Handel’s opera Scipio was produced in 1726 and remains one of his less frequently performed works. The original production was beset by the problems of the withdrawal of a solo singer and an extremely short time span for composition. Handel made changes in later productions but the most famous element of the opera remains this stirring March.The March was arranged for Organ by William Thomas …

Contrasting colors and varied orchestration techniques make this majestic setting of OH LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM come alive for Christmas. Of the three different tunes that are commonly associated with the original carol text this arrangement uses the melody that?s best known in England. ENGLISH CAROL FANTASY remains entirely accessible to bands at this level and plenty of cueing makes sure it?…

Par CURNOW JAMES. Contrasting colors and varied orchestration techniques make this majestic setting of OH LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM come alive for Christmas. Of the three different tunes that are commonly associated with the original carol text, this arrangement uses the melody that’s best known in England. ENGLISH CAROL FANTASY remains entirely accessible to bands at this level and plenty of cuein…

Par BACH JOHANN SEBASTIAN. Ich Hatte Viel Bekümmernis - Lord My God, My heart And Soul Were Sore Distrest BWV 21. Cantata for the 3rd Sunday after Trinity. The cantata “Ich Hatte Viel Bekümmernis” dates from around 1713 and was probably performed for the first time that year in the Liebfrauenkirche in Halle. Its assigning to the third Sunday after Trinity probably only occurred the following year.…

Due to the popularity of Ben Tompsett's book series 'Ultimate Funk Grooves for Bb & Eb instruments', Tompsett has now produced a version for Flute. Funk and its infectious style, remains a popular part of the music we listen to today. Timeless recordings from such artists as James Brown, The Commodores, Stevie Wonder, The Meters, The Crusaders, Brecker Brothers, The Average White Band, Sly & the F…

Stacey Gibbs is known for his outstanding spiritual arrangements and this piece makes a delightful departure as an original composition. Much of the creativity that is evident in his arrangements remains but the melody is entirely Gibbs'. Writing primarily for advanced high school and college choirs Gibbs rewards us with his unique originality - this usually quiet text ends with strength and as…

Par PART ARVO. Following an initiative by Princess Caroline of Monaco/Hannover to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the reign of his Highness, Prince Rainier III of Monaco, composer Arvo Pärt was commissioned to compose a work for choir and orchestra. The finished work, Cantique des degrés, received its premiere on 19 November 1999 during a special service in the Cathedral of Monte-Carlo in the …

Piano solo part for Paganini Variations - Piano Concerto No.3 by Poul Ruders (2014). Score available: WH32201 Programme note: In 1999 my friend American guitar virtuoso David Starobin wanted me to write a concerto for guitar and orchestra. It quickly dawned on me that this commission presented a golden opportunity to contribute to the time-honoured tradition of composing a series of variations …

‘Yeomen of the Guard’ is a more ‘serious’ Gilbert and Sullivan opera and this perhaps accounts for its original lukewarm reception as it ran contrary to audience expectation. Set in the Tower of London in the sixteenth century the libretto concerns a jester Jack Point and his girl Elsie who plot to aid a war hero who is sentenced to die in the Tower. That hero Colonel Fairfax has bee…

Par RAMEAU JEAN-PHILIPPE. Amongst Rameau?s stage works which have come down to us in two main versions, such as ?Dardanus? (1739, 1744), ?Platée? (1745, 1749) and ?Zoroastre? (1749, 1756), none fell into oblivion for as long a period as ?Castor et Pollux?. After the work had been premiered in 1737, not until 1754 did Rameau decide to revise it. He asked his librettist ?Gentil-Bernard? to add an ac…

Edited by Richard PlattAn all-sung English opera that was completed in 1707 but which received its first London production only in 1972 Semele remains one of the great 'might have beens' of British music. Had it taken the stage as planned it could well have affected the development of English opera by showing that a native form in spirit Purcellian and English rather than Italian was indeed pe…

Unlocking the Masters Series No. 4. Mozart was the first composer whose operas have never left the international repertoire and for many he remains one of the finest vocal composers who ever lived. In a sense all of his music is vocal music depending as it does on arresting singable melodies but in his great operas single arias and sacred works Mozart put his melodic gift to work revealin…

A wedding without a famous wedding march - unimaginable! Wagner's 'Bridal Chorus' from 'Lohengrin' and Mendelssohn's 'Wedding March' from the incidental music of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' vie for the favour of bridal couples and wedding parties. If, however, the music shall be festive, Mendelssohn's background music for the wedding ceremony remains first choice. In order that the march cannot on…