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£15.00LeFay's Mirage
DescriptionThe "mirage" of the title refers to an optical effect called a fata morgana, often seen in a narrow band right above the horizon. It is an Italian term named after the Arthurian sorceress Morgan le Fay, from a belief that these mirages were fairy castles in the air or false land created by her witchcraft to lure sailors to their deaths.Fata Morgana mirages significantly distort the object or objects on which they are based, often such that the object is completely unrecognizable. A Fata Morgana may be seen on land or at sea, in polar regions, or in deserts. It may involve almost any kind of distant object, including boats, islands, and the coastline.Music often performs the same tricks - the original material is inverted, reflected and changed until it becomes something almost entirely new. This work is in two main sections, slow and fast, separated by a virtuoso cadenza with the material in the second part being a distorted reflection of that in the first. As befits a work commissioned to show off a soloist's range and ability, the work is highly challenging technically and covers the full range of the tenor horn.Where the sustain pedal is required by the music, this is indicated in the piano part; pedalling elsewhere is at the player's discretion.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£68.99Sarabande and Polka - Sir Malcolm Arnold
In 1956 Sir Kenneth MacMillan created a one-act ballet for the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, London. He selected the music from the two sets of English Dances which Sir Malcolm Arnold had written in 1950 and 1951 to great acclaim. The composer wrote two new dances, a Sarabande and a Polka, especially for the ballet, which was premiered at Sadler's Wells Theatre in June 1956. The two new dances have taken on a life of their own in the concert hall and are typical Arnold: the Sarabande contains one of his most memorable melodies and the Polka shows him at his quirky, tongue-in-cheek best.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£68.99The Green Hills of Tyrol - Philip Sparke
The Green Hills of Tyrol was commissioned by Jrena and Beat Knusel for their son, Swiss euphonium player Joel Knusel, to celebrate his 20th birthday in 2019. The request was for a piece suitable for use in a solo competition, possibly using a Scottish or Irish melody, and composer Philip Sparke suggested an 'old-fashioned' air varie might be a suitable idea. The piece follows the well-established formula of a theme followed by four variations. The history of the original melody is fascinating and, although it is now well-known as a bagpipe tune, its background is Austrian or Italian, rather than Scottish. The tune appears as a chorus of Swiss soldiers in Rossini's 1829 opera William Tell but was possibly an existing Tyrolean folk tune. In 1854, during the Crimean War, Pipe Major John MacLeod of the 93rd Highlanders heard a band of the Sardinian contingent playing selections from the opera in camp before the Siege of Sebastopol. He was struck by the melody and arranged it for his pipers, calling it The Green Hills of Tyrol, referring to Tell's visit to that corner of Austria in the opera. It has since become universally popular among pipe bands who usually refer to it as A Scottish Soldier, following the addition of new lyrics in a 1961 hit by Andy Stewart.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£228.70Fanfare 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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£115.60
Speedy Dreams - Jerker Johansson
Speedy Dreams was premiered by Goteborg Wind Orchestra in 2013 with Fredrik Duvling as snare drum soloist. The composer Jerker Johansson is a percussionist himself, so through the years he has spent lots of time practising the snare drum. Theinspiration to the composition came to him in a dream, which was about yet another dream:On the evening of Christmas Eve a small child is trying to go to sleep. It is not so easy. Earlier in the day the child has got a small drum as aChristmas present. So instead of sleeping the child is fantasising about the new toy drum and how exciting it will be to learn how to play it.
Estimated dispatch 5-14 working days
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£40.00Crown Imperial - William Walton arr. Phillip Littlemore
William Walton composed his Crown Imperial for performance at the coronation of King Edward VIII, which was scheduled for the 12th May 1937. However, due to the dramatic abdication of Edward, it was in fact performed at the Coronation of the new monarch, King George VI, which took place on the same scheduled date. The march became popular immediately, and arrangements for piano solo, organ, small orchestra and military band were all published within a year. It has been used at all Royal events since, most notably the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and latterly King Charles III.This new brass band transcription is in keeping with the shorter, 6-minute concert version that Walton created immediately following the Coronation of George VI. However, the scoring is more in keeping with contemporary brass band voicings, corrects errors in the previous brass band transcription by Frank Wright, and provides a much more exciting version for brass band. "Phillip Littlemore's arrangement of Crown Imperial is a bit like Frank Wrght's, only Phillip's is in Technicolor!" (Gary Westwood, Leyland Band) A video of this arrangement can be found here: Crown ImperialDuration: 6'30"Difficulty: 2nd Section and above
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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£30.00Jerusalem - C. Hubert H. Parry arr. Phillip Littlemore
Sir Hubert Parry wrote the music to the hymn Jerusalem in 1916, during the gloom of World War I. It uses William Blake's poem And Did Those Feet In Ancient Times which itself was written around 1804, and first published in 1808.Parry's hymn was originally written for the 'Fight for Right' movement, formed to sustain the resolve of Britain during the Great War. The hymn received its premiere on the 28th March 1916 in the Queen's Hall, London at a 'Fight for Right' meeting. In 1917, Parry conducted it for the ladies of the Albert Hall choir as part of a call in favour of National Service for Women. This signalled a closer relationship with the women's suffrage movement which Parry and his wife, Maude, supported. A year later, Jerusalem was sung at a suffrage demonstration concert and was adopted by the Women's' Institute as their anthem in 1924.There are regular calls for the hymn to be adopted as the official National Anthem of England, but this is not new. The first such call can be traced back to the centenary of Blake's death in 1927 and the call continues undimmed to this present day. This brass band arrangement is based on Parry's original orchestration from 1916.Duration: 2'20"Difficulty: Suitable for all grades
Estimated dispatch 5-7 working days
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£33.00Lux Aeterna (Score and Parts)
The title Lux Aeterna (Eternal Light) can be interpreted on a number of levels. Musically it has a rather mystical feel to it, and the single note with which the piece begins continues uninterrupted throughout, like an inextinguishable flame, or a constant source of hope. There are lyrical and song-like solo lines for cornet, flugel and euphonium. In a recent review Paul Hindmarsh described the piece as a touching new work by Philip Harper that would have got my vote for best new work for its technical ingenuity if not its 'wow factor'.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£22.00Journey of the Lone Wolf (Brass Band - Score only)
Championship Section Test Piece for the 2016 National Finals of the British Brass Band Championship.The Lone Wolf of the title is the great Hungarian composer and folklorist Bla Bartok. Bartok's journey took him from the hills of the Balkans to the heart of the new world. His singular vision may have meant a life out in the cold, a life without warmth and love, a life without true happiness, a death mourned by a few in a strange land.The first of the three linked movements is capturing the Peasants' Song and follows the young Bartok and fellow composer Zoltan Kolday as they embark on Summertime adventures through the Hungarian countryside to collect and catalogue the astonishing variety of Gypsy and folk music heard in the Balkan hills. The arrival of WW1 plunges Bartok's beloved Hungary into chaos.Bartok was at times a cold man, aloof and lonely. The occasional moments of tenderness he showed are portrayed in Night Music. His brief but intense affairs speak of a love he could only long for. Jazz is my night music and here there are hints of what Bartok may have heard in the USA later in his life.Having been forced by the world's evils to leave his homeland of Hungary for America Bartok, the anti-fascist, felt isolated and angry. In the finale, Flight and Fight, we hear his longing for a simpler time of Gypsy folk dances as well as his maturity and depth as a composer finally exploring deeper colours and darker themes.Duration: 15.00
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£29.95
The Invincible Army (Brass Band - Score and Parts) - Leidzen, Erik
When the New York Staff Band toured England in 1960 they featured much new music written for them by Erik Leidzen, including this march. The trio section is in the unusual key (brass band pitch) of Db major, a major third away from the opening key of F major, rather than the more predictable subdominant of Bb major. This presents a technical and mental challenge to the players but provides a particularly brilliant sonority when played in tune!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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