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£99.95SEA PICTURES (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Sparke, Philip
An atmospheric and descriptive work, Sea Pictures is in three sections. The quiet but very difficult opening describes the sea at dawn when all is still save for the cries of the early-morning gulls and deep movements of the sea itself. The sun rises and the next section pictures it glistening and sparkling on the waves. A school of playful dolphins passes. As they swim into the distance we are alone again with the sun and the waves. But there are distant rumblings; from far away a storm approaches. Cool breezes disturb the surface of the sea as it clouds over. And then the storm is upon us, turning the sea into the most awful force in all nature. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it abates, leaving the sea once again serene in sunlight. All is calm but, as the work fades to a close, distant claps of thunder remind us that we are always at the mercy of the power and ficklesness of nature. Championship section. Duration 20:13
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£63.50Variations on 'Sine Nomine' (Brass Band) Andrew Wainwright
This magnificent work was written in 2019 for the London Central Fellowship Band and Bandmaster David Rudd. It is based on the hymn tune by Ralph Vaughan Williams, which is also known as For all the Saints. Its release in the summer of 2022 marks the 150th anniversary of Vaughan Williams' birth. The work is set in four contrasting movements, which follow an opening statement of the hymn in its full form. Variation I (Leggiero) is based on the first few notes of the chorale and is lively and sprightly in nature, with regular time changes permeating throughout. There are regular statements of the hymn, with the movement closing with a full statement of the tune in its full glory. Variation II (Andante Espressivo) derives its material from the final strain of the verse. The music is generally calm and ethereal in nature before building to an impassioned fortissimo featuring the full band, and finally dying away. Variation III (Allegro Vivace) is in compound time and, like Variation I, is based on the first few notes of the hymn. The music is joyful and playful, epitomised by syncopated rhythms, and snippets of the tune are heard throughout. Variation IV (Allegro Giocoso) is in the form of a fugue which commences with the cornets, before the theme is handed to each section of the band at various points. After several statements of the theme, the music grows into the final strain of the chorale, which is given a grandiose setting. A frenzied Presto coda leads into organ-like chords, before a series of upward major scales bring the work to its final chord. To view a video of the Canadian Staff Band performing the work please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ1pYH0ftv0 Sheet music available from: UK - www.brassband.co.uk USA - www.solidbrassmusic.com Difficulty Level: Second Section + Instrumentation: Soprano Cornet Eb Solo Cornet Bb 1st Cornet Bb 2nd Cornet Bb Flugel Horn Bb Solo Horn Eb 1st Horn Eb 2nd Horn Eb 1st Baritone Bb 2nd Baritone Bb 1st Trombone Bb 2nd Trombone Bb Bass Trombone Euphonium Bb Bass Eb Bass Bb Timpani Percussion 1-2
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£79.95Amundsen - Jonathan Bates
DURATION: 14'00". DIFFICULTY: 1st+. 'Amundsen' was commissioned by rskog Brass, Norway for their winning performance at the 2020 Norwegian National Championships held at the Grieghallen in Bergen. In December 1911, Norwegian Roald Amundsen gained global fame by becoming the first explorer to lead a team to the geographic South Pole. Amundsen and 4 other members of his team arrived 5 weeks ahead of a rival team from the UK led by Robert Falcon Scott, all of which perished on their attempted return from the pole. Initially when Amundsen's team set out in 1910, they were under the impression that they would be making the far shorter journey to the arctic drift to attempt to reach the North Pole, but Amundsen had received news that American explorers Peary and Cook had beaten them to this goal, and so Amundsen's focus changed southward. 'Fram, Forward' - 'Fram' (translating to English as "forward") was the name of the ship Amundsen used for this particular polar expedition. Amundsen had only informed 2 people of his real intentions of conquering the South Pole when the ship first left port in Kristiansand before heading south to the Portuguese island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean. After weeks at sea - causing the uninformed members of the crew to raise a number of questions and produce a general feel of uncertainty and low spirits - it was here that Amundsen announced his true plans to the rest of his crew. They were asked whether they wished to continue with their expedition, to which all - some begrudgingly - agreed to sail on to the South Pole, through the great Ice Barrier before docking in the Bay of Whales on the Ross Ice Shelf. 'Ross Ice Shelf' - Upon Amundsen's arrival in the Bay of Whales, the team were greeted by the sight of the enormous ice plateau's and glaciers, towering into the Antarctic sky. In 1907, Ernest Shackleton had attempted - and failed - to reach the South Pole, but his route and mapping was by now well documented. Scott and the UK team were to follow this route, whereas Amundsen and his men forged their own way to the pole through unchartered territory and deadly terrain littered with deep crevasses and canyons. The music here though, is a picture of tranquility. The eerie silence of total emptiness with only the heavy snow falling around Amundsen as Fram and the Bay of Whales disappears into the distance, faced by the maginute of the expedition ahead. 'Advance to Polheim' - The first new challenge Amundsen discovered on this route was a rough, sharp and extremely steep glacier (which was later named the Axel heiberg Glacier after the Norwegian monarch who funded much of the expedition), which would take his team up from sea level to an altitude of over 9,000ft in just 20 miles, with most of this over just 7 miles. Once scaled, only the vast Antarctic Plateau stood between Amundsen and the pole. Here the race began, with only one aim - victory for himself, his team, and for the whole of Norway. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£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
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£34.99Submerged... (Cornet Concerto No.2) - Jonathan Bates
'Submerged..' is a virtuoso concerto for Cornet composed as a response to the 'lost' Derbyshire villages of Ashopton & Derwent,. both of which were drowned in the early 1940's to make way for a new reservoir to aid the ever-increasing water demand from nearby. Sheffield and it's steel industry during World War 2. The work is through-composed but is defined by 3 clear main sections, 'The . Packhorse Bridge, Derwent', 'Ashopton Chapel' and 'Operation Chastise'. Much of the melodic and harmonic material throughout the. concerto is inspired by 3 contrasting sources; an original motif of towering block chords which opens the concerto, the famous opening. fragment of Eric Ball's 'High Peak' (1969) which was composed as a tribute to the district of Derbyshire where Ashopton & Derwent lie, . and finally Claude Debussy's haunting 'La Cath drale Engloutie' or 'The Sunken Cathedral', which was composed in 1910 around the legend of. the submerged cathedral of Ys. . I. Packhorse Bridge, Derwent (1925). One of the most striking features of the former village of Derwent was it's Packhorse Bridge, which spanned the River Derwent. adjacent to the Derwent Hall - a grand, picturesque Jacobean country house. In 1925, the renowned impressionist artist Stanley. Royle painted a striking image of the two in midwinter, with the partially frozen river sat quietly underneath the snow-topped. bridge in the foreground, while the old hall sits peacefully and dark in the background. The opening setion of this concerto paints. this picture in a quite schizophrenic manner; with frosty, shrill march-like material picturing the villagers crossing the narrow icy. bridge, combined with wild and frenzied waltz music of the grand hall and it's masquerade balls laying, for now, quietly mysterious. across the river. . II. Ashopton Chapel (1939). Ashopton was much the smaller and less-populated of the 2 'lost' villages, but still bore home to a Roman Catholic Chapel which was. the focal point of the village. The chapel - along with the rest of Ashopton - was drowned in 1943, but the final service to take place there. was held in 1939, with the final hymn being 'Day's Dying in the West'. This hymn forms a haunting coda to the 2nd section, with firstly the . piano leading the melody before an audio track containing an old recording of the hymn is accompanied by the sound of flowing water and . the rumble of storms as the village hypothetically disappears from existence with the hymn tune still echoing around the valley, before . subsiding into the growing roar of the engine of a Lancaster Bomber as it soars overhead towards Derwent to practise it's 'Dam-Buster' raid. . III. Operation Chastise (1943). The Derwent Reservoir lies adjacent to Ladybower Reservoir (of which Ashopton & Derwent were flooded to make way for) in the . Derbyshire High Peak, and during the 2nd World War was used as one of the central low-atitude practise areas of the 617 Squadron - more . commonly known affectionately as the 'Dambusters'. Before the destruction of Derwent, it's 'Packhorse Bridge' was dismantled stone by stone . and re-assembled upstream at Howden Dam to the north end of Derwent Reservoir. This is where the music begins, with a reconstruction of . the opening material before taking flight into a whirlwind tour of virtuosity from the soloist. .
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
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£35.00Ariel
DescriptionAll hail, great master! Grave sir, hail! I come To answer thy best pleasure, be 't to fly, To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride On the curled cloud. To thy strong bidding, task Ariel and all his quality. - William Shakespeare: The Tempest, Act 1, Scene 2Ariel was written for the Hammonds Band to open their programme at the 2019 Brass in Concert Championships at The Sage Concert Hall in Gateshead, where it received its premiere. The title is taken from the character in Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest'. Ariel is an immensely powerful "air spirit" or demon bound to serve Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, after being released by Prospero from imprisonment in a tree. In the play Ariel's magical abilities are used to help Prospero revenge himself on his enemies and reclaim his dukedom, whereupon Ariel finally regains his freedom.You can hear an audio preview and follow the score below: Performance notes:The cornets and horns are split into two "choirs" to be placed left and right of the band. It may be possible for the choirs to play their opening flourish offstage, and the optional repeated sections in the opening are to accommodate stage movement if required. Trombones form a third "choir" which should ideally stand centrally between basses and percussion, and the euphoniums and baritones should sit in front of the basses. The work requires four percussionists, although if four are not available the 2nd part may be omitted.Percussion 1: Kit - bass drum, snare, 3 x toms, hi-hat, suspended cymbal - and 3 x temple blocksPercussion 2: Tam tam and orchestral bass drum.Percussion 3: Glockenspiel and timpaniPercussion 4: Tubular bellsSoprano, solo cornets and 3rd cornets require cup mutes. Solo trombone requires a cup mute, second trombone requires a metal straight mute.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£74.99Willow Pattern - Philip Harper
Composed in 2009 for Nicholas Childs and the Black Dyke BandThis piece tells the Willow Pattern legend through music. Several leitmotifs are used both for the different characters and also for some of the important emotions in the tale. Additionally, Knoon-se's part is mainly played by the flugel horn, Changby the euphonium, the Mandarin by the Eb Bass and the Duke Ta-jin by the trombone. The Willow Pattern LegendOnce, in ancient China, there lived a wealthy and powerful Mandarin who had a beautiful daughter, Knoon-se. She had fallen in love with Chang, a humble accountant, which angered her father who imprisoned her in the Pavilion by the river with only theexotic birds for company. She learnt that the Mandarin planned to marry her to the pompous Duke Ta-jin and that the wedding would take place on the day the blossom fell from the willow tree, so she sent Chang a message: "Gather thy blossom, ere it bestolen". The Duke arrived by sea amid great fanfare when the tree was heavy with bud, and nights of magnificent banquets followed. After one such occasion when the Mandarin slept, Chang crept over the crooked fence and tiptoed into the Pavilion to rescueKnoon-se, but as they escaped the alarm was raised. They fled over the bridge with the Mandarin close on their heels brandishing his whip.They managed to escape by boat to a secluded island where they lived happily for a time. Meanwhile, the Mandarin learned of their refuge and, intent on revenge, he ordered his soldiers to kill them. As Knoon-se and Chang slept at night, the men setfire to the pagoda in which they lived and the lovers perished in the flames. However, the Gods, moved by the lovers' plight, transformed their souls into two turtle-doves which rose from the charred remains, soaring above the Earth, symbolising eternal happiness. Willow Pattern is dedicated to the memory of Jean Harper who passed away as I was completing the piece and who was a great collector of porcelain and china-ware. NOTES ON PERFORMANCEMute Requirements:Metal mutes soprano cornet, repiano cornet, 2nd cornets, 3rd cornets (6 in total) Cup mutes all cornets and trombones (10 + 3) Harmon mutes soprano cornet, solo cornets, repiano cornet (6) Percussion Requirements:There are two parts for percussion on the score. The minimum requirements are as follows: 2 players - Timpani, 2 Large tom toms, 2 Wood Blocks, Triangle, Sleigh Bells, Whip, Clash Cymbals, Suspended Cymbal, Hi-hat, Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Tam tam (or susp. cym.) For performances with extra resources, and to achieve closer authenticity, the full requirements are as follows: 3 players - Timpani, 3 Taiko Drums played with thick wooden sticks (or Large tom toms), 2 Wood Blocks, Triangle, Chinese Bells (or Sleigh Bells), Whip, Clash Cymbals, Chinese Cymbals (small clash cymbals approx 12"), Suspended Cymbal, Glockenspiel,Xylophone, Tam tam
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£80.00St. Magnus - Kenneth Downie
Dedicated to Alastair Massey, an inspirational music teacher. Commissioned by the Scottish Brass Band Association for the 2004 European Brass Band Championships in Glasgow. This music is a set of variations on the tune known as St Magnus, which is attributed to Jeremiah Clarke. Most people will associate it with Thomas Kelly's hymn which begins: "The Head that once was crowned with thorns is crowned with glory now". The tune is very simple, consisting of just two, four-bar phrases. Neither is there much in the way of rhythmic variety, every note being a crotchet with the exception of two quavers, and the last note in each phrase. Within such a simple structure, however, lies considerable strength. THEME The listener is given the opportunity of hearing it twice, in full, at the beginning, starting with one player but soon taken up by the full ensemble. It returns in the middle of the music and is stated again near the end. This has been done quite deliberately in the hope that there will be an appreciation of what material is being developed, by the listener as well as by those with access to the score, who are able to see the visual connections. VARIATION 1 This takes the rhythm of the last part of the theme and also uses the shape of the opening as a recurring figure. The mood is whimsical and skittish, with short, teasing rhythmic figures tossed around the band, and quick interplay with percussion, at a fast tempo. An energetic flourish finishes this variation before the Andante espress. VARIATION 2 This commences with chords related to the opening of Variation 1. The cantabile on solo comets establishes a new, lyrical mood and there is scope for expressive playing in a series of short solo passages. The theme works its way unobtrusively into the texture before a reprise of the solo cornet melody and some more lyrical interchanges between Eb bass, euphonium, flugel horn and comets. The variation ends serenely with clear references to the last phrase of the theme. VARIATION 3 The first idea to dominate is clearly linked to the shape of the theme's first phrase. There is a frenetic feel to much of this variation, with considerable energy and instability created by extensive use of cross-rhythms. A thinning-out of the score marks a clear change to development of the start of the second phrase of the theme. This proves to be short-lived however, and the opening material returns leading to a restatement of the theme, "Maestoso," after which a euphonium cadenza links to Variation 4. VARIATION 4 Here we have some solos for euphonium, cornet, trombone and Eb bass set against a background of horns and baritones presenting a pensive statement of the theme's opening. VARIATION 5 This commences Allegro, with lively work for cornet and euphonium spreading to the whole band before attention focuses on the beginning of the second phrase of the theme which is initially presented in diminution, then in regular rhythm, then in inversion. An increase in tempo coupled with a decrease in volume, requires dexterity and control, with several metrical challenges thrown in for good measure. The same fragment of phrase becomes an ostinato which generates a frenzied climax, punctuated by short, dramatic silence, before the opening figure returns and the music gradually winds down. The tubular bells herald the final return of the theme, in augmentation, marking the start of the Finale. FINALE This features the running semiquavers of the previous variation sounding in counterpoint. A fast, furious coda speeds the work to a conclusion while references to the opening of the theme are still trying to break into the texture of the music. Kenneth Downie
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£84.99Pacific Dreams - Jacob de Haan
Pacific Dreams describes the experience of Miguel, a traveling composer from Spain who, feeling somewhat alienated from his homeland, is wandering through an area of Sydney known as The Rocks. At a small outdoor market in a typical street of this oldcolonial neighbourhood, he discovers a print of William DeShazos painting "Pacific Dreams" Portrayed in the painting is the surf of one of the exotic islands in the Pacific. Next, with the impressive Sydney Harbour Bridge looming over the narrowstreets of The Rocks, he envisions sultry Pacific beaches. Suddenly a theme he once composed about the lakes in Japan comes to him. Is it the Asian influences present in cosmopolitan Sydney that bring this theme to mind? Or perhaps the waters aroundSydney, over which he could sail to Tahiti? He is uncertain. Could this same theme be used to create a new composition about his feelings for the metropolis Sydney? How then to work his Pacific Dreams into the mix? Miguel is certainly no fan ofHawaiian music. Mayby he could use the vocabularies of islands like Hawaii and Tahiti, their beautiful vowel combinations being sung ad libitum by a mixed choir.With these ideas and his newly purchased print of "Pacific Dreams", he boards the Metroat Circular Quay. He has a final glimpse of the harbour and the Sydney Opera House as the train races into the ground. On to the hotel! To work! He must compose!Maestoso : Miguel is impressed as he gazes upon the Sydney Harbour Bridge. And yet, hewants to go away from this city. Away, to an exotic island in the Pacific.Steady Rock : In the Rocks, musicians are playing at a square. Miguel basks in the atmosphere but at the same time he is fantasizing about Hawaii and Tahiti.Andante Lamentoso :In his hotel room, Miguel is feeling sad and lonely in this big city. He takes comfort in his "Pacific Dreams".Allegro : Miguel boards the boat that takes him from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay. In his mind he is traveling on to Hawaii. Or is ithome, where the bolero is playing? He is pulled back to reality by the skyline of Sydney.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£12.00Heroes (Brass Band - Study Score)
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing.Dedicated to Nicholas Childs and the Black Dyke Band, Heroes pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and the incredible achievements of astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.The piece is cast in three continuous sections:Ignition, which launches the work, propels us into orbit with dynamic rhythmic writing before transitioning into the second section...Tranquility, provides the soloists an opportunity to revel in a contrasting sound world, reflecting the remarkable quiet and stillness of The Sea of Tranquility.Return, the find section is a technical tour de force, developing material from the earlier sections before a reprise of the Tranquility theme brings the work to a resounding conclusion.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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