Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Sir Arthur Bliss Arranger: Frank Wright
Set as the second section testpiece for the 2005 finals of the Besson National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.
Click on "MORE DETAILS" to listen to the EIGHT audio extracts and view the Solo Cornet part.
Very unmistakably great English brass band music.
Theme and six variations & finale.
Theme - moderato 3/4
Var. 1 - 6/8
Var. 2 - 2/4 scherzando
Var. 3 - 4/4 Slow & expressive
Var. 4 - 3/4 in Waltz time (one in the bar)
Cadenza for Cornet, Euph. & Trombone.
Var. 5 - 2/4 brilliant & rhythmic
Var. 6 - 6/8 quiet & smooth (in 6) trombone trio, then quartet.
Finale - 3/4 - In stately & brilliant polonaise rhythm.
Duration 11.15
Named after the town in Massachusetts where the composer's wife was born, and written in 1963.
Arthur Bliss spent the last three months of 1935 in making an extensive tour of investigation into some of the lesser known aspects of English musical life to report upon these in a series of articles for The Listener, and it was on this tour that he encountered for the first time the evocative and staggering sounds produced by an amateur brass band.
To write for such a body of players would reflect both his delight in scoring for brass and his enthusiasm in producing music for virtuoso soloists even if, in this medium, the would be nameless; thus the Kenilworth Suite came to be written within 12 months, the Belmont Variations some 17 years later, in 1963.
The Variations, named Belmont after the birthplace in Massachusetts, USA, of his wife, was conceived as a test piece for the National Finals at the Albert Hall in 1963.
After a four-bar introduction, an original theme is stated on Horns, Flugel and Baritones; then come the first four Variations, of which the fourth is a waltz, surprisingly concluded with an ad lib Cadenza for Cornet, Euphonium and Trombone, this being followed by the last two Variations marked 'brilliant and rhythmic' and 'quiet and smooth'.
The work is concluded by a lengthy Finale in Polonaise rhythm.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Hector Berlioz Arranger: Christian Jenkins
This overture opens Berlioz's two act opera about the life of the 16th century Florentine sculptor and goldsmith. Set in Rome, the opera explores certain episodes of Cellini's life, as recorded in his own memoirs.
The first performance of the opera took place in Paris in 1838, but was a shambolic failure. Despite being revised during Berlioz's lifetime, it was not until nineteen years after his death that the opera was finally performed to acclaim.
Sadly, performances of the complete opera are now rare, but the buoyant overture has survived as a popular concert item. This new arrangement was made at the request of Dr. Robert Childs for the Buy As You View Cory Band, and can he heard on CD 21188 Brass Band Classics Volume 2.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Johnny Hallyday Arranger: Stephen Roberts
Hamlet is an opera rock and was recorded in 1976 by Johnny Hallyday, 150 singers and musicians. The rediscovery of this music, signed by Pierre Groscolas was a real pleasure. We present you some of the highlights of this work, whose musical style moves easily between classical and rock genres to secure the dramatic and psychological aspects of Shakespeare’s famous play.
Duration: 12m0s Difficulty: 4
The Best of Hamlet, arranged by Stephen Roberts, is available on the CD 'Portrait of Stephen Roberts' by Foden's Band, conducted by Stephen Roberts.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer / arranger: Philip Sparke
BETWEEN THE MOON AND MEXICO was composed for the 1998 Finals of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain. The first performance took place at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on 17th October.
The title has no hidden meaning and was chosen precisely because it would not predetermine the style or form of the work. The composer wanted to see what sort of piece would emerge if the only influence was what had already been written. The result is a sort of musical collage in which various musical elements, ranging from two or three notes to complete melodies, assume importance by virtue of their context. In a way, the piece grew out of itself.
It opens with a modal tune from the horns over a bubbling baritone accompaniment. A faster flourish from the comets changes the mood until the original tempo returns with a cortege introduced by euphonium and basses. This leads back to a reprise of the opening melody interspersed with the comet fanfare. Violent triplet chords introduce the next section where a series of short ideas of contrasting mood try, unsuccessfully, to establish themselves. After a full-band climax, the trombones introduce a snatch of melody which is to become important later on and material from earlier in the piece is distilled until the trombone tune brings this section to a close.
A short recollection of the opening tune leads to solos for baritone and horn which introduce the slower, central section of the piece, a folk-like melody for the solo comet and an expressive tune for the horns. Flugel horn and horn then repeat the cornet tune and, after a brief cadenza, the faster music returns. New material is introduced but bit by bit it becomes clear which of the earlier ideas will eventually mature into complete melodic material and the trombone tune is developed into a celebratory theme for the whole band. The slower central section is revisited in more substantial form until the opening horn tune and cornet fanfares assert themselves. However they cannot dispel the overall mood of celebration and the piece ends triumphantly.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Philip Sparke
Between the Two Rivers was commissioned by Fanfare ‘Prins Hendrik’, from Aalst in the Netherlands. The title derives from the fact that the town of Aalst lies between two tributaries of the River Dommel. The community is a highly religious one, so the famous Luther chorale, Ein’ Feste Burg, was an obvious choice for Philip Sparke to use as the theme for this new work. It takes the form of a theme with four contrasting variations. Variation 1 is a moto perpetuo, variation 2 has a slower march like feel, variation 3 is a sinister slow movement and the final variation is in the form of a lyrical fugue. Between The Two Rivers is sure to become a major work in modern brass band repertoire.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Wilfred Heaton Arranger: Paul Hindmarsh
"Wilfred Heaton began to assemble material for 'Beulah Land' in the early 1990s following a request from the Amsterdam Staff Band for a new work. Despite reminding himself on the manuscript that he should either complete or destroy the work before his death, ultimately he did not manage either. This edition was subsequently realised in 2003 for the tour of the USA Western States by the Amsterdam Staff Band. 'Beulah Land' is Heaton's vision of the joy that awaits the Christian in Heaven and, according to his family, is reminiscent of the kind of music he often improvised at the piano. The three movements are as follows; 1. Better World; a waltz sequence on the tune 'Zealley' to which the words 'There is a better world, they say' are sung. 2. Heavenly Home; an elegiac cortege using the tunes 'My home is in Heaven', 'I have a home that is fairer than day' and 'The home over there'. 3. Happy Land; Beginning in waltz rhythm this soon gives way to a sequence of free variations on the song 'There is a happy land, Far, far away'. "
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Thomas Doss
Grade: 5
Duration:10:26
The piece portrays the hustle, bustle, harshness and excessiveness of a city. Stocks and shares, banking, the Internet, consumerism and wanton materialism drive people to the very limits of their physical and mental well-being. A sudden blackout abruptly interrupts the hectic pace and then immediately all is calm…
To view 