Par VILHELMSEN INGEBJORG. 'The Cosmographic Mystery' outlines the great mysteries and secrets of the universe. The musical foundation is a tribute to composer Gustav Holst, and his suite 'The Planets'. Each movement from the suite is quoted in the course of the piece. The title is taken from a book by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler, which was published in the 17th century. The book explains Kepler's cosmological theory that the distance relationship between the planets could be understood in light of the five Platonic solids. The theory proposes that the solids dictate the structure of the universe through geometry. 'The Cosmographic Mystery' is supported by the Norwegian Composers' Fund, and was commissioned by Oslofjord brass. / Date parution : 2023-10-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band

Par LARSSON LARS-ERIK. Norge i rødt, hvitt og blått ('Norway in Red, White and Blue') was commissioned by the Oslo Fagott Choir (yes, that is indeed a gay men?s choir) for a concert with The Staff Band of the Armed Forces in 2015. I was given artistic licence to write a more modern and somewhat ?eclectic? arrangement for this originally Swedish melody written by Lars-Erik Larsson, which became something of a national liberation anthem when Nazi occupation ended in May 1945 ? then with new lyrics by Finn Bø, Bias Bernhoft and Arild Feldborg. After the premiere in Oslo, and a music video with Oslo Fagott Choir and The Staff Band, broadcasted by Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) on Constitution Day during coronavirus lockdown in 2020, I was approached by many to write an instrumental version of the arrangement for concert band. This version is now available through Norsk Noteservice. Reid Gilje has made this instrumentation for Brass Band. / Date parution : 2023-07-31/ Répertoire / Ensemble de Cuivres

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896). Par BRUCKNER ANTON / DOSS THOMAS (Arr.). 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. Hymns for four-part mixed choir a cappella (1846, St. Florian) No. 1 in E flat major (WAB 41/3): Quite Slow No. 2 in C major (WAB 41/4): Andante No. 3 in B flat major (WAB 41/1): Slow No. 4 in A flat major (WAB 41/2): Slow Hymn for five-part (2 S, A, T, B) mixed choir and organ No. 5 in D major: Solemnly They are simple works, completely subordinate to their liturgical use, which nevertheless already show numerous characteristics of personal expression. These small pieces were able to stand up to the harsh scrutiny of the mature master: in 1888, Bruckner subjected them to a revision in which he made only minor corrections. / Date parution : 2023-08-12/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

March for Concert Band. Par CESARINI FRANCO. Tamm a été commandée à Franco Cesarini par l'Association Musicale de Tamm, une charmante ville du Land de Baden-Württemberg (Allemagne) pour le passage en 2022 au statut de ville. Tamm, est une marche avec une structure traditionnelle, des mélodies entraînantes et des sons festifs qui reflètent pleinement l'occasion joyeuse et importante pour laquelle elle a été composée. Tamm est disponible en format défilé. / Date parution : 2023-08-12/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

Par SCHWARZ OTTO M.. Impresario est une marche de concert festive d'Otto M. Schwarz, qui convient comme ouverture et pièce pour la fin d'un concert. Le thème principal de la première partie est traité en diverses variations harmoniques et rythmiques et se termine par un trio aux nombreux raffinements techniques et avec une mélodie entraînante. Quelque peu différente d?autres marches de concert par Otto M. Schwarz, dans son style bien connu, se terminant par un final endiablé. / Date parution : 2023-06-01/ Répertoire / Brass Band

Par DELERUYELLE THIERRY. Majesty est une ouverture puissante et grandiose. Dès le début, les cuivres offrent toute leur brillance avant de laisser la place à un hymne majestueux joué principalement par les bois. La fin de l'?uvre reprend la fanfare du début dans un final monumental, à la manière d?une marche symphonique américaine. Cette pièce a été commandée par l'orchestre d'harmonie de Bourbourg (France), dirigé par Claude Deconinck, à l'occasion des 230 ans de la formation. La création de l??uvre par l?orchestre d?harmonie commanditaire a eu lieu le 19 novembre 2022, deux mois seulement après la mort de la reine Elisabeth II. C?est tout naturellement que l??uvre lui est dédiée. / Date parution : 2023-08-12/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

Par SPARKE PHILIP. Not Before Time (Il est grand temps) est l?une des deux pièces commandées par Koninklijke Fanfare Kempenbloei Achel (dirigée par Ivan Meylemans) dans le cadre de son programme pour le Concours « World Music Contest 2022», qui s?est tenu à Kerkrade, aux Pays-Bas. L?orchestre a gagné le premier prix de la division « Fanfare Concert Division ». Cousine d?une autre ?uvre du compositeur, Music of the Spheres (qui s?ouvre « before time » [avant l?heure] en t=0), cette pièce débute avec des gammes chaotiques et des groupes d?accords denses rappelant l??uvre précédente. Après un passage multi-métrique rythmique, un air « diabolique » en 7/8 apparaît dans les saxos avant d?être repris par l?orchestre entier. La texture se dissipe soudainement pour introduire une série de clusters par les bugles qui s?amplifie sous un ostinato rapide par les saxos. Des interruptions par les cuivres graves se transforment en nouveau matériel qui mène à un choral en mineur agrémenté d?ornements fleuris par les saxos. Les passages du début sont ensuite réintroduits jusqu?à la réapparition du choral par l?orchestre entier, le tout menant à une coda triomphale. Cette ?uvre peut être interprétée immédiatement avant sa partenaire, Elegy: Echoes of Lives Past (AMP 506-020), dont les éléments du choral sont identiques. / Date parution : 2023-06-01/ Répertoire / Fanfare Band

Par SPARKE PHILIP. Le compositeur Philip Sparke s?est inspiré de la région de Seeland, au nord-ouest de la Suisse, avec ses trois lacs (Morat, Neuchâtel et Bienne) comme point de départ pour ses Lakeland Variations. L??uvre comprend une introduction et cinq variations fondées sur des motifs exposés dans les premières mesures. Les trois lacs sont représentés par les trois notes du solo de timbales d?ouverture, dont les intervalles, une quarte et une seconde (avec une figure au cornet), forment la base de toutes les variations qui suivent. / Date parution : 2023-06-01/ Répertoire / Brass Band

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896). Par BRUCKNER ANTON / DOSS THOMAS (Arr.). 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 : 2023-08-12/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

Troy. Par SCHWARZ OTTO M.. Dans son ?uvre l?Iliade datant du 8e siècle avant J.-C. et situant cela dans ce qui est actuellement probablement l'Asie Mineure, le poète grec Homère a décrit Troie et la guerre de Troie. Aujourd?hui, nous connaissons le terme 'cheval de Troie' dans le sens d'un programme malveillant introduit clandestinement dans un ordinateur. L?utilisation du terme vient du cheval de Troie mythique qui a provoqué le tournant dans le combat des Grecques contre les Troyens grâce à la ruse d?Ulysse. Revenons au point de départ de l'histoire :'Pâris, le fils du roi de Troie, est invité par Zeus à juger la beauté des trois déesses Aphrodite, Pallas Athéna et Héra. Aphrodite, la déesse de l'amour, flatte Pâris en lui promettant la plus belle femme du monde. Peu de temps après, lors d'un voyage en Grèce, Pâris rencontre la belle Hélène, qui tombe immédiatement amoureuse de lui. Même si elle est l'épouse du roi spartiate Ménélas, elle se laisse volontiers enlever par Pâris. Les Grecs se réunissent alors pour former une grande armée et entamer une guerre contre Troie pour récupérer Hélène. Il s?en suivit un siège de la ville pendant dix ans. La ville ne pourra être prise pendant le combat, mais elle le sera uniquement grâce à la ruse d'Ulysse. Il a l'idée de construire un grand cheval de bois avec des guerriers cachés à l'intérieur. Le cheval est placé aux portes de la ville. Les Troyens sont dupés avec l?abandon du siège, après quoi et malgré quelques avertissements, ils amènent le cheval dans la ville pour le consacrer à la déesse Athéna. La nuit, les guerriers descendent du cheval et ouvrent la porte à l'armée grecque. Les troupes prennent d'assaut la ville et l'incendient. La famille royale et tous les guerriers de Troie sont tués ; seul Énée, le fils d'Aphrodite, s?échappa et après des années d'errance devint l?ancêtre des Romains. Il existe plusieurs versions du destin de la belle Hélène. On dit qu'elle est retournée à Sparte avec Ménélas et qu'elle y a régné jusqu'à la fin de sa vie. Ou pas... / Date parution : 2023-06-01/ Répertoire / Brass Band

Goat Island. Par KROON GEERT JAN. / Date parution : 2022-12-12/ Répertoire / Brass Band