Results
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£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
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£44.95
Harmony Music (Score Only)
Harmony Music was written for the Championship Section Finals of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain held at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in October 1987.It opens quietly with a long unison crescendo, interrupted by the basses, which in turn introduces a cornet fanfare, leading to a chorale-like episode, building from the lower half of the band to a huge tutti. There is a brief hint of faster music to come which fails to dispel a high, haunting euphonium solo before the main molto vivace arrives. This is a fast and furious gallop with a certain French flavour. This reaches a climax and subsides gradually into the slower central section (a homage to Maurice Ravel) which incorporates accompanied cadenzas for cornet and horn. The opening of the piece returns and leads back to an abbreviated recapitulation of the vivace. When it appears to be hurtling to a close, the trombones and sopranos introduce a brief moment of chaos before a presto coda asserts itself.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.95Judd: Before The Cross
Written at the request of David Daws for his solo album The Sound of David Daws, this meditation for cornet and brass band uses the composer's own song Before the cross (The Musical Salvationist, April 1965), the first lines of which are "Before the cross I stand in fear and wonder, and see that all my sins on Thee are laid". The song was written at an early stage of the composer's career, just before commencing study at The Royal Academy of Music, London. After a brief introduction the melody is heard twice, first played by the soloist, then on euphonium and flugel horn with the soloist adding ornate counterpoint before taking up the melody once again, this time leading to a quiet and reflective conclusion.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£14.95Abide With Me (Trombone and Piano)
The very evocative tune to this hymn is called 'Eventide' and was written by William Henry Monk. He was an important figure in 19th century English church music and became organist and choirmaster at a variety of London churches in the course of his lifetime. In 1857, he was appointed the first editor of Hymns, Ancient and Modern, a publication that would eventually sell sixty million copies! It was for this hymnbook that he wrote the tune 'Eventide' to the words, 'Abide with Me' by Henry Francis Lyte. This version, for trombone solo and brass band, was commissioned by Brett Baker.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£23.50Blitz (Score Only)
The dictionary definition of Blitz is any sudden, overwhelming attack, particularly from the air. It is shortened form of the German word Blitzkrieg, literally meaning a lightning war.The piece is a test of skill, nerve and stamina, culminating in an aural 'Blitz' of great ferocity.The tempo markings in this piece are intended merely as a guide to performers. The composer is particularly anxious that they should not be considered inviolate.Commissioned with funds provided by the Arts Council of Great Britain for the finals of National Brass Band Championships held in the Royal Albert Hall, London, on the 3rd October, 1981.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£54.95Tilbury Point
Described by its composer as a short "Whiz Bang" overture, this Portrait Overture for Brass Band makes use of the old Ballad of Captain Kidd and conveys the vibrant feel of the River Thames at Tilbury Point near London.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£39.95Judd: Music of Thanksgiving
This is an extensive work consisting of a theme, five variations and a finale. The theme is the hymn tune 'Whitechapel' whose former title 'Death is coming' did little to encourage its use! A wide range of moods are covered, from the delicate and tender to the robust and jubilant. The music was originally written for the London Citadel Band (Ontario, Canada).
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£45.00Congestion Charge - Nigel Hess
This is the third movement of Nigel Hess's New London Pictures As with all modern cities, London is over-crowded with motor vehicles. London was the first major city in Europe to adopt aCongestion Charge, and this lighthearted work includes musical images of frustrated rush hour traffic leading to a freer flowing galop. Brass Band Grade 5: 1st Section Duration: 7 minutes.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£105.00Tuba Concerto. - Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Tuba Concerto was composed in 1953/4, after the London Symphony Orchestra invited Vaughan Williams to write a work for inclusion in the Orchestra's fiftieth anniversary concert. The first performance was given byPhilip Catelinet in the Royal Festival Hall, London on 13th June 1954 with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli.The brass band arrangement is by Phillip Littlemore and is a welcome addition to the brassband repertoire.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£45.00
Congestion Charge - Nigel Hess
This is the third movement of Nigel Hess's New London Pictures As with all modern cities, London is over-crowded with motor vehicles. London was the first major city in Europe to adopt a Congestion Charge, and this lighthearted work includes musical images of frustrated rush hour traffic leading to a freer flowing galop.Brass Band Grade 5: 1st SectionDuration: 7 minutes.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 1-3 working days
