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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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£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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£72.99Nature's Way - Gunther Schuller
From the composer: Nature's Way for intermediate level band was commissioned by BandQuest, a project initiated by the American Composers Forum. Their mission is for major composers of national reputation to write works of high quality that take into consideration the (still comparatively limited) levels of musical development--both technical and conceptual--typical of such ensembles. I eagerly accepted the commission and the challenges implied thereby--that is, to reign in my creative imagination to some extent and limit the technical/conceptual demands to a more moderate level than is to be found in my previous compositions for band. Nonetheless, since the process of rehearsing, studying and performing a work created specifically for the school student market is--and must be, in my view--primarily educational, it was very clear to me that my work would (and should) challenge the players at least to their top levels, and even a little beyond that. Thus Nature's Way in no way represents a compromise of my personal style, nor my long held concepts of form, continuity, texture, and instrumentation. I have known for a long time that young, inquisitive minds are eager to learn from new experiences, from previously never encountered challenges, that is to say, to be pushed--gently--to rise above their present levels of achievement. That's what education is all about. BandQuest, an exciting series of new music and accompanying curricula for band, is a program published by the American Composers Forum. The series was started as a response to feedback from music educators that there is a pressing need for new, fresh band music. The heart of this program is new works written by a diverse group of leading American composers who have created challenging pieces that are a true departure from standard middle school repertoire. Every BandQuest project includes a residency component in which the composer works collaboratively with a middle school as they create their new piece. Many BandQuest pieces are accompanied by an interdisciplinary curriculum designed to assist students as they learn the music and to integrate each piece with non-music studies. Visit www.bandquest.org to learn more about this innovative series, and email [email protected] to request a free downloadable audio catalog.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£174.99Two Symphonic Interludes - Harrie Janssen
Based on the poems by German poet Carl Hauptmann (late Romanticism) and the English poet William Wordsworth (early Romanticism). Carl Hauptmann was in poor health as a child, but highly intelligent. He studied philosophy, psychology and biology. In the latter he was admitted to the degree of doctor. His marriage provided financial independence, so that he could focus on his studies. Hauptmann wrote various novels, plays, poetry and scientific works. Night Twilight floats above the valley's night mists are hanging, there's a whispering brook. Now the covering veil is lifting quite: come and look! See the magicland before our gaze: tall as dreams the silver mountains stand, crossed by silent silver paths shining from a secret land. Noble, pure, the dreaming country sleeps. By the path the shadow black and hogh of a beach. a wisp of a white smoke creeps to the dark'ning sky. Where the valley is the darkest hued countless little lights shine silently. O my soul! Drink of solitude! Carl Hauptmann Wordsworth 'introduced' a new type of poetry, based on the speech of the common man. This was his answer to the poetry of the classicism which was bound by rigid rules. His definition of poetry was: the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings from emotions recollected in tranquility. My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began. So is it now I am a man. So be it when I shall grow old, Or let me die! The Child is father of the Man. And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety. William Wordsworth In a truly poetic manner Harrie Janssen has transformed the contemplative thoughts of the poets into two compositions for Concert Band.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£91.99The Sun Will Rise Again - Philip Sparke
The composer writes:"On March 11th 2011 a massive 9.0- magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of north-eastern Japan.I'm writing these programme notes barely a week later and the death toll caused by the quake and resulting tsunami already exceeds 6000, with thousands of people still unaccounted for. I have many friends associated with many bands throughout Japan and one of these, Yutaka Nishida, suggested I write a piece to raise money to help those affected by the disaster. I was immediately attracted by the idea and have arranged Cantilena (a brass band piece recently commissioned by the Grenland International Brass Festival, Norway) for wind band, giving it a new title tohonour my friends in the Land of the Rising Sun.I will be donating royalties from this piece to the Japanese Red Cross Society Emergency Relief Fund and am delighted to say that my distributors, De Haske, who will generously also donate all net profits from sales of this piece, have pledged a substantial advance payment to the Red Cross so that what little help this project generates can be immediate.It is my sincere wish that this 'Band Aid' project will allow wind bands around the world support the people of Japan, where bands are a way of life for many, in this difficult time".Philip Sparke
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£205.30Mitt hjerte alltid vanker - Fantasi - Hans Adolph Brorson
This arrangement was commissioned by B3 (The Bergen Woodwind Ensemble). B3 is a large woodwind ensemble located in Bergen with a mix of professional and amateur players. My Heart Remains in Wonder is a well-known Christmas hymn in Scandinavia. I wanted my version to be different to the traditional hymn tune style in which it is normally performed. One day I was outside walking and this idea came to me: an ostinato-like, mechanical skeleton of arpeggio semiquavers on which I could 'hang' the melody. However, I also wanted to do the melody line a bit different. The inspiration for this comes from folk music and the way fiddlers hardly ever lift their bow off the strings when they play. Because of this, it is important that the melody is played in a very sostenuto style in this arrangement. The harmonies lie somewhere between jazz and folk music with a little nod towards Grieg (himself heavily influenced by folk music) in the slow middle section.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£139.00Himlen i min famn - Carola Häggkvist
"Heaven in My Arms" is a beautiful melody by Carola Hggkvist with lyrics by Erik Hillestad.This version is without vocal soloist so the melody is spread into many parts throughout the arrangement.(There are cue notes for oboe and bassoon, where they have soloistic elements.)To the conductor:Strive for good flow and phrasing. Feel free to be a bit creative with the phrasing. It invites for two-bar phrases in the melody, but perhaps 2/2/4 could also work nicely.Balance is very important. Often there is both melody and obligato/countermelody in addition to harmonic elements. Let each of them have their own layer in the balance.Staccato effects in clarinets and marimba are intended as pizzicato effects and must be phrased. Not too static.The tutti section at 72 can be energetic with intense lines. Maybe a little pi mosso as well. Think big and orchestral with good resonance and timbre.- Reid Gilje -
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£65.00Highlights from Bugsy Malone - Paul Williams
Highlights from Bugsy Malone (score and parts) presents four irresistible songs from the favourite children's musical, arranged by Rob Wiffin for grade 3-level symphonic wind band. Perfect for school and amateur bands, songs include So you wanna be a boxer, Tomorrow, My name is Tallullah, and You give a little love.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£164.99Early Hungarian Dances - Ferenc Farkas
The composer wrote of his work as follows: In the music of Hungary, folk songs are manifestly of great importance, on the other hand our ancient airs and dances play a modest role. For this work I have been influenced by dances of the 17th century, written by unknown amateurs in a relatively simple style. Most of these dances were recorded between the 14th and 18th centuries under the usual form of tablature notation. My interest in this music was first captured in the 1940s. I was so fascinated that I decided to give these melodies new life. I fitted the little eight-bar dances together into ternary and rondo forms, and leaning on early Baroque harmony and counterpoint, I attempted a reminiscence of that atmosphere of the provincial Hungarian Baroque.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£122.50
Joe Cocker!
Joe Cocker is considered the most successful white blues singer; he is especially well-known for his rough, striking voice. In 1968, With a Little Help from My Friends became his first number one hit in the UK. With this song he had his great breakthrough at the legendary Woodstock festival in 1969. He can now look back on 40 years of performing and he still is very successful. His records are almost selfselling and his tours easily fill stadiums. Wolfgang Wssner, a true Joe Cocker fan from early childhood, has collected the singer's most beautiful and successful songs and arranged them in a great medley for concert band.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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