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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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£69.99
An Irish Lullaby - Stephen Bulla
What can be more charming than a comely Irish folk melody? This is music that allows the band to play in the rubato style, with much room for expression. Found in an old British publication and simply called "Irish Air," this endearing arrangement is a rhapsodic treatment that takes fragments of the melody and develops them into a large symphonic work. The freedom of tempi allows you to work with your band in a sensitively conducted way that only a beautiful piece like this will allow.There is always room on a concert program for at least one lush, melodic contrast piece. Perhaps this one is for you. It's so difficult to describe a thing of real beauty. Please listen tothe demo recording and hear it for yourself.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£137.99Odyssee - Jan Bosveld
The Odyssee tells the story of Odysseus, the undaunted hero. In times long ago the blind poet Homer wrote this famous epic. The "Odyssey" follows the "Iliad", the story of the bloody war between the Greek and the Trojans. This battle endsafter ten years thanks to the Odysseys famous trick. the Trojan Horse. The Odyssey is not a war epic, but a story about perseverance, loyalty, adventure, and the survival instinct of its ingenious hero. In The Odyssey, Homer describes howOdysseus, the king of Ithaca, had to endure another ten years of affliction after the ten years of war in Troy before he could finally return to his home land. During those years, his wife, Penelope, had to try and keep her many admirers away.These men not only wanted het hand but also the kingship. To prove her husbands worth, she played a trick: "As soon as I have finished weaving this shroud for my father-in-law, Laertes, I will choose one of you to become my husband", she promisedthem. But during the night, she secretly loosened what she had woven during the day, prolonging the time until Odysseus would finally return. After twenty long years, when he finally stood at the door, she wondered: Is this really my husband? Ishe an imposter? Cunningly, she asked him to move the bed, because only she and her husband know that the bed was immovable and was build around an old three trunk! Odysseus was deeply moved: this really was his wife, his Penelope! Nearly threethousands years later, the loyalty and strength of this character, and all the dangerous adventures that Odysseus survived thanks to courage and intelligence, still moves us today. Odyssee by Jan Bosveld is not just an adventure story, butrather a characteristic piece in which memories of Homers story can be heard. The composition opens with a firm, stirring theme describing our hero, Odysseus, in detail: This man is not to be taken lightly. The further development of thisshort introduction completes this character sketch: trustworthy, perseverant, and a genius. After that we can picture Odysseus on the lonely beach of Ogygia. Do the trumpets depict his memories of the war of Troy? Does he think of his wife, as werecognise the weaving loom of Penelope in the murmuring eighth? In the solemn, plaintive part that follows, we can imagine Penelope feeling lonely, sitting in the womens room with her servants.One of the girls plays the harp, but that does notclear the sombre atmosphere. Then we can imagine seeing the sorceress Circe, who changed Odysseus men into swine. After she gives a simple magic sign something follows that reminds us of the sound of pigs grunting. Then the Odysseus theme resounds:the hero comes to savi his comrades. Assisted by Hermes, he forces Circe to lift the spell. The piece ends the same way as it began, with an animated theme: Odysseus is still the same, undefeated and not to be taken lighty!
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£57.50Grandmother Song
Grandmother Song is an introduction to the Mohican tradition of sung syllables, or what Native Americans call vocables. Combining them with traditional wood flute songs, composer Brent Michael Davids offers a fresh look at the sound of Native American songs. Band instruments are performed less as musical instruments and more as talking sticks, singing reeds, rustling winds and shooting thunder. Through this beautiful ballad, students are given the materials to understand how Native Americans celebrate the world around them through the blending of words and song. (Includes score and parts.) 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. Learn more on YouTube. 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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£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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£168.50Trois Nuances - Scott L. Hines
TROIS NUANCES is a three movement work composed by Scott L. Hines for the Memphis Ballet Company in 2004. Originally for Piano only,it is a three movement work. The two fast movements surround a blues-like second movement. While it was not the composer's initial intent to write a movement based in the blues, that's what happened and it was very appropriate as Trois Nuances was danced on thestage of W.C. Handy Park on Beale Street, the site of the birth of the blues publishing industry. Hines was given a week to present a draft to the ballet company to be performed as it's opening piece of the 2004 season debut. Once the draft was approved, he had two days to finalize it. The first and third movements reflect the hurried and excited pace at which it was composed. Excellent repertoire from a contemporary American composer! Symphonic Orchestra. Instrument Parts. Grade: 4 Duration: 12:29
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£98.20Space Lab - Giuseppe Ratti
A long pedal-note of evanescent chords, based on empty parallel fifths, announces the theme;flutes and reed instruments exploit some almost imperceptible micro-fragments, supported by muted trumpets, creating what is an almost surreal and spatial atmosphere. This was Giuseppe Ratti's starting point for his "Space Lab", a laboratory of sounds and, later (when the main theme is taken up once more), of rhythms. Although it may sound complicated, this piece is ultimately based on a single motif: the descending fourth played on the second beat by the woodwinds. In this piece, Giuseppe Ratti, with his usual pallet of clear, transparent colours at hand, appropriate for the general public, together with simple, effective themes, has sought to experiment with new atmospheres and rhythms. First of all we hear the entire theme in the Allegro. Then the rhythm changes in a simple but at the same time complex manner: almost a genetic mutation. The part leading up to the final Lento flows smoothly for the listener but requires great skill and experience on the part of those performing it. In the final lento the main theme reappears in all its simplicity and sincerity, purified of all contrasts. A metaphor for a life that leads us towards unimaginable frontiers but which, in the end, always brings us back to the point from where we started.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£75.50The Dream of Tiberius - David Campo
The Roman Emperor Tiberius was born in 42 BCE to Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla, both descendants of prestigious political families, at a time when Rome was undergoing significant political upheaval. Julius Caesar had begun a brutal civil war in 49 BCE to end Rome's rule as a Republic and consolidate his power as supreme ruler. Following Caeser's assassination in 44 BCE, Tiberius' father backed the forces wishing to return Rome to a Republic, but they were defeated by Caesarian loyalists led by Caeser's heir Octavian. As a result, Tiberius' early life was spent on the run and in political exile with his parents. In 27 BCE, Octavian would become the first Emporer of Rome and assume the name Augustus. Augustus forced Tiberius' parents to divorce and took Tiberius' mother as his new bride, separating the family and forcing Tiberius to live with his father. Upon his father's death, Tiberius went to live with his mother and Emporer Augustus, a situation Tiberius found extremely uncomfortable but one over which he had no control. Having been adopted by the Emperor, Tiberius assumed the military and political life thrust upon him. He proved to be an outstanding military and political leader, and with his marriage to Vipsania Agrippina his life took on a heretofore unknown stability. However, Augustus would intervene in Tiberius' life once more, forcing him to abandon his happy marriage and take Augustus' daughter Julia (Tiberius' step sister) as his new wife. This arrangement, while securing Tiberius' place as Augustus' heir and ensuring he would one day be Emperor of Rome, was disastrous. Julia's drunken licentiousness was a constant source of scandal and embarrassment for Tiberius (and her father, the Emperor) and she was eventually exiled by her father Augustus. Tiberius was named Emperor of Rome upon the death of Augustus in AD 14, assuming his position as the most powerful man on Earth. However, no matter how powerful he had become, Tiberius never felt as if he had ever had any control over his life, having been manipulated from childhood through adulthood by the whims of Augustus. As Emperor, he soon became disgusted with the political intrigue of the Roman Senate and by AD 26 left Rome and took up residence on the island of Capri, where he lived out the rest of his life. History does not regard Tiberius fondly and by all accounts towards the end of his reclusive life on Capri, he had become a miserable, sick and mentally unstable old man reveling in debauchery and cruelty. It is also informative to note that he was Emperor of Rome when Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, and while there is no indication that Tiberius was even aware of the existence of Jesus, as Emperor he was responsible for the appointment of Pontius Pilate as Governor of Judea. Even considering this, it is difficult to look on the life of the Emperor Tiberius and not feel some sympathy and pity. It's in this spirit that I composed "The Dream of Tiberius." I imagine the man sitting in thoughtful seclusion on the beautiful island of Capri imagining what his life might have happily been had not power been thrust upon him: husband, father and humble servant of the people.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£249.99The Wind in the Willows - Johan de Meij
"A book for those who keep the spirit of youth alive in them; of life, sunshine, running water, woodlands, dusty roads, winter firesides" said author Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932) about his children's book The Wind in the Willows. Initially, he wrote the stories about Ratty, Mole, Badger and Toad to read to his visually handicapped son Alistair, but after the publication in book form in 1908, it became a worldwide success. It was later also turned into a film and a television series. What appealed ti the composer most is the friendly, very cosy atmosphere that Grahame has managed to create with his optimistic narrative style full of high spirits, an atmosphere that reminds thecomposer of his own carefree youth. It was therefore a great pleasure to set this book to music! The four movements successively describe:I) The River- The river, which flows through the habitat of the animals like a lifeline, regularly is the scene of pleasant boat trips and picnics. The animals lead their untroubled lives here. The four-tone main motif [A-C-D-C] is extensively presented by the brass section, and returns in the following movements as a countermelody. II) Ratty and Mole -The bright, energetic Rat and the melancholy doubter Mole are inseparable friends and have many adventures. Their opposite characters are illustrated by separate musical themes. III) Mister Toad - The wilful, haughty Mister Toad is indeed a unique case: time after time, he runs into tricky situations, and with his indomitable passion for fast - preferably stolen - cars he causes quite a lot of damage...IV) The Return of UlyssesAfter Toad Hall, the majestic residence of Mister Toad, is recovered from the weasels and stoats of the Wild Wood, who had captured the estate in a cowardly way, our friends get ready for a banquet. They celebrate the victory with a triumphant parade, and so both the book and the music conclude with a happy ending.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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£184.99
Rubicon - Bert Appermont
The Rubicon is a river in Northern Italy which Julius Caesar crossed with his army in 49 BC in defiance of the leaders of Rome, who feared his power. A civil war against rival Pompey ensued, which culminated in Caesar seizing power as the absoluteruler of Rome. The phrase "crossing the Rubicon" therefore refers to any person committing himself irrevocably to a risky, decisive and irrevocable of course of action.The work consists of three parts that deal with this important moment in history.Part 1 (Meditation) symbolises Caesars request to the Gods to assist him in his difficult choice. In a slow introduction we hear the melancholy and beseeching sounds of the duduk (alternatively, this part can be played by a soprano saxophone)and of the soprano solo singer over the bourdon accompaniment. The soprano solo singer then sings "dona tibi pacem" (give him rest) in a melodious and probing theme.In Part 2 (Battle of Pharsalus) trumpets and trombones resound alternately ina stately Roman fanfare, producing a stereophonic effect. This develops into a martial theme in which Caesars impressive army goes to battle against the army of rival Pompey. While the theme of Caesars army fades away, Pompeys theme emerges as anaive dance in six-eight time. His army is definitely in the majority and it believes it can easily defeat the enemy. Suddenly trumpets and trombones clash on two sides of the orchestra: Caesars army advances and attacks. A fierce battle ensues inwhich the two themes are played alternately as well as simultaneously. Thanks to his shrewd battle tactics, Caesar manages to win this legendary battle after all: his theme resounds ever louder in trumpets and horns until everything dies out andchanges into a kind of reconciliation between the soldiers of the two armies. The melancholy "dona tibi pacem" from part 1 now serves as a reconciliation theme.Caesar is now the sole ruler of the New Roman Empire, which would be destined to leave itsmark on our Western civilisation to this day. The third part is a sparkling succession of dance music (Dance) with many Greek and Roman elements in which Caesars victory is praised and celebrated. It is common knowledge that the culture(arts, gods, etc.) of the Romans drew heavily on Greek culture. I have therefore used an authentic Greek theme (the Seikolos song) several times in this part (bar 17 in the euphonium, bar 60 in the base section, bar 68 in the sopranosaxophone) to suggest the music of that era and to evoke the right atmosphere. After a gradual increase in tempo in the entire orchestra, the opening melody gloriously resounds once more, surrounded by virtuoso dance music. The work ends withbombastic brass fanfares in which Caesars theme triumphs once more.NOTE FOR THE CONDUCTOR:The Armenian duduk and the monochord that are used in the introduction give a special tone to the music, but could be substituted (soprano saxophone instead ofthe duduk) or left out (monochord). The soprano solo is also doubled within the orchestra and could therefore also be left out if necessary, although it does provide the work with an extra dimension. The male voices in the introduction and the finalecould possibly be replaced with a synthesizer with choral setting.As a visual and acoustic element in part 2, the trumpets, the e-flat cornet, the small drum and trombones can be stood up and placed at two sides of the orchestra (bar 80).Seen fromthe point of view of the conductor, put the trumpets, the e-flat cornet and the small drum in the left section and the trombones in the right section of the orchestra. This also helps to create a visual contrast between the two themes of the secondpart. The players can be seated again at bar 97 or bar 121. The soprano soloist can be placed in or in front of the orchestra, depending on what gives the best result. For the conclusion of the work the soprano solo can be sung from afar (from thewings) to create additional atmosphere.This work was composed especially for the "St Joseph" brass band from Pey/Echt (Belgium) with conductor Mark Prils.
Estimated dispatch 7-14 working days
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