Brass Ensemble - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.808673 Composed by Johannes Brahms (1833–1897). Arranged by F. Leslie Smith. Contemporary,Easter,Romantic Period,Sacred. Score and parts. 38 pages. Sweetwater Brass Press #3064649. Published by Sweetwater Brass Press (A0.808673).     Brahms composed Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift, his longest composition, during the period, 1865-1868. For the libretto, he eschewed the Latin text of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, using instead verses he chose from the German-language Luther Bible. Thus, it was A German Requiem. The Roman Church’s Requiem Mass begins with prayers for the dead; Brahms, on the other hand, chose to console the living and framed his first movement around the second of the Beatitudes, Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. The first movement is, indeed, comforting, filled with warmth and beauty. This arrangement translates Brahms’ choral parts and orchestral accompaniment into a warm and appealing five-brass-instruments version.     This arrangement was completed in 2017, and performance time runs about 10 minutes, 32 seconds. The arranger, Les Smith, will be happy to provide substitute parts (for example, treble clef baritone for trombone) at no charge; contact him directly at lessmith61@bellsouth.net. For more arrangements by Les, enter Sweetwater Brass Press (without the quotation marks) in the search box. (Also, purchase of this piece entitles you to your choice of another of his arrangements at no charge; send a copy of your purchase receipt directly to him at lessmith61@bellsouth.net.)

Brass Quintet - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1489498 Composed by Dr. Daniel N. Thrower. 21st Century,Chamber,Historic,Instructional,Multicultural,World. 17 pages. Https://gildedmusicpress.com/ #1066363. Published by https://gildedmusicpress.com/ (A0.1489498). Rounding out the “American Trails” with the fifth composition in the collection, “Trail of Tears” is in reference to the heart-wrenching dark history of over 60,000 American Indians being expelled from their lands.  During the period between 1830 and 1850, natives from five tribes were forcibly displaced from their homelands in what later became known as the American Deep South.  These “Five Civilized Tribes” included the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee, and Seminole nations.  Under the leadership of President Andrew Jackson, Congress passed the “Indian Removal Act” in 1830 which revoked all land ownership from all Native Americans in the Southeast.  Although Jackson was not the originator of the movement to remove the Indians, it was his top legislative priority upon taking office.  In his mind, they were a primary obstacle for the fulfillment of the Manifest Destiny and American national success.  There were many opponents to the violent legislation, such as David Crockett of Tennessee and Catherine Beecher.The most brutal year of the Trail of Tears occurred in 1838 among the Cherokee who had resisted the Treaty of New Echota of 1836 through petitions and pleas to the US government.  Despite their efforts, the expulsive treaty was ratified and the resistant Cherokee were compelled by militia to vacate all lands east of the Mississippi River.  The heaviest death tolls occurred in the summer and winter months of 1838 after the deadline to depart had passed in May.  Disease, exposure, starvation, and harassment by frontiersman compounded the physical exertion of the “death marches” that killed many.This composition extensively borrows the four-note motif from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.  That symphony was composed in the early 1800s in Europe at the same time as the growth of the anti-Indian sentiment across the American frontier.  Rather than primary thematic material, “Trail of Tears” uses the motif as a morose, plodding accompanimental pattern that adds depth of sorrow to the musical homage.

Brass Quintet Horn,Trombone,Trumpet,Tuba - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1461185 By The Dixie Cups. By Barbara Ann Hawkins, Joan Marie Johnson, and Rosa Lee Hawkins. Arranged by Will Corbin. Jazz,Pop. 24 pages. Will Corbin #1040044. Published by Will Corbin (A0.1461185). This song has roots in a Mardi Gras chant that ostensibly came from some unspecified Native American language. James Sugar Boy Crawford turned it into a song, and his band, Sugar Boy and his Cane Cutters (southern Louisiana had a lot of that) recorded it in 1953 as Jock-a-Mo, which may mean kiss my ass or a defiant response to that effect. It was recorded again, as kind of a whim, in 1964 by the girl trio The Dixie Cups, who made it a hit. It has since been endlessly covered by everyone from Cyndi Lauper to The Grateful Dead.This arrangement is essentially solo variations on the main melody backed by horn rhythms. If you want to make it go on endlessly, it's a simple three-chord tune (actually, mostly two chords) that lends itself to simple improv. It's arranged for two trumpets, horn, trombone and tuba.If you require alternative instrumentation, I'm happy to help. Contact me at wilcor@aol.com.