Results
-
£35.00A Manchester Tale - Andrew Duncan
This stunning piece depicts life in the City of Manchester in the years surrounding the Second World War and the effect these years had on the citizens of Manchester. It's a striking work, with creativity and colour, overflowing with emotion and atmosphere. For maximum effect, it even includes an optional part for a wartime siren which announces the start of an air raid attack.Winner of 'Best New Work' at Spennymore Brass Band Contest in 2000 (played by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band conducted by Garry Cutt), and featured on the Sellers Band CD, Celtic Connections.Look and Listen (performance courtesy of RNCM Brass Band at Unibrass 2018):
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
-
£40.00Alchemists' Fire - Lucy Pankhurst
An original composition from Lucy Pankhurst and Winner of the 2011 John Golland Award, receiving its premiere at the RNCM Festival of Brass that same year.It is a complex, energetic and invigorating major work for brass band, and one which rightly demands attention through its intricate scoring, impact-making effects and bubbling brilliance!Comments from the composer on the work's title and its multi-purpose influence and inspiration upon her composition:"The phrase "Alchemists' Fire" has several possible connotations:Firstly, Alchemists' Fire is a magical weapon featured in the Dungeons & Dragon role playing game. It is a potion, so can be used to splash, throw or pour onto a target, dealing fire damage if it hits successfully.The second possible meaning comes from an historical source, where it was also known as Greek Fire, from which the D&D element takes its influence. This was an incendiary weapon used by the Byzantine Empire, typically used in naval battles to great effect, as it could continue to burn on water. It provided a technological advantage and was responsible for many key Byzantine victories. The manufacture of this 'fire' was kept a deadly secret; so much so that the formula was eventually lost and contemporary scientists and historians can only speculate at what the chemical make-up might have been.The final implication is a much more visual and sensory concept; that of the fire actually used by the Alchemist in his work - raging, dangerous and white-hot. Some sections of the work reflect the idea of 'magic' and ongoing experiments, some successful, some failing dangerously, in a cacophony of pops, fizzes and explosions amidst furious heat and brief moments of calm as the fire slowly cools, sizzling with residual components and elemental energy."
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
-
£45.00Bathgate Hills Trilogy - Andrew Duncan
Composed by Andrew Duncan and written for the West Lothian Schools Band, A Bathgate Hills Trilogy is in three movements, each one dedicated to and representing a different hill.Comments from the composer:Movement 1 - Dechmont LawThe first movement describes the peculiar events which took place in November 1979 when a forestry worker, Bob Taylor, had a close encounter with an alien spacecraft in Dechmont Woods at the bottom of Dechmont Hill. Bob Taylor's account from the time describes a large sphere like object about twenty feet across which pulled him by the legs towards it, caustic smoke then caused him to pass out. He awoke a short time later in the same spot but the spaceship had gone leaving behind marks in the soil. His story caused a great deal of media interest and a great deal of excitement in the local community.Movement 2 - The Knock HillThe Term 'Knock' is Scottish Gaelic for 'hill' and the Knock Hill is the highest peak in the Bathgate Hills being 305 metres above Sea Level. On a clear day the Knock hill has excellent views of the Bass Rock to the East and the distant hills of Arran to the West as well as of the whole of West Lothian and across the Firth of Forth to Fife and beyond to the North.The second movement is a description of a leisurely walk to the summit of this hill and the enjoyment of a pleasant summer's day spent walking and taking in the beautiful panoramic views. However, as is the case with the Scottish Summer, a change in the weather finds a clear blue sky being replaced with dark rain clouds. The changed weather brings a sudden brief but unwelcome cold downpour of rain, drenching anyone out walking! Finally, the clouds pass and the more pleasant summer weather returns.Movement 3 - Cairnpapple HillCairnpapple Hill is a near neighbour of the Knock Hill. It is almost as high but interest in Cairnpapple Hill lies in the outstanding archaeological monument near the summit, an Iron Age burial chamber. The chamber dates back to 25 years BC and was built by a mysterious people known as the Beaker People (so called because they left behind a number of large earthenware beakers). The mysteries of Cairnpapple Hill have always been a source of fascination for me ever since first visiting the hill as a school child.The third movement describes the lives of the Beaker People. The landscape they would have looked out on would have been mostly dense forest which would have contained many perils including dangerous wolves and bears. Life was harsh and short for the Beaker People and they would always have been close to danger and to death. The average life expectancy for the Beaker People was only 31 years of age. The summit of the hill would have been clear of forest and would have afforded the Beaker People some protection as they could see all around the near countryside enabling them to keep a watchful lookout for their enemies - both animal and human!
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
-
£25.95Dignity - Alan Fernie
Alan Fernie created this beautiful work in support of a charitable project, known in 2005 as Brass Band Aid. The organisation called for original compositions to be included in a follow-up CD release - Into Africa to help raise funds for projects in Adet, Ethiopia, Africa, and to build awareness of the Make Poverty Historycampaign.This work offers a quiet, peaceful interlude. No technical fireworks, just a simplicity which reflects the dignity of the people in Ethiopia, despite the hardships they endured.'Dignity' was in fact the second donation of music made by Alan Fernie in support of the project (his first being African Funk which has featured in many a band's programme). It was recorded by the Scottish Co-Op Band and featured on the Brass Band Aid CD - Into Africa.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
-
£30.00Presley In Mind 2
"Love me Tender""Wooden Heart""Suspicious Minds"Owing to the resounding success with both bands and audiences, and following several requests, I have produced this second medley. After the introduction, Love me Tender begins as a Flugel solo. When we go into Wooden Heart, it is the turn of the Horn to play it as a solo first time through. Suspicious Minds starts as a solo for Euphonium. The slow section is a Trombone solo, before it speeds up again for a Las Vegas style ending. "All these pieces are attractive and fun and would fit into an entertainment programme". Rodney Newton
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
-
£30.00
Three Pieces from Czechoslovakia - Leos Janacek
This is the music of Leos Janacek (1854-1928) - exciting, powerful, emotive, impassioned, unpredictable, and many other definitions all rolled into one! Janacek was little known in Britain until the 1960's, when the conductor Charles Macherras introduced his unique music and opera to the western audience. His orchestral Sinfonietta was an instant hit. Janacek has since been one of the featured composers in the 'Proms'.The three pieces which I have arranged for brass band are INTRODUCTION, ORGAN SOLO and INTRADA from Janacek's Glagolitic Mass. They work equally well together or on their own, as they each have their own identity. They can be purchased together or separately.1. INTRODUCTIONA great 'starter' for the first or second half of a concert. 2. ORGAN SOLOThis is a 'must' if you want to impress your audience - every section of the band is incredibly busy, (although they can be assured that they do have time to breath)! 3. INTRADAThis piece, (and no.1 "Introduction"), both contain that 'fanfare' like quality which Janacek is famous for in his Sinfonietta.
In Stock: Estimated dispatch 3-5 working days
-
£40.00FAtes - Claude Debussy arr. Phillip Littlemore
Debussy's Nocturnes are a set of three orchestral pieces inspired by three paintings by the American James McNeill Whistler from the 1870s. These three paintings, also entitled Nocturnes, were studies in light and shade offering an impression of landscapes and objects. The second movement, Fetes (Festivals) offers a dancing, vibrating rhythm with sudden flashes of ight. There is also a procession, described by Debussy as a dazzling fantastic vision, which passes through the festive scene and becomes merged in it (letter J in the score). However the background remains the same driving dance-like work.Debussy wrote the Nocturnes between 1897 and 1899 and the first two movements, the first being Clouds, received their premiere in Paris in 1900. The first performance met with a cool critical reception and Debussy made many revisions thereafter to all three movements.Duration: 6'00"Difficulty: 2nd section and above
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
-
£30.00Humming Chorus - Giacomo Puccini arr. Phillip Littlemore
In Puccini's opera, Madam Butterfly, the Coro a bocca chiusa (Humming Chorus) is performed by an off-stage chorus which hums a wordless, melancholy tune, whilst Butterfly, her maid Suzuki, and her child begin the long wait for husband Pinkerton to return after many years away. As night falls, Suzuki and the child are soon asleep, but Butterfly keeps her vigil. This arrangement features four flugel horns, each of which plays into the bell of a bass whilst the bass player moves the valves - creating a unique humming sound.Puccini actually wrote five versions of the opera, Madam Butterfly. After a disastrous premiere in early 1904, Puccini withdrew the opera and substantially rewrote it creating a very successful second version. However, he continued to tinker with the orchestration, not being satisfied until the fifth, and now standard, version dating from 1907.Duration: c.2'40"Difficulty: suitable for all grades
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
-
£30.00I Vow To The, My Country - Gustav Holst/Geoff Knorr arr. Phillip Littlemore
Gustav Holst wrote his suite The Planets during the early years of the first world war. The expansive movement, Jupiter, contained a tune that Holst later used to set the poem by Cecil Spring-Rice, I Vow To Thee, My Country. Originally set for unison voices with orchestra, Holst adapted it as a hymn tune and called it Thaxted, named after the village where he lived for many years.The American composer, Geoff Knorr, incorporated Holst's music into his score for the strategy-based video game Civilisation V, where it is used to depict the England of Elizabeth I. It is from this music that this transcription is made.Although originally written in 1908 and entitled Urbs Dei, Spring-Rice revisited the text of his poem in January 1918 and significantly altered both the first and second verses to reflect his feelings about the war, and those that gave the ultimate sacrifice. He also renamed the poem with the title we know today. Because of its sentiment, it has now become a staple of Remembrance services.A video of this arrangement can be found here: I Vow To Thee, My CountryDuration: 5'40"Difficulty: Suitable for all
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
-
£35.00Pomp & Circumstance March No.2 - Edward Elgar arr. Phillip Littlemore
Following the spectacular success of his Pomp & Circumstance March No. 1, which received over 100 performances in its first year, it was almost inevitable that Elgar would write a second. However, what is not commonly known is that the initial sketches for what was to become the Pomp & Circumstance March No. 2 were written first!Due to the successes of the first march, not least because it now features at every Prom concert, it is forgotten that not only did Elgar submit the manuscript for both marches to his publisher at the same time, but both marches were premiered at the same concert and both performed a few days later at the same Promenade Concert.Duration: 5'00"Difficulty: Suitable for all grades
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days