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£113.30Moderate Dances - Angelo Sormani
This piece is a tribute to dance music, especially passionate, intense and meditative dance music. "Moderate Dances" is divided into three movements: a "Tango", a "Slow Waltz" and a "Bossa Nova". Each movement and each dance has its own particular characteristics but, when combined, these different rhythmic beats and times give the piece a feeling of completeness and uniformity. The Tango started to flourish in the suburbs of Buenos Aires in around 1880. There is still some doubt as to its origins, which may be Cuban (Habanera) but are probably African. It was most popular in Argentina and Brazil: here the male protagonist was originally the "gaucho" with his inseparable guitar, later to be replaced by the proud, elegant "compadre". By around 1910 the Tango had spread to Italy and France. New clubs opened, where the upper classes could watch and dance the Tango. Here the dance also underwent some rapid transformations. The exaggerated and extravagant gestures and body movements disappeared. Slow, gliding steps replaced the old rotational movements. The women's red ankle-boots and the partners "staring into each other's eyes" accentuated the erotic nature and sensuality of this dance. So much so that, in 1913, the German government banned soldiers from dancing the Tango. Those who broke the law were immediately discharged from the army. From a strictly musical perspective, the basic instruments were a flute, a harp (the diatonic harp typically played by the Indians of Paraguay) and a violin, or flute, guitar and violin or even clarinet, guitar and violin. These instruments were easy to transport, ideal for playing at parties, in the streets and in courtyards. The musicians played by ear, frequently improvising: there were no scores, no records, which is the main reason why it is impossible to trace the Tango back to its exact origins. However, the Tango's evolution (and growing popularity) was once again fostered by its fundamental ability to absorb "other" cultures, languages and sounds. And it was the arrival of the "bandoneon" (an accordion-like instrument that was invented in Germany and brought to Rio de la Plata by some immigrant), which replaced the flute, that marked the beginning of the Tango's huge success outside Argentina. A number of talented composers, above all the great Astor Piazzola (1921-1992), transformed the bandoneon from a simple accompanying instrument to a solo instrument that was to become the distinguishing feature of the 20th century Tango. The Slow Waltz originated from the Waltz, the typical dance of the Bavarian and Tyrolese peasants in the 1700s. It was composers like Johann Strauss, father and son, who carried the Waltz to its zenith in the 1800s, creating the sensual and melancholy yet joyful and charming dance we are all familiar with. When the Waltz first became popular in Germany, the members of respectable society were shocked at the closeness of the dancing partners, who had always previously danced apart. The main difference between the Waltz and Slow Waltz is that the latter has a slower, more expressive rhythm: the men wear tails and the women wear ball gowns decorated with beads and feathers and couples dance in graceful rotational movements. "Bossa Nova" is the title of the last movement in the piece. Jobim, the great Brazilian musician, described this musical genre as a combination of modern Jazz and Samba. Bossa Nova means "new wave". This was the name of the artistic and musical movement that evolved in Brazil in the late Fifties and was extremely popular throughout the Sixties. The songs are usually about love or social matters, drawing inspiration from the slums of Rio De Janeiro and the lives of their inhabitants. Bossa Nova, with its original compositions and the artistic talent of its musicians, also became hugely popular in the United States and Europe, and top Jazz musicians (Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Bob Cooper, Charlie Bird, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie) started to include Bossa in their repertoires.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£104.99Unforgettable - Irving Gordon
The phenomenal success of the singer Nat King Cole, eclipsed the talent of the jazz pianist to a legacy that remains a jazz master and model. For all of us, there remains his own unique interpretations of such classic songs as Sweet Lorraine, Mona Lisa, Embraceable You, Besame Mucho and, of course, Unforgettable, which was re-released many years after his death by his daughter, Natalie Cole. With more than 60 million discs sold, Nat King Cole was one of the first black American artists to attain such international notoriety. His clear and distinguished voice allowed for him to become a renowed crooner to his legions of loyal fans.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£142.90Cantina Band - John Williams
Cantina Band (or Mad About Me) was written by John Williams in 1977 for the film Star Wars (later Star Wars IV: A New Hope). Even with quite a bit of the Star Wars music being quite well known, Cantina Band is literally in a style of its own. In the Star Wars-universe this style is called jizz, Williams' take on the more well-known genre jazz. Williams was tasked by Star Wars-creator George Lucas to make music that sounded like several creatures in a future century finding some 1930's Benny Goodman swing band music ... and how they might attempt to interpret it and ended up with Cantina Band #1 and #2. Both numbers are played in the legendary scene taking place in Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina where Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi gets in a fight causing even the band to stop playing.The band, which goes by the name Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes, comes from the planet Clak'dor VII and specializes in jizz and the nearby, slightly older style of jatz. Performers of this music often go by the name "jizz-wailers", and the Bith people from Clak'dor VII are especially well suited for jizz-wailing since they can hold every note as long as they want thanks to a unique respiratory system - something many perhaps would like to be able to do in the performance of this arrangement as well.The arrangement is relatively faithful to Williams' original version, but with a somewhat different ending. Although the woodwind section undoubtedly has the biggest technical challenges, an understanding of the musical style is the very key to making the arrangement sound good - and here all groups must work together. Playing lightly but quite articulated, and very precise, will be an absolute necessity to get the music drifting off all the way to Tatooine.In measure 113 there is a small improvised solo in either trombone or trumpet, but if you want the real authentic Cantina Band-sound this is of course done on a steel drum.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£176.50
Concertango - Luis Serrano Alarcón
Opus III is proud to announce that we are now the exclusive distributor for North America and Asia of Concertango, by Luis Serrano Alarcn. A 25 minute work exploring musical fusion on multiple levels through the contrast of symphonic winds to a jazz trio (piano, bass, drums). Both groups are independent at times followed by a merge into a single unique musical force. The alto saxophone soloist stands as the uniting musical element between the two groups. The omnipresent and uniting musical force is the tango and, in particular, the works of Astor Piazzolla. Luis Serrano Alarcn has transformed the rhythms, ensemble settings and stylistic idioms into a powerful artisticstatement that communicates to all. A highly effective work for mature ensembles.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£129.99Ratatouille Satirique - Traditional
Erik Satie, born in Honfleur in Normandy (France) in 1866 is undoubtedly one of the most striking personalities in the history of French music. He composed in various, often quite divergent, styles. Besides light-hearted, entertaining works he also wrote several serious compositions, among which the three ballets: Parade, Rel che and Les Aventures de Mercure. However his piano pieces, such as Trois Gymnopdies or Gnossiennes will remain his most popular compositions. Satie co-operated with almost all great artists of his time: Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Sergej Diaghilev and Georges Braque and the composers Darius Milhaud (Le Groupe des Six) and Claude Debussy. Johan deMeij made an orchestration of three short pieces by Erik Satie: I. Prlude (from: Jack in the Box) II. Rverie (from: Trois petites pices montes) III. Marche: Le Piccadilly (1904) It was only after Satie's death in 1925 that the manuscript of the piano piece Jack in the Box was recovered. Satie himself thought he had lost the manuscript in a bus. When his flat in Arceuil was cleaned out, a small notebook was discovered behind his piano and it contained the manuscript which was assumed to be lost forever. The Rverie (De l'Enfance de Pantagruel) is an extract from Trois petites pices montes, originally composed for small symphony orchestra. In this suite it is meant as a restful intermezzo. It is clear that, as with Milhaud (La Cration du Monde) and Debussy (Golliwogg's Cakewalk; Le Petit Ngre), it is hard to deny obvious influences of jazz music in Erik Satie's compositions. Le Piccadilly, dating from 1904, displays a lot of similarities with the compositions of Scott Joplin.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£160.00DANCE SUITE (Concert Band) - Muldowney, Dominic
Includes:1. Hey2. Pavane/Waltz3. Polka4. Waltz/Galliard5. Tangos6. Break-DanceDance Suite displays a variety of historical dance forms from a twentieth century viewpoint. The six dances move forward historically from the ancient Hey, through Waltz and Polka, to the sophisticated Tango and the jazz tradition. The rhythm that typifies each dance is constantly under attack, sometimes from a different dance style altogether. These intrusive elements are most obvious in the final dance and prompts the double meaning of the title.I. HEYHey is constructed like a mediaeval motet, where the main blocks of material are rhythmically unconnected to one another. The percussion is the most disconnected of all and seems to have arrived from a Chinese carnival. The scoring alludes to the eight, four and two foot pipes of a baroque organ.I. PAVANE/WALTZAfter a nod in the direction of Dowland's Lachrimae Pavan, the piece seems to wander to and fro between the 16th century and the 19th century world of the Lehr waltz.I. POLKAThe Polka is derived from a four bar fragment found in Stravinsky's sketchbook for The Rite of Spring above which is written: "Dieppe Polka".I. WALTZ/GALLIARDThis is a reversal of the date-shift process in the second movement, in that the wandering goes backwards rather than forwards, particularly to the William Byrd of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.I. TANGOSA slow sentimental tango is sandwiched between an abstract deconstructed one, both of which are developed in Dominic Muldowney's opera The Voluptuous Tango.I. BREAK-DANCEBreak-Dance is the fastest, hardest and strangest movement. Its exuberance fractures the texture, which slowly crumbles midway through the movement, only to be resurrected mirror fashion. The piece is a species of palindrome with no true centre, hence: "Break-Dance".Conductors are free to make a selection from these dances for festival or competition programmes, when limited performance time is available.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£84.99Georgia On My Mind
This jazz ballad from 1930 is probably one of the most covered standards of all times. The most famous interpretation dates back from 1960, covered by the one and only Ray Charles. Since then, in 1979 the song was declared the official state anthem for Georgia in the United States. Top arranger Peter Kleine Schaars has now made an amazing arrangement for band using the Ray Charles version it's so close to the original that you can still feel the vibe of the 60s.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£189.99Homecoming - Alex Shapiro
Homecoming is a distinctly American piece of music which ventures emotionally from doubt, to hope, and finally to celebration. The most simple wind instrument of all, the human voice, echoes meaningful homecomings, wherever home may be and from whatever circumstance one returns. Written for the soldiers of the U.S. Army TRADOC Band, Homecoming seamlessly flows between traditional styles that originated in the U.S., from post-minimalist concert music to jazz. As the music grows into a waltz rhythm, welcoming smiles dance with it to the end as loved ones are reunited.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£104.99Sugar Blues - Clarence Williams
Imagine yourself in a smoky pub with all the joys that entails. A nice jazzy solo puts you in the mood. This Sugar blues dates from the thirties and is a classic in the jazz scene. A wonderful solo in this case, a saxophone, but also for other instruments such as clarinet, trumpet or trombone (there are different transpositions of the solo part included).
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£137.99Jazzotic Flight - Stefan Schwalgin
Many composers of the 20th century enriched their own musical language with elements of jazz, just think of George Gershwin or Leonard Bernstein. In the "globalized" 21st century, Stefan Schwalgin extended this perspective globally with Jazzotic Flight taking you on an exotic flight around the world.After take-off the jet plane soars in a lively flight in waltz time, the jet lands visiting Africa, India and finally Latin America. A little piece of each of these continents is heard in this swinging concert piece that will be a hit with all members of your band.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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