Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer / arranger: Philip Sparke
Composed in 1988 to a commission from the Berne Music Association. The overture starts with a noble and spacious fanfare based on a Bb major triad. A quieter moment follows with a long theme unfolding from echoes of the opening fanfare, this builds to a climax at which point the fanfare returns. After a short Euph. cadenza the music accelerates into a lively vivo. New rhythms are hammered out by the percussion section followed by the emergence of a perky new tune - quietly at first, but eventually taken up by the full band. Ultimately there is a recapitulation of the opening fanfare. 9.11
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer / arranger: Philip Harper
The Second Section Testpiece for the National Brass Band Regional Championships 2000. Duration 14.39
Click on MORE DETAILS to listen to the four audio extracts provided for this work.
Notes by Philip Harper : The sword, jewel and mirror of the title refer to the three sacred treasures of Japan, which collectively make up the Imperial Regalia (san-shu no jingi). The san-shu no jingi are handed down from father to son in the Imperial Family, and are kept at shrines around Japan.
The first section of the piece is HINOIRI (SUNSET) describing the bright sun gradually disappearing beneath the horizon and the coming of night. With night comes steep, and with sleep come dreams of ancient, mythical Japan and recollections of the old legends.
The KUSANAGI (SWORD) is said to have been found in the tail of an eight-headed serpent, tricked and killed by Susano no Mikoto, the God of Storms. In another legend, a Prince trapped by fire in rush-plains uses the Sword to cut the grass and change the direction of the wind, allowing his escape. Kusanagi means’ Mower of Grass’.
The dreamscape shifts to a time even before the legends of the sword. The aforementioned God, Susano, was said to have ruled the Plain of the Seas and, one day, wanting to speak to his sister Amaterasu Omikami, the Goddess of the Sun, he ascended to her realm, the Plain of High Heaven. Unwittingly, he left havoc in his wake, destroying crops and damaging buildings, and Amaterasu, horrified, hid herself in a cave. Darkness is said to have descended on the Lands of Japan.
The legend continues with all the Gods assembling outside the cave, trying to lure Amaterasu back into the world. In branches of a nearby sasaki tree, it is said that they hung many trinkets including the Sacred Jewel of this piece’s title. Then the female God Uzume began to dance, building to a thunderous and uproarious climax — UZUME’S DANCE. Hearing the commotion outside, the legend goes that Amaterasu slowly opened the cave door, until suddenly she caught sight of herself in the Sacred Mirror, also hanging in the sasaki tree, and light returned to the Realm.
The last section of the piece is HINODE (SUNRISE), which is an exact mirror-image of the first, and the piece ends with the rising sun establishing itself once more.
Player #3. Glockenspiel Bass Drum Small Suspended Cymbal 2 Tenor Drums
If you enjoyed listening to this excerpt and want to listen to a full performance, you can purchase the CD recording on this site. The CD is "OVATION !" with The Flowers Band conducted by Philip Harper. QPRL 229CD
Categories: SUMMER 2020 SALE TITLES, TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Etienne Crausaz
Duration: 09:00
Normally £90.00 - only £80.95 in our SALE - limited stock.
Symphonic Contrasts is an original composition in three harmoniously connected movements. The fi rst movement opens with a brilliant introduction and presents two themes that are developed simultaneously and become intermingled. The second movement is at a slower tempo and gives several soloists the opportunity to showcase their expressive skills. The last movement begins with a musical dialogue between timpani, bongos and cymbals. Symphonic Contrasts has been selected as the set piece (2nd section - Brass Band) for the 2010 Lucerne Cantonal Band Music Festival Competition in Willisau (Switzerland).
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