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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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£30.00Wicked - Lucy Pankhurst
A fascinating and upbeat composition from Lucy Pankhurst, offering great creativity with sound combinations and some funky rhythms!Originally written for and dedicated to The Wingates Band, the opening of this wild piece features the euphonium with some challenging playing effects - all the better for grabbing the attention of the audience. It's not long before the strong rhythms get those toes tapping, and other players join in with their own 'wicked' contributions.It's fast-paced, incredibly rhythmic and demands the listeners' attention right from the outset. Take a look at the performance below to fully appreciate the captivating nature of the piece.Look and Listen (courtesy of Ensemble de Cuivres Valaisan):
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£20.00Xmas Ditty - Tim Paton
Seasonal 'fun' for the band, (and the audience of course).Robert Childs commented:It begins with yet another rendition of Jingle Bells, "Wait a minute though, is someone out of tune somewhere? Who is that who some of the band are shouting at? Why am I thinking of Les Dawson? ... Back to the music - it's Good King Wenceslas, how did Rule Britannia get in there? ... and I'm sure that was the end of God Save the Queen".After an unadulterated version of O Come, all ye faithful, the final section features Jingle Bells and Good King Wenceslas claiming the last spot together.The piece ends with the well known 'AMEN' cadence - but there's still a little surprise on the last chord! "..is subtitled 'seasonal fun for band and audience', and it certainly is just that!"
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£100.00Terrible Symphony - Haakon Esplo
Let us present "Terrible Symphony" - the perfect piece for beginner or junior bands!This fun composition gives young musicians the opportunity to have a great time while driving the conductor crazy. The piece includes well-known themes from great symphonies, along with new music, and not least, lots of silliness and fun. All musicians can join in and come up with more pranks and humorous elements. The audience will laugh out loud and enjoy this crazy and entertaining, yet terrible symphony.Make your concert an unforgettable experience with "Terrible Symphony"!In the score, you will find instructions and suggestions for the conductor as the musicians become increasingly impossible.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£84.99Snow Island - Thierry Deleruyelle
The Swiss canton of Valais is home to a number of wind and brass bands that regularly stand on the podium in Swiss and European competitions. For the general public, the Valais is above all a unique place, between the Rhone Glacier and Lake Geneva, where life is pleasant. The brass players of the five music associations of the villages of Crans-Montana - an internationally renowned "snow island" - were awarded the organisation of the 224 cantonal festival, for which this work was commissioned.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£107.99Around the world in 80 days - Otto M. Schwarz
The novel Around the World in Eighty Days by the French author Jules Verne, was first published in 1873. In this story, the Englishman Phileas Fogg sets off for a journey around the world as a result of a bet with his friends at the LondonReform Club. He sets off that very night, together with his servant Passepartout, heading for Egypt, through France, and across Europe, then to Egypt and India, Hong Kong, China, Japan, and to New York where the bet appears to be lost. But they are lucky. On their arrival in London as they have saved a day by crossing the date line they succeed after all.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£44.00Fairfield Fanfare (expanded version) - Roxanna Panufnik
Fairfield Fanfare (expanded version) by Roxanna Panufnik is a 4-minute work for youth and mixed choirs, brass band and orchestra. Originally commissioned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Fairfield Halls, Croydon in 2012, the opening chords are based on all the alphabetic note names from FA-ir-F(#)-i-E-l-D, heralding a flourishing section of hustle and bustle that is the city of Croydon today.This expanded version includes brass band and choirs, with a setting of the text from Psalm 127. The expanded version was commissioned by the London Mozart Players, who premiered the piece on 30 June 2016 at Fairfield Halls, Croydon.This edition is the full score in C (EP 72880). It is available for sale as part of the Peters Contemporary Library. The performance material can be hired as well as a transposed full score, if preferred.
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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£69.99A Hymn to New England - John Williams
Written in 1987 as the accompaniment to New England Time Capsule, an Omnimax travelogue, and recently recorded by the Boston Pops, this three minute concert work adapts wonderfully for band. With true Williams craftmanship, it features brassy fanfares and a rich, sonorous hymn, all based on the same melodic intervals. John Williams' brilliant orchestration is successfully captured, making this a superb concert opener for brass bands.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£102.60Dream of the Return - Pat Metheny
Dream of the Return is one of the tracks on Pat Metheny's album of 1989 "Letter from Home".The CD recording is remarkable for its variety, imagination and musical artistry, and the combining of Latin American rhythms with jazz harmonyproduces magical results especially with Pat Metheny's guitar playing.While most tracks on the CD are instrumental, this song stands out because of its beautiful lyrics (by Pedro Aznar) which, roughly translated, are:I tossed a poemto the sea that took my questions and my voice.Like a sinking ship it was lost in the waves.I begged it not to return without having seen the open seaAnd in my dreams, show me what it had seen.Even if it did notcomeback I would know that it had journeyed.Floating all the time on calm or stormy seasEven though some safe haven waits.I waited long for its answer and almost gave up hope,And with a yearning voice I cried desperatelyto the heavens.Much later, somehow, it was washed ashore like an answered prayer.Now the rolling sea beats in my veins and sets my heart free
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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