Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer / arranger: Peter Meechan
Four exciting movements reflecting in turn four chapters in the history of Huddersfied.
This work was commissioned by Mark Bousie and David Armitage of the Sellers International Youth Band for the National Youth Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2005. The four exciting movements reflect in turn four chapters in the history of the city of Huddersfield.
The music outlines four chapters in the history of this British city.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer / arranger: Peter Meechan
Four exciting movements reflecting in turn four chapters in the history of Huddersfied.
This work was commissioned by Mark Bousie and David Armitage of the Sellers International Youth Band for the National Youth Brass Band Championships of Great Britain 2005. The four exciting movements reflect in turn four chapters in the history of the city of Huddersfield.
The music outlines four chapters in the history of this British city.
The work is important for me because it was my first piece to be performed outside Norway. Black Dyke Band/David King performed it and did a recording of it in 1991.
In the original score I quote a Swedish bishop (Olaus Mangnus) who lived in the 15th century. He travelled around Scandinavia and drew maps - very important historic material.
When he came to the north of Norway (where I come from) he decribed the wind from the north as Ciricus: (something like) Worst of all winds is Circius, that revolves (?= turn upside down) heaven and earth.» (Well, not a good translation I´m afraid).
The fast sections reflects the mighty winds from the north. In the middle section, I borrowed a folksong-like tune (by C. Elling, a Norwegian composer). The text (by Kristoffer Janson) tells about old times when the fishermen used open boats: they had to put their lives in the hands of God.
Categories: TEST PIECES (Major Works), LIGHT CONCERT MUSIC Composer / arranger: Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen
"Wind of the North". duration 8.02 Written in 1989 by the young Norwegian composer, it evokes the wind of the north "Circius" which according to the 18th. century writings "devastated heaven & earth". The calmer middle section of the work is based on the Norwegian folk song " Fiskarens tale til son sin" - the text of which links directly with the legend of Circius - a fathers plea that his son always respect and never challenge the forces of nature.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Stephen Bulla
Duration 12.00
Previously used as a Third Section Testpiece.
Click on "MORE DETAILS" to view the Solo Cornet part.
The music intends to parallel the impressions, sights and sounds of a modem city to what a painter might convey with a landscape portrait.
1. MORNING SCENE — AWAKENING: The quiet solitude of a sunrise, birds singing, and empty streets can betray the crowded jungle of city life. These are the last moments of sleep before the alarm goes off and the coffee goes on.
2. FACES IN MOTION: The sidewalks come alive, streets fill with cars, office buildings open, the rush hour is on — and everyone is late.
3. MUSEUM VISIT: To step into a museum is to visit another world. Looking at what we’ve been and where we’ve been, there’s always a sense of awe at how much has gone on before; and the realisation of how much there is yet to come.
4. NIGHTLIFE: After hours is not the time to slow down, for the city never really sleeps. Nightclubs open, and the jazz circuit is alive with swinging sounds. This is the soul of the city.
Stephen Bulla Duration: 12 minutes Published for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, held at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on 5th October, 1985.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Jan De Haan
Should be playable by good 3rd. Section bands upwards. Duration 8.45
For Cityscapes, the composer used the metropolis of New York, the largest city of the United States, as a source of inspiration. The first movement mirrors the skyline of the ‘Big Apple’. The grand sight of Manhattan, Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty serves as a model for the appealing main theme. In the closing bars of this movement, the composer hints at the well-known Ninth Symphony From the New World, which the Czech composer Antonin Dvofak wrote during his stay in New York.
In movement two, Central Park is introduced. New York had this immense park laid out in the 19th century. lt is a place for relaxation and entertainment. There are various important buildings here, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In the closing movement of this triptych, the ever-sparkling Manhattan, known for its many skyscrapers, and its financial centre Wall Street, is the focal point. Not only are the busy city traffic and the chaotic hustle and bustle expressed in the music, but also the impressive buildings, including the grand Empire State Building.
If you enjoyed listening to this extract, you can buy the full performance CD on this site. The CD is "TOCCATA e FANTASIA" with Foden's Brass Band conducted by Ian Porthouse.
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer: Stephen Bulla
"The music of Cityscapes intends to parallel the impressions, sights, and sounds of a modern city to what a painter might convey with a landscape portrait.
‘Morning Scene – Awakening’: the quiet solitude of a sunrise, birdsong, and empty streets can betray the crowded jungle of city life. These are the last moments of sleep before the alarm goes off and the coffee goes on.
‘Faces in Motion’: The pavements come alive, streets fill with cars, office buildings open, the rush hour is on – and everyone is late!
‘Museum Visit’: To step into a museum is to visit another world. Looking at what we’ve been and where we’ve been, there’s always a sense of awe at how much has gone before; and the realisation of how much there is yet to come…
‘Nightlife’: After hours is not the time to slow down, for the city never really sleeps. Nightclubs open, and the jazz circuit is alive with swinging sounds. This is the soul of the city"
Category: TEST PIECES (Major Works) Composer / arranger: John McCabe
Click on "MORE DETAILS" to listen to an audio extract of this work and to view a sample page of the Solo Cornet part.
Duration 17.12 Written in 1985
Commissioned by Boosey & Hawkes Festivals with funds provided by the Arts Council of Great Britain as the test piece for Championship section of the 1985 finals of National Brass Band Championships.
John McCabe included this note in his original brass band score:
Cloudcatcher Fells was commisisoned by Boosey and Hawkes Band Festivals (with funds provided by the Arts Council of Great Britain) as the text piece for the 1985 Finals of the National Brass Band Championship of Great Britain. The title comes from a poem by David Wright, and the work is associated with various places, mostly mountainous, in the Lake District which have particular personal significance for the composer. The emphasis is on the Patterdale area, though other parts of the Lake District are also referred to, and the work falls into a series of sections which group themselves into larger units, so that it becomes almost a four-movement work, played continuously.
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