Congestion Charge (Score & Parts) (Faber Edition: Faber Brass Band Series)

Congestion Charge (Score & Parts) (Faber Edition: Faber Brass Band Series) Review

As with all modern cities, London is overcrowded with motor vehicles. London is the first major city in Europe to adopt a 'Congestion Charge', and this piece (with its stop and go traffic lights) is both racy and comical. Here are Londoners attempting to go about their business in the face of overwhelming odds...

This piece is the final movement of Nigel Hess' New London Pictures which represents elements of London in the 21st Century.

Elegy (Score) (Faber Brass Band Series)

Elegy (Score) (Faber Brass Band Series) Review

The formal shape of Hesketh's Elegy for brass band and percussion is built on mounting intensification of melodic lines as each section follows from another, with varying colors and intensity. It was prepared for the UK's Royal Northern College of Music Festival of Brass 2009, where the premiere was given by the Desford Colliery Band, conducted by Russell Gray.

Fanfares and Love Songs (Score & Parts) (Faber Brass Band)

Fanfares and Love Songs (Score & Parts) (Faber Brass Band) Review

Fanfares and Love Songs is traditional in structure; an exciting fanfare opening is followed by an expressive love song. The final movement revisits the fanfares of the first movement whilst a fast paced dance brings the work to a triumphant and breathless close.

Fanfares and Love Songs was commissioned by the National Childrens Band of Great Britain for their 2009 Summer Course, who gave the premiere of the opening fanfare at their closing concert. The work was premiered in its entirety by the Leyland Band, conducted by Jason Katsikaris, at the RNCM Festival of Brass on 23rd January 2010.

Penlee (Score & Parts) (Faber Edition: Faber Brass Band Series)

Penlee (Score & Parts) (Faber Edition: Faber Brass Band Series) Review

To some, the tragic story of the Penlee lifeboat, Solomon Browne, would need no introduction, and to some the pain felt is still very much a reality. The composer, born just a few weeks before that fateful night on the 19th December 1981, has created this work as a musical homage to the bravery of the souls who lost their lives and has dedicated it to their memory.

Penlee was commissioned by the Cornwall Youth Brass Band using funds bequeathed by Michael Pickett. The first performance was given by the Cornish Youth Brass Band, conducted by Ian Porthouse, at St Michaels Church, Newquay (UK), on 30th December 2008.

The Dreaded Groove and Hook (Score) (Faber Edition: Faber Brass Band)

The Dreaded Groove and Hook (Score) (Faber Edition: Faber Brass Band) Review

Simon Dobson's The Dreaded Groove and Hook, is an up tempo acidjazz work for brass band, drawing its influences from bands such as Jamiroquai and The Youngblood Brass Band. The groove in question is the main tune that is shared around the band soloists and accompanied by 'Stuart Zendoresque' bass lines, whilst the hook, in pop terms, is the catchy bit of the song. This happens when the whole band join to play a huge 'riff' that acts as a kind of chorus to the jazz like verses. Percussion and soloists alike will have plenty to do in this piece!

The piece was commissioned by Jason Katsikaris and The Leyland Band, who gave the first performance as part of their program for the Brass In Concert Championships in November 2008.

Titan's Progress (Score) (Faber Brass Band Series)

Titan's Progress (Score) (Faber Brass Band Series) Review

Titan's Progress, which is Hermann Pallhuber's first work for the British style brass band, contains references to the music of Gustav Mahler. Motifs from Mahler's First Symphony are employed throughout and especially the principal theme of the finale. Pallhuber's music is programmatic and uses the content of the novel and its hero Albanos evolution for its underlying structure. The stylistic variety of the work (including the Chorale, an impudent Landler, a dancing Farandole, and a climactic Fugue) are Mahleresque in their influences.

Titan was a novel by the German author Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, who later known as Jean Paul, and was considered the authors main work. At almost 900 pages in length, it tells the story of the transition of its hero, Albano de Cesara, from a passionate youth to a mature man. Jean Paul was one of Gustav Mahlers favorite authors and the latter gave the original five-movement version of his first symphony the subtitle The Titan in deference to Jean Pauls novel.

London Eye (Score & Parts) (Faber Edition: Faber Brass Band Series)

London Eye (Score & Parts) (Faber Edition: Faber Brass Band Series) Review

London Eye is an incredibly large rotating wheel situated on the South Bank of the River Thames. This movement depicts a 'flight' on this riverside wheel, at the top of which the panoramic view of London is breathtaking and the expanse of the music is a suitable depiction of that view.

This piece is the second movement of Nigel Hess' New London Pictures which represents elements of London in the 21st Century.