During his short lifetime Max Reger (1873-1916) was a prolific composer with many of his best known works being composed for organ. The ten chorale preludes in this selection are from his set of Thirty Short Chorale Preludes Op.135a composed as short voluntaries for liturgical use rather than for recitals in these arrangements Philip Sparke has kept this in mind and each prelude can be performed with minimal instrumentation for those occasions where a small band is needed. They also make great pieces for band warm-ups or studies in intonation sound and balance.

Après larrangement musical des 4 Lyriske Stykker Jan Rypens a sélectionné quatre autres oeuvres du répertoire de piano dEdvard Grieg. Ces quatre morceaux forment un ensemble mais peuvent aussi se jouer séparément. Ils constituent un retour au calme idéal dans le programme de votre concert ou peuvent aussi tenir lieu de prélude.

In 2005 it was 400 years ago that the first volume of the world-famous novel ‘El ingenioso hidalgo don Quichote de La Mancha’ written by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) was published. Don Quichote a nobleman who is under the delusion that he must fight against injustice starts out on a journey with his steed Rosinante and his peasant squire Sancho Panza and experiences all kinds of remarkable adventures. In the course of them his love for the lady Dulcinea of Tobosco plays an important role. One of the most famous scenes is that of his fight against windmills on the plain of La Mancha which he takes to be enormous evil giants. ‘DonQuichote’ consists of four short pieces: 1. Don Quichote: the ingenious Spanish nobleman. 2. Dulcinea: the lady with whom this errant knight has an imaginary courtly love affair. 3. Sancho Panza: Don Quichote’s loyal and sensible servant who compared to his master is a simple soul. 4. Rosinante: the steed that has much to put up with considering it has a rider who often spends more time on the ground than in the saddle.

The English king Henry VIII (1491-1547) is mainly remembered for disposing of his wives on a regular basis and breaking with the Catholic Church when the Pope Clement VII refused to grant him a divorce so he could marry Anne Boleyn.As a young man he was a gifted athlete dancer and composer writing many songs poems and consort pieces (though not Greensleeves as is often believed). Pastime with Good Company is undoubtedly the best-known of these written in the first years of the 16th century while he was still a handsome prince newly married to Catherine of Aragon and the envy of Europe. The lyrics tell of the joys of hunting dancing and singing and would have been sungas part of the court entertainment.This arrangement features a quartet of soloists and two solo drummers.

Elegy for Band-The initial idea was for a millennium piece which it is but rather than add to the many celebratory pieces that have understandably been written to salute the 3rd millennium Philip Sparke thought it would perhaps be appropriate to think about the aspects of life that are constantly with us (such as faith and philosophy) rather than the exciting changes that the year 2000 has undeniably wrought. This calm meditative work will bring a moment of serenity and reflection to any concert.

Although Cesar Franck won many prizes during his student days his music was generally unrecognised by his contemporaries. His pieces were written in the romantic style whilst retaining a classical structure and his later compositions were referred to as 'cathedrals of sound'. Panis Angelicus is poetic and almost serene and this arrangement by Philip Sparke retains all of the beauty of the original.

The Scottish composer Fraser is known for his popular original light music pieces. In an era of pop and musical arrangements Sky Raiders is an catching piece of original wind music. De Schotse componist Fraser laat in Sky Raiders horen dat hij zijn mannetje staat in de populaire blaasmuziek. In een tijd van pop- en musicalarrangementen is het een verademing om originele populaire blaasmuziek te spelen en te beluisteren.