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£49.50Wizards of the West - Sean O'Loughlin
For years, composer Sean O'Loughlin has provided the youngest of student with meaningful music for their very first concert. Wizards of the West is no exception. Strong full scoring, lots of rhythmic interest in an aggressive piece in a minor key. Students will love it!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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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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£139.99Le Cortge du Roi Renaud - Franco Cesarini
Le cortge du roi Renaud is a suite in five parts. It is based on tales that originated in southern European folk songs, dating back as far as the 16th century. A large portion of these songs are of the genre "Complaintes" songs in which the text gives a detailed description of events having a generally criminal or macabre character. The most familiar song to feature the tales of Roi Renaud is "Fualdes", consisting of 48 verses.The first part of the suite is based on the song "La Porcheronne" (The Swineherd). It telis the story of a young woman forced by her mother-in-law to tend pigs while her husband is away fighting in the war. She is freed only when her husband returns sevenyears later.The next part tells the story of "La mrquise Empoisonne" (The Poisoned Marquise). A marquise is coerced by her king to become his mistress. The jealous queen poisons her by means of a bouquet of deadly scented fiowers.Despite having the character of a merry dance, the third part, "La maumarie vengee" (The Avenged Wedding), expresses the touching story of Queen Clotilde, persecuted for her refusal to live according to the Aryan beliefs."La belle engloutie" (The Swallowed Beauty) relates the tale of the young wife of King Renaud. She cannot imagine a life without her husband, who was mortally wounded in the war, and begs the earth to open and swallow her up so thst she may rejoin her love.The gruesome content of the final part,"Le tueur de femmes" (The Wife Killer), bears a strong resembiance to the tale of Bluebeard. The story is about a young wife in danger of being drowned in a pond by her husband, which is what happened to her 13 predecessors. Thanks to her cunning, she manages to turn the tables and contrive her husband's demise.
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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£69.99Two Israeli Folksongs - Ben Christon
This piece features two folksongs from Israel, each portraying a different mood. The first section.'Ma Averech'(How shall this child be blessed) is calm and nostalgic, with a slight hint of melancholy. In the second section,'Zemer Atik' (Old Song), the celebration breaks out! An exciting, varied composition that your band will love playing!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£84.99On the Movieset - John Emerson Blackstone
Glitter and glamour, good-looking people, a lot of Bling Bling and fast cars images like these will cross our minds when we think of the movie world. However, reality proves to be different : as a rule, a tremendous amount of work will have been done on the set before a film is ready to be shown on the big screen. A visit to an actual movie set inspired John Emerson Blackstone to write a composition bearing the same name. He had both seen a number of characteristic attributes and heard the typical phrases used in film making, and he incorporated them into 'On the Movie Set' . In the first part, 'The Clapboard', a 'director's assistant' is supposed to shout "Quieton the set'" and "Action!", as is done before a real scene is shot. Subsequently, in order to create the right atmosphere, the clacking of a 'Clapboard' should be heard. During a romantic scene we should be transported to another world by means of sweet sounds in the background, so romantic music is of course heard in the next part, 'Love Scene'. At the end of a long working day 'It's a wrap' is called on the set to inform everyone that the filming on that day is completed. Now there is only one more thing left to dream of : an Oscar..... Perf. Note: The use of the right props will add to the performance and appreciation of 'On the Movie Set'. A red carpet and a glamorous reception should give your audience the feeling they are attending a real 'opening night'!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£209.99La Terre - Rob Goorhuis
In the composition 'La terre' several aspects of Earth have been translated into sounds in an associative manner. The first part depicts Nature, Mother Earth, stability, the soil which is the source of life. Earth symbolizes tradition, rituals, fertility. In the music of the composition this can be heard in tonic and ostinato passages. Furthermore, human emotions such as gladness, sorrow, wonder, resignation, hope and despair, indissolubly connected as they are to mankind's life on earth, are musically reflected in sudden gusts of expression. Earth for us human beings is the solid ground on which everything in life takes place. In the second part different moodsare evoked in a sort of toccata. Now and then the music sounds fragmented, at other times as a solid whole. The robustness of the music in this part has its roots in the earth, originates from it. It reflects stability and strength, but love and nostalgia are also present in soft and fragile tones. 'La terre' is a musical narrative about Earth, in which music has been given ample room to show its many-sided beauty.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£53.50Lost Mountain - Jay Bocook
Composed in two stylistically contrasting sections, here is a unique and dynamic work that is definitely something out of the ordinary. The first section opens with dark sonorities and mysterious effects. The faster second section is propelled by a driving, yet easy percussion undercurrent and features strong themes scored to sound full with young bands. Your students will love the dramatic effects and musical depth of this exciting work. Dur: 4:30
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£47.50A Rollickin' Christmas - Timothy Johnson
Easy transitions from rock to swing and beyond make this delightful new Christmas gem a toe-tapper from the first note to the last. It's a sure thing your band will love playing the bluesy riffs and interpreting the popular musicfeel. Timothy Johnson's savvy arranging means the piece will be effective with any sized group. Directors are always looking for fun new Christmas pieces. Rock out!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£50.50
Alpha Dog - Heather Hoefle
A fun and energetic work for the beginning band that your students will love! The infectious groove, hand clapping, and driving drum break keep this spirited piece driving all the way to the end. Using only the first six notes introduced in most band methods, this piece from composer and master teacher Heather Hoefle is an excellent choice for a school assembly, parent meeting, pep rally or concert closer!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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