scotland, from Edinburgh in 2009 Mark O'Keefe played the solo part with the band of COOP Glasgow. This piece makes an impressive encore or opening to a band concert and is also available in a version for ten brass.
-
£45.00Overture for Brass - Franzetti
Carlos Franzetti was born in 1948, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He worked along with Paquito D'Rivera, Joe Farrell, and among other talented artists, composing the soundtracks for Beat Street, Misunderstood, and theMambo Kings and arranging for the Boston Pops Orchestra, Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, and the American Symphony Orchestra. This sheet music, arranged by Mark Freeh, includes a full instrumentation: Full score Soprano Cornet in Eb Solo Cornets in Bb Repiano Cornet in Bb 2nd and 3rd Cornets in Bb Flugelhorn Solo Horn 1st and 2nd Horn inEb1st and 2nd Baritone in Bb 1st and 2nd Trombone in Bb Bass Trombone Euphoniums in Bb Bass in Eb and Bb Timpani Percussion World Parts Includes : Horn in F 1st and 2nd Baritone 1st and 2nd Trombone Bass Trombone Euphoniums Bass in Eb and Bb
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
-
£69.99Flying the Breeze - Philip Sparke
Flying the Breeze opens with three repeated B's (representing the initials of the Breeze Brass Band from Japan who commissioned this work). A short introduction leads to a robust theme from the baritones and euphoniums which is taken up by cornets and trombones. A restless bridge passage leads to a syncopated tune from the solo cornet and then to a third theme from a solo trombone. A graceful second subject leads back to a recall of the introductory material before a full-scale recapitulation. An intense allargando leads to a full-band version of the second subject under a running cornet passage, which leads to a short coda.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
-
£79.95Grieg Variations - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 12'30". DIFFICULTY: 2nd+. . 'Grieg Variations' is a through-composed work in the traditional style of a 'theme & variations'. The work opens with the main melodic fragment featured throughout Grieg Variations which comes from Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No.2; the final movement - 'Solveig's Song'. . This theme is followed by a set of 9 variations, each taking inspiration from various melodies and styles found within the Peer Gynt Suite. The first variation, a light-footed scherzo based upon the tonal line of Solveig's Song is followed by an 'Alla marcia' variation - in which the music is inspired by the 2nd movement - 'Arab Dance' - of the original suite. The 3rd variation takes a far darker and more aggressive turn in a variation set around the music of the 1st movement of the Peer Gynt Suite before a relaxation into a solemne revisiting of the original theme. Opening with a sombre and longing solo for Flugel horn, the focal point of this 4th variation is an extended solo for the Solo Euphonium, marked 'molto espressivo'. The new material here is used as a theme throughout this variation, being reprised by the full band immediately after as the music builds to a climax point at the top of the musical line. . Following this, there are 2 cadenzas for the Solo Horn and Solo Cornet respectively; the former inspired by the thematic material of Solveig's Song, and the latter from the Oboe cadenza at the beginning of Grieg's '2 Lyric Pieces, Op.68'. These cadenzas lead swiftly into the 7th variation, a bustling rhyhm-driven movement set in complex time. The 3rd movement of the Peer Gynt Suite No.2 - 'Peer Gynt's Homecoming' - makes it's first appearance in variation 8 in a triumphant battle-like setting before a combination of both this material and the Solveig's Song combine to bring Grieg Variations to it's close -not without a little nod to potentially Grieg's most famous work - In The Hall of the Mountain King. . .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
-
£91.99Fanfares, Songs & Dances - Philip Sparke
Fanfares, Songs & Dances was commissioned by Brass Bands England, the Lithuanian Brass Band Association and the Dutch National Brass Band Championships (NBK), and first performed at the 43rd 'NBK' in October 2024. The work is played in three linked movements: FANFARES opens in robust fashion with a sequence of fanfare-like statements, initially featuring the horns, whose modal theme includes a figure that will reappear throughout the work. Euphoniums and then cornets introduce a second theme, which is followed by a third, again initiated by the horns. Baritones then change the mood with a more-lyrical theme, which builds to a climax, eventually leading back to a recall of the initial fanfare theme. This gradually dissolves to introduce the second movement. SONGS continues to relax the fanfare feel with a long introduction to the movement's main theme, first appearing on solo cornet. A change of key introduces a bridge passage which leads to a sonorous chorale, which builds to a triumphal return of the cornet theme. A peaceful coda leads to the final movement of the work. DANCES is a scherzo-like movement based around a series of rhythmic melodies in triple time, which lead to a majestic return of the 2nd movement's chorale theme under cornet figuration. The opening dance theme returns and heralds a joyous coda.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
View Music