Concert band (Piccolo, 1st Flute, 2nd Flute, 1st Oboe, 2nd Oboe*, 1st Bb Clarinet, 2nd Bb Clarinet, 3rd Bb Clarinet, Eb Alto Clarinet*, Bb Bass Clarinet, 1st Bassoon, 2nd Bassoon*, 1st Eb Alto Saxophone, 2nd Eb Alto Saxophone, Bb Tenor Saxophone, Eb Baritone Saxophone*) - grade 5

SKU: CN.R10004

Composed by John Ireland. Band Music. Score and parts. Duration 10:30. Published by G & M Brand Music Publishers (CN.R10004).

A slow introduction gives way to the chirpy theme which is developed, inverted, and accents displaced across the bar line to give a 3/2 feel against the written meter. Restlessness leads to a tranquillo presented by the flute and clarinet, weaving a flowing counterpoint around the melody until the original slow introduction returns. A triumphant recapitulation of the main theme brings this wonderful piece to an end.

Originally composed for Brass Band in 1934 Comedy Overture is, despite its name, a serious piece of writing. The term Overture does not imply that there is anything else to follow; it is used in the 19th century sense of Concert Overture (like Mendelssohn's Fingal's Cave - in other words, a miniature Tone Poem). The 1930's was a period of Ireland's mature writing - yielding the Piano Concerto (1930), the Legend for piano and orchestra (1933), and the choral work These Things Shall Be (1936-1937). We are fortunate therefore to have both Comedy Overture and A Downland Suite (1932) written for band medium at this time. As with Maritime Overture (written in 1944 for military band) Ireland approaches his material symphonically. The opening three notes state immediately the two seminal intervals of a semitone and a third. These are brooding and dark in Bb minor. It is these intervals which make up much of the thematic content of Comedy, sometimes appearing in inverted form, and sometimes in major forms as well. The concept that some musical intervals are consonant , some dissonant, and some perfect is perhaps useful in understanding the nature of the tension and resolution of this work. The third is inherently unstable, and by bar 4, the interval is expanded to a fourth - with an ascending sem-quaver triplet - and then expanded to a fifth. The instability of the third pushes it towards a perfect resolution in the fourth or the fifth. The slow introduction is built entirely around these intervals in Bb minor and leads through an oboe cadenza, to an Allegro moderato brillante in Bb major. Once again, the semi-tone (inverted) and a third (major) comprise the main, chirpy, theme-inspired by a London bus-conductor's cry of Piccadilly. (Much of the material in Comedy was re-conceived by Ireland for orchestra and published two years later under the title A London Overture.) The expansion of the interval of a third through a fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh now takes place quickly before our very ears at the outset of this quicker section. Immediately the theme is developed, inverted, and accents displaced across the bar line to give a 3/2 feel against the written meter. But this restlessness leads to a tranquillo built around an arpeggio figure and presented by flute and clarinet. Ireland weaves his flowing counterpoint around this melody until the original slow introduction returns leading to a stretto effect as the rising bass motifs become more urgent, requesting a resolution of the tension of that original semitone and minor third. Yet resolution is withheld at this point as the music becomes almost becalmed in a further, unrelated tranquillo section marked pianissimo. It is almost as if another side of Ireland's nature is briefly allowed to shine through the stern counterpoint and disciplined structure. This leads to virtually a full recapitulation of the chirpy brilliante, with small additional touches of counterpoint, followed by the first tranquillo section-this time in the tonic of Bb major. But the instability of the third re-asserts itself, this time demanding a resolution. And a triumphant resolution it receives, for it finally becomes fully fledged and reiterates the octave in a closing vivace. The opening tension has at last resolved itself into the most perfect interval of all.

Concert Band/Harmonie - Grade 6

SKU: BT.DHP-1053805-140

Composed by Jan Van der Roost. Arranged by Tohru Takahashi. Sovereign Series. Concert Piece. Score Only. Composed 2005. 86 pages. De Haske Publications #DHP 1053805-140. Published by De Haske Publications (BT.DHP-1053805-140).

340 X 250 inches. English-German-French-Dutch.

This piece attempts to portray atmospheric pictures through music. The opening section evokes the somewhat misty and hazy early morning atmosphere surrounding the ancient monument. When the band reaches its first dynamic climax itis as if the massive boulders are audible, even touchable through the use of minor 3rd chords. The main theme, constructed on the notes CAFBG, symbolises the arrangement of the central boulders in the shape of a horseshoe, whichforms the focal point of this huge collection of stones. Towards the end of the work you will experience a fantastic effect when five soloists play a five part hymn whilst other members of the band create a special atmosphere byimitating a choir of monks and druids. A fantastic major new concert work for advanced bands.

Een enorme cirkel van gigantische rechtopstaande stenen staat al zo’n 3500 jaar lang in het zuidwesten van Engeland. In dit werk zijn sfeerbeelden omgezet in muziek. Hoewel er geen concreet verhaal aan ten grondslag ligt en er geenduidelijk scenario is gebruikt, verklankt deze compositie het mysterie en de grootsheid van het eeuwenoude geheimzinnige monument Stonehenge op voortreffelijke wijze.

Im Südwesten Englands steht seit fast 3500 Jahren ein Ring riesiger Steine: Stonehenge. Das gleichnamige Werk von Jan Van der Roost bringt mystische Stimmungen und Bilder rund um die alte Stätte auf musikalische Weise zum Klingen. Das Hauptmotiv aus fünf Tönen zieht sich durch das gesamte Werk und symbolisiert den hufeisenförmigen inneren Ring des riesigen Steinkreises. Später gemahnen fünf Vokalsolisten sowie ein gesungener Druiden- und Mönchs-Chor an Stimmen aus einer fremden Welt. Stonehenges ungelüftetes Geheimnis schlug den Komponisten in seinen Bann und inspirierte ihn zu diesem ebenso unwiderstehlichen Werk, das Tohru Takahashi nun für Blasorchester transkribierte.

Dans le sud-ouest de l’Angleterre, se dresse, depuis plus de 3 500 ans, un impressionnant cercle de blocs de grès. En dépit de multiples recherches et calculs scientifiques, on ne connaît toujours pas la signification exacte de ce site. Au fil des siècles, de nombreuses suppositions et spéculations ont été avancées quant la fonction de Stonehenge, lieu de cérémonies religieuses, lieu de rituels et d’adoration, mais aucune de ces hypothèses n’a pu être démontrée de façon probante ce jour. Actuellement, on s’accorde penser que Stonehenge est un calendrier géant. La disposition particulière des blocs permet d’observer le lever du soleil ou le coucher de la lune, de prédire lessolstices d’été et d’hiver, de déterminer les positions de la lune travers les diagonales, etc. En résumé, ce mystérieux monument de pierre permet d’observer les changements de saison.Stonehenge est une mise en musique d’images et d’impressions atmosphériques ; un paysage sonore dont la trame ne suit aucun scénario précis, mais dont les images sont réelles.