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£119.99Quarantine - Thomas Doss
Like a dark veil, an ominous sense of foreboding takes hold across the world. A looming danger, one previously unknown to mankind, slowly approaches, bringing our daily lives to a grinding halt. A perilous virus gives us no choice other than to stay in our homes, leaving us unable to work in our offices or even visit family and friends. Something that has only been talked about in history books is coming to pass: a pandemic! The invisible danger expands more and more, and we feel paralysed by fear and fright. The distance between us and our fellow human beings increases. At the same time, we start to better understand something crucial: we have time again! People help each other out. Neighbourly assistance and support within one's own family becomes more apparent. We stand by each other. Suddenly we have the time for things that we did not have before. Time for reflection... A new era commences. Finally, hope reappears. We leave our houses, but nothing is quite the same anymore. With renewed strength, people begin to perceive the future in a positive and optimistic way once again. With greater attention and awareness of the here and now, we feel that, despite it all, we can be happy.Recorded by the Kobe College Wind Orchestra and its conductor Satoshi Yagisawa
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£391.20Goldberg 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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£113.00Funky Hedde - Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen
A good friend of mine, trombonist and professor Jesper Juul Windahl commissioned me a trombone quartet. I then wrote Four Nordic Folk Pops. The last of the four is a Norwegian tune called Havard Hedde in a funky version. Then I made a brass quintet version for Lofoten Brass Quintet for a their Australia tour. The trombonist in the quintet asked me for a brass band version to be used in an entertainment contest (SIDDIS Brass). Havard Hedde did not succeed in getting married, but I think this version wil make him dance again. Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£202.99Missa Tornacum - AndrĂ© Waignein
Flicien Doyen, the President of the Tornacum Royal Choir Circle of Tournai (Belgium) and a close friend of the composer commissioned this Mass. Missa Tornacum was originally composed for mixed choir and organ, gave a memorable performance of thepiece in the Chartres Cathedral in France.Although it does not include the Credo, the work is composed according to the traditional structure of a Mass in five parts : Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, and Ite missa est. En the first two parts, adialogue is created between the choir and the band. It is followed by the Sanctus cycle ("Sanctus" - "Hosanna" - "Benedictus"), which is remarkable for the contrasts between the tone colorscharacterizing each of its three parts. The fourth part,Agnus Dei, takes on a tone of serene intimacy. A free counterpoint draws this section to a close by fading into an almost imperceptible quietness. Ite missa est begins with a series of imitations, which develop into a majestic and cheerful passagemarking the end of the Mass. Choir parts are available separately.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£68.99Requiem Aeternam - Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini was commissioned to write a second opera after the resounding success of his first, Le Villi. However, the original four-act, grand opera Edgar, to a libretto by Ferdinando Fontana, received a rather lukewarm reception at its premire in La Scala in Milan in 1889 - initially, the work was only performed three times. Of all the planned performances in the subsequent two years, only one took place, in Lucca, Puccini's birthplace. There, the work was well received. Nevertheless, the composer decided to make drastic changes to Edgar the most radical being the reduction of the opera to three acts, as well as altering a few arias, charactersand instrumental parts. In its revised form, the work was even less popular than before. The discarded fourth act later provided material for Tosca (the duet Amoro sol' per te), but Puccini never felt the need to defend Edgar - as he did other less fortunate operas, such as La Rondine and Suor Angelica. On a piano excerpt for his female friend Sybil Seligman he even corrupted the title to 'E Dio ti GuARda da quest' opera' (may God preserve you from this opera). This did not prevent Arturo Toscanini performing the Requiem from the third act at Puccini's funeral in Milan Cathedral on 3 December 1924. The Requiem in the third act is being played when the long funeral procession carries the alleged body of Edgar - the confusedyoung man hesitating between the love of the virtuous Fidelia and the exotic Tigrana. The mass hails Edgar as a hero, but a monk claims that he has betrayed his country for a few gold pieces. When the soldiers try to desecrate the body, they discover that the armor contains none. The monk reveals himself as Edgar. He wants to leave with his faithful Fidelia, but the vengeful Tigrana stabs him and kills Fidelia. Edgar grieves over the lifeless body of his beloved, while Tigrana is arrested and the people submerge into prayer.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£65.99Spirit of the Winds - Robert W. Smith
Spirit of the Winds, a concert/festival work for the developing band, was inspired by the beautiful Temecula Valley of California. Each year, the sky over the valley is filled with hot air balloons creating a visual sight that is not soon forgotten. Of course, balloons are unable to "steer" and must fly with the gentle breezes of the air current. As a result, those subject to the "spirit of the winds" can find themselves over festival grounds or floating above the beautiful Temecula Valley vineyards. Beginning with a bold, yet mysterious statement, the introduction gives way to a soaring melody as our flight begins. Cascading figures in the woodwinds create the effect of wind currents followed by a beautiful secondary melodic statement. The original theme returns leading to a very energetic conclusion. Accessible to a wide range of concert bands, Spirit of the Winds provides multiple teaching opportunities and will be enjoyed by both performer and audience.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£74.99Fanfare and Furiosity - David Shaffer
Not hard, but very impressive, this David Shaffer original is perfect concert or contest material for mid-level bands. It starts with a stately fanfare introduction which leads directly into the "furious" section. This section features a fast tempo where several playable yet independent melody lines are intertwined to create a very busy yet pleasing musical landscape. An adagio section follows before a reprise of the "furious" section leads to a big finish. A rewarding work that is a welcome addition to any performance!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£106.95
Forever Climbing - Larry Clark
Forever Climbing was written as tribute to the loss of a high school band student that was tragically killed in a rock climbing accident. It is not intended as a sad piece, but as a celebration of the life of this exceptional young man. At times the piece is contemplative, but also contains a joy that is to depict the way he lived. As the piece builds to its conclusion, the listener will have a sense of fulfillment in a life well lived, even though it was cut short. A moving new addition to the band repertoire.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£72.95
Guardians of the Banner - Joseph Compello
A very nice original march from popular composer Joseph Compello, Guardians of the Banner contains many aspects of a traditional American march but with the developing student in mind. It has an extended introduction, a first strain, second strain, and a break strain followed by a return of the first strain to end the march. There is not the typical modulation to a trio section, making this march much more playable for this level of band. The march is at a more moderate march tempo and contains some really nice melodies, making it a great way to introduce this important style to younger students.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£154.99Symphonic Variations - Jacob de Haan
This composition is based on a passacaglia theme, in which artistic perfection, symphonic drama and oriental melody lines play a role. The passacaglia is originally a dance made up of a series of variations above a bass line constantly present as an ostinato. It is not in this sense that the "Symphonic Variations" are in the passacaglia form but in the sense of the open form of the variations. Jacob de Haan, himself originally an organist, took his inspiration for this piece from the famous passacaglia for organ in C-minor by J.S. Bach. Following the introduction of the passacaglia theme (in the bass) the entry by the trumpets and trombones forms the majestic start to amusical adventure, in which this theme (often fragmentary) returns in variations. Then there follow two faster movements with dramatic contrasts and virtuose passages. Particularly striking here is the use of two characteristic intervals from the beginning of the theme namely the minor second and the augmented fourth. An apause in the composition comes in the slow bridge where a syncopated bourdon (perfect fifth) is constantly repeated. The tension grows in dynamics and harmony, and the oriental-flavour becomes obvious in the melody. We arrive at a faster movement via an accelerando, in which a perpetuum mobile based on the passacaglia theme is central. Finally the whole flows into a martial theme, in which the ostinato accompaniment n the descant derives from the passacaglia theme.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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