Par ESENVALDS ERIKS. Only in Sleep is a nostalgic vision of childhood re-experienced through dreams. Eriks E?envalds has created a work of subtlety, yet powerful and expressive. The music has an incandescent freshness and the Flugel Horn soloist heard at the opening returns at the close, lost in reverie, whilst florid arabesques float over one last pair of chordal oscillations, winding down to nothing. This brilliant arrangement for brass band has become every bit as popular as the original choral setting. Brings contemporary choral repertoire by a leading international composer to the band worldArrangement of Eriks E?envalds' highly successful choral piece 'Only in Sleep'. Arranged by brass and brass band specialist Phillip Littlemore. Part of EP Brass Band Series. Meditative, beautiful piece, highly attractive for audiences, and proven success as a choral work. Suitable for intermediate band at 2nd Section and above. / Date parution : 2022-05-17/ Répertoire / Brass Band

In Danceries by Kenneth Hesketh the melodies themselves are a mixture of old and new. Where the old occurs it has been adapted in mood and composition and is often interspersed with completely new material. The contemporary harmonies and rhythms bring a breath of new into these themes and add drama to the suite. The first movement Lull Me Beyond Thee is gentle and lilting almost a barcarole this movement is very much a reverie. The original tune had the name Poor Robin’s Maggot a rather disconcerting title. Maggot however in seventeenth-century parlance meant whim or fancy. The second Catching of Quails is acolourful buoyant scherzo on an original melody. The thematic material is shuttled around the band to contrast with full-blooded tuttis. The last few bars fade to almost nothing before a final surprise! My Lady’s Rest is a tender pavane also on an original melody with Moorish leanings. Beautiful solo passages expressive contrapuntal writing and warm tuttis provide an opportunity to show off the most lyrical of playing. The final movement Quodling’s Delight is a clever combination of the 17th century melody Goddesses with an original contrasting melody creating a rousing and exuberant finale to the work.

Cathedrals have always appealed to the imagination. Hundreds of years of manpower have been invested in their building and it is not for nothing that today they represent imposing symbols of architecture and history. The cathedral is also a great source of inspiration for compositions drawing on a full palette of acoustic echo effects Gregorian melodies and organ based choral themes.The work ?Catedrals? opens with a five tone motif using double tonguing which resonates through space. Then comes a Gregorian antiphonal theme ?Salve Regina? which is heard in the euphonium and later combines with the opening motif. The quicker passage that follows is basedentirely on the intervals in the motif which by now has added rhythmic variations and develops in different forms including a fugue. The work then builds towards its first climax from which unusual muted sounds emerge creating an atmosphere shrouded in mystery.Gradually more melodious fragments are added to the Gregorian antiphonal theme which develops into an expansive choral emulating the organ and which rises above the sound mass. The work grows more powerful and brilliant in sound until it culminates in a short and explosive finale wherein elements from the whole work come together.