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£183.99Five States of Change - Philip Sparke
Five States of Change was commissioned by Kunstfactor for the 4th section of the Dutch National Brass Band Championships (NBK) 2011. It is dedicated to Jappie Dijkstra and the Music Information Centre (MUI), Arnhem, Holland, in acknowledgement of their outstanding work in developing band repertoire.The composer writes: "The idea for the piece came when I was reading an article about a branch of Chinese philosophy which is abbreviated as Wu Xing*, which has no exact translation but can mean, for example, five elements, five phases or five states of change. It is central to all elements of Chinese thought, including science, philosophy, medicine andastrology, and in simple terms tries to create various cyclic relationships between five elements in all walks of life.An example is: Earth - Metal - Water - Wood - Fire - (Earth) etc. where (in one cycle) earth bears metal, metal changes to liquid (water) when heated, water helps trees grow, wood burns to create fire, fire produces ash (earth) and the cycle continues.I was particularly interested in the cycle of emotions:- Meditation - Sorrow - Fear - Anger - Joy - (Meditation) etc. and thought this cyclic principle would provide an effective emotional journey for a piece of music. So Five States of Change has five equal sections which loosely characterise this emotional cycle. I have tried to make the music grow organically, with minimal repetition, and each movement evolves from the musical elements at the end of the previous one, with the opening material appearing, transformed, at the end of the piece to complete the cycle. *in full Wu zhong liu xing zhi chi or the five types of chi dominating at different times
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£84.99A Copland Portrait - David Conte
Originally commissioned by maestro Neal Gittleman, A Copland Portrait was premiered by the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra in January 2000. In March of 2015, First Lieutenant Ryan Nowlin's transcription of this work for band was premiered by "The President's Own" United States Marine Band under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Jason Fettig. ECS Publishing is proud to offer both the band and the orchestra version. Conte on the creation of this overture: "I set out quite consciously to evoke various aspects of Copland's work by combining and recombining them within the terms of my own musical personality. For example, the first theme of A Copland Portrait combines the character of a theme from The Red Pony with the rhythmic texture of the scherzo of the Third Symphony. While composing the piece I was conscious of drawing inspiration from many of Copland's works; a melodic shape here, a harmonic gesture there, until I arrived at something that felt fresh and new to me. A Copland Portrait is cast in a traditional Sonata-Allegro form. After a vigorous, syncopated orchestral tutti, the first theme is announced in the solo oboe, accompanied by a steady eighth-note ostinato. Playful interjections are stated in the flute and bassoon. The syncopated tutti returns; the first theme is stated again, this time in the low winds. This theme builds to a colorful climax, leading into a more dissonant transition section, which gradually slows and gives way to a lilting, more lyrical second theme in the clarinet. After some modest development of the second theme, a more plaintive theme stated in the muted trumpet brings the exposition to a close. A scherzando development section follows; the first four notes of the first theme are inverted and subjected to various contrapuntal treatments. This development section ends with a return of the opening syncopated motive, leading into a recapitulation of the first theme, this time in canon, and the second theme and closing theme, broadly sung. A brilliant toccata-style coda brings A Copland Portrait to a brisk conclusion."
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£89.99Highlights from George and Ira Gershwin's - George Gershwin
Strike Up the Band is a 1927 Broadway musical by George and Ira Gershwin, based on a book by George S. Kaufman. Surprisingly, the show proved to be an early failure for the talented Gershwin brothers, closing while the out-of-town tryouts were still underway. Despite this setback, it was revised in 1930 with a somewhat similar plot by Morrie Ryskind, and the show enjoyed a respectable run of 191 performances. This arrangement by James Barnes includes four of the best tunes from Strike Up the Band: Mademoiselle in New Rochelle (composed for the 1930 revival), Soon (also composed in 1930), The Man I Love, and Strike Up the Band. Curiously, The Man I Love, which is now considered to be one of the most popular George and Ira Gershwin standards, was NOT included in the 1930 run of the show.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£84.99Variations on a Theme by Elgar - Árpád Balázs
In rpd Balzs's diverse and varied oeuvre, works for wind orchestra play a prominent role alongside choral music. He composed the Elgar Variations in 2022 on the theme of one of Edward Elgar's (1857-1934) short early works (Love's Greetings, 1888). As rpd Balzs writes ''The theme I used as the starting point for my work may already be considered a variation, since I 'peeled off' the dense ornamentation and the tonicisations from it, and what remained was the melody, beautiful in its own place. What come back from time to time from the theme in the variations are: the arched structure, the double peak point, and mostly the major sixth leaping downwards, then upwards. The modest, transparent orchestration, which then is amplified at the repetition of the theme is also a defining feature. There is a personal family secret hidden in the third variation: a late compliment to a loyal spouse for the past half century... The closing variation is calm and quiet - similarly to the chorale-like slow movement in Bla Bartk's 3rd Piano Concerto. It is like a message from an old composer to the Future.'' The Elgar Variations together with the Concertino (1992, Z. 14909) and the Rhapsody (2015-2021, Z. 15167) form an ambitious, emotionally wide-range trilogy for a concert band.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£127.30Takk - Edvard Grieg
"Gratitude" is one of Grieg's beautiful lyrical pieces, Op. 62 No. 2.Eva Knardahl made a beautiful recording that I well remember was used as background for a picture cavalcade by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation during the passing of His Majesty King Olav V of Norway in 1991.In this arrangement for band, I have tried to vary the instrumentation, both for the sake of more colours and to emphasize the drama.This piece should be played rubato with elastic phrasing. The form can be described as AABACoda. The most dramatic section is the B part from measure 25, which peaks just before measure 38. The last four measures (from measure 53) can be done a bit 'meno' in tempo.Reid Gilje
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£126.00Romjulsdrm - Thoralf Borg
The poem Romjulsdrm ("Christmas Dream") was first published in Arbeiderbladet on January 3rd 1959, and became known when Thoralf Borg set a melody to it in 1968. Up until this, Alf Prysen had used a melody quite similar to the song Lijan uti dalen, when he sang the song in the TV program Ei vise vil jeg synge in 1964. At the same time that Borg's melody was written, the last four lines of text were also added to the poem, and the song took on the form we know today.The form and structure of this arrangement originates from a version for big band and vocals commissioned by stre Toten Storband, written in 2018 for one of their traditional midnight concerts on the day before Christmas. In an attempt to give the arrangement a nice calm and the text a lot of room, as is often the case in songs like this, it ended up in a relatively narrative style where the variation in tempo and the shifts between swing and straight eighth notes are particularly central.The song is about family, friendship and the quiet days of the Christmas holidays, which hopefully is something most people can recognise. The arrangement for the aforementioned midnight concert was ordered because my sister was to be the soloist for the concert, and since my father also played lead trombone - as he has done in this big band for as long as I can remember - it was natural to add a small trombone solo as well. It's always special to write and arrange music for people I know and appreciate, but it's extra special when it's also for two of my great role models.- David Stre Hveem -
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£118.99Princess Mononoke, Medley - Joe Hisaishi
Series: New Sounds in Brass (NSB); Duration: approx.8'50"; Composed by Joe Hisaishi; Arranged by Takashi Hoshide. Arranger Takashi Hoshide says, "I have selected beautiful melodies from the soundtrack of 'Princess Mononoke' (1997, directed by Hayao Miyazaki) and arranged them into a medley. What can be said about these songs as a whole is that they combine a grand continental scale with the delicacy that reflects Japanese emotions. Since there are no upbeat songs in this selection, I had to work hard on the arrangement, but this allowed for creating contrasts and transitions between each scene in the performance. 'Ashitaka Sekki (English title: The Legend of Ashitaka)' - 'Sekki' means a story that is not recorded but passed down orally. In this anime, this can be considered a sub-main theme. The song starts with a feeling that the story is about to begin and, once the theme kicks in, aim for a grand performance to convey its scale. 'Encounter' - This is the music that plays during the scene where the protagonist Ashitaka meets San. Interestingly, the motif of the main theme 'Princess Mononoke' is used in this melody. Here, let's pursue the shifts in the timbre of individual phrases, creating a beautiful and aesthetic soundscape. 'Princess Mononoke' - This is the main title of the anime. The melody line is carried by horns and trumpets."
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£252.10Abstractions - Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen
The titles of this three-movement work are abstractions where visual experiences are thought to be recreated as music, i.e. an abstract presentation of a motif, similar to an abstract image where one cannot immediately see the similarity.The first movement is inspired by the northern lights. It constantly changes in colour and shape.The title of the second movement is a play with the word "rock" is a well-known word describing a musical genre.But it is also a giant stone or a part of a mountain.The titles of this three-movement work are abstractions where visual experiences are thought to be recreated as music, i.e. an abstract presentation of a motif, similar to an abstract image where one cannot immediately see the similarity.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£193.20CASTRVM - Lionel Beltrán-Cecilia
CASTRVM is a symphonic episode inspired by four of the main civilizations that have coexisted over time in Ulldecona's Castle. With its melodies and sound effects, the composer tries to transport the listener through a trip to four uninterrupted movements, from the beginnings of this small settlement, creating a natural atmosphere recreated by the voice and the singing of birds to take us into the history with the first inhabitants, the Iberians, giving strength to the introduction of the composition, to move on to the time of the Andalusians, which with a melody in the form of a dance marked by percussion will transport us to take a walk in the surroundings of its circular tower. Next, and with strength, we arrive at the medieval and Christian period, marked in the score by the brass instruments, in this fragment we find moments that take us into the church of "Santa Mara de los ngeles", with melodies that evoke resonance and pomposity, continuing until we find the immense square tower, symbol of the fortress and homage, finally used as a prison and arsenal of those times. Then, there is a small slow march that will move us to some measures of strong stridency to finish with the whole section of low brass having its great moment of prominence, down to we reach the last part, Qna, a name that is recited during the musical piece and one of the names given in the past to the area that could be seen from the castle, where the change of location of the new town is recreated leaving the castle site, but always looking at it with respect and admiration as at the beginning of what is now the current Ulldecona, in this part, the composer plays a bit with a very well-known and significant melody for the inhabitants of Ulldecona, the "Jota Vieja", first making a reflex effect of all its melody and then only with the first six notes of this one, which builds a bridge until reaching the march and, later, the grand finale of this symphonic episode. The work was commissioned by Ulldecona Town Council and the Ulldecona Music Band, led by its conductor Joan Nadal i Girona, to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the donation of the Town Charter of Ulldecona "the old" (1222-2022), as part of the PATRIMONIUM 20.22 programme, "La Banda (Sonora) del Castell" (The soundtrack of the Castle).CASTRVM consists of: I.Iberians: stone and ironII.AndalusiansIII.The square tower: fortress and homageIV.Qna
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£87.40It All Starts Here - Geert Schrijvers
This composition was commissioned by the city of Breda and the organisers of La Vuelta. When I tried to capture the essence of riding a grand tour, I thought of three important things: Strength, Courage and Perseverance. And this applies not only to sport, but to all major challenges in life. Everything starts - and ends - with this. All this formed the basis for the dual title of this work: It All Starts Here - Strength, Courage, Perceverance
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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