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£20.00Edward Gregson: Music of the Angels, for Symphonic Brass and Percussion
DescriptionProgramme NoteMusic of the Angels is a dramatic work of some 16 minute's duration, scored for a large symphonic brass ensemble, including seven trumpets, and percussion. The percussion section deploys 'dark' instruments such as three tam-tams, a bass drum and two sets of timpani.The title of the work is based on a quotation from the Book of Revelations:And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpetsThus, the idea behind the work is a dramatic one and the composer has emphasised this by the partial spatial arrangement of the ensemble, with six solo trumpets standing centre stage, but behind the main ensemble, and the seventh trumpet off-stage throughout.The work opens with a four-note motif, dominant throughout the work, announced initially by four off-stage horns and answered by fanfare figures on four solo trumpets. Then in turn each of the first four solo trumpets announce their own cadenzas before joining together, independently playing their own music. This reaches an intense climax before subsiding into slow music which might be described as a Kyrie eleison - a lament for humanity - a cantilena for flugel horn and euphonium, accompanied by trombones. The drama soon returns with the entry of trumpets 5 and 6, playing music that is fast, more urgent and foreboding, and describing in musical terms the horsemen of the Apocalypse.At the climax of this section trumpet 7 enters dramatically, representing the words of the seventh angel ... and time shall be no more. The opening four-note motif is here transformed into a cadenza of epic proportions, to the partial accompaniment of three tam-tams (representing the Holy Trinity). The ensuing scherzo, scored for the ensemble, is fast and furious, but despite the somewhat desolate mood of this music (briefly interrupted by the re-appearance of trumpet 7), it slowly moves towards a more optimistic conclusion, transforming the 'lament for humanity' music into an affirmative and triumphant climax.This work has been commercially recorded on a critically acclaimed CD from London Brass on the Chandos label, available HERE.For more information on Edward Gregson's music please visit the composer's website: www.edwardgregson.com
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£45.00isti mirant stella
Descriptionisti mirant stellais based on an extract from the text of the Bayeux Tapestry, which was commissioned by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, to commemorate the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century. This text relates to the appearance of Halley's Comet in the spring of 1066. King Edward the Confessor died without an heir early on 5 January 1066 and despite his apparent promise of the throne to William, Duke of Normandy, the Anglo-Saxon Witenagemot appointed Harold Godwinson of Wessex as his successor. Just after Harold's hastily arranged coronation the comet appeared, reaching its perihelion on 20 March 1066. In the Middle Ages comets were regarded as evil omens; the tapestry depicts men gazing at the "star" in wonder and Harold himself apparently lost in nightmarish visions of invasion, with ghostly ships in the margins of the tapestry.The music attempts to reflect the mood of this brief but crucial period of English history - the unsettled matter of the royal succession linked in the superstitious medieval imagination to the haunting, spectral apparition of the comet. Medieval composition techniques are employed in places, including the use of a 'tenor', hocketing and a brief isoryhthmic motet. The music attempts to avoid tonal centres and particularly any form of diatonic 'resolution', instead exploring the issue of unresolved dissonance as a musical device in its own right.Performance Notes:All cornets, flugel and solo horn will require bottles filled with water to varying levels to 'tune' them to the correct pitch for the closing section of the piece. Pitches for the bottles are notated in the same transposition as the player's main instrument, so for example a notated D in the bottle part for flugel would sound as a C.All cornets except soprano require harmon mutes; where these are marked 'TR' these should have the tube removed. 'TI' denotes the tube should be left all the way in. Soprano and solo cornet III require metal straight mutes; flugel, all tenor horns, 2nd baritone and both euphoniums require fibre straight mutes. Soprano, all solo cornets and all trombones require cup mutes.The percussion section will require vibraphone (with a suitable bow, preferably a 'cello bow), glockenspiel, tubular bells (low and high E only), concert bass drum, tam-tam and snare drum - the bass drum and tam-tam will require brushes in addition to the normal beaters. In addition 1st horn and 1st baritone are required to play triangles, which should ideally be different pitches if possible.Approximate duration 7'48"NOTE: This set comes with a B4 score. To view a PDF preview click here.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£45.00f/m
Descriptionf/m was inspired by the internet cartoon 'frequency' by the artist Randall Munroe, which can be seen atxkcd.'Frequency' displays a grid of randomly chosen statistical events which flash at the frequency of their real-time occurrence; an outwardly banal idea with surprisingly profound results. f/m (which - predictably - is short for frequency/modulation) takes a similarly random set of time/duration statistics and uses them to generate the note lengths for each instrument. The first four statistics (and the first brass instrument entries) are derived from physical science. The next eight are all related to the natural world. The final ten, for which the cornets are used, represent contemporary human activity. The percussion instruments maintain a "tick and chime" throughout the work. To view a PDF preview of the score click here.The statistics used are as follows, indicated by numbers in brackets in the score at the first iteration of each one:Lightning strikes the earth 100 times per secondThe first pulsar ever discovered, PSR1919+21, pulses once every 1.337 secondsThere are approximately 10 supernovae every 0.95 secondsEvery 0.6 seconds the entire solar system moves 100 miles around the galactic centreEvery 4.1 seconds a 70 kg human emits 1000 gamma rays due to naturally occurring potassiumA blue whale's heart beats once every 6.67 secondsA hedgehog's heart beats 300/min or 5 times a secondEvery 2 seconds the net population of the world increases by 5There is one birth every 0.24 secondsThere is one death 0.56 seconds5.14 people die of malaria every minute ( one every 11.67 seconds)10 kilotonnes of polar ice are lost on average every 1.4 seconds.Walmart's takes in sales revenue of $10,000 every 1.4 secondsEvery 3 seconds there are 60,000 plastic bags used in US supermarketsEvery 0.72 seconds the world uses 500 tonnes of paperEvery 7.65 seconds, South Korea builds a carEvery 1.75 seconds, China builds a carEvery 5.8 seconds, Germany builds a carEvery 4.7 seconds, the USA builds a truckTwo commercial airline flights take off every 1.86 secondsMacdonalds serves 300 burgers every 4 seconds and feeds 787 people per secondStarbucks uses 3 gallons of milk every secondPerformance Notes:All entries are cued by the conductor at his/her discretion. There is no specified minimum or maximum time between entries and no specified overall duration; the times between each new entry do not have to be consistent unless the conductor wishes them to be so. However each player should be allowed time to complete at least one iteration of their note, and preferably to become comfortable with their place in the overall texture - one of the aims of the work is try present dissonant sounds through the medium of the brass band outside the normal performance context, allowing players to find their place in a non-diatonic harmonic matrix without regard for linear motion or developmental activity. Entries should not coincide unless they align vertically on the score. While it is accepted that absolute accuracy is not possible, players should attempt to get as close as they can the the printed duration of their note, and do their best to keep that duration consistent during repetitions. Rests are indicated by empty staves. A continuous line indicates a repetition in progress.Soprano cornet will require a harmon mute. Cornet 1 and Trombone 2 require metal straight mutes. Cornets 5,7,8 and 9 require cup mutes. The work requires three percussionists, playing tubular bells, vibraphone and and egg shaker.Approximate duration 6'00" - 9'00"
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£15.00Harrison's Dream (Brass Band - Study Score)
At 8.00pm on the 22nd of October 1707, the Association, flagship of the Royal Navy, struck rocks off the Scilly Isles with the loss of the entire crew. Throughout the rest of the evening the remaining three ships in the fleet suffered the same fate. Only 26 of the original 1,647 crew members survived. This disaster was a direct result of an inability to calculate longitude, the most pressing scientific problem of the time. It pushed the longitude question to the forefront of the national consciousness and precipitated the Longitude Act. Parliament funded a prize of �20,000 to anyone whose method or device would solve the dilemma. For carpenter and self-taught clockmaker John Harrison, this was the beginning of a 40 year obsession. To calculate longitude it is necessary to know the time aboard ship and at the home port or place of known longitude, at precisely the same moment. Harrison's dream was to build a clock so accurate that this calculation could be made, an audacious feat of engineering. This work reflects on aspects of this epic tale, brilliantly brought to life in Dava Sobel's book Longitude. Much of the music is mechanistic in tone and is constructed along precise mathematical and metrical lines. The heart of the work however is human - the attraction of the �20,000 prize is often cited as Harrison's motivation. However, the realisation that countless lives depended on a solution was one which haunted Harrison. The emotional core of the music reflects on this, and in particular the evening of 22ndOctober 1707. Peter GrahamCheshireJuly 2000
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£38.95Unity Series Band Journal - Numbers 530 - 533, June 2024
530: Carol Arrangement - God rest you merry, gentlemen (Noel Jones)This swing arrangement of the traditional English carol also features references to O come, all ye faithful (C.C. 61) and Jingle Bells (C.C. 121). Play with imagination and a sense of style!531: Go, tell it on the mountain! (Nathanael Watchorn)Historically, the passion of enslaved people in America for singing about the Gospel of Jesus is well documented, but it was men of three generations, each named John Wesley Work, who enabled spirituals to become more widely known. John Wesley Work Sr, a church choir director in Nashville, Tennessee, wrote and arranged music for the pioneering Fisk Jubilee Singers whose early repertoire consisted largely of spirituals. This passion and knowledge of spirituals was passed down through the generations. John Work III travelled hundreds of miles to collect songs by attending church services in remote areas. In 1940, he published a collection of 230 songs which included a setting of Go, tell it on the mountain! that is still performed today.Nathanael Watchorn, a Bandsman at Regent Hall Corps in London, is a new contributor to the journals. He originally wrote this as a vocal arrangement for the group FourHymn, subsequently transcribing it for the corps' Young People's Band, while he was Band Leader.532: Carol Arrangement - They all were looking for a king (Stephen Hull)At the North American Composers Forum, Major Len Ballantine challenged participants to find an unfamiliar song in the Salvation Army Song Book and try to write an arrangement of the listed tune. Stephen Hull happened across They all were looking for a king (S.A.S.B. 128) and the tune Childhood (T.B. 421) which lead to this arrangement.533: March - Washed and healed (Eiliv Herikstad)The Christian experience of many people will have been positively impacted by the life of the late Bandmaster Eiliv Herikstad, either personally or through his musical leadership and compositions. This march is the second publication from this well-known Salvation Army composer since his Promotion to Glory last year. This march is more traditional in style that many of his compositions but contains a strong Christian message and demonstrates his compositional expertise.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95Boundless Spirit (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
This medley contains highlights from music the composer wrote for the opening event of Boundless, The Salvation Army's International Congress held at London's O2 Arena in 2015. The work features original melodies but also recognisable tunes with a global flavour; Moscow (T.B. 198), Europe (T.B. 367), Calabar (T.B. 362), They shall come from the east (T.B. 887), The world for God (T.B. 876) and Happy Song (T.B. 644) which calls to mind the words 'There's salvation for the world'. The objective of the piece is to celebrate the diversity of The Salvation Army around the world through a variety of music styles.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.95Keep in step! (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
The Salvation Army song Keep in step (S.A.S.B. 986) is given a tongue-in-cheek treatment, with the irony of a song that speaks of keeping in step at all times being used in a time signature that would be impossible to march to! This does make the music technically challenging and therefore careful preparation is needed to ensure everything remains within the correct bear, and that the rhythms sound convincing to the listener. There is also a touch of Broadway thrown in, with a recurring motif reminiscent of Gershwin's appropriately named Fascinating Rhythm.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95La fe es la Victoria (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
La fe es la victoria was written for the USA Southern Staff Band and premiered on its tour of the UK in 2018. It is based on the well-known gospel song Faith is the victory (S.A.S.B. 919) and this salsa-style arrangement is meant to express the believer's joy in knowing that faith in Jesus is the 'glorious victory that overcomes the world'.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£38.95Unity Series Band Journal - Numbers 506 - 509, June 2022
506: Lord of all hopefulness (Gary Rose)The hymn Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all Joy (S.A.S.B. 772) and its associate tune, Slane, creates a reflective work beautifully penned by Gary Rose507: Carol Arrangement - Glory in the highest (Sam Creamer)This Christmas favourite is given the classic Count Basie big band swing style - a perfect addition to your December concerts.508: Meditation - In Holiness (Dean Jones)Written for Merthyr Tydfil Corps band, this expressive work pieces together the tunes Hereford (T.B. 16) and Beethoven (T.B. 5).509: March - Ellan Vannie (Paul Sharman)The opening statement of this march reference the tune Ellan Vannin (T.B. 366) which gives rise to the title. 'Ellan Vannin' is Manx Gaelic for 'Isle of Man' and this music was written for a musician's weekend at Douglas Corps
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£34.95Judd: Stand Strong
This march was written for the North York Temple Band, Toronto, for their tour of the UK in 2012. Inspired by St Paul's words to the Ephesians to 'put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground' (Ephesians 6:13 NIV), the music features three songs of warfare. The first song (S.A.S.B. 989) forms the introduction to the piece and is presented by Percussion and two muted Cornets. The image here is of a distant army approaching with banners aloft. The volume of the music increases as the army approaches:We'll shout aloud throughout the landThe praises of our God,We'll fight beneath our flag unfurled,Kept by his precious blood.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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