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Jeff Girard and Midwest Sheet Music present
The Wind Band Report
Midwest Preview
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Vol. 6, No. 3 December 2018
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Things keep moving quickly here it seems. I've spent so much time trying to help develop our web site that I've lost some of my time I normally dedicate to this newsletter. Can't put that off anymore, it's time for the Midwest Convention and there are far too many new works out that I need to talk about. So let's jump in, starting with a quick young band summary and then a new publisher for advanced band programs that I'm very excited about.
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As always, there are a LARGE number of new titles for young band being published this year. I've gone through all of them that have crossed my desk and listened to them. I did a reading session for young band literature at the Arkansas Bandmasters Conference, so I had a head start on this. Below is a listing of what I thought were the best new works for younger bands that have come out this year so far. Click any of the links to see more details about the piece. My favorite one on the list is Sleep, My Child by Larry Clark.
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Earlier this year I discovered a publisher I was not aware of. Paul Noble is a Licensed Edition Publishing Partner of Oxford University Press, and as such has transcribed and arranged many of their works for wind band. This includes much of the catalog of John Rutter's works in particular. They have been transcribed in such a way that they may be performed with or without the choral parts.
That in and of itself was a great find, but what really excited me is that Paul had done an authorized edition of the Walton "Crown Imperial March" - which includes both a full score AND the original organ part. This version is as close to the original setting as you can get, so if you plan to put this piece on a future concert, I'd recommend at least considering replacing the old condensed score version that's likely in your library with this one.
There's also a number of works by other English composer greats like Vaughan Williams, Holst, Walton, Gardner, and others, as well as a few original works by contemporary British composers. I have a limited number of printed catalogs that I'll have at the booth, come up and ask me for one if you're interested. His entire catalog of over 250 titles is available to view and listen to on our website as well, just type "BandMusicPdf" as a search term and you can browse them all.
You may note on our website that many of the recordings are Midi. Paul is willing to strike a deal with directors that are willing to help provide good recordings of his works. See me for more details. I've got a good amount of his scores in the large score bins at Midwest and they're easily identifiable, so take a look and a listen.
Click image to listen or to see a detailed listing
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Crown Imperial
William Walton
I and numerous directors have been waiting a long, long time for a full score version of this march to come out. Finally we have one, authorized by the Walton estate. It also includes the organ part that has been missing from other published editions of this work, as well as a harp part. I
n addition to this, Paul Noble has also created a full score edition of the Orb and Scepter march, another Walton classic that has been out of print for a while now. There are several other Walton works in the catalog as well, including an arrangement for band of 8 movements from Facade that can be done with or without the Reciter.
Grade 5
Set: $150; Large score: $30
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Prelude and Fugue (Spitfire)
William Walton
The music for "Prelude and Fugue (The Spitfire)" was written to accompany the film, "The First of the Few", the story of the designer of the Spitfire fighter aircraft. The Prelude is a processional style march music heard over the opening credit titles in the movie. The Fugue is used to describe the making of the Spitfire, with a central lyrical solo depicts the exhaustion of the aircraft's designer R. J. Mitchell, who was dying from an illness. The patriotic march returns joined with the fugue to mark the completion of the fighter aircraft.
Grade 5
Set: $100; Score: $15
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England's Pleasant Land
Ralph Vaughn Williams
England's Pleasant Land
was written to accompany a pageant by the same name written by the novelist E. M. Forster. The pageant focused on the 'English countryside, its growth and destruction'. The two movements included were Vaughan Williams original contribution to the pageant. The pageant was presented around 1934, and then forgotten until now. This is the first publication of this important piece of wind band history. Paul Noble has edited the setting for modern Wind Band. If you wish though, a version with the original instrumentation is available as well, as me for details.
Grade 4.5
Set (either version): $175;
Score: $15
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Masquerade Suite
John Halvorson
Masquerade Suite was composed by Johan Halvorsen, one of the best-kept secrets of Norway. Not only was he an accomplished violinist and conductor, but also he was among the most prominent Norwegian composers in the generation following Edvard Grieg. The original version of Masquerade Suite had nine movements. Paul Noble has selected five of the most suitable movements for band transcription and grouped them into this beautiful suite. Individual movements can be purchased separately, contact me for details.
Grade 5.5
Set: $175 Score: $35
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A John Rutter Christmas I-V
John Rutter
Paul Noble has taken several of John Rutter's numerous Christmas Carol settings and arranged them for band. Each collection contains 4-6 of John Rutter's famous Christmas Carol arrangements, and like most of the works in this series they can be performed with or without choir. Collection number 4 is even suitable for audience sing-along participation. Click on the links below to listen to each setting.
Grade 4
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Partita
John Rutter
This is quite a work and not a piece you might have expected from the renowned composer of some of the classics of contemporary sacred choral music. It's a giant of a piece that allows everyone in the ensemble to truly shine, and one which surely will become a significant addition to the concert band repertoire. With hints of Gershwin, and filled with joy, majesty, wonder, and power, it will excite your ensemble and capture your audience. The original orchestra composition was written for, and dedicated to, the London Junior Orchestra.
Grade 5
Set $250; Score $50
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Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus is a Concert Band arrangement from the original work for string orchestra and harp by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The composition is based on the folk tune "Dives and Lazarus", one of the folk songs quoted in Vaughan Williams' English Folk Song Suite. The ancient theme on which these variations are based goes back to the sixteenth century, and is known by various titles. This work, based on the tune that Vaughan Williams had loved all his life, was played at the composer's funeral service in Westminster Abbey on 19th September 1958.
Grade 4.5
Complete Set $175; Score $22
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The Barber of Seville Goes to the Devil
Gordon Jacob
This boisterous parody of Rossini's work and his style was composed in 1960 for the BBC Concert Orchestra, which introduced it under Vilm Tausky in a broadcast concert that year.
The piece is a wild, rambunctious workout on the familiar material of the Rossini overture. Jacob develops some of the small motif's to extreme lengths, and incorporates a number of styles from a Spanish Dance to a street parade. It's not often you get to see a master orchestrator and composer work up a parody piece to such a high degree of polish.
Grade 5
Set - $70; Score $15
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Gloria
John Rutter
Gloria is one of Rutter's most ambitious concert works, and its premiere was the occasion for his first visit to the US, in May, 1974. Rutter himself sees this work as analogous to a symphony, with three movements- Allegro Vivace, Andante, Vivace e Ritmico. Rutter describes this work as "exalted, devotional and jubilant by turns". As with many of Noble's arrangements of John Rutter's compositions, this work is written for combined Chorus and Concert Band, but may be performed by Concert Band alone.
Grade 5
Complete Set $250; Score $40
Individual Mvts. $90 each; Score $15
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Suite of Cotswald Dances
Philip Lane
Cotswold Dances is a 6 movement suite of short, light, accessible dances from the south central region of England. Each movement has a distinct character and charm, and are all available as separate movements so you can program as many or as few as you like. The entire set only takes 12 minutes to perform, so this is highly adaptable to a number of situations and tastes. The movements are
Complete Set - $125; Score $40
Individual Mvt. - Set $30
; Score $8
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Maecenas Music
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Midwest Sheet Music is now the US distributor for the publications of Maecenas Music from England. Many of you may be aware of Awayday by Adam Gorb and Paris Sketches by Martin Ellerby, but Maecenas has many more great new works in their catalog. Their chief editor is Timothy Reynish, who has been a champion of British Wind Band music fro several decades.I'm a particular fan of Ghosts by Stephen McNeff myself.
Look for the Maecenas Music display in our booth at the Midwest Conference to see many of their works. Some of their newest releases are listed below. In the interest of time and getting this newsletter out I'm only doing a short list. In the future I'll dive deeper into their catalog for you.
Zethus
- Fergal Carrol ($95/$37)
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A Wind Band podcast and a
Wind Band blog
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Just a couple of plugs for some online resources you should also be taking note of. Mark Conner hosts a weekly podcast called Everything Band where he interviews notable composers, conductors, and other figures of the wind band world. You can download them on your favorite podcast app or go to his website.
Andrew Pease continues his academic work with the Wind Band Literature blog. He reviews performances of wind band concerts he attends, comments on works he conducts with his band at Hartwick College in New York and other groups, and writes about other topics concerning the wind band repertoire. I highly encourage all of you to follow both of these fellows and keep yourself regularly informed on a variety of relevant areas.
Also - there's a new Wind Band podcast coming out in October called "Source Material". Hosted by Sean Dennison Smith, this podast is a spin-off from a segment on the Illinois Bands podcast "One More Time." For the moment you can follow their Facebook page until they launch. I'll make an announcement when the podcast goes live.
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Do you have a Conducting
Class this year?
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If your school teaches a conducting class, I can help get your repertoire list ready for your students. Just send me a message with the details of your class (Class name, term semester, and school), the repertoire needed or suggested, and an approximate number of participants. I'll make sure to get all the repertoire into stock, I'll create a page your students can go to in order to get their materials all at once, send you the link to it, and make sure I have all your repertoire in stock.
Here's an example of what they'll see.
If you have a conducting symposium this year, I can do the same thing for that. Just let me know. I keep an eye out on the CBDNA boards, but in case I miss yours, just tell me your repertoire and symposium details and I'll get a page set up just for you.
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I've still got a lot of pieces and reference materials I want to talk about, but in the interest of time and getting this newsletter out before everyone leaves for Midwest, you can download this Word document where I've been keeping track of new works that I particularly liked. Everything on this list got my attention because of it's musicality and/or educational usefulness in teaching music concepts to students. Sound links are included, so have a listen during your free time. Don't forget you can listen to most of our new works at the exhibit by scanning the QR code on the cover.
In the next issue I'll talk about our
new web site. We've done a LOT of great things to it to help make browsing and shopping easier. If you haven't seen it lately, take another look. It's easier than ever to place orders and official estimates, as well as view and listen to materials.
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Thank you as always -
Jeff Girard
Instrumental Specialist
Instrumental Music (my direct line):
314/942-1522
General phone line:
314/291-4686
Fax:
314/291-4166
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1234 Main Street, Awesomeville, MA ยท 555.555.5555
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