Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Philip Wilby
Set as the 2nd. Section Test piece for the NATIONAL FINALS of the 2010 BRASS BAND CHAMPIONSHIPS of Graet Britain. Harrogate International Centre, Saturday 25th. September 2010.
Duration 9.45
Click on MORE DETAILS to view the Solo Cornet part and hear the associated audio extracts provided for this work.
If you enjoyed listening to the excerpts and want to hear the full performance, you can purchase the CD recording on this site - "WITHIN BLUE EMPIRES" with the Black Dyke Band conducted by Dr. Nicholas Childs.
Psalms and Alleluas was composed for Nicholas Childs and the National Children’s Brass Band of Great Britain in 2008. As the title suggests, it combines two con trasting musical styles. The lyrical Psalm melody appears in the central section and also forms the music of the ending. Essentially vocal in style, it needs performing with concentration on beauty of tone and sensitivity of phrasing. By contrast, the bustling energy of the ‘Breathless Alleluia’ is both rhythmic and quick Here the texture is built up of short punchy phrases, which often interlock between the various parts. Accuracy and con trol is a high priority here as the music relies heavily on precision of ensemble. Although the piece contains many of the traditional features of a test piece, it is also hoped that the music will be found to be interesting to rehearse and enjoyable to perform.
This work was selected for the 16th 2009 World Music Contest Section 2 held in Kerkrade, Holland
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Philip Wilby
Set as the 2nd. Section Test piece for the NATIONAL FINALS of the 2010 BRASS BAND CHAMPIONSHIPS of Graet Britain.
Harrogate International Centre, Saturday 25th. September 2010.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Ludovic Neurohr
Commissioned by Professor David King for the National Australian Brass . Psyche received its first performance at the Melbourne International Festival of Brass 2008
Test Piece for the Championship Section of the 2011 Australian Brass Band Championships
Describing the human feelings of a man to a woman, "Psyche" is the human unconscious part of us which transmits our feelings to the soul.
"Psyche" is the element which we do not master and which makes us prisoners of our feelings.
It is the same element which creates all the charm of the human because it sometimes goes against the reason.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Ludovic Neurohr
Commissioned by Professor David King for the National Australian Brass . Psyche received its first performance at the Melbourne International Festival of Brass 2008
Test Piece for the Championship Section of the 2011 Australian Brass Band Championships
Describing the human feelings of a man to a woman, "Psyche" is the human unconscious part of us which transmits our feelings to the soul.
"Psyche" is the element which we do not master and which makes us prisoners of our feelings.
It is the same element which creates all the charm of the human because it sometimes goes against the reason.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer / arranger: Peter Meechan
Purcell Variants was composed for the Black Dyke Mills Band & is dedicated to their musical director Nicholas Childs. First performed in the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester on 4th. September 2004. Three Movements : (i) Introduction (ii) Elegy (iii) Finale. Based on Henry Purcell's "Queen Mary's Funeral Music".
1st section test piece at the Butlins Mineworker's Brass Band Festival 2006.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Jan De Haan
Duration 10.30 Grade 3.5
This composition is based on the march from Henry Purcell’s Music for the funeral of Queen Mary II, a work written in 1694. In this fantasia, various movements flow from one to the next following the main theme; these movements not only elaborate on the theme, but also contrast with it. At times, the thematic material diverges so much, that the work acquires a character of its own; however, the composer often refers back to fragments of the theme. This work was test piece in the 4th division of the Dutch National Brass Band Championships (NBK) in 2017.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Jan De Haan
Duration 10.30 Grade 3.5
This composition is based on the march from Henry Purcell’s Music for the funeral of Queen Mary II, a work written in 1694. In this fantasia, various movements flow from one to the next following the main theme; these movements not only elaborate on the theme, but also contrast with it. At times, the thematic material diverges so much, that the work acquires a character of its own; however, the composer often refers back to fragments of the theme. This work was test piece in the 4th division of the Dutch National Brass Band Championships (NBK) in 2017.
Categories: TEST PIECES (Major Works), SALVATIONIST MUSIC Composer: Robert Redhead
The piece was written for the Melbourne Staff Band’s visit to the 1978 Salvation Army International Congress which was held in London, England. The music expresses the quintessence of Australian Salvationism:
The opening consists of an original theme, which seeks to convey the immensity of the Australian continent.
The second section, beginning at bar 31, is based on the tune Advance Australia Fair. The first line of the words associated with the tune is ‘Australians all let us rejoice’ and this part of the music is exploring the character of the Australian people.
The theme Glory, glory, glory, hallelujah! from the song The Christian Mission is featured beginning at bar 42. It is followed by variations symbolising the fragmentary growth of the Christian Mission (which later became The Salvation Army) from its commencement in the city by two individuals (bar 52) and its spread through the countryside to the outback (bar 91). The outback is also depicted by The sheepshearer ‘s song which is known to us as the tune Ring the bell, watchman. The variations of this section culminate in the illustration of the nation-wide establishment of The Salvation Army.
A meditative setting of the chorus At thy feet I bow adoring begins at bar 151. The tune, which was written by two Australians, is used to portray the combination of the three former elements in humble adoration of their Creator.
The fmal section (at bar 181) is a development of the previous themes bringing the work to its climactic conclusion.
Categories: TEST PIECES (Major Works), SALVATIONIST MUSIC Composer: Robert Redhead
Originally written for the Melbourne Staff Band's tour of the UK in 1978 and, more specifically, their participation in The Salvation Army International Congress in London, the music expresses the quintessence of Australian Salvationism. The five sections are; 1. An original theme expressing the immensity of the Australian continent. 2. Australia's sons, let us rejoice representing the character of the people. 3. Glory, glory, glory hallelijah from the song The Christian Mission. 4. A meditative setting of At Thy feet I bow adoring, written by two Australian Salvationists. 5. A development of the previous themes bringing the work to its climactic conclusion.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Philip Sparke
Grade 6.0 Duration 16.62
In Search of "La Valse".
WINNING PERFORMANCE EBBC LILLE 2016 Raveling, Unraveling – In Search of ‘La Valse’ was written for the Cory Band as their own-choice test piece for the 2016 European Brass Band Championships in Lille. The piece found its genesis in Sparke’s The Unknown Journey (2014) for concert band, and the use of Ravel’s La Valse as a structural undercurrent to the original piece is an act of reverence. Sparke’s aim was to produce a work that is organic rather than episodic in nature. The composer’s view is that little in music does this better than La Valse and for this reason he uses various sections of this masterpiece, both manipulated and quoted verbatim (including much of its stunningclosing passages) to provide the overall geography of his new work. As the music progresses, more of the Ravel appears, surfacing completely as the piece reaches its climax - a gesture of homage to the French master.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Philip Sparke
Grade 6.0 Duration 16.62
In Search of "La Valse".
WINNING PERFORMANCE EBBC LILLE 2016 Raveling, Unraveling – In Search of ‘La Valse’ was written for the Cory Band as their own-choice test piece for the 2016 European Brass Band Championships in Lille. The piece found its genesis in Sparke’s The Unknown Journey (2014) for concert band, and the use of Ravel’s La Valse as a structural undercurrent to the original piece is an act of reverence. Sparke’s aim was to produce a work that is organic rather than episodic in nature. The composer’s view is that little in music does this better than La Valse and for this reason he uses various sections of this masterpiece, both manipulated and quoted verbatim (including much of its stunningclosing passages) to provide the overall geography of his new work. As the music progresses, more of the Ravel appears, surfacing completely as the piece reaches its climax - a gesture of homage to the French master.
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