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£32.50Vienna Nights (Score Only)
The City of Vienna stands at one of the historic crossroads of the world, linking east and west and embracing artistic influences from all sides. In the 250th anniversary year of Mozart's birth, this fantasy on Mozart's celebrated Piano Sonata in A (K331), has been composed true to the form and content of the original, but also to the underlying substance of the conception.One of Mozart's distinguishing features, and one that links him to later music by Beethoven, Schubert, Mahler and Schoenberg, is the breadth of his musical vision. His music links intellectual rigour with ecstatic utterance and darker preoccupations. It is, perhaps, this shadow-laden side of his musical nature which gives his work a profundity often absent in the work of his contemporaries. Admirers of his Requiem Mass or the Statue music in Don Giovanni will recognise that it is this extra sense of reality which makes Mozart so relevant to the modern age, and where he may link hands with the other great Viennese thinkers such as Berg, Webern and Adorno.The composer follows the three movement plan of the Sonata closely. The original begins with a Theme and Variations which is freely quoted. His Minuet is mirrored in the Recitative and Notturno, where each section of the band lays down a metaphoric rose to his memory. Famously, the sonata ends in populistic style with a Turkish Rondo. Ever since the Hapsburg-Ottoman Wars, which came to an end in the seventeenth century, Viennese composers have included Turkish elements in their music, not least in the use of certain percussion instruments. Vienna Nights is thusly a homage.It celebrates the world's greatest composer, but also the city which fostered his work. Here, in your imagination, you might easily conjure up a caf table near the Opera House, where Mozart, Mahler and Sigmund Freud, observed by us all from a discreet distance, may meet as old friends.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£131.00Magdalena Bay - Gauthier Dupertuis
While admiring many masterpieces at the Louvre Museum in Paris, Gauthier Dupertuis' attention was drawn to a less famous painting: Magdalena Bay, by French painter Francois-Auguste Biard (1799-1882).The work depicts a magnificent snowy landscape on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. However, in the foreground, the presence of the wreckage of a ship, bodies covered in snow and a visibly dying character make us understand that tragic events took place there. Thus, a strong contrast is formed between death and the sublime, between the desolation of the survivors of the shipwreck and the magnificence of the landscape. When we look in more detail at the painting, we notice that footprints have been made in the snow: so, could someone have gone to get help? This little glimmer of hope makes the picture even more touching. In this work, Gauthier Dupertuis tried to describe the different elements of the painting, using contrasting sections and dissonances (in particular, the conflict between the minor and the major) to convey the duality between death and the sublime. The work also attempts to highlight a wide palette of orchestral colors, from the most shimmering lines to the darkest low brass colours. In 2024, Magdalena Bay was awarded the first Prize as well as the band Prize at the 9th European Composition Competition for Brass Band, which was held in Palanga (LT). It was premiered on May 2, 2024 by The Cory Band, conducted by Philip Harper.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£91.99Fanfares, Songs & Dances - Philip Sparke
Fanfares, Songs & Dances was commissioned by Brass Bands England, the Lithuanian Brass Band Association and the Dutch National Brass Band Championships (NBK), and first performed at the 43rd 'NBK' in October 2024. The work is played in three linked movements: FANFARES opens in robust fashion with a sequence of fanfare-like statements, initially featuring the horns, whose modal theme includes a figure that will reappear throughout the work. Euphoniums and then cornets introduce a second theme, which is followed by a third, again initiated by the horns. Baritones then change the mood with a more-lyrical theme, which builds to a climax, eventually leading back to a recall of the initial fanfare theme. This gradually dissolves to introduce the second movement. SONGS continues to relax the fanfare feel with a long introduction to the movement's main theme, first appearing on solo cornet. A change of key introduces a bridge passage which leads to a sonorous chorale, which builds to a triumphal return of the cornet theme. A peaceful coda leads to the final movement of the work. DANCES is a scherzo-like movement based around a series of rhythmic melodies in triple time, which lead to a majestic return of the 2nd movement's chorale theme under cornet figuration. The opening dance theme returns and heralds a joyous coda.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£204.00Fanfare and Chorale - Egil Hovland
This arrangement (or edition) for brass band will give the possibility for more performances of this fine work by Hovland. The composer, before his death, examined my work and made no suggestions for changes, and his approving comments were complimentary and encouraging. The work was originally written for Concert Band in 1966 as Op. 54a to St. Olaf College Band in the US. It was transcribed in 1967 for symphony orchestra as Op. 54b by the composer himself. The challenges in arranging the piece for brass band were mostly concerned with satisfactorily covering the upper register used by piccolo, flutes and clarinets, and while there are wonderful brass players around who have amazing high registers, I have aimed this edition at a level achievable by reasonably good brass band players who are willing to give time and effort into the proper preparation and delivery of the music. Having worked on this new edition with a top-class brass band, I think it sounds wonderful and interestingly different to the original. Besides the obvious differences of tone-colour and absent high notes, I have used in my scoring, the option for using a vibraphone in place of a celeste. Vaughan Williams, in his Variations for brass band writes for celeste, but because the instrument is quite rare, performances have been mostly given using a glockenspiel- but this, of course sounds two octaves higher than it was intended. I think that vibraphone and brass is an excellent combination and recommend it without hesitation in this piece. Every detail of articulation and dynamic has been considered, so in order to keep the integrity of the music, please do not change anything in the name of "interpretation". As Ravel says- "What is there to interpret?" Ray Farr
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£204.00Myte - Myth - Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen
Commissioned by Radoy Brass for their 20 years anniversary.This version was first performed by Manger Skulemusikklag in 2005.The Work is devided into Five Scenes:1. Sverdet (The Sword) 3:452. Advarsel - fra en vis mann (Warning - from a Wise Man) 2:303. Dragen (The Dragon) 3:004. Advarsel II - fra syngende fugler (Warning II - from singing birds) 1:355. Gull - forbannelsen (Gold - The Curse) 2:50Total durata 13:30This work is based on five scenes from the tale about "Sigurd Favnesbane" (Sigurd the dragonslayer). Moods and atmospheres in the piece represent my way of retelling the old myth.1. The SwordThe dwarf blacksmith Regin is hammering and sharpening the edges of the magical sword Gram. After three attempts the sword is finally sharp enough to kill a dragon. 2. Warning - from a Wise manRichard Wagners opera Sigfried is based on the same story. In the opera the hero get warned by a wise man. He tells the secret of how to survive an attack of the dragon by hiding in a hole in the pathway and then kill the dragon with the sword as thedragon passes on its way to the river to drink water.3. DragonThe Dragon (Favne) guards a fantastic treasure, but he is also the brother of the blacksmith Regin. Favne get killed and his blood flows slowly while he laments (trombone/bass trombone).4. Warning II - from singing birdsWhile frying the heart, Sigurd burns his thumb and put it into his mouth to cool it down. Then he swallow a drop of fresh magic dragon blood which transfers the ability to understand the birdlanguage. The birds sing warnings to Sigurd telling himthat Regin will betray him and later kill him. Sigurd then kills Regin instead.5. Gold - the CurseSigurd takes the gold treasure and escapes on the horseback of Grane. But his robbery of the gold lead him into trouble: The gold is banned and a curse will hit everyone whotakes it...Myth is a programmatic work where the story is quite clearly illustrated throughout the piece:In the first movement you can hear the blacksmith working with hammer on ambolt while the heat is intense from the glows. The dwarf has got his own theme i lower brass (bar 4-5). The hero Sigurd has his own identifying chord (2 bars before F). Thechord is also a symbol of the sword.In the second movement the warning from the wise man is expressed in the lyric bass line.The airblow in instruments illustrate the dragon Favne on his way out of his cave, and later the blood flows slowly. The dragon takes his last deep breath after a painful duet in trombones. The birds sing their motifs (lightly, but not cheerfulthough), until Sigurd cuts the head off Regin and it hits the ground.The last movement describes the atmosphere andstate of mind as the curse infects the obsessed thief.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£85.00Alchymist's Journal. - Kenneth Hesketh
'The Alchymist's Journal' gets its title from the book of the same name by American author Evan S. Connell. The book fictionalises a number of famous Alchemist's writings, each one developing another's thoughts thuscontinuing one idea but changing it subtly to provide a new view point or way of thinking. This process is, in fact, alchemical as one idea transmutes into another. This idea is parallel to the processes at work within thesevariants. The whole work is constructed from 6 notes (C, A, B flat, E flat, F sharp, E) and is presented in nine different sections, each individual in mood but still based upon the original pitches. This is not a thematic setofvariations, as the themes are developed one at a time from small segments of the six notes. For example, the opening theme is the complete number of pitches, the second theme uses three notes transposed then repeated at theoriginal level, and so on. Harmonically, the six notes can be divided into two triads, A minor and E flat minor - each key beginning and ending the piece respectively. Whilst this is essentially abstract music with noprogramme there is an introduction, menacing scherzo, slow reflective section followed by a recap of the scherzo and final coda. 'The Alchymist's Journal' was commissioned by the Brass Band Heritage Trust at the suggestionof Paul Hindmarsh, to whom the work is dedicated.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£99.99Sparkling Brass - Philip Sparke
Sparkling Brass was commissioned by Osaka Concert Brass, one of Japan's top brass bands, and premiered by them on 27th December 2018 during a concert which celebrated their 10th Anniversary. The work opens in lively mood with fanfare-style figures from the lower band which are answered by the cornets. This interplay intensifies until the mood calms suddenly to introduce a chorale which leads to a duet-cadenza for cornet and euphonium. The rhythmic mood of the opening soon returns and leads to the main theme of the work, a modal caccia which features various section of the band. A short bridge passage leads to a change of key and a new cantabile theme which isintroduced by euphoniums and baritone. This is taken up by the full band after another change of key and leads back to the caccia theme. A transformed version of the opening fanfare returns to close the work.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£69.99Prelude and Chorale - Stijn Roels
Prelude and Chorale is a scintillating, dynamic opening piece based on the brilliant finale from the earlier concert work Aureus. The latter work is built around a magnificent hymn--which also forms the common thread running through this overture.As the title suggests, the work begins with a modern 'prelude': a prologue to the actual hymn. The beginning of the hymn, especially, serves as the source of the thematic material. The hymn melody itself is immediately embellished by a counter-melody and supported by a rhythm section of bass and drums. This all leads to an energetic passage in which the proverbial stops are pulled out once more.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£95.00Penlee - Simon Dobson
To some, the tragic story of the Penlee lifeboat, Solomon Browne, would need no introduction, and to some the pain felt is still very much a reality. The composer, born just a few weeks before that fateful night on the19th December 1981, has created this work as a musical homage to the bravery of the souls who lost their lives and has dedicated it to their memory. Penlee was commissioned by the Cornwall Youth BrassBand using funds bequeathed by Michael Pickett. The first performance was given by the Cornish Youth Brass Band, conducted by Ian Porthouse, at St. Michael's Church, Newquay, on 30th December 2008.Penleehas been voted into the Classic FM Hall of Fame 2011 at No.106. Not only is it the first time a brass work has been featured in the Hall of Fame, but it was also thehighest new entry. The work has subsequently been recorded by the Leyland Band, conducted by Jason Katsikaris, on the CD entitled Penlee.Brass Band Grade 4: Advanced Youth and 3rd Section Duration: 13 minutes
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£104.99Purcellian Fantasia (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - De Haan, Jan
This composition is based on the march from Henry Purcell's Music for the funeral of Queen Mary II, a work written in 1694. In this fantasia, various movements flow from one to the next following the main theme; these movements not only elaborate on the theme, but also contrast with it. At times, the thematic material diverges so much, that the work acquires a character of its own; however, the composer often refers back to fragments of the theme. This work was test piece in the 4th division of the Dutch National Brass Band Championships (NBK) in 2017. Duration: 10.30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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