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£53.50Four Pictures - Árpád Balázs
The teachers under whom rpd Balzs (b.1937) studied composition - Ferenc Farkas, Aram Khachaturian and Goffredo Petrassi - each independently formed the opinion that with his lyrical gift rpd Balzs's true creative field would be that of choral music and wind ensembles. Their early predictions are borne out by the roughly two hundred and fifty works for choir and almost twenty for wind orchestra that the composer has since produced. It is interesting that in the suite entitled Ngy kp (Four pictures) the stylistic features of these two related musical fields are united. In it the wind instruments sing! It was not by chance that the expansive second movement was given the title Cantilena, while the slightly livelier but just as lyrical third movement was entitled Arietta. The opening movement of the work is a stridently jolly, energetic Indul (March), but not one of the rigidly military kind: the 6/8 rhythm contributes to its light-hearted character. This music is avowedly akin to the ballet music of Prokofiev. This choice series of four character pieces is crowned by Jtk (Play) in which conveying the effect of the mixture of lines moving in parallel and then colliding with each other may be more technically demanding, but is well worth the effort! (Hungaroton HCD 31353)
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£104.50Esprit Du Corps March - John Philip Sousa
Fans and march enthusiasts will be delighted with this wonderfully stylish rediscovered march. At the time this march was written, Sousa was living in Philadelphia and had not yet begun his Marine Band career - but he was an accomplished composer who already had 34 publications to his credit. However, the march was not published for band until after he left the Marine Band and formed his professional band. This march, listed as Opus 45, is a fitting tribute to the great talent of the young John Philip Sousa, and to the esprit de corps of bands everywhere.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£98.99Fractures in Time - Tyler Arcari
Looking at the world you start to notice not everything is modern. In fact, you can see bits and pieces of tech, objects, tools, structures that are from a time long past...peppered around our daily lives. These fractures in time remind us that we are not always completely modern. This sentiment is on full musical display in this unique and fresh offering from composer Tyler Arcari.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£76.99
Saxophones in the Light - Harm Evers
The title Saxophones in the Light describes what the piece does - it puts not one, not two, but three of your saxophones into the limelight! At the same time Harm Evers also manages to bring out the best in your concert band. This exciting and inventive piece will give all your musicians a chance to shine.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£148.00Waterfall - Gauthier Dupertuis
Gauthier Dupertuis was inspired to write the main theme of Waterfall by a stroll near a waterfall that is the pride of his hometown. This piece, composed during lockdown due to Covid-19, is also a reflection on homesickness. Waterfall also expresses the composer's feelings about enjoying a welcome break and return to his roots, which enabled him to spend more time with his loved ones. For him, this waterfall is a symbol: it's not the same water that flows there, but the waterfall is still there, the same as it was when he was a child, like a witness to times gone by. Waterfall is a work with a certain sentimental value for the composer in that it was his very first real composition.The work was premiered on 9th October 2020 by the Wind Band Societat Musical 'La Constncia' of Moixent (Spain) and was conducted by Jos Alberto Pina.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£149.40Storsltt - Øystein Olsen Vadsten
"Storsltt" or in English "Grand Nordic Tune" is one of many original pieces written by composer ystein Olsen Vadsten. "Sltt" is a general term for music played to traditional Norwegian dances."Grand Nordic Tune" was a commissioned work for the Rlingen Musikklag's 70-year anniversary concert in 2022, where the piece was premiered. They wanted something a little pompous, and preferably something in the style of Nordic folk music, which the composer is known for. The title in Norwegian then was obvious, "Storsltt", which in Norwegian has a double meaning, both a big tune and, in a double meaning, pompous or magnificent.As usual, the starting point is a traditional Nordic dance form, and this time the choice fell on the distinctive Swedish "polska", which is played in . The dance, despite its name, reportedly has no connection to Poland, but is entirely of Scandinavian origin. It has been danced for centuries, and has also been called the devil's dance, because it had a hypnotizing effect on people, so that they could not stop, but danced themselves to death. Hence people thought that it must have been the devil who caused it.Traditionally, there is a lot of repetition in this type of music, which contributes to this hypnotic effect.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£144.99Serenata - Jan Van der Roost
While composing Serenata, Jan Van der Roost didn't focus too much on virtuosity, acrobatics or spectacle. Instead, he wanted to let the solo instrument shine as a melodic and expressive voice. And indeed: the warm sound of the euphonium touches the heart of the audience straight away in the first section with a melodious theme. Then follows a rigaudon, a noble and elegant dance from the Renaissance era. Despite the fact that some of the variations on the main theme require some technique and agility, the overall character mostly remains songful. The composition as a whole builds further on these two musical ingredients, but thanks to a clever alternation of melodic and technical passages, it offers a nice stylistic diversity to the listeners. The band is definitely not 'just accompanying' but fully participates and begins a dialogue with the soloist: both musical partners have their say. The end is more spectacular and sonorous, giving an extra boost of energy to the soloist as well as the band in a grand finale!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£105.80Magellano - Andrea Moncalvo
This composition was written on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the death of Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer (1480 - 1521), who embarked on what would have become the first circumnavigation of the globe. Unfortunately, he did not complete it because, in 1521, he was killed in the region that is today the Philippines. This adventure triggered various images in the author's mind; evocations that the composer elaborated in this piece, which is in a tripartite form (A B A) and is introduced and concluded by a solemn fanfare evoking the departure of the expedition, consisting of 5 ships with a total of 234 crewmen. The first part (Allegro) presents a main theme with a cantabile character that describes the fleet that, intrepid, plows the ocean. This initial melody is then contrasted by a more rhythmic and syncopated theme in a minor key, which instead refers to the indigenous peoples they have encountered during the journey. The central section (Adagio) is an oasis of reflection because, as in other great adventures, this too has tragic aspects: mutinies, shipwrecks, clashes with indigenous peoples, up to the disappearance of those who had desired and planned this enterprise. The last part proposes the themes of the first section but in reverse order, to describe the return to the homeland. The solemn fanfare welcomes the arrival of the Victoria, the only surviving ship with only 18 men on board, which returns to the port of departure after completing the circumnavigation of the earth in 2 years, 11 months, and 17 days.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£159.99Guardian Angels - Kevin Houben
Guardian Angels gives a musical expression to the legend of Reverend Louis Henri Bhler referring to the use of Psalm 34.North-west Veluwe and in particular Oldebroek (The Netherlands) has a very rich religious tradition which is demonstrated by its monumental churches. They tell the story of a stirring history in which Reverend Bhler played a crucial role. Inspired by his arrival as a pastor in 1870 in the neighbouring Oosterwolde, two big religious communities came into existence with their characteristic churches but this rivalry also resulted in great social unrest.This composition reflects on this striking personality and in particular on the story of the Angel Guard.'One evening Reverend Bhler has given a sermon in Oldebroek and he walks over the Church path through the pastures to Oosterwolde. On this dark and stormy evening Bhler's opponents are waiting for the pastor in ambush. They want to drown him in a watercourse near the Church path but abandon their plan because Bhler is accompanied by two men. The next day it comes to an encounter between Bhler and his opponents. They repent their, fortunately unexecuted , plan. Bhler firmly believes that on the previous night he walked alone over the Church path, and was not accompanied by two men. It was concluded that it must have been the angels who had protected Bhler.'Psalm 34 is central to this composition and this because of its powerful melody but also because the lyrics of verse 4 of the rhymed version fit in well with the special legend of Reverend Bhler:The Lord's angel gathered round himAn invincible heavenly guard,Who tries God's will, around himSo he's well guard(ed)A second melodious and harmonic cell is a musical transformation of the name 'Bhler'. This cell is varied in major and minor third chords and sometimes used as the main idea or apotheosis, but also serves as an accompanying cell or as a bridge between other melodic and rhythmic constructions.The composition was made possible by contributions of: Mr Evert van de Poll, owner of the Van Gelder Groep, Het Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Gelderland en Het Feteris Oosterbaan Fonds.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£435.40Goldberg 2012 - Svein H. Giske
The first time I heard Bach's Goldberg Variations was in the movie Silence of the lambs, in the early 1990s. I noticed the beautiful background music in one of the scenes, but at that time I didn't know what it was. A few years later, when I was studiying at the Grieg Academy, I got to know the entire piece. For me, this is a piece of music which I can listen to countless times. I think it sounds as fresh today as it did more than 15 years ago and it never ceases to inspire me. Both Bach's composition and Glenn Gould's famous 1955 recording (which was the first one I heard) still makes a great impression on me. Before Gould recorded it at age 22, it wasn't a highly ranked piece amongst pianists and Bach was by many viewed as a bit old-fashioned. The young Canadian turned all this around. He managed to portray Bach in a reformed way, producing fine nuances in phrasing and making the many layers in Bach's music more transparent than anyone before him. Thus he plunged both himself and Bach (back) onto the international music scene. When The Norwegian Band Federation (NMF) asked me to write the test piece for NM in 2012, it was only natural for me to use the Goldberg Variations as a starting point and inspiration for my work. Since I was a teenager at NMF's summer courses in the mid eighties I've always listened to many different styles of music. Growing up in Sunnmre with the Brazz Brothers as teachers and mentors, jazz-, pop/rock- and folk music were early on a natural part of my musical background. I also have my classical education from the Grieg Academy on trumpet. As the title of my piece implies, I've wanted to bring Bach to the present and put his music into various modern musical landscapes. I think you can bring about a special kind of energy when music from different genres are mixed and I've tried to do this by mixing Bach with artists and musical styles from the present. In Goldberg 2012, the music is often constructed by several layers, which in a way are living parallel musical lives. They are seemingly moving or floating freely, almost unaware of each other, but bound together by the same basic pulse. The rythms, however, are often notated on a different rythmic subdivision level than the usual 8th- or 16th note levels. By doing this, I hope to achieve transparent sounds that rythmically are perceived as more free and detached from each other. In large sections of the piece, pop/jazz is fusioned with elements from Bach. I guess you could have this little scene as a synopsis for the piece: picture a group of musicians meeting: some are classical performers, some are jazz. They start to improvise together, each in their own voice or musical dialect and I'm sort of in the middle, trying to write down what they are playing. This is what I feel much of Goldberg 2012 is about. The foundation of the piece, in addition to Bach and references from pop/jazz music, lies also in my own material. This material, basically two chords, is heard in it's purest form in the 1st movement. I use these chords to create scales, new chords and different motifs which contribute to blend together the different moods of the piece. It has not been my intention to copy Bach's form (theme and 30 variations), but rather to use the bits and pieces that I like the most as an inspiration for my own variations. The 1st movement, Aria 2, is for my 3rd son, Olav, who was born on the 21st of April 2011, and the 5th movement, From long ago, is dedicated to the memory of my father, Svein J. Giske, who passed away on the 6th of June 2011. -Svein H. Giske, January 2012-
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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