Par ZIEGELBACK ANDREAS. Bleak Forest is a piece for smaller concert bands and offers the musicians above all space to improve their sound and their effect playing. The technical requirements are therefore deliberately kept low. With this piece, the composer won the VLAMO International Composition Contest 2022. Thematically, the work is influenced by the composer's childhood memories. In his hometown there was a dark and mysterious forest, that seemed to the children in the small village to be magical. Without a reasonable explanation, every trip into the woods was exciting and somewhat terrifying. There were tales of dangerous animals, which can be heard at the beginning of the piece, as well as magical beasts. The magic of the forest is depicted musically from bar 70 in the andante section. The snapping of the fingers represents single raindrops. From bar 99 onwards, we hear the trek home, with the occasional moments of trepidation as the children spook each other with their fanciful tales. In the end, though, we arrive safely at home because after all, magical beasts only exist in fairy tales… don’t they? Andreas Ziegelbäck studied music education at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, and history at the Paris Lodron Universität, Salzburg. In addition to his studies, he trained in ensemble conducting for wind orchestra with conductor and composer Thomas Doss. It was Doss who sparked Ziegelbäck’s interest in composing. In 2021, Andreas Ziegelbäck completed his composition studies with Johannes Maria Staud. In 2020, he took part in a brass band composition masterclass in Bern with Oliver Waespi, followed by a premiere by the Swiss Army Brass Band. / Date parution : 2023-10-31/ 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 TORSKANGERPOLL IDAR. This piece for beginning band was written as a commission for Norsk Noteservice to the “Music for Beginners” serie. The piece is a feelgood item with limited range for all instruments, suitable for young players. The rhythmic structure is repetitive and polyphony is often in the “call and response” form. Hence it is an easy piece to read and play. The refrain is rhythmically unison making it easy for all to play syncopated rhythms. / Date parution : 2023-07-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

Fantasia on the Welsh Hymn Tune 'Aberystwyth'. Par DE HAAN JACOB. Cette œuvre est fondée sur l’hymne « Aberystwyth », qui emprunte le nom d’une ville côtière à l’ouest du Pays de Galles. C’est l’hymne préféré de Jacob de Haan parmi les 120 Hymns for Brass Band. L’œuvre se compose de trois mouvements ininterrompus où le thème de l’hymne se présente sous diverses formes attrayantes pour former une pièce variée qui enchantera les musiciens autant que leurs auditeurs. / Date parution : 2022-07-23/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

Solo for Euphonium and Concert Band. Par OLSEN VADSTEN OYSTEIN. “Song for Frances” is a classic love ballad, written for concert band and brass band, with a soloist on euphonium. The piece always has the soloist in focus and gives him plenty of room to show off, both a warm sound and technical skills. In the first part of “Song for Frances”, the basic melody is clearly presented, while the rest of the piece is more of a written 'as if improvisation' with various melodic and technical 'whims'. The piece will be perfect for any euphoniumist looking for a challenge. / 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 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

From 'Harry Potter and the Philisopher's Stoine'. Par WILLIAMS JOHN / ROGERS SCOTT (Arr.). Hedwig's Theme is the easily recognizable melody that musically binds together all of the Harry Potter films. Composer John Williams has used the tune as a leitmotif, setting it in different moods according to the situations in the movie, yet always reminding the listener of it’s connection to the main characters of the film. The melody is intervalic, with many interesting dissonances. Normally, this would make the tune difficult for young players, but their familiarity with this particular melody gives them easier access to these dissonances and unusual intervals. / Date parution : 2023-07-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie