Results
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£186.20Ballet Dreams - Coby Lankester
The script for Ballet Dreams: A young ballerina is dancing for some time already in a ballet company. She is part of the Corps de Ballet but still hopes for better. When the company studies a new ballet she is granted a small solo part. This will be the fulfillment of a long cherished dream.On the day of the premiere she goes to the theatre in the early morning. As the solo performance is so near she feels very nervous and wonders whether everything will be all right that night. She starts making exercises with the orther girls. When the dancers leave she continues to exercise by herself and tries out her solo part. She does not do well and feels very tired. She sits down on a bench in the corner of the ballet room and thinks she needs some rest; so she lies down and falls asleep.She dreams she is standing in the ballet room, trying to rehearse her solo dance performance. But she does not succeed to dance as she wants and she gets more and more nervous. Suddenly she makes a wrong movement and falls down; her ankle is bruised and so she cannot dance at all.She is desperate and quite lonely because her dream goes up in smoke. She is now surrounded by a group of doctors, who examine her ankle, put on a bandage and tell her to rest. When the doctors disappear a gang of little devils come into the ballet room; they tease our poor dancer and threaten her with little arrows, while they keep dancing and stamping. The ballerina tries to get rid of the little monsters, but in vain. This looks like a real nightmare!All of a sudden the devils and the pain disappear. She tries to get up and awakes little by little. She now realizes it was only a bad dream. She feels relieved and goes to the dressing room in order to dress for the premiere performance. Her solo performance in the finale of the ballet is a real big success. Her most precious dream has been fulfilled, in spite of or thanks to the nightmare.
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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£186.20Wald Sinfonie - Kees Vlak
It was during his stay at Freiburg, Germany, where he was attending a Music Festival, that Kees Vlak found his inspiration for this romantic work. At this festival he was awarded a prize for one of his compostitions, which was played by several bands from different countries. The composer was staying in the small village of Horben, hidden among pine woods on a mountain at the border of the Black Forest. From the balcony of his room he had a splendid view on the Schawinsland Valley, scarcely hidden by the tops of the huge pines. Each morning a blackbird singin in a huge pine next to his window woke him up. This bird song opens the composition.Whenever possible the composer and his wife went for a walk in the Black Rorest. The rediscovery of this wonderful area is expressed by the steadily increasing number of tone colours, used in the orchestration. Each village still boasts its own folk music and dances. More than one hundred bands were playing all around; the Black Forest seemed to be the scene of one huge festival. The image of the Black Forest is also linked to that of hunting scenes, so the next theme is being introduced by hunting horn themes. The second theme paints the lake "Titisee". At first the lake is very calm, but a stiff breeze sets both water and music alike in motion. The small town of Titisee is very popular with tourists and is famous for its woodcutting, its clockworks and musical boxes. It is a popular folk tune, played by a musical box that makes the link with the next theme. The joy and cheerfulness of the dancing village people is expressed by a movement which works out the initial theme.On leaving the little town, one can hear once more the hunting music from the wood as well as the song of the birds. The new theme is againg closely linke d to the hunt and played by the typical German helicon-like euphoniums.this theme interacts with the wecond theme and the word ends with a grnd finale meant as a musical hommage tot this wonderful area.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£149.40
Dancing Trolls [Norwegian Dance] - Øystein Olsen Vadsten
"Dancing Trolls" is a sequel to "The Battle of the Hats", which was published in 2015. Like "The Battle of the Hats", "Dancing Trolls" is a piece of music based on Norwegian traditional dances. This time around,its the reinlender dance which takescentre stage.The music is composed by ystein Olsen Vadsten who keeps the strong melodic and tempo, which is dear to this kind of dance. Admittedly given a make-over with a more rhythmic accompaniment and more excitingharmonization.This makes it a fun piece, both to Listen to and play. The reinlender dance derives from the Rhineland in Germany,and is also known as the German Polka.To the conductor:Because this is a dance form whichisdependent on the right "swing", it is of great importance to keep as close to the metronome mark as possible. A steady groove, primarily specified by the drum set, is also essential for a good result. Remember to keep a good balance between themelody carrying instruments and the accompaniment. Good luck and have fun with this "crazy" little tune.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£118.99Goodnight Moon - Eric Whitacre
Over the past few years I must have read Goodnight Moon to my son a thousand times - maybe more. Somewhere around reading number 500, I began hearing little musical fragments as I read, and over time those fragments began toblossom into a simple, sweet lullaby. I knew it was a long shot, but I asked my manager, Claire Long, to contact HarperCollins and see if they would allow the text to be set to music. To my surprise and delight they agreed - thefirst time they had ever allowed Goodnight Moon to be used in such a way. I composed the piece relatively quickly, originally setting the text for harp, string orchestra, and my son's mother, soprano Hila Plitmann. I laterarranged Goodnight Moon for SATB choir and piano. More recently, my dear friend Verena Msenbichler-Bryant arranged the piece for wind ensemble and soloist. The melody of Goodnight Moon will forever make me think of those quietnights, reading my son to sleep. -Eric Whitacre
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£189.99Masked - Alex Shapiro
Masked by Alex Shapiro is composed in the exact shape of a Classical Minuet and Trio waltz, though the music--a whimsical if somewhat demented masked ball (or, balls, in this case)--bears little connection to that of Mozart or Haydn. Historically, third movement Minuets gave way to the joke-like Scherzo, and the Trio section tips its hat to some welcome levity. This is one of four movements in Suspended, a piece is composed in the tradition of an 18th century Classical symphony: four contrasting movements which serve specific functions and reveal a story. The work begins in absolute rage and chaos, then alternates between moments of grief and bleakness. Grim reality shifts to a macabre, circus-like insanity, and by the end, flickers of genuine hope contrast a pervasive sense of dread, and finally arrive at more optimistic possibilities. To perform the piece, you'll need an audio system capable of playing the prerecorded audio tracks from a laptop computer via a small digital audio interface connected to an audio mixer. Download information is provided in the printed piece.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£78.99
Festival Fanfare and March - Chris Bernotas
From the brilliant opening fanfare to the noble march, this little masterwork sounds more like an adventure movie score than a young band piece. This is a creative and spirited work for introducing students to 6/8 meter. Sounding a lot harder than it really is, this is a very likeable piece for opening a concert, or music festival.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£72.95
Feuerfest - Josef Strauss
Feuerfest was written to commemorate the sale of a fireproof safe for a famous Vienna safe company. The piece has a distinctive Austrian flare like that of the Radetzky March, but is much more playable for young bands. Carl Strommen has set this nice little march for use in festival performance. It is a refreshing change from the standard American march fare.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£69.99
Excursions - James Curnow
A joyous and exuberant sparkler for your next concert! This bright little bijou from James Curnow is a great way to start the show. It's as inviting as they get and will engage every listener from start to finish.The easy excitement will motivate your Grade 2 band to their iridescent best. For groups playing regularly at a Grade 3 level EXCURSIONS also works well in the program following any heavy major work you may have chosen to perform. It's a perfect way to lighten the mood and recapture those listeners who may be new to the art of listening to larger forms.Use it anywhere, anytime of the year. It'll be quick to prepare, effective in concert, and has much more tooffer educationally than the typical "pop/movie tune" type of fare.Take a look!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£127.30Prinsessen p (fj)erten - Haakon Esplo
In this little suite in three movements, your young musicians really can be creative and have fun.Of course, a story must be written about the unfortunate princess who ate pea soup and got to let a small fart. Maybe one or more should dress up and play the princess and other roles? And who will be the lucky one who gets the honourable assignment to be a soloist on a fart cushion - probably for the first time in the history of your band? Maybe all the musicians should have one each?Think what a great finale at the last movement that could be.Good luck!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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