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REGIONALS 2024

  • £13.95

    Regionals 2023 CD

    This CD features recordings of all 5 test pieces for the 2023 Regional Championships competitions.

Championship Section

  • £72.95

    Red Priest ((Philip Wilby)

    During his lifetime, Antonio Vivaldi was known as 'il Prete Rosso', the Red Priest, thanks to his youthful ordination and his flaming red hair. The son of a violinist at San Marco in Venice, Vivaldi's musical pedigree was impeccable and an excellent start to his career was coupled with astounding energy and productivity. His vast output of concerti grossi, using soloists in groups, inspired this composition and performers may choose appropriate stage positions for the various groupings of cornets and trombones, spaced around the performance area. The score quotes freely from some of Vivaldi's most popular compositions, including 'Winter' from The Four Seasons, the motet Nisi Dominus, the famous Gloria and the fugue from the Concerto grosso in D minor found in L'Estro Armonico.However, it is the musical spirit of Vivaldi, a close contemporary of both Handel and Casanova, that inspired this music, which should be played with a mixture of accuracy and abandoned virtuosity. The musical images in this piece have clear associations in the composer's mind with individual Venetian locations, ranging from bustling street scenes to vaulted interiors, and describing the famous journey down the Grand Canal, past the Doge's Palace, to the Ospedale della Piet? where Vivaldi worked for so many years.Philip Wilby is regarded as one of the finest composers to write for brass band and Prima Vista Musikk is delighted to be the publisher of Red Priest.

First Section

  • £62.95

    A Day In The Life of a Knight (Phil Lawrence)

    Here we have a most descriptive piece of writing - a story through music, by one of the brass band movement's exciting new voices. A fantastic 1st section testpiece and championship concert work:The opening scene would depict standing on the battlements of a castle hearing the thundering hoofs of our brave Knight's horse miles in the distance. His arrival is expected, and his reputation is known across many lands. Today, he is to joust amongst mere mortal knights and compete for the hand of the fair (and local) Princess.He vanquishes all competitors and wins the day. The scene moves to evening & court where reception and dance is to be held for our winning knight. Both Knight & Princess become centre of attention during the dance. Their eyes only for each other.At last, the Knight has a chance to be a lone with his Princess as they steal away from the celebrations to a star lit rampart above the castle gardens, where the Knight declares his ever-lasting love and pledges his life and of honour to her. He asks her hand, meanwhile monks pray in the below chapel hoping for union. She say's yes. It is announced in court, then blown from the battlements.Day breaks; he is brought word of evil doings back in his own land. He leaves word to the Princess that he will be back soon to take her hand. The trouble back home was a rouse to get him away from the Princes so one of the vanquished, a dark knight in yesterdays joust, has summoned a dragon to kidnap the princess for his own.As the truth of the deception reaches our Knight he quickly returns to face the varlet that has taken his Lady. This time tis no joust, but a fight to the death with the dark knight & dragon. Our champion proves his best once again and wins the day and the hand of his Princess forever

Second Section

  • £62.95

    A Pilgrims Progress

    Drawing inspiration from John Bunyan's Christian allegory, 'The Pilgrim's Progress' and Eric Ball's setting of Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Hymn', Rodney Newton has expertly crafted a set of variations, each outlining a chapter in the Pilgrim's journey to the Celestial City.The work was written in 2003 (Eric Ball's centenary year) for Bandmaster Stephen Cobb and The International Staff Band of The Salvation Army to whom it is dedicated.Suitable for 2nd Section Bands and above.

Third Section

  • £80.00

    Chorale & Toccata (Stephen Bulla)

    This original composition follow the classical form of a slow introductory chorale movement and a technically challenging toccata. The programmatic ideas in the music are based on a Palestrina chorale known as Victory.Suitable for 3rd Section Bands and above.

Fourth Section

  • £60.00

    Hungerford Town (Darrol Barry)

    2011 Butlins 3rd SectionHungerford Town was commissioned by Tim Crouter and the Hungerford Town Band.The piece is in four movements played through without a break:The Black Prince: Opens with a short motif on which most of the following music is based. The music settles down into a mysterious mood that builds to the first transformation of the opening theme. The music is solid and rugged.The Coach Road: Hungerford was always a popular resting place for the horse drawn coaches on the way to London. The music is light and cheerful and features the soprano cornet and solo horn as postilions.St. Lawrence's Church: The previous motif from the first baritone becomes the main theme for this section that gives plenty of scope for warm and expressive playing. Music from the start of the suite is heard before it moves into a celebratory march.The Bear: The Bear Is a local inn frequented by travellers. The opening theme is heard again and brings the work to a triumphant close.