Results
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£40.00Trittico (Score only) - James Curnow
Trittico was commissioned by the Swiss Brass Band Association for their national championships in 1988. A trittico is a tripych or group of three paintings or musical compositions based on a common theme and presented or performed together. The present work is a set of three extended variations on the American shaped-note hymn Consolation. The work opens in grand style with motives based on intervals of the hymn tune. The opening motif, and smaller fragments of it reappear throughout the piece and serve as an underlying element alongside the theme itself. The first variation is essentially a scherzo which echoes the minor mood of the theme. The hemiolic opposition of compound and duple time is used to good effect and, again, the main motif is never far away. This is music with energy and forward movement. The second variation gives the soloists a chance to shine. The mood is tranquil, yet there is always some activity and the musical material pre-echoes the third variation. The third variation is another scherzo-like section, the main theme accompanied by a rhythmic ostinato. Toward the conclusion there is a short aeleatoric passage - a variation within a variation allowing half the band to make their own variaitions in a cachophony of sound. An energetic coda draws together several elements to round off a work brim full of drive, energy, and self-propelled enthusiasm. Duration: 13:30
Estimated dispatch 7-9 working days
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£50.00Trittico (Parts only) - James Curnow
Trittico was commissioned by the Swiss Brass Band Association for their national championships in 1988. A trittico is a tripych or group of three paintings or musical compositions based on a common theme and presented or performed together. The present work is a set of three extended variations on the American shaped-note hymn Consolation. The work opens in grand style with motives based on intervals of the hymn tune. The opening motif, and smaller fragments of it reappear throughout the piece and serve as an underlying element alongside the theme itself. The first variation is essentially a scherzo which echoes the minor mood of the theme. The hemiolic opposition of compound and duple time is used to good effect and, again, the main motif is never far away. This is music with energy and forward movement. The second variation gives the soloists a chance to shine. The mood is tranquil, yet there is always some activity and the musical material pre-echoes the third variation. The third variation is another scherzo-like section, the main theme accompanied by a rhythmic ostinato. Toward the conclusion there is a short aeleatoric passage - a variation within a variation allowing half the band to make their own variaitions in a cachophony of sound. An energetic coda draws together several elements to round off a work brim full of drive, energy, and self-propelled enthusiasm. Duration: 13:30
Estimated dispatch 7-9 working days
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£40.00Vortex (Score only) - Robert Simpson
Vortex - a mass of swirling fluid; the centre of the vortex is static whereas the swirling mass becomes faster as it is sucked inexorably towards the centre. This is reflected in the structure of Robert Simpson's final work for brass band. It is cast in a single fast tempo movement made up of three sections. Each section begins softly but actively and grows in volume and intensity to a great discharge of energy on a unison note. Each section is longer than then the last and each unison discharge is a semitone lower than the last. The effect is cumulative and the closing pages witness an explosion of energy from the full band gradually rbeing drawn into the unison final note. Vortex was commissioned by the IMI Yorkshire Imperial Band and first performed at the Leeds Music Festival on 6 July 1990.
Estimated dispatch 7-9 working days
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£50.00Vortex (Parts only) - Robert SImpson
Vortex - a mass of swirling fluid; the centre of the vortex is static whereas the swirling mass becomes faster as it is sucked inexorably towards the centre. This is reflected in the structure of Robert Simpson's final work for brass band. It is cast in a single fast tempo movement made up of three sections. Each section begins softly but actively and grows in volume and intensity to a great discharge of energy on a unison note. Each section is longer than then the last and each unison discharge is a semitone lower than the last. The effect is cumulative and the closing pages witness an explosion of energy from the full band gradually rbeing drawn into the unison final note. Vortex was commissioned by the IMI Yorkshire Imperial Band and first performed at the Leeds Music Festival on 6 July 1990.
Estimated dispatch 7-9 working days
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£25.00...and the winter moon rises
Description...and the winter moon riseswas inspired by a winter's evening car journey across the Pennines from Manchester to Huddersfield, through the brass band heartland of Saddleworth. There was recent snow on the ground, and the sun had just set. A bright clear moon was rising into a sky coloured with orange from the setting sun, and the moonlight made all the snow and ice sparkle.The work is the fourth movement of a larger 5 movement suite entitled "North!", but can be (and has been) performed in isolation. This work was a finalist in the 2012 Ohio Brass Arts Festival composition competition.Performance NotesThe percussion parts should be playable by three players; the "arco" parts of the vibraphone parts should be played by drawing a cello or double bass bow up the side of the bar. Motors should be left off throughout.Three of the brass players are asked to double on triangles for the first part of the piece; ideally these should be of different sizes giving clearly different sounds. The easiest solution is to tie a triangle to the music stand, rather than try to hold it and then swap instruments later in the piece.Click below to watch a playback preview of the score!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£39.50Edward Gregson: Fanfare for a New Era (for Brass Band)
DescriptionComposer's NoteThe Fanfare has been designed to be partly antiphonal, with four separate brass 'choirs' initially playing their own music, and so some spatial separation is desirable. Soprano and solo cornets should be placed centrally, standing behind the rest of the band - or in some venues could even be placed off-stage in a side balcony, but still close to the band. If the Fanfare is played by a contesting size band, one of the solo cornets should play the 1st cornet part together with the usual player ie the number of players on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cornet parts should be equal. Otherwise the number of players in each of the two cornet 'choirs' is at the discretion of the conductor. The Tubular Bells accompanying the cornets 1-3 group should be placed close to that group. See inside back cover for suggested band formation.The style of playing should replicate that of symphonic brass, with a minimum of vibrato and with long notes being sustained without decaying.Programme NoteCommissioned in 2020 by Youth Brass 2000, Fanfare for a New Era was designed to be partly antiphonal - thus the separation of the band into four brass 'choirs', each with their own percussion accompaniment. First, soprano and solo cornets, rather like heraldic trumpeters, announce the main idea, majestic in character. Then horns, baritones, and euphoniums, with timpani, enter with stately figurations. Next, the heraldic trumpeters usher in trombones and tubas, to the accompaniment of tom-toms and snare drum, presenting a faster and rhythmic dance-like theme. Finally, the remaining cornets amplify the pealing of bells. All four elements then come together, surrounding the audience with a 'joyful noise' of festive brass and percussion.The original symphonic brass version of this fanfare can be purchased as part of a set of Three Fanfares HERE.For more information on Edward Gregson's music please visit the composer's website: www.edwardgregson.com
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£25.00Deus in Adjutorium
DescriptionMonteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine (Vespers for the Blessed Virgin) is a musical setting by Claudio Monteverdi of the evening vespers on Marian feasts, scored for soloists, choirs, and orchestra. It is an ambitious work in scope, style and scoring, and has a duration of around 90 minutes. Published in Venice with a dedication to Pope Paul V dated 1 September 1610 as Sanctissimae Virgini Missa senis vocibus ac Vesperae pluribus decantandae, cum nonnullis sacris concentibus, ad Sacella sive Principum Cubicula accommodata ("Mass for the Most Holy Virgin for six voices, and Vespers for several voices with some sacred songs, suitable for chapels and ducal chambers"), it is mercifully regularly shortened to Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610.Monteverdi was born and spent the first part of his working life in Cremona before moving to Mantua (where he composed the Vespers) and finally attaining one of the top jobs in Italian renaissance music as Maestro di Capella at the Basilica di San Marco in Venice. He is most famous for his vocal music, notably his madrigals and the earliest surviving opera, Orfeo.Performance notes:The opening "versicle" on euphonium should be declamatory, in a recitative style - i.e. in free tempo and not conducted. Ideally the player should stand for this.Where practical, the soprano and 1st & 2nd solo cornets should stand to the left of the band, and the repiano and 3rd & 4th solo cornets to the right. If three percussionists are available, the third player should double the Percussion 2 part, and in that event it is often effcetive to have the 2nd and 3rd percussion players stand to the left and right of the band with the cornets.Watch a preview video of the score below:
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£30.00Es ist ein Ros Entsprungen
DescriptionEs ist ein Ros Entsprungen is sometimes sung to the English words "A Great and Mighty Wonder". This tune to the reformation era German carol first appeared in the Speyer Hymnal in Cologne in 1599. This harmonisation of the tune by Michael Praetorius in 1609, one of his earliest publications. Praetorius was, along with his slightly younger contemporary Heinrich Schutz, the foremost German composer of the day, and became famous for his choral music. Much of this was written for multiple groups positioned around the church and conducted by a central conductor, giving a multi-phonic effect similar to the Venetian music of Gabrieli. Today his most famous music is Terpsichore, a collection of over 300 secular dances.You can view a preview PDF file of the score here.PercussionPercussion required are timpani and clash cymbals only; if clash cymbals are not available this part should be omitted (rather than played on a suspended cymbal).Mutes2 x solo cornets, second cornets and all trombones will require cup mutes
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£30.00strange geometry
Descriptionstrange geometrywas commissioned by Morgan Griffiths and the Hammonds Saltaire Band for their performance at the Brass in Concert Championships of 2015.As a bit of a space/sci-fi geek, as well as a musician, two events during the summer of 2015 had a particular effect on me. The first was the tragic early death in a plane crash of the famous film composer James Horner. Horner's music, particularly in films like 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan', 'Avatar', 'Apollo 13' and even his debut in Roger Corman's 1980 budget film 'Battle Beyond the Stars', defined for a generation the sound of sci-fi at the cinema. Along with John Williams he created the vocabulary for those who wish to express other-worldly wonder in music and his inventive talent will be much missed in an industry where originality has become something of a dirty word in recent years.The second event was the epic flyby of Pluto by the NASA New Horizons spacecraft. There are many reasons to find this mission inspiring - for example, the scientists and engineers behind it created a craft that has travelled at 37,000 mph for nine years and three billion miles to arrive within seventy-two seconds of the predicted time for the flyby. That they achieved this with such accuracy is an outstanding tribute to humanity's ingenuity and insatiable curiosity. However, the most exciting aspect of the mission was the clear, high resolution pictures of this unthinkably remote and inhospitable world beamed back to mission control. The best previous image of Pluto was an indistinct fuzzy blob - suddenly we could see mountains made of ice, glaciers of methane and carbon monoxide and nitrogen fog - features previously unimagined on a world thought to be a slightly dull ball of cold rock. The BBC's venerable astronomy programme 'The Sky at Night' waxed lyrical about these newly discovered features, referring to "the surprising discoveries of mountains and strange geometry on the surface of this cold distant world".I like to think that Horner would have been as inspired as I have been by this real-life science story, and this piece uses some of the vocabulary of the sci-fi movie soundtrack in a tribute to the memory of a great musician and to the inspirational geeks at NASA who have boldly taken us where no-one has gone before.Note: This work comes with a B4 portrait score. Listen to a preview and follow the music below!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£50.00atrium phase
Descriptionatrium phase was inspired by listening to works performed at the 2013 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in the atrium of the Huddersfield University Creative Arts Building. The atrium, despite being a functional area incorporating meeting areas and a cafe, has almost coincidentally evolved into a fantastic (if somewhat resonant) performance space. Performers can be positioned on three different sides and three different levels, making the atrium ideally suited to spatially separated performances of a variety of music from Gabrieli to Christian Wolff.In atrium phase the band is separated into four groups - ideally these should be positioned around the audience as follows: group A to the left of the audience, group B in front of the audience, group C to the right of the audience and group D (the four basses) behind the audience. The music "phases" between the groups in the manner of contemporary electroacoustic music, with the bass group acting as a kind of "subwoofer". Starting very slowly, the music accelerates using metrical modulations to finish at considerable speed.The music is intended to be performed without a conductor wherever possible - the three percussionists should set and control the tempo, and there are clear points of overlap for percussionists to allow synchronisation between groups.atrium phase won the inaugural Foden's Band Composition Competition in 2014 and the first performance was given on 24 January 2015 at the RNCM Festival of Brass by Foden's Band.NOTE: This work comes with a B4 score; click here to view a sample PDF score.Performance Notes:The band is separated into four groups - ideally these should be positioned around the audience as follows: group A to the left of the audience, group B in front of the audience, group C to the right of the audience and group D (the four basses) behind the audience. The music "phases" between the groups in the manner of contemporary electroacoustic music, with the bass group acting as a kind of "subwoofer". Starting very slowly, the music accelerates using metrical modulations to finish at considerable speed.Instruments in group A require cup mutes (soprano, 2 x cornets, horn, baritone, trombone, euph), group B harmon mutes (4 x cornets, baritone and trombone - the baritone should use a trombone mute) and group C require fibre straight mutes (3 x cornets, flugel, 2 x horns, euph., bass trom - NOT metal mutes if possible).Percussion instruments required are claves, wood block and 2 x temple blocks. The music is intended to be performed without a conductor wherever possible - the three percussionists should set and control the tempo, and there are clear points of overlap for percussionists to allow synchronisation between groups.Approximate duration 6'17"
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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