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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£4.99First Things First - Let's Progress (Grade 1 Course) Bb/Eb Edition
Let's Progress (Grade 1 Course) extends the range to middle C and sets out to provide beginners with the basic essentials, preparing them to tackle some of the challenges they will meet in their first experience of playing in a band.Includes link to downloadable resources including backing and demonstration tracks, online course assessment sheets and personalised course certificates.In this book you will meet:new notes, extending you rage both higher and lowernew rhythms, 3/4 timesharps, flats and key signaturesslurringquavers
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£45.00
First Things First - Let's Progress (Grade 1 Course) Bb/Eb Edition (Pack of 10)
Let's Progress (Grade 1 Course) extends the range to middle C and sets out to provide beginners with the basic essentials, preparing them to tackle some of the challenges they will meet in their first experience of playing in a band.Includes link to downloadable resources including backing and demonstration tracks, online course assessment sheets and personalised course certificates.In this book you will meet:new notes, extending you rage both higher and lowernew rhythms, 3/4 timesharps, flats and key signaturesslurringquavers
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£79.95Corineus (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Premiered by Cory Band at the 2018 Festival of Brass, Manchester. Selected as the set-work for the Championship Section at the 2019 National Youth Championships of Great Britain.Corineus, in medieval British legend, was a prodigious warrior, a fighter of giants, and the eponymous founder of Cornwall. The first of the legendary rulers of Cornwall, he is described as a character of strength and power. It is on the medieval ruler that this new work, Corineus, is based, presented in three contrasting sections. The work opens with heraldic fanfares and a sense of jubilance before presenting musical material which changes and develops organically, portraying the journey taken by Corineus, Brutus, and the Trojans from modern-day mainland Europe to Britain. The central section of the work is slower, creating a feeling of longing. Brutus' son, Locrinus, had agreed to marry Corineus' daughter, Gwendolen, but instead fell in love with a German princess. In writing this part of the work, the composer portrays the longing of Gwendolen for her husband, knowing he is in love with somebody else. After Corineus died, Locrinus divorced Gwendolen, who responded by raising an army in Cornwall and making war against her ex-husband. Locrinus was killed in battle, and legend suggests that Gwendolen threw Locrinus' lover into the River Severn. This dramatic battle provides the inspiration for the final part of the work. In writing this work, the composer hopes to flare the imagination of young brass players around the country, in an engaging new take on a firm fixture in British folklore.Duration: 11.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£25.50The Spirit of Brass - Youth Band Version
Commissioned for BrassFestUK 2017 & recorded by the Cory Band, the Spirit of Brass is an exciting, new energetic work that will fit perfectly into any concert, particularly as an opening item. With memorable themes, the composition takes its roots from that of John Williams' various Olympic themes that he has composed over the years. As well as this training band version, there is also a full band version of the work available for mainstream bands. The two versions work as standalone items, or can be performed side-by-side. A great new original piece for Brass Band.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£64.95Platform to the Heavens
The piece takes its inspiration from the mountain ranges from one of my favourite countries, Switzerland.I have visited the Swiss Alps on many occasions and I am still taken back by its sheer awesome beauty with every visit. This commission gave me the opportunity to pay homage to this wonderful landscape and paint my own musical picture of it.The piece opens with what I imagine daybreak would be like at one of its many peaks. With the sun growing behind the mountain range, the piece builds from a single note to a huge climatic chord revealing Mother Nature's creation.Then at rehearsal figure 'C' the tempo changes dramatically as we fly through the many slopes of the mountains as if on a manic skiing expedition, revealing the many dangers within the Swiss Alps.The twists, turns and climaxes begin to die away as we enter rehearsal figure 'M' - nightfall over the mountains. As the sun disappears, the sky darkens to reveal the beautiful starlit sky above the mountain range. This middle section starts with the various cadenzas that serve as echoes around the Alps. It then leads to a lyrical solo at rehearsal figure 'O' as the moonlight illuminates the icy mountain peaks. A final cadenza to conclude this section highlights the end of nightfall as the sun starts to rise again.This recapitulation from the opening, signals a new dawn as the sun rises above the snowy peaks once again. The music at this point in its slightly altered state highlights the dawn of a new day in the Alps. The fast manic ski ride follows which takes the piece to its grand finale conclusion.The idea behind the title of this piece is that the Swiss Alps are so beautiful and vast; I can only imagine that they could be a platform connecting the earth to the heavens above.Paul Lovatt-Cooper
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.95Excelsior - Fanfare and Theme
The New Mills Old Prize Band is the inheritor of a proud tradition going back 200 years. Its origin lies in a brass and reed band formed in 1812 by Timothy Beard and it is one of the oldest brass bands in continuous existence in the UK.The New Mills Old Prize Band is inextricably linked to the Beard family. Timothy Beard the founder of the band, was one of five children and two of his brothers, John and Stephen, were to join him in the band.Excelsior is based on the hymn tune 'Ransom' believed to have been composed in 1838 by Timothy's brother Stephen Beard. I have taken this hymn tune and composed a concert fanfare utilising the main melodic material from the original hymn tune.The title of the piece comes from the bands original motto "Excelsior!"Paul Lovatt-Cooper
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£59.95Judd: Celestial Prospect
Selected as 2nd Section test piece for 2003 'Regionals'Wilfred Heaton originally composed Celestial Prospect in the 1940's but, so the story goes, it was rejected by the SA Editorial 'chiefs' as being too modern. The original manuscript was lost for many years, turning up in the 1980's in New York. Heaton re-worked it for the New York Staff Band, and it is now accepted as a classic of the SA 'Festival' genre. Degree of difficulty - 8
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£44.95Judd: Music For A Joyful Occasion
This music was originally written to mark the 24th anniversary of The Salvation Army's Canadian Staff Band and was performed by the band, under the direction of the composer, in January 1993. The inspiration was the theme chorus of the International Corps Cadet rally held in London in 1956; 'Jesus, I love you, I love you with tender care'. The mood of the music is often high-spirited and humorous and frequently calls for a sense of bravura although there are some tender moments too. This new edition was produced for The International Staff Band, omitting the singing and trombone quartet but containing new material in the same high-spirited style of the original.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£24.95Judd: The Invincible Army
When the New York Staff Band toured England in 1960 they featured much new music written for them by Erik Leidzen, including this march. The trio section is in the unusual key (brass band pitch) of Db major, a major third away from the opening key of F major, rather than the more predictable subdominant of Bb major. This presents a technical and mental challenge to the players but provides a particularly brilliant sonority when played in tune!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days