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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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£55.00Triumph Series Brass Band Journal, Numbers 1351 - 1354, July 2023
1351: The anointed King (Marcus Venables)This piece was originally written as a massed band item for the Ontario Central-East Divisional Music Day in 2019. The updated version includes two songs, King of kings, majesty (S.A.S.B. 376) and O worship the King (S.A.S.B. 52) to a rhythmic setting of the tune Laudate Dominum (T.B. 481). Both songs present the contrasting characteristics of God; the powerful King and gentle, loving Saviour.1352: A suite of English Christmas carols (Kenneth Downie)This suite is the result of a request for a piece of music featuring exclusively English Christmas carols.The first movement features The holly and the ivy (C.C. 87). In sharp contrast, the second movement calls for a broad, sensitive, song-like approach. Using The cherry tree carol (C.C. 85), a much slower tempo than is normally applied to encourage the listener to see this beautiful tune in a new light. The rumbustious arrival of the finale is based on I saw three ships come sailing in (C.C. 44) with the festive mood prevailing until the end.1353: Nothing but thy blood (Norman Bearcroft)This two-verse setting of Richard Slater's much-loved hymn Nothing but thy blood (S.A.S.B. 769) appears straight-forward in nature, but requires a careful sense of the musical line across all parts.1354: Meditation - Reflections on Advent (Andrew Blyth)Two well-known carols, Away in a manger (C.C. 12) and Silent Night! (C.C. 77) are featured alongside original material. The piece attempts to convey a sense of reflection and meditation on the wonderful and awe-inspiring Advent story.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£54.20Candlelight Carol (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Candlelight Carol is a Christmas carol with music and lyrics by the English choral composer and conductor John Rutter. The carol was written in 1984, and was first recorded by Rutter's own group, the Cambridge Singers, on their 1987 album Christmas Night. It is now available for your brass band.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days