Arranger: Dave Taylor
The final two movements (The Hut on Fowl's Legs and The Great Gate of Kiev) from Musorgsky's mighty Piano suite, later orchestrated by Maurice Ravel. Scored for brass quintet and organ, this is intended very much as a 'grand finale' type piece. The 1st part is a little tiring, the Bass part rather low, but there is not much here to test good players. The double-tonguing run downs can be played as straight quavers if the semiquavers are too fast to tongue.
the downloadable file was updated on 15 January 2002 and now includes a part for Eb Cornet.
N.B. The Organ part is integral to the arrangement.
Approximate duration 7 minutes 40 seconds.
Five movements from Camille Saint-Saens' extended musical joke - The Royal March of the Lion, The Elephant, Fossils, The Swan, and the Finale, which contains elements of many of the movements (mosst of which are sadly unsuitable for brass). The 2nd movement features the Tuba, the 4th features the Horn.
A 1st part in high Eb is also included.
Written for the 1999 pilgrimage to Walsingham Abbey, this 40-second flourish was premiered before the crowd of ten thousand that had come to witness the main event. What the masses didn't realise was that I'd written it in twenty minutes that morning after a late request for a fanfare for church dignitaries to process to had revealed that we had no appropriate music!
This comes from Bach's famous celebration of the new-found ability to play in every key in tune, the 48 Preludes and Fugues (2 for every key, major and minor). I've moved it down a semitone, to a sensible key!
The part-writing is purely Bach's - it's a five part fugue. The 1st part comes in either Bb or high Eb - the tonal contrast of five different instruments is to the music's gain if an Eb instrument is available. The music rises from almost nothing to a vast five-part stretto over the course of this magnificent fugue.
The suggested tempo is mine, although the dynamics follow closely those laid out by Bela Bartok, the 20th century Hungarian composer.
Approximate duration 2 minutes 50 seconds.
A jolly romp from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, a collection of Keyboard music produced in the early years of the 17th century. Not John Bull's piece of the same name, but by Giles Farnaby. Originally for the Virginals or Harpsichord, this is a little tricky. The ornaments used in the Fitzwilliam book are explained on my website at http://www.justbrass.co.uk/dtmusicuk. The suggested tempi and dynamics are mine.
It is suggested that this be programmed with other items from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book - Pakington's Pownde, Pavana Chromatica and The King's Hunt for example make a nice group.
Approximate duration 1 minute 50 seconds.
Adapted from a setting for Harpsichord in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book (produced early 17th century), this is a (quite brief) working of a traditional tune, which I believe was used for Maypole dancing. It appears in the words to the Maypole tune 'Come Lasses and Lads' in verse 3. A full version of these words can be found on my website at http://www.justbrass.co.uk/dtmusicuk, by clicking on 'Pakington's Pownde' in the music listing.
A guide to the Fitzwilliam Book ornaments can be found on my website at http://www.justbrass.co.uk/dtmusicuk.
The suggested tempi are mine, as are the dynamics.
Approximate duration 1 minute 30 seconds.
A highly decorative, and, as the title suggests, chromatic (for the period) Pavan from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. Dedicated to Mrs. Katherin Tregian, presumably a relative of Francis Tregian, who it is conjectured, copied the book when imprisoned for his Catholic faith, this piece is highly expressive; one might almost say romantic.
The suggested tempo is mine, as are the dynamics.
Approximated duration 3 minutes 50 seconds.
A Pavan from the early Keyboard collection, The Mulliner Book, produced in the mid 16th century. Simple to play, but containing some surprisingly advanced harmonies for the period. The suggested tempo is mine, as are the dynamics.
Approximate duration 2 minutes 20 seconds.
Arranger: David Taylor
Piece number 182 from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, a Pavane by Martin Peerson, who was choirmaster and Organist at St. Paul's Cathedral during the second quarter of the 17th century. The eponymous piper is, for me, particularly evoked by the frequent use of Dorian scale elements. The suggested tempi are mine, as are the dynamics. The ornaments used in the Fitzwilliam book are explained on my website at http://www.justbrass.co.uk/dtmusicuk.
Also available in Symphonic Brass Quintet version.
Approximate duration: 3'45"
Difficulty rating: Playable by experienced amateur groups.
From Bach's Organ works (BWV 549), this piece has a rather 19th century French Gothic feel; with a similar 'darkness' to the well-known Toccata and Fugue in D minor, this is a rather higher quality Baroque offering than that. It requires some clean playing by the bottom two parts.
The suggested tempi and dynamics are mine.
Approximate duration 4 minutes.
From Bach's organ works, BWV 568. Leaning towards the French Overture style, this two-and-a-half minute piece makes a rousing opening. It would be eminently suitable for an event such as a wedding, as processional, recessional, or incidental music.
Approximate duration 2 minutes 30 seconds.
From Bach's organ works, BWV 553, first part. This prelude (and it's companion fugue) is sometimes subtitiled 'The Cathedral', which atmosphere it evokes.
The suggest tempi and dynamics are mine.
I wrote this for my University graduation ceremony, where it was performed by the University of Warwick Brass Quintet (with myself playing the Tuba). Although outwardly solemn, (in fact, it was conceived as a parody of Leon Boellmann's 'Suite Gothique') the choice of the theme from 'Inspector Gadget' - the popular children's cartoon TV series - as the subject was intended to poke fun at the pompous nature of the proceedings.
Approx. Duration: 4' 50 "
Difficulty Rating: Playable by a strong amateur group.
A miniature of Grieg's depicting a goblin-like creature.
One of Scarlatti's 555 keyboard pieces of the same title, this was most probably written for Infanta Maria Barbara of Portugal (later of Spain), as an instruction piece. The fanfare figures evoked throughout this piece (termed a fantastical temple dance by the late Howard Ferguson, former Professor of Music at Cambridge University) suggested a brass setting immediately.
Although the 'Andante comodo' direction is Scarlatti's, the suggested metronome marking is mine, as are the dynamics. I have also lowered the whole score by a major sixth, to render it playable by brass. The two repeats may be omitted, if desired.
Approximate duration 5 minutes 10 seconds with repeats, 2 minutes 35 seconds without.
