Par SADELER GEORGES. Schola Vitae, dedicated to the former director of UGDA Music School in Luxembourg, Paul Scholer, describes in an 8-minute piece that learning and playing music is a school for life. Starting with popular scales that ascend and descend through various keys, an essential tool familiar to every musician appears: the metronome. It sets the tempo, and musicians practice their themes together or against each other, register by register. In music, however, it's not just about technique and precision, but also about emotions. Music connects people, fosters friendships, and accompanies them through the highs and lows of life. The sense of togetherness in music becomes increasingly audible. Everyone works together and pulls in the same direction to ultimately achieve something great. Georges Sadeler, born in 1988 is a Luxembourgish composer and saxophonist with the Grand Ducal Military Band of Luxembourg. His father kindled his interest in composing and arranging at an early age, a study he later continued under his two teachers Marco Pütz and Claude Lenners, both of whom taught at the Conservatoire of Music, Luxembourg. He gradually began to establish his own style, combining the enormous range of possibilities of contemporary music and classical music and, in the years that followed, he won six first prizes at various national and international composition competitions. His works have since been performed all over Europe. / Date parution : 2023-10-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band / Harmonie

Kokosmøttøya. Par ROGERS SCOTT. A trip to Coconut Island is always enjoyable! Soft Latin rhythms, a relaxing tempo, and tutti rhythm figures combine to create the perfect vacation. Coconut Island introduces young musicians to Latin rhythms. The percussion parts are built up of short, repeating patterns that are easily learned. The melody is mostly made up of short diatonic patterns and falling intervals of a third, making the piece easily attainable for young players. / Date parution : 2023-07-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

Par WILLIAMS JOHN / HVEEM DAVID (Arr.). «Cantina Band (or «Mad About Me») was written by John Williams in 1977 for the film Star Wars (later Star Wars IV: A New Hope). Even with quite a bit of the Star Wars music being quite well known, Cantina Band is literally in a style of its own. In the Star Wars-universe this style is called «jizz», Williams’ take on the more well-known genre «jazz». Williams was tasked by Star Wars-creator George Lucas to make music that sounded like «several creatures in a future century finding some 1930's Benny Goodman swing band music ... and how they might attempt to interpret it» and ended up with Cantina Band #1 and #2. Both numbers are played in the legendary scene taking place in Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina where Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi gets in a fight causing even the band to stop playing. The band, which goes by the name Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes, comes from the planet Clak'dor VII and specializes in jizz and the nearby, slightly older style of jatz. Performers of this music often go by the name 'jizz-wailers', and the Bith people from Clak'dor VII are especially well suited for jizz-wailing since they can hold every note as long as they want thanks to a unique respiratory system - something many perhaps would like to be able to do in the performance of this arrangement as well. The arrangement is relatively faithful to Williams' original version, but with a somewhat different ending. Although the woodwind section undoubtedly has the biggest technical challenges, an understanding of the musical style is the very key to making the arrangement sound good - and here all groups must work together. Playing lightly but quite articulated, and very precise, will be an absolute necessity to get the music drifting off all the way to Tatooine. In measure 113 there is a small improvised solo in either trombone or trumpet, but if you want the real authentic Cantina Band-sound this is of course done on a steel drum. / Date parution : 2023-07-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896). Par BRUCKNER ANTON. Anton Bruckner (b. 4.9.1824, Ansfelden, d. 11.10.1896, Vienna) didn’t have it easy. Throughout his life, the Austrian composer was plagued by self-doubt. Anton Bruckner came from a simple, rural background. After the death of his father, he was accepted as a choirboy at the monastery of Sankt Florian in 1837. After several years as a school assistant and his own organ and piano studies, he first worked as organist in St. Florian, then from 1855 as cathedral organist in Linz. Introduced to music theory and instrumentation by Simon Sechter and Otto Kitzler, he discovered Richard Wagner as an artistic role model, whom he admired throughout his life and also visited several times in Bayreuth. In 1868 Anton Bruckner became professor of basso continuo, counterpoint and organ at the Vienna Conservatory; ten years later court organist; and in 1891 finally honorary doctor of the University of Vienna. He was considered an important organ virtuoso of his era, but had to wait a long time for recognition as a composer. It was not until Symphony No.7 in E major, composed between 1881 and 1883, with the famous Adagio written under the effects of Wagner's death, that he achieved the recognition he had hoped for, even if he was reluctant to accept it given his inclination towards scepticism and self-criticism. Anton Bruckner was a loner who did not want to follow a particular school or doctrine. He composed numerous sacred vocal works, such as his three masses, the Missa Solemnis in B flat minor (1854), the Te Deum (1881-84) and numerous motets. As a symphonic composer, he wrote a total of nine symphonies and many symphonic studies from 1863 onwards, tending to revise completed versions several times over. Bruckner's orchestral works were long considered unplayable, but in fact were merely exceptionally bold for the tonal language of their time, uniting traditions from Beethoven through Wagner to folk music, on the threshold between late Romanticism and Modernism. Anton Bruckner composed about 40 motets during his lifetime, the earliest a setting of Pange lingua around 1835, and the last, Vexilla regis, in 1892. Thomas Doss has compiled some of these motets in this volume for symphonic wind orchestra. These motets show many characteristics of personal expression, especially Bruckner's colourful harmony in the earlier works, which is in places aligned with Franz Schubert (changes between major and minor; and movements in thirds). Later works are characterised by many components which, in addition to the expanded stature of the movements, include above all a sense of the instrumentation as an outward phenomenon and the harmony as a compositional feature that works more internally. Some aspects of Bruckner's work are the result of his long period of study, which familiarised him not only with the tradition of his craft, but also gave him insights into the 'modernity' of his time in such composers as Wagner, Liszt and Berlioz. From this developed his personal standpoint, which always pursues the connection between the old and the new. / Date parution : 2023-07-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

Par DE HAAN JACOB. La ville de Zevenhuizen (Sept Maisons), dans la province néerlandaise de Groningen, a conçu l’idée de réunir 777 musiciens pour un concert expérimental à ciel ouvert. C’est dans ce contexte que Jacob de Haan a été prié d’écrire une œuvre pour célébrer le cinquantenaire de Concordia, l’association musicale locale. Le nombre total de musiciens n’a pas été tout à fait atteint, mais cela n’a pas empêché l’événement d’être un grand succès. Maintenant, la musique a été publiée dans une compilation qui rassemble les mélodies les plus attrayantes dans divers styles de rock et de ballades. Le thème de clôture captivant de Music Xperience persistera dans l’esprit de nombreux auditeurs et interprètes longtemps après la fin du concert. / Date parution : 2022-07-20/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

Par CRAUSAZ ETIENNE. L’ile de la Banane est un lieu imaginaire extraordinaire : cocotiers, dattiers, manguiers, bananiers, palétuviers et mangroves la peuplent. Les animaux y vivent dans une harmonie paradisiaque. Sur un rythme de danse des Caraïbes, la Soca, plusieurs thèmes se déploient et créent un dialogue entre les divers registres. Une partie centrale offre au trompette et au trombone l’occasion de démontrer leurs talents de solistes. Une œuvre pleine d’énergie et débordante d’enthousiasme ! / Date parution : 2023-07-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

Par HOFFMANN ROBIN. Une composition émouvante qui explore la beauté et la fugacité de la vie. Basée sur une idée simple de sept notes, l'œuvre évolue d'une ambiance tendre et presque intime vers un point culminant exaltant qui célèbre la joie de vivre. Robin Hoffmann, né en 1984, a étudié la composition et l'arrangement à la Hochschule für Musik Dresden. Depuis 2006, il travaille en tant que compositeur, orchestrateur et arrangeur pour des productions internationales de films et de concerts. En 2010, le London Symphony Orchestra a enregistré son concerto pour violon aux Abbey Road Studios. Ses musiques de film pour HERO et A FATHER'S JOB ont remporté de nombreux prix internationaux. En tant qu'arrangeur pour Alex Christensen, il a été récompensé en 2022 avec un disque d'or. / Date parution : 2023-10-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band / Harmonie

Par JORGENSEN AXEL. Axel Jørgensen was the solo viola in The Royal Danish Orchestra, and as a composer he had a large output, especially for brass. His Romance for trombone and orchestra is one of his most performed pieces, and was first performed by Anton Hansen, the famous teacher. In this arrangement for wind band has Eriksen kept the beautiful late romantic colours. / Date parution : 2023-07-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie