Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Denis Wright
Previously set as a 1st. Section testpiece, this piece has been set as the 3rd. Section testpiece for the 2005 Regional Championships.
Short mp3 audio extracts are provided here to give you a sample of each movement. Access them by clicking on the "MORE DETAILS" button. You can buy the full recording of this work on the CD section of our site.
The recording is REGIONALS 2005 on Doyen DOY CD181
This was Denis Wright's last major testpiece, composed for the British Open Championships of 1956. It is a symphonic poem based on the famous epic poem by Robert Burns. Described as "A cautionary tale of the dangers of taking too much drink, and interfering with the devil's business' its brief introduction contains a trombone glissando and some flutter tonguing - both rare in testpieces of this period in time. Following the introduction, there are six main sections each prefaced in the score by a quotation from the original Burns poem.
1. Tam makes merry with his friends in the inn.
2. Tam remembers his sulky sullen dame sitting at home, nursing her wrath to keep it warm.
3. Tam mounts his horse and, rather unsteadily, sets off for home.
4. He comes to the church.
5. Looking through the arch into the brilliantly lit graveyard he sees witches and warlocks dancing to the piping of their master, the devil.
6. Tam, scared, jumps on his horse. He rides off, pursed by all the witches, led by Maggie.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer / arranger: S. Bulla
Duration 6:45
Formed around a musical interpretation of the title, the motifs employed are derived from melodies and counterpoint that, with development, join into unisons but then separate. The music, which in places is reminiscent of the film music of Bernard Hermann, often takes the separating lines and transforms them into dramatic, often grotesque new material. Throughout, however, the original motif continues to make its presence felt, finally resolving into a massive unison scored for full band as the concluding note.
Categories: TEST PIECES (Major Works), Howard Snell Music Composer: G. Verdi Arranger: Howard Snell
No.4 of Four Sacred Pieces for Brass Band & Choir.
Verdi's Four Sacred Pieces are truly masterpieces. This particular arrangement of N°4 was made for the Leicester Philharmonic Choir and premièred with them by Howard Snell with the Desford Band in the 1980s. Extraordinarily suited to the sonorities of the brass band, the Te Deum requires a fine choir to do it justice. The material contains only the band parts.
Please note that this publication is currently in Manuscript Format.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Martin Ellerby
Set as the Championship Section Test piece for the NATIONAL FINALS of the 2010 BRASS BAND CHAMPIONSHIPS of Great Britain.
Royal Albert Hall, Saturday 9th. October 2010.
Click on MORE DETAILS to view the Solo Cornet part.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Martin Ellerby
Set as the Championship Section Test piece for the NATIONAL FINALS of the 2010 BRASS BAND CHAMPIONSHIPS of Graet Britain.
Royal Albert Hall, Saturday 9th. October 2010.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Mario Burki
Grade 4
Duration 9:00
This publisher rates grade difficulty as follows:
1 = very easy 2 = easy 3 = easy/medium 4 = medium/difficult 5 = difficult 6 = very difficult
TERRA PACEM - or peace on earth, describes the desire of mankind to attain holistic peace among all peoples of the world.
The beginning of the work symbolizes the heartbeat of the earth. After that, the melancholic held main theme of the work, which is the inaccessibility of the desire for peace appears.
The theme which characterises common thread throughout the work takes its climax in the grand finale, a chorale, which is the absolution in its simplicity, which is necessary to gain inner peace in a religious context.
In addition to this wishful thinking for peace reigns in between but always the fact of the discord between humanity: Fast, rhythmically incisive parts describe the aggression and anger.
The work ends with a voluminous major chord, which is terminated by a final heartbeat, symbolizing the eternal spiral between peace and war, which prevails on our planet for millennia.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen
Grade 4.0 Duration: 12:45
This piece was commissioned by Nordhordland Brass Seminar in 1990 and written for a youth band.
The title referes to a story from norse mythology.
“The Binding of the Wolf” is not a programmatic piece of music, but I felt that there was a kind of coherence between the music and the dramatic story:
“...The wolf Fenrir was one of the demonic offspring of Loki, and as he grew up in Asgard among the gods, he became so huge and fierce that only Tyr was willing to feed him. It was decided that he must be bound, and Odin in his wisdom caused the cunning dwarfs to forge a chain which could not be broken.
It was made from the invisible and yet potent powers of the world, such as the roots of a mountain, the noise of a moving cat, the breath of a fish.
When completed, this chain seemed to be no more than a silken cord, but the wolf refused to let it be laid upon him unless one of the gods would put a hand between his jaws as a pledge that it was harmless.
Only Tyr was prepared to do this, and when the wolf found that the chain was unbreakable, the gods rejoiced, but Tyr lost his hand.
The binding of the wolf may be seen as a means of protecting the world of men, as well as that of the gods, from destruction.
The story of the god losing his hand appears to be one of the fundamental myths of nothern Europe...”
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Paul Lovatt-Cooper
The 3rd. Section Testpiece for the 2008 Regionals
A short audio extract is provided for you to listen to and get a flavour of the work. Click on "More Details" button on the right to access this extract and to view an image of the Solo Cornet part.
If you enjoyed listening to this extract from this work, you can buy the full CD recording by clicking on the "BROWSE" valve at the top of your screen, then click on the "BRASS BAND CD's" section.
The CD recording is REGIONALS 2008, recorded on DOY CD238.
This piece was commissioned by Dr Nicholas Childs and the Black Dyke Band on behalf of Rotary International for the performance at St David’s Hall, Cardiff. The Dark Side of the Moon was given its world premier at St David’s Hall, Cardiff on January 27th 2007. The piece is dedicated to the composer’s father, Harry Cooper. The Dark Side of the Moon was selected by the National Contesting Council for the 2008 3rd Section Regional Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.
Performance Notes Where metronome markings are given, they should be observed precisely. However, the composer has specifically selected tempo phrases (presto, largo etc.) for certain sections, so that the conductor can put his or her musical stamp on the music. This is also emphasised at rehearsal figure L where the 4 bar phrase repeats as many times as the conductor would like. During this section the instruments drop out one by one leaving just the glockenspiel, basses and cymbal playing two bars before figure M leading into the cornet cadenza. Duration: c.12’30”
Programme Notes Have you ever thought of a holiday destination, tourist attraction, event, place, site or period in history and thought “I wonder what it would be like"? - somewhere you have never been and can only let your imagination run wild on. What would the place be like, and all the things surrounding it such as the mood, feelings you get experiencing it, the temperature? Who would be there and what you would see? This piece is my musical imagination of the dark side of the moon.
I know from news reports, the internet and other footage that the moon is a very desolate place, very barren and rugged. So from the start the piece gives the listener a musical picture of the rugged landscape with little light and warmth.
However, the one place that has had me thinking about is the side of the moon that we don’t see in our night skies, the side of the moon with no sun and with no light pollution from civilisation. I can only imagine the eeriness one would feel being stood in complete darkness on the moon’s surface looking around. As you slowly explore the surroundings and your eyes drift up to the night sky, there is an awesome sight unfolding in front of you - countless stars and galaxies, planets and different solar systems and all right in front of you glistening from the light of the sun beaming from the other side of the moon.
The dark side of the moon portrays a musical picture of the whole experience as seen in my imagination taking the listener from the rugged landscape to the awesome beauty that sits endlessly in front of you. Paul Lovatt-Cooper, September2007
Paul Lovatt-Cooper is the “Young Composer in Association with the Black Dyke Band”. He was born on Alderney in the Channel Islands and raised in the Salvation Army with his parents who were Officers. As a student he studied composition with Peter Graham whilst at the University of Salford.
Paul has enjoyed performances of his works all over the world, including world premiers in the UK and in countries such as Ireland, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, New Zealand, Japan, Australia, and The United States. His works have been performed in some of the world’s finest concert halls including Birmingham’s Symphony Hall, Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, Perth’s Concert Hall, Cardiff’s St David’s Hall, Holland’s De Lawei Concert Hall and London’s Royal Albert Hall. He is fast becoming a sought after composer, gaining commissions from bands including the Black Dyke Band, Ratby Co-operative Band, the BI Band and the National Children’s Brass Band of Great Britain. Paul has also been commissioned to write for international soloists such as David Childs, Brett Baker, Owen Farr, John Doyle and Richard Marshall.
Paul is currently Head of Music at Wardle High School Performing Arts College.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Philip Harper
Grade: 6 - difficult
Duration: 17:00
At the time of composing this piece, the Arab Spring was sweeping through the Middle East. It seemed that almost every week a new country's people had risen up against the regimes and dictatorships which had prevailed for generations, leaving many nations at a defining crossroads in their history. There were so many possible ways ahead: so many hopes, yet so many uncertainties.
My music is a depiction of these revolutionary times, and several musical themes are in turn presented, discussed, considered, fought over, altered, rejected or accepted.
Most nations have had, or probably will have, their own Arab Spring, including my own, the United Kingdom. Events of 17th Century Britain provide the context for this piece, particularly those following the execution of the tyrant King Charles I on 30 January 1649. The regicide was in part due to Charles's steadfast belief in the Divine Right of Kings, and led to a tumultuous interregnum, where England stood at its own defining crossroads.
The music begins turbulently, before King Charles appears and is led to the gallows outside Banqueting House in central London where he is brutally decapitated. From the assembled crowd rose, according to one observer,
'a moan as I never heard before and desire I may never hear again.'
The music descends to emptiness.
The musical argument which follows is not strictly programmatic, but a number of musical themes are all thrown into the melting pot, representing ideas such as: religion; military force; reasoned Parliamentary debate; and the chattering, irrepressible voice of the people. Additionally, there are some quotations from the music of royalist composer Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656), who was often in tune with the feeling of the times.
This defining episode in England's history was brought to a close with the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, and as the exiled King Charles II rode back into London the diarist John Evelyn wrote:
'Never was so joyful a day seen in this nation. I stood in the Strand and beheld it, and blessed God.'
At the end of the piece the bells ring out, and the musical appearance of the King has transformed from turbulent to triumphant.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Philip Harper
Grade: 6 - difficult
Duration: 17:00
At the time of composing this piece, the Arab Spring was sweeping through the Middle East. It seemed that almost every week a new country's people had risen up against the regimes and dictatorships which had prevailed for generations, leaving many nations at a defining crossroads in their history. There were so many possible ways ahead: so many hopes, yet so many uncertainties.
My music is a depiction of these revolutionary times, and several musical themes are in turn presented, discussed, considered, fought over, altered, rejected or accepted.
Most nations have had, or probably will have, their own Arab Spring, including my own, the United Kingdom. Events of 17th Century Britain provide the context for this piece, particularly those following the execution of the tyrant King Charles I on 30 January 1649. The regicide was in part due to Charles's steadfast belief in the Divine Right of Kings, and led to a tumultuous interregnum, where England stood at its own defining crossroads.
The music begins turbulently, before King Charles appears and is led to the gallows outside Banqueting House in central London where he is brutally decapitated. From the assembled crowd rose, according to one observer,
'a moan as I never heard before and desire I may never hear again.'
The music descends to emptiness.
The musical argument which follows is not strictly programmatic, but a number of musical themes are all thrown into the melting pot, representing ideas such as: religion; military force; reasoned Parliamentary debate; and the chattering, irrepressible voice of the people. Additionally, there are some quotations from the music of royalist composer Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656), who was often in tune with the feeling of the times.
This defining episode in England's history was brought to a close with the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, and as the exiled King Charles II rode back into London the diarist John Evelyn wrote:
'Never was so joyful a day seen in this nation. I stood in the Strand and beheld it, and blessed God.'
At the end of the piece the bells ring out, and the musical appearance of the King has transformed from turbulent to triumphant.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Philip Sparke
Duration: 14:00
The Four Noble Truths are the most basic expression of the teaching of Buddha and therefore still form the guidelines for Buddhists to this day. The four truths are Dukkha, which describes times of major stress in our lives - birth, aging, desire and death; Samudaya which describes those parts of our life that induce stress, feeling, craving, desire; Nirodha which tells us how to eliminate those aspects of our lives which induce stress and Magga which describes the eight didciplines which can help us eliminate the origins of stress from our lives. It can be seen from these over-simplified definitions, that the Four Noble Truths fall into two pairs, the first two describingthe origins of stress and the second two describing how we can reduce stress. To reflect this, the four movements of this work are also combined into two pairs - two quick movements and two slow movements. A fascinating work from this great English composer.
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