TEST PIECES (Major Works)

JM49870 – SAINT SAENS VARIATIONS - Parts & Score

Available £104.95

Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works)
Composer: Camile Saint Saens
Arranger: Philip Sparke

Duration 10.00
Grade 3.0

Set as the 4th. Section testpiece for the 2010 British Brass Band Championships Regional events.

In 2006 Philip Sparke was commissioned by the Sierra Vista High School Symphonic Band, Las Vegas, Nevada, to write a piece for performance during a visit to the school by the composer in March of the following year.

A free brief was given and Philip Sparke took the opportunity to fulfil a long-held ambition to write a set of variations, which he called Symphonic Metamorphosis, on the famous chorale from Saint-Saens’ ‘Organ’ Symphony. However, things changed during the composition process; the composer writes: ‘ I had for about 15 years wanted to write a set of variations on the famous chorale from the ‘Organ’ Symphony but revisiting the work reminded me what a remarkable piece it is. Saint-Saens was criticised by his peers for being too reactionary, and while it is true that much of the symphony looks back to baroque and classical techniques, there are startling moments of power and originality in the work, especially in terms of harmony and orchestration. Even Saint Saens’ greatest admirers would find it hard to deny that, even though it is extremely tightly constructed, the symphony has some less-inspired passages, but I was so moved by the work’s highlights that I decided to include more than just the chorale melody in my new work.

So Symphonic Metamorphosis started out as an original set of variations for band but this ambition was gradually subsumed by the power of Saint-Saens’ music, particularly the slow movement, and the piece closes with a finale which has been reorganised and rescored from the majestic closing pages of the symphony.

In 2009 the composer reworked the piece for brass band. The resulting Saint-Saens Variations has been simplified, shortened and in many places completely recomposed, to distil the essence of the symphony even further and allow lower section bands to enjoy the power of Saint-Saens’ masterpiece in an approachable, yet essentially faithful, work.

Saint-Saëns Variations was published specially for the Regional Contests of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2010.

Audio samples

External Links

Saint Saens Variations

JM49896 – SAINT SAENS VARIATIONS - Score only

Available £37.50

Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works)
Composer: Philip Sparke

JM106000 – SAINTS TRIUMPHANT - Parts & Score

Available £120.00

Categories: NEW & RECENT Publications, TEST PIECES (Major Works)
Composer: Philip Wilby

SAINTS TRIUMPHANT

for Brass Band

Saints Triumphant was commissioned by Brass Bands England as the set test in the championship section for

the 43rd European Brass Band Championships, held in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Saturday 30 April 2022.

The commission was supported by the RVW Charitable Trust to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the great

English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958).

William Walsham How's great processional hymn 'For all the Saints' was written in 1864, twenty four years

before he became the first Bishop of Wakefield in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Known as 'The People's

Bishop' he was held in great esteem by working people for his pastoral concern, first in the East End of

London, and later in the pits and mill towns of Yorkshire. His great text, as set by Vaughan Williams in his

'English Hymnal' of 1906, has travelled the world and remains the signature hymn of Wakefield Diocese to this

day.

My composition 'Saints Triumphant' follows the text closely with a sequence of musical episodes, some

combative, and some valedictory. It ends, as does the final verses of the hymn, with a triumphant close.

Ralph Vaughan Williams was born in Down Ampney in Gloucestershire 150 years ago in 1872. His music

forms a lifetime's backdrop for many musicians, and this composition for brass band, written under his

shadow, is my tribute to his mighty example. Described by a recent Archbishop of Canterbury as 'A Christian

Agnostic', Vaughan Williams was born the son of an anglican clergyman, and was related to both the

naturalist Charles Darwin and the potter Josiah Wedgewood. His music for the church, and his 'English

Hymnal' in particular has made an indelible mark on English musical life. He was amongst the pioneers of

folksong collectors, preserving the songs and dances of rural people in the period before the First World War's

industrial carnage changed the landscape of Europe forever. He preserved many of these ancient melodies for

posterity in the congregational hymnody of the Church of England.

His ashes were buried in Westminster Abbey in 1958.

Performer's Notes.

In common with Vaughan Williams' 'Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis', my score uses a small group of

players who form an 'Echo Choir'. They may be placed on a slightly raised platform at a distance, but are also

required to play with the main band at times. To accommodate their dual function, please consult the attached

seating plan.

The Organ Part may be omitted.

The fifth section, 'Epitaph' contains a dialogue between an offstage cornet and a soloist standing onstage. In

this section, there are passing references to Vaughan Williams' two wartime symphonies, Nos 3 and 5.

At the final 'Jubilus' section, all players are requested to stand, and to project their sounds to different parts of

the auditorium as directed.

Philip Wilby. Skelton Windmill. May 2021

JM106001 – SAINTS TRIUMPHANT - Score only

Available £35.00

Categories: TEST PIECES (Major Works), NEW & RECENT Publications
Composer: Philip Wilby