Par VAUGHAN WILLIAMS RALPH. In his Prelude ? The Truth from Above, outstanding arranger and curator Paul Hindmarsh has distilled the essence of a timeless Christmas classic by Ralph Vaughan Williams into five minutes of ravishingly unforgettable music for brass band. The variants of the Herefordshire tune popular from the Fantasia on Christmas Carols and The Oxford Book of Carols are skilfully and stylishly woven together, from an evocative opening to an ecstatic, multi-layered coda. Unerringly true to the timeless spirit of the original, with the added beauty of the brass-band sound at its most sonorously grave and haunting, Prelude ? The Truth from Above may be performed separately, or as the first of two preludes, preceding Paul?s arrangement of Rhosymedre from the Three Preludes Founded on Welsh Hymn Tunes, also available from Stainer

This short opening music was composed on commission of the symphonic band of Jan Van der Roost's village (= Kontich near Antwerp / Belgium). In 1991 this community band celebrated its 100th anniversary. After composing commissioned pieces from different countries (even from Japan) this was the most 'near' commission he ever received indeed!It is a short but varied piece featuring all sections of the band. After a short introduction played by the brass instruments a crisp rhythm starts and boxes the main theme. After a second theme played by brass and percussion a short melodical passage brings some 'rest'. At the end the fanfare of the introductionreoccurs.Although this 'Centennial Prelude' isn't a really demanding piece it sounds colourful and energetic. It has been recorded on CD by the band of the 'Royal Dutch Airforce' and the 'Desford Colliery Brass band'.

Little Suite for Orchestra No. 1: Op 53-Malcolm Arnold is one Britain’s best-loved composers. In 1948 he composed a very short suite for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain - entitled simply To Youth. Seven years later he took To Youth and made some fairly major revisions including a complete new movement and the Little Suite for Orchestra was born. The Little Suite for Orchestra follows a very similar pattern to the later suites for brass band starting with a bold strident Prelude which strangely ends quietly before a lovely lilting Dance composed in 3/8 time. Finally a rollicking and militaristic March brings the suite to a conclusion. This arrangement for brass band by Robin Norman is sure tobecome a classic in the brass band repertoire.

‘Jubilant Prelude’ is an orchestration of the ‘Preludium over Psalm 150’ originally composed for organ by Toon Hagen. Since 1998 Toon Hagen has been organ-player of the ‘Grote or Sint Michaëlskerk’ in Zwolle (the Netherlands). He has written several ‘contemporary’ compositions for organ.‘Jubilant Prelude’ has a capricious character by the use of irregular measures and its many measure changes. The structure of the Prelude is that of a fugue and is based on motives from the psalm.After the first climax which is both dynamic and harmonic the theme in the Andante Jubiloso is clearly audible and it is alternated with erratic motifs. Tension increases until at last the psalm itself isheard in all its glory. The melody of the psalm sounds as a cantus firmus in tenor register with motifs in ornamentation for saxophones bugles and trumpets. The finale like the prelude is capricious and vehement.The instrumentation for brassband was made by Dirk Annema. It is particularly colourful and has a surprising role for the percussion section.

The Worship Bridges series offers well-loved praise songs arranged in classical forms. THE POWER OF THE CROSS is one of the most majestic tunes to emerge from the Getty and Townend team. French Horn player Richard A. Nichols has created a setting for Brass Quartet or Quintet (Horn optional) that is truly regal. Excellent for prelude postlude or offertory in worship or concert.

Prelude on an Irish Folk Tune (?Prélude sur un air irlandais?) est basée sur l'air traditionnel Slane la version hymnique d?une mélodie irlandaise plus ancienne The Banks of the Bann. La mélodie s?imbrique dans la trame musicale vers la fin de la pièce. Publiée pour la première fois en 1909 dans le recueil Old Irish Folk Music and Songs (?Chants et airs irlandais anciens?) de Patrick Joyce cette mélodie traditionnelle tient son nom d?une colline située à environ 16 kilomètres de Tara dans le comté de Meath. Selon un extrait des Confessions de Saint Patrick le saint irlandais aurait allumé le cierge pascal sur la colline de Slane le Samedisaint de l?an 443. Cet acte de défi provoqua la fureur de Laoghaire un roi païen qui avait promulgué un édit interdisant d?allumer un feu autre que le feu royal sur la colline de Tara. Le feu royal célébrait la coutume païenne du retour du Printemps après l?Hiver du triomphe de la lumière (saison claire) sur la pénombre (saison sombre).Dans Prelude on an Irish Folk Tune des fragments de la mélodie font allusion au canevas futur de la pièce. Un autre thème écrit dans le style traditionnel domine le contexte avant de servir de contrechant lorsque la mélodie Slane se dévoile.

on 'O Come all ye faithful'-Christmas Prelude est un arrangement de l?hymne Adeste Fideles (Peuple _x001C_fidèle). Cette incontournable pièce de Noël pourra être interprétée avec choeur et orgue. John Blanken vous propose une version inédite de l?oeuvre : le premier verset sera chanté par un soliste le deuxième verset par un choeur à quatre voix. Pour _x001C_finir le troisième verset sera interprété par l?ensemble de l?assemblée.

Designed as an opener or finale for a concert or special occasion Fanfare Prelude on 'Lobe den Herren' is based on Johann Cruger's majestic hymn tune which firs appeared in the Stralsung Gesangbuch in 1665. The setting strives to capture the spirit of the text - 'Praise to the Lord the Almighty'.