Results
-
£39.95The Plantagenets (Brass Band - Score only) - Gregson, Edward
A Symphonic Study for Brass BandThe Plantagenets was Gregson's first major test piece, written specially for the 1973 National Brass Band Championships.In this ambitious symphonic study he turned his attention to music which sets out to create a mood or atmosphere, in contrast to his earlier brass band works such as Essay and Partita where the underlying concerns are technical rather than expressive. However, Gregson is at pains to emphasise that The Plantagenets is not programme music. 'Symphonic' is the optimum word here. In its textural and harmonic complexity, its rhythmic and melodic variety, this was his most ambitious brass band piece so far. His language, with its roots in Hindemith and Bartok is further enriched here with the expressive language of Holst and Rachmaninov.As he says in his notes on the work: The Plantagenets attempts to portray the mood and feelings of an age - that of the House of Plantagenet which lasted from the middle of the twelfth century to the end of the fourteenth. To many it conjures up an age of chivalry and this is represented by fanfare motifs which occur throughout the work in varied form.Characteristically, the composer then goes on to describe not the atmosphere or mood he is trying to convey, but the means by which the music has been composed: the opening fanfares, based on the interval of the third, generating the musical material for the whole work; an exposition of two themes - one fanfare-like, one lyrical (on horns); a slow episode introducing a new melody on solo horn (answered by cornet and euphonium in canon); a little scherzo, fugal in character; and a recapitulation leading to a maestoso statement of the slow movement theme with a final reference to the fanfares as a triumphant conclusion.Duration: 11.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£35.00March to the Scaffold - Hector Berlioz arr. Phillip Littlemore
The March to the Scaffold is the fourth of five movements from Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. The symphony tells the story of a troubled young man and his quest to find his true love. This true love is depicted in the music by a melody known as a idee fixe (fixed idea) and appears in every movement.The fourth movement takes on a nightmarish character as having taken opium, the young man dreams that he has killed his true love and is about to be executed for his crime. The music is an unrelenting forced march to the scaffold. The idee fixe appears only once in this movement, as a sudden reminiscence just before the guillotine strikes the young man's head before the movement comes to an end with a perversely joyous conclusion.Duration: 4'30"Difficulty: 3rd Section and above
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
-
£40.00Mars, The Bringer of War - Gustav Holst arr. Phillip Littlemore
Holst first became interested in astrology around 1912/13 and so began the gestation for a series of pieces that would ultimately become the suite The Planets.The suite itself was written between 1914 and 1916 and with the exception of Mercury, which was written last, Holst wrote the music in the sequence we now know them, and thus did not present the inner planets of Mercury, Venus and Mars in their planetary order. So, in 1914, came the insistent rhythmic tread of Mars, The Bringer of War. It is widely known that the sketches were completed prior to the outbreak of the First World War, so the music is less a reaction the the declaration of war itself, but more an impending sense of inevitability of a war to unfold. Even though Holst would not have known whether war would be declared as he wrote the music, it is almost certain that the news at the time would have had some influence on the music itself. Its insistent 5/4 rhythm, coupled with the winding melody line, the juxtaposition of keys such as D flat and C major all point to a sense of foreboding.Duration: 7'20"Difficulty: 2nd Section and above
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
-
£42.95The Platinum Jubilee March (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
The Platinum Jubilee March was written to celebrate Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II's seventy-year reign as monarch of the United Kingdom. Its premiere was televised live around the world as part of the Queen's Birthday Parade which marked the start of the national Platinum Jubilee celebrations.The Queen's Birthday Parade 2022 saw the First Battalion of the Irish Guards trooping their colour. To reflect this, the march begins in a celebratory style and features a melody based around the opening motif of Let Erin Remember - the regimental slow march of the Irish Guards. In traditional style, the march develops excitement both harmonically and melodically, creating a strong sense of drive before reaching a stately trio. This section has a very regal and noble feel, lending subtle harmonic nods to two of the most quintessentially British composers, Gustav Holst, and Sir William Walton. The march culminates in a bold grandioso, featuring semi-quaver lines that are underpinned by a driving trombone countermelody. A forthright restatement of the introductory fanfare brings the march to a very definite and resolved ending.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£49.95Fire in the Blood
Fire in the Blood was commissioned by Dr Stephen Cobb for the 120th anniversary of the International Staff Band of the Salvation Army. The piece was composed for the celebration concert where the ISB were joined by several other staff bands from around the world to perform independently to a sell-out capacity crowd at Britain's most famous concert hall The Royal Albert Hall. Fire in the Blood received its world premier at the 'ISB 120' concert at the Royal Albert Hall on June 4th 2011.With this piece I wanted to acknowledge music that had an impact on me through my Salvation Army upbringing. When thinking of a title for this piece I had no hesitation than to reflect and re-word the Salvation Army's motto under their famous crest 'Blood and Fire'.When composing Fire in the Blood I wanted to use three songs of worship that have been prevalent in the Salvation Army's services over a number of years. Opening with Richard Phillips' setting of Psalm 95, 'Sing for Joy', the music is vibrant and full of energy, I wanted to capture the spirit of the well known words of Scripture. The music then moves into a more reflective section that includes Howard Davies' emotive song melody 'Lord, you know that we love you' and Laurie Klein's worship song 'I love you Lord'.A re-statement of the opening Psalm setting follows and this, in turn, leads into a dramatic and powerful finale that combines two pivotal statements drawn from the slower, reflective section: I love you lord, and I lift my voice to worship you, O my soul rejoice and Lord, you know that we love you with a final flourish from Psalm 95: Come let us sing joy to the Lord!Paul Lovatt-Cooper
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£19.95Fire in the Blood (Score Only)
Fire in the Blood was commissioned by Dr Stephen Cobb for the 120th anniversary of the International Staff Band of the Salvation Army. The piece was composed for the celebration concert where the ISB were joined by several other staff bands from around the world to perform independently to a sell-out capacity crowd at Britain's most famous concert hall The Royal Albert Hall. Fire in the Blood received its world premier at the 'ISB 120' concert at the Royal Albert Hall on June 4th 2011.With this piece I wanted to acknowledge music that had an impact on me through my Salvation Army upbringing. When thinking of a title for this piece I had no hesitation than to reflect and re-word the Salvation Army's motto under their famous crest 'Blood and Fire'.When composing Fire in the Blood I wanted to use three songs of worship that have been prevalent in the Salvation Army's services over a number of years. Opening with Richard Phillips' setting of Psalm 95, 'Sing for Joy', the music is vibrant and full of energy, I wanted to capture the spirit of the well known words of Scripture. The music then moves into a more reflective section that includes Howard Davies' emotive song melody 'Lord, you know that we love you' and Laurie Klein's worship song 'I love you Lord'.A re-statement of the opening Psalm setting follows and this, in turn, leads into a dramatic and powerful finale that combines two pivotal statements drawn from the slower, reflective section: I love you lord, and I lift my voice to worship you, O my soul rejoice and Lord, you know that we love you with a final flourish from Psalm 95: Come let us sing joy to the Lord!Paul Lovatt-Cooper
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£34.95On the Castle Green
I was contacted by conductor and friend Desmond Graham who wanted to have a traditional concert march composed to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of his band; The Third Carrickfergus Band.Immediately my mind started wandering as I thought about all the great marches that I have enjoyed playing and listening to over the years. So when I put pen to paper I had already planned out the structure of the march and which instruments to feature.The march itself is split into two halves, the first in a minor key the second in a major key. The opening section starting loudly in F minor features stereotypical passages one would come to recognise in a traditional concert march: a cornet solo, a melodic bridging section and a robust bass solo led by the basses and trombones.The second half of the march changes pace and mood as it lifts into a major key giving it a more lighter feel. We hear a second cornet solo which plays the second theme of the march. After a second bridge section the theme is played by the front row cornets to allow the soprano to play an obligato melody similar to that heard in marches like "Army of the Nile" and "Stars and Stripes Forever". It all builds to a grandioso ending where the tempo drops and the final theme is played with a quick accel to the end.As for the title? In Carrickfergus lies an old castle that faces the town which is situated on a small plot of luscious green grass - "On The Castle Green".Paul Lovatt-Cooper
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£164.99Music of the Spheres (Brass Band - Score and Parts)
Music of the Spheres was commissioned by the Yorkshire Building Society Band and first performed by them at the European Brass Band Championships in Glasgow, May 2004. The piece reflects the composers fascination with the origins of the universe and deep space in general. The title comes from a theory, formulated by Pythagoras, that the cosmos was ruled by the same laws he had discovered that govern the ratios of note frequencies of the musical scale. ('Harmonia' in Ancient Greek, which means scale or tuning rather than harmony - Greek music was monophonic). He also believed that these ratios corresponded to the distances of the six known planets from the sun and thatthe planets each produced a musical note which combined to weave a continuous heavenly melody (which, unfortunately, we humans cannot hear). In this work, these six notes form the basis of the sections Music of the Spheres and Harmonia. The pieces opens with a horn solo called t = 0, a name given by some scientists to the moment of the Big Bang when time and space were created, and this is followed by a depiction of the Big Bang itself, as the entire universe bursts out from a single point. A slower section follows called The Lonely Planet which is a meditation on the incredible and unlikely set of circumstances which led to the creation of the Earth as a planet that can support life, and the constant search for other civilisations elsewhere in the universe. Asteroids and Shooting Stars depicts both the benign and dangerous objects that are flying through space and which constantly threaten our planet, and the piece ends with The Unknown, leaving in question whether our continually expanding exploration of the universe will eventually lead to enlightenment or destruction.Duration: 18:00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£19.95Islands in the Sky (Brass Quartet)
Islands in the Sky (2012) is a three-movement work for Euphonium Quartet. Written in June 2012, the title is a metaphor of mountains, suggesting that they're so tall they're islands in the sky. The sublime Euphony Euphonium Quartet who the work was commissioned by were successful in gaining a place in the International Tuba & Euphonium Conference Ensemble Competition, held in Linz, Austria; a country particularly noted for its fair share of the Alps which proved the basis of the work.The first movement is a fierce journey on a glacier's edge - the drama of the music and constant rhythmic drive throughout suggests danger and the unknown. The second movement is calm and reflective, inspired by a beautiful Alpine Sunset, slowly going down between mountains and pine trees. Finally, the third movement takes the listener on a journey up the mountain to the peak, upon which a grandioso section is heard with the soaring melody that has been building up throughout the movement played in its entirety.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
-
£34.95
Over the Horizon (Soprano Cornet Solo)
Soprano Cornet Solo with Brass BandOver the Horizon (2017), whilst both harmonically and compositionally a simple endeavour, is a spine-tingling beautiful melody for soprano cornet. Based on the painting seen in the sleeve notes of Steve Stewart's album of the same name, the work takes its inspiration from the open expansiveness of the ocean, glistening in the moonlight as four people sit quietly - two parents, a boy, and a girl. A feeling of heartfelt longing throughout the work which is developed both melodically and texturally by soloist and accompaniment; perhaps reflecting the desire to know indeed what is over the horizon. The longing intensifies with a climatic section of grandeur - a feeling of longing which arguably isn't resolved until that all-important - and high - last note.Over The Horizon was written for and commissioned by Steve Stewart and Cory Band in Spring 2017.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
View Music