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£264.99
Diferencias on an Old Spanish Song - Yasuhide Ito
I am immensely happy that my Gloriosa, symphonic poem for band (1990), has been performed by so many bands in the last thirty years.During this period, the growth of the internet has made it much easier to access information.When I composed Gloriosa, I only had limited information about the period when Christianity and Western music was first introduced to Japan, and had to rely a lot on my imagination.However, nowadays, it is easy to obtain various source materials and to read interesting studies on the music of the past.In recent years, the music of Luis de Narvez (born ca.1500 - died between 1555-1560), Spanish composer and vihuela player, has become increasingly known, and several CDs of his music are now available.Narvez composed the earliest-known set of diferencias, a forerunner of the variation form. One of his works is Seys diferencias sobre el himno "O gloriosa domina" [Six diferencias on the hymn "O gloriosa domina"] (1538), based on the Spanish Marian hymn, and it was this melody I used in the first movement of my Gloriosa.Western music has been my musical roots since childhood, and throughout my career as a composer, it has continued to fascinate me. One could say that this has provided the inspiration for Diferencias on an Old Spanish Song, my own take on the diferencias form.Actually, such music from the early sixteenth century could sound fresh to our modern ears. So I decided to quote the melody from Narvez's Sey diferencias at the beginning and end of the piece, in order that people can get the feel for the period.The main section (bars 42-390) is formed of 13 diferencias, similar to the first movement of the Gloriosa.In the middle section, which begins after the eighth diferencia(from bar 187), one should be totally absorbed in the tranquility and the beauty of the music. Although it's in the style of a sarabande, it should be taken slower and played as pianissimo as possible.This is followed by folk-style dance music. (As only standard percussion instruments are used, try to be creative with tonal colours and sense of rhythm).The structure of the work is simple, but be aware of the connection between the sections when constructing the whole.Also, think about the tonality. Overall, the work is in F minor. The main section is basically in D minor, but from bar 102, it modulates to A flat minor and G minor, and then in the middle section it suddenly switches to A flat major (which is the furthest key from D minor, and the relative major of F minor). From bar 219, it modulates to F minor and then to C minor, then back to F minor by way of A minor.N.B. The Oboe II part can be substituted by the English Horn (as indicated in the parts). One can choose according to the player's skills or preference.Recent new compositions for wind band are often full of rhythm, dynamism, and tonal colour, and compositional techniques and orchestration have also evolved greatly. Yet on the other hand, they tend to feature fewer melodic or expressive elements. Since this work is the test piece for WMC Kerkrade 2022, I had to think about what "tests" or "challenges" to set, and I decided to compose something that doesn't involve a lot of technical display, but requires beautiful sounds and harmonies, and above all, musical expressivity. I didn't put many expression markings in the score, because I wanted the performers to think about how best to express this music. If it is played merely as notated, it's not going to sound very interesting.Christianity was introduced to Japan in the mid-16th century, but it was subsequently banned and Japan entered a period of national isolation, which meant that there was hardly any international exchange for two hundred years. As a result, the Christian hymns that were introduced prior to the isolation became almost unrecognizable over the centuries. This was the theme I explored in my Gloriosa thirty years ago.Now, in 2021, the whole world has been forced to "isolate" due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In such times, it seems pertinent that I've written a work using this melody again. I sincerely hope that people will be able to gather in Kerkrade in 2022.(English Translation:Nahoko Gotoh)
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£75.00Sonata - Derek Bourgeois
This work, composed in 1998, was commissioned by the American trombonist Don Lucas as a work for trombone and piano and first performed by him in Birmingham on 19th May 2000. Subsequently, I arranged the music for both solo trombone and brass band and solo trombone and wind band so that it now exists in three formats. The first movement, in B flat major, is brisk and energetic, and is cast in sonata form. The second subject is gentler and more lyrical. The second movement, a scherzo in C major, is the most complex of the four. Basically the structure is a rond. For a long time the music remains in the opening 5/8 time until a new theme introduces more broken rhythms in a more jazzy idiom. After a return of the opening theme the following episode is more tonally ambiguous. Finally, the main theme returns to round off the movement. The third movement, a lyrical adagio, is really one long extended melodic flow. The harmonies are lush and the textures simple and direct. The tonal center is A minor, but the music meanders through so many keys, that this key centre is heavily disguised. The finale is a fiery affair. G minor is really its home key, but throughout the movement the music moves about a lot and the second subject is first heard in A flat minor. The movement's underlying sonata structure is masked not only by its loose tonality but also by its frequently changing time signatures. Like the first movement the second subject is more lyrical in nature and for a while it seems that the music will end peacefully, but a final flurry heralds a triple forte unison on the home note of the first movement - B flat. Derek Bourgeois
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£115.60Our Last Summer - Benny Andersson
An exciting arrangement where almost all players have a bit of the melody line. There are many opportunities to give individual musicians soloistic challenges. Any bandmember should find something interesting in this piece. It will be possible to add vocals to the arrangement. A lovely melody with great expressions.Our Last Summer" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA from their seventh studio album, "Super Trouper," released in 1980. The song is indeed featured in the musical "Mamma Mia!", a little bit shortened and with small changes in the lyrics. The musical premiered in London's West End in 1999 and is a duet performed by the characters Harry Bright and Donna Sheridan, reflecting on their past romance during a summer spent in Paris.The song is primarily sung by Bjrn Ulvaeus, with backing vocals provided by Agnetha Fltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, the female members of ABBA. Their harmonies contribute to the song's nostalgic and wistful atmosphere. The lyrics vividly describe the memories of the summer spent together, including scenes of walking along the Seine River in Paris and listening to French songs. The song also touches on the passage of time and the realization that the summer romance has ended.While not released as an official single in most countries, "Our Last Summer" still received considerable airplay and became a fan favorite. It charted in some European countries and has remained popular among ABBA fans over the years.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£118.99Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber
The Musical CATS, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber is based on the 1939 poetry collection Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. It became Lloyd Webber's third great success, after the musicals Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. He began setting Eliot's poems to music in 1977, and the compositions were first presented as a song cycle in 1980. Producer Cameron Mackintosh then recruited director Trevor Nunn and choreographer Gillian Lynne to turn the songs into a complete musical. CATS became one of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history. It received its world premiere at the New London Theatre in 1981, where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances. The following year, CATS opened at New York's Winter Garden Theatre, its home for the next 18 years, garnering seven 1983 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The show returned to Broadway in 2016, where it had a successful pre-tour run at the Neil Simon Theatre. CATS has been presented in over 30 countries, translated into 16 languages, and seen by more than 73 million people worldwide. Lloyd Webber's magnificent musical score includes the poignant hit song Memory, which has been recorded by over 150 artists, from Barbra Streisand to Liberace to Barry Manilow. It took 7,486 chandelier crashes for Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera to take over from CATS as the longest-running show in Broadway history in January 2006.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£159.99Resurrection - Kevin Houben
"Man wird mit Keulen zu Boden geschlagen und dann auf Engelsfittichen zu den hchsten Hhen gehoben." (Mahler over zijn 2de symfonie "Wederopstanding", Juli 1894)*"You are clubbed to the ground and then lifted to the highest heights on angels' wings"Commissioned by and dedicated to Concertband Maasmechelen (BE), conducted by Mark Prils.Kevin Houben was inspired for this work by Gustav Mahler's 2nd symphony, better known as the Resurrection symphony.The work can be regarded as a Ma(h)lerei of various compositional and spherical elements that refer to the Austrian composer but that appear in this composition in an embedded, contemporary way.As Mahler often drew his inspiration from nature, the opening of this piece brings nature right to the audience. The work starts with a solo for alto flute accompanied by a pedal note in four octaves with harmonic responses echoing the solo.From the start, Kevin Houben provides Mahler's material with a contemporary touch. He replaces the nature sounds that Mahler uses (perfect fourth) with tritone intervals. The off stage trumpet signals have been preserved but are provided with a new accompaniment. Gradually, throughout the work, the orchestra undergoes its own independent development. Mahler's musical signature remains recognizable, but Kevin Houben allows it - e.g. through the use of various timbres - to flourish in a more modern musical idiom, which characterizes numerous contemporary compositions for wind band (cfr. Where Angels Fly).The work comes to a grandiose end with a passage of the famous chorale from Mahler's 2nd symphony. The rich orchestration of this chorale gives the listener the illusion of the presence of a choir and organ without actually using them.In Resurrection, each instrument group comes into its own: in solo fragments, in transparent thematic passages or in splendid tuttis. Therefore, the work forms an interesting challenge for a wind band on several levels, both technically and melodically - the latter due to the long suspenseful melodic phrases that the musical structure requires.The piece is accessible to a wide audience and can be regarded as an enrichment for any concert programme. Resurrection takes the audience through various atmospheres and experiences: from stunning to chilling, from calming to delighting...Die Musik muss immer ein Sehnen enthalten, ein Sehnen ber die Dinge dieser Welt hinaus." (Gustav Mahler, 1860-1911)"Music must always involve a longing, a yearning beyond the things of this world."
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£122.50Suite - Istvan Bogar
Istvn Bogr's series of movements intended for youngsters is colourfully instrumented, evocative music, rich in melodic invention; in character it is most closely akin to Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet music. In the opening movement (Little march), little boys wearing paper shakos on their heads and carrying wooden swords play at soldiers. The following movement, Humming, is the only movement in the suite that is calm and in odd-numbered rhythm; in it the children gather flowers in their little baskets, and meanwhile hum pleasant tunes. The third movement is a funny game, with its tempo sometimes speeding up, sometimes slowing down, but by the end really going wild.The title of the finale is Game of tag. The tiny formal sections and interludes in this lively, cheerful music are linked together by a recurring rondo theme, and the chase ends with a brief coda.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£134.99
Recalls - Ben Haemhouts
Recalls obviously refers to memories. This piece of music is in fact a series of flashbacks, however, it does not highlight the actual memories of specific thoughts, people or events.The composition evolves around the late Frans Steurs, who for manyyears was the inspirational artist behind the brass band that is currently commissioning this work. The main theme of the work is based on the name STEURS". E = mi, U = do, R = re and S = "si" which is Dutch for the note "ti". This idea forms themusical theme for the entire composition and different variations are used throughout. The structure of the work is based on the concept of a story which father Steurs is telling his two daughters, who play the flute and the clarinet. Each part ofthe work has a story-like character:1. Introduction: following a short ominous intro, the main theme is presented for the first time.2. The Story: father Steurs has both his daughters on his knee and he tells them stories from the old days. Trumpetsand trombones play variations of the theme. The story gets very exciting (accelerande, poco a poco agitato) until the tale takes a dramatic turn when the father tells an exciting story at the time of the Second World War. He tells of being hunteddown by the occupying army and these adventurous episodes are related to us musically in part3. Danger, with its skilful references to "vor dem Sturm" from "Eine Alpensinfonie" by Richard Strauss.4. called Fugitives, is about how he fled in the nightfrom the enemy and this is reflected in the bass tones of a new theme. The aggression of the war is illustrated from bar 117 onwards, by a harsh brass section. The main theme is repeated once again and this time up-tempo. The second theme is broughtonce again from bar 149 onwards.5. Dialogues, depicts the conversations between the two daughters and their father. Father speaks (bar 155); the daughters answer (bar 164 - flute, bar 166 - clarinet); bar 178: father answers with the tune of the maintheme to the two daughters. The discussions gradually intensify but ultimately end in peace in the last part called Conclusion.The piece of music "Recalls" is a free interpretation by the composer who consulted the letters between the two daughtersof Steurs and their father and in this respect it is not really music for a programme."
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£104.99Variations on Shalom Chaverim - Andreas Ludwig Schulte
Shalom Chaverim is an ancient Hebrew (farewell)song, which was originally sung at the end of a celebration or meeting. It was and is mostly sung as a round. Freely translated the words mean "Goodbye, friends, goodbye and see you again!". The varying moods at a parting have been captured very well by Andreas Schulte in his arrangement 'Variations on Shalom Chaverim'. The composer himself says about the song, 'Although the melody is in a minor key, the overall atmosphere in the song is positive. one wishes each other all the best. Saying goodbye, however, also hurts. When you slow down the pace of the melody and add 'blue notes' in the harmonies, this can be sensed immediately.'Schulte refers here to the first variation. The second variation is very intense with possibly even deeper-felt emotions. 'Variations on Shalom Chaverim' ends on a cheerful and positive note, in fast tempo, and with oriental elements in the melody: 'L'hitra'ot, Shalom' (See you again, and farewell!).
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£98.20Golden suite - Lorenzo Pusceddu
In the Non Valley, during spring when the water of Lake Santa Giustina starts lowering, the old main traffic system and the steep terrain with the Groppello vineyards resurface. The majestic and uncompromising Mount Ozolo dominates this landscape and acts like a guard of the fertile valley. The people who had to walk along the Regiai road to leave their village in search of fortune keep those memories very alive. Their trip started by descending the valley along the Regiai road, walking through the luxuriant vineyards that were supported by dry stone walls, downright mosaics of stones built to help the growth of the vineyard. Those who left and casted a glance at their village for one last time could catch sight of the Ozolo, the mountain of the primordial man, of hunting and friendship. They also had to cross a bold stone bridge that still exists and is jealously safeguarded by the lake water, which has also sunken together with the bridge hectares of vineyards of Groppello, the vine of the traditional and vigorous wine produced in the Non Valley. Its name is said to come from the typical structure of the grapes, which are compact and resemble a thick tangle ("groppo" in local dialect), almost a defense against the shifting temperatures of the fall that gives the grapes a bright color and a honey-like sweetness. The production at the end of the nineteenth century was of circa fifty thousand hectoliters of wine, but today it has reduced to only five hundred hectoliters produced by about thirty courageous farmers who want to preserve an authentic patrimony of taste and flavor. These wine makers have the will to safeguard a vineyard that is at risk of extinction and work the land as they used to do many years ago: with hoe, shovel, and a lot of sweat! The Groppello vineyard extended to the bottom of Mount Ozolo, but on the higher slopes the more rigid temperatures allowed only for the growth of pines, spruces, larches, broad-leaved trees, and pastures. In the course of the years, this typical vegetation of the mountain has provided the population with the raw material to build houses, to keep warm during the winter, and to feed the animals. Mount Ozolo has also been since ancient times the "sacred" mountain of the valley, and today it has become a game preserve and a site of socialization for young people who know how to love and respect nature.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£176.50Masquerade - Philip Sparke
MASQUERADE was commissioned by Stadtmusik Willisau from Switzerland (Reto Gdel, conductor) to celebrate their 175th anniversary in 2003 and first performed by them in November that year. 1. OvertureThe first movement opens with a fanfare-like figure, featuring the brass, before the main them is introduced over staccato chords. After a short, syncopated interlude a legato theme is introduced in the tenor register and material is developed until the music slows temporarily. The opening theme returns and the 'tenor' tune is taken up by the whole band until the opening fanfare returns to close the movement. 2. ElegyThe slow movement opens intensely with a bare two-part theme, whichleads to a passionate chorale-style melody. A second theme is introduced and leads to a climax, a return of the chorale theme and a pianissimo repeat which again leads to a full-band climax. The two-part theme returns quietly to create a peaceful close. 3 InterludeA short movement which changes the mood to introduce:- 4 FinaleThree violent chords preface a lively syncopated opening theme. The trumpets introduce a second idea, which is treated fugally, and this in turn leads to the main melodic idea of the movement, over staccato chords. A contrasting subject is then introduced in the middle of the band, followed by echoes of the first movement fanfare. The opening theme returns and material is revisited until the opening fanfare returns in full to end the work triumphantly.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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