Results
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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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£30.00The Water is Wide - Traditional
Alternatively known as O Waley Waley, Andrew Duncan has created this stunning arrangement for brass band, presenting the hauntingly beautiful, traditional song as a feature for the solo cornet section of the band.Look and Listen (performance courtesy of Bon Accord Silver Band 2018):
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£20.00The Windmills of La Mancha - Steve Robson
Composed by Steve Robson and scored specifically for our Flexi-Collection World Tour Series, this lively piece brings a truly Spanish flavour to the stage. Using the colourful story of Don Quixote as its inspiration, the composer has used the distinctive Spanish rhythms and harmonies to create a memorable performance that will no doubt get the audience finishing off with a loud "Ole"!The Windmills of La Mancha is part of the Flexi-Collection World Tour Series.Look and Listen (courtesy of Ushaw's Youth Brass Concert - World Tour 2019):Our Flexi-Collection Series:Flexible scoring tailored to your needs - a perfect solution for expanding the repertoire of Junior/Youth brass bands and ensembles. The Flexi-Collection currently offers two series and these will be regularly expanded to offer groups an even wider variation of music. Based on four-part harmony, these collections provide brass groups with the advantage of complete flexibility when may not be balanced.Added Extras:Each part of The World Tour Series also includes rudimentary theory reference sheet and Learn Together Moments (warm-up passages which relate to each of the styles of pieces included in the whole series). The score also includes background/programme notes and Check It Out ideas to encourage the players to find out more about the music style and/or inspiration behind the piece.If players or instruments are missing, the show can still go on! The thoughtful scoring and arranging by Steve Robson now means that groups of all abilities have access to a truly flexible set of music for their needs.Available for Brass Band (with world parts included), pieces included in our World Tour Series offer flexibility in every sense of the word.(Available individually or as part of the completeFlexi-Collection World Tour Series Album).
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£30.00Wired - Lucy Pankhurst
A fantastically funky piece! So good it was featured on BBC television during the 2010 general election campaign coverage for the North West and at the 2014 International Women's Brass Conference.Originally written in 2009 for Jason Katsikaris and the Leyland Band, Lucy Pankhurst has created a vivacious, energetic work which is strong on percussion and style!It's fast-moving, completely engaging and makes for compulsive toe-tapping and the need to 'get into the groove'! Huge opportunities for the kit player/percussion section to show their wild side and, so as not to be outdone, plenty of other moments for improvisation-esque solos from other quarters.If you can keep up, this is a really great contribution to your concert programme.Look and Listen (performance courtesy of Oslofjord Brass from their appearance at the 2010 Grenland International Brass Festival 2010):
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
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£60.00Suite from 49th Parallel - Ralph Vaughan Williams arr. Phillip Littlemore
Vaughan Williams was in his late sixties when an opportunity to write for the cinema materialised. He was approached by his former pupil Muir Mathieson, the director of music for the Ministry of Information, to write the score for the film 49th Parallel .The plot for 49th Parallel is set in the early part of World War II, when a German U-Boat sinks allied shipping in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and then tries to evade capture by the Canadian Military by sailing up to Hudson Bay. A handful of crew disembark to look for supplies and no sooner have they reached shore when the U-Boat is spotted by the Canadian Armed Forces and sunk. Leaving the shore party stranded in Canada they have no other option but to head for the neutral United States and, as their ill-fated journey unfolds, they meet a variety of characters whom they alienate due to their reprehensible actions. They These include a pacifist in the Canadian wilds played by Leslie Howard, a Hutterite leader, and a French-Canadian fur trapper, played by Laurence Olivier. The film premiered in the UK in October 1941 and in March 1942 for the US, when it was retitled The Invaders .The brass band suite to 49th Parallel, devised by Paul Hindmarsh and arranged by Phillip Littlemore, takes the Prologue from the cinematic score as its starting point. Stretches of pastoral musical themes depict the Canadian landscape before the atmosphere is broken with a menacing rendition, albeit briefly, of the Lutheran chorale Ein Feste Burg depicting the surfacing of the German U-Boat in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This gives way to the mechanical, jaunty section Control Room Alert with its persistent drive and energy. A brief interlude of The Lake in the Mountains leads into the most recognised piece of music of from the film, the Prelude, which accompanied both the opening and closing credits, and adds a most fitting conclusion to this suite.The suite has been recorded by the Tredegar Town Band, under their musical director Ian Porthouse, on the Albion Records CD Vaughan Williams on Brass
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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Anyone Who Had A Heart - Burt Bacharach and Hal David - Len Jenkins
"Anyone Who Had A Heart" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) originally for Dionne Warwick in 1963. However, in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, the cover version by Cilla Black was, and is still, the best loved. Championed by her friends The Beatles, she began her career as a singer in 1963, and her singles "Anyone Who Had A Heart" and "You're My World" both reached number one in the UK in 1964. From the first line, the song has a certain frisson: "Anyone who ever loved, could look at me, and know that I love you." Sadly, Cilla passed away on 1 August 2015 so this is our tribute to a well-loved lady and singer. Our objective has been to interpret the style of the original performance by Cilla, and whilst the time signatures may not be familiar, experience has shown that these are easier to read and play than the alternative using triplets.
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Peterborough Mass - Jeremy Cladd - Len Jenkins
Peterborough Mass comprises 5 Movements, Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei. It was composed by Jeremy Cladd who became Head Chorister during his teenage yearsat Peterborough Cathedral. Total immersion in the music within such an inspiring building caused Jeremy to look deeper into the liturgical aspects of the Mass in order to understand the origins of the literary text being sung, so that he could paint a musical landscape based upon his interpretation of the text. From a musical perspective, Jeremy's Kyrie takes its inspiration from Philippians 2 vv1-11 (NIV) "Imitating Christ's Humility", and is structured AB where A refers to humility and submission "lord have mercy" and B relates to "united with Christ", with the latter evoking feelings of salvation and joy. In sympathy with the literary text, the Kyrie has a short introduction, and then a ternary form ABA structure where A is influenced by polyphonic choral writing and B by homophonic choral writing. This is the first of the five Movements to be arranged for Brass Band with Choir and comprises a full brass band score, parts for all instruments and a choral practice score.
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It's Alright - Mike Moran - Len Jenkins
"It's Alright", the theme song for the BBC TV series New Tricks, was written by Mike Moran, whose credits also include composing the song "Barcelona" for Freddy Mercury, the theme to the UK crime series 'Taggart' and the Lynsey de Paul entry to the Eurovision Song Contest. As a producer, he has worked on The Queen Album and Elaine Paige's Piaf. New Tricks follows New Scotland Yard's mythical Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad, which is staffed by retired police officers who have been recruited to look into unsolved crimes, including murders. Whilst this particular squad is fictitious, the concept is based firmly on fact. Although New Tricks does have serious plots, the series also contains a fair amount of humour, usually revolving around in-house banter, and the lyrics to Mike Moran's song does it justice. Dennis Waterman, who played Gerry Standing, one of the team, was the obvious choice of vocalist, although the song was never released commercially. Sadly Dennis died in May 2022.
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£131.00Magdalena Bay - Gauthier Dupertuis
While admiring many masterpieces at the Louvre Museum in Paris, Gauthier Dupertuis' attention was drawn to a less famous painting: Magdalena Bay, by French painter Francois-Auguste Biard (1799-1882).The work depicts a magnificent snowy landscape on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. However, in the foreground, the presence of the wreckage of a ship, bodies covered in snow and a visibly dying character make us understand that tragic events took place there. Thus, a strong contrast is formed between death and the sublime, between the desolation of the survivors of the shipwreck and the magnificence of the landscape. When we look in more detail at the painting, we notice that footprints have been made in the snow: so, could someone have gone to get help? This little glimmer of hope makes the picture even more touching. In this work, Gauthier Dupertuis tried to describe the different elements of the painting, using contrasting sections and dissonances (in particular, the conflict between the minor and the major) to convey the duality between death and the sublime. The work also attempts to highlight a wide palette of orchestral colors, from the most shimmering lines to the darkest low brass colours. In 2024, Magdalena Bay was awarded the first Prize as well as the band Prize at the 9th European Composition Competition for Brass Band, which was held in Palanga (LT). It was premiered on May 2, 2024 by The Cory Band, conducted by Philip Harper.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£109.99Suite Celebration - Bruce Fraser
Bruce Fraser composed this test piece for the 'Gouden Spiker Festival' 2003 (The Netherlands). Suite Celebration was inspired by events in his recent family life. The first movement celebrates the marriage of his daughter and reflects her bubbly personality and vitality. The melodies and harmonies of the whole work are based on a note row which came up during a discussion with the publisher. The second movement celebrates the birth of his grand-daughter 'Rebecca Aileen' and takes the form of a ballad featuring expressive opportunities for the soloists. The final movement is more of a look into the future and hope of success and a good life for hisfamily. Who knows what is coming?
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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