Brass Ensemble - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.817619 Composed by James Bland. Arranged by F. Leslie Smith. Folk,Spiritual,Traditional. Score and parts. 28 pages. Sweetwater Brass Press #424503. Published by Sweetwater Brass Press (A0.817619).      James Alan Bland, composer of “In the Evening by the Moonlight,” was a prolific song writer.  He is said to have created the words and music for more than 600 compositions.  Born in 1854 to a free African American family in Flushing, New York, he made a name for himself as musician, composer and minstrel performer.  Among his compositions were “Oh, Dem Golden Slippers,” “In the Morning in the Bright Light” and “De Golden Wedding.”  His most famous song by far was “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny,” which the State of Virginia used as its official anthem for over 50 years.      Bland, in keeping with his persona as a minstrel, wrote the lyrics to “In the Evening by the Moonlight” in dialect.  Years passed and sensitivities changed, but the song’s poignant melody and basic sentiment survived.  Latter day recordings, such as those by Bing Crosby and the Ray Charles Singers, dropped the dialect and objectionable terms.  One of the most notable versions was by singer, pianist and civil rights activist Nina Simone, released in 1960 on the album Nina at Newport.      This brass quintet version begins with the group instrumentally humming along under an eight-measure Horn in F introduction.   The first statement of the melody initially takes the form of a partial call-and-response between a Trombone/Horn duo and Trumpet 1, then switches to an exchange between Trumpet 1 and Tuba.  Next, the melody is repeated but in a rhythmic pattern reminiscent of the 1880 tune “Here Dem Bells”; Tuba plays counterpoint.  Third time around, the melody is presented almost exactly as Bland wrote it and as Hitchcock’s Music Store published it in 1880.  Finally, the tempo slows and the melody is presented as so many have sung it around campfires at YMCA, 4-H and other youth camps all over the country:  softly and tenderly.  The arrangement ends with a brief recapitulation of the introduction.      There are no really difficult or tricky rhythms in this arrangement.  Trumpet 1’s highest note, which occurs in Section D, is A above its staff; Tuba’s lowest, G below the staff.  Otherwise, there are no exceptionally high or low notes.  The piece opens in the key of F major then, about halfway through, changes to G major.  Tempo opens with a suggested MM of 104, speeds up to 120, slows to 66, increases again to 122 and finally slows to 66.      Completed in 2022, performance time runs about 4 minutes, 22 seconds. The arranger, Les Smith, will be happy to provide substitute parts (for example, treble clef baritone for trombone) at no charge.  He would also like to receive your suggestions, comments, corrections and criticisms.  Contact him directly at lessmith61@bellsouth.net.  For more arrangements by Les, enter "Sweetwater Brass Press" (without the quotation marks) in the SheetMusicPlus or Sheet Music Direct 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 Ensemble - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.808675 Composed by Alexander Borodin (1833–1887). Arranged by F. Leslie Smith. Broadway,Holiday,Musical/Show,Romantic Period,Wedding. Score and parts. 19 pages. Sweetwater Brass Press #3130463. Published by Sweetwater Brass Press (A0.808675).      The defeat of Igor Svyatoslavich, a Rus’ prince, in his 1185 campaign against invading Cuman (Polovtsy) tribes was immortalized in the Russian epic, The Lay of Igor’s Campaign. Seven centuries later, Alexander Borodin started work on an opera based on that old tale. Borodin died before finishing, but Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov completed Prince Igor, and it was performed for the first time in 1890. Sixty-three years later the Broadway production Kismet opened featuring songs adapted by Robert Wright and George Forrest from the music of Borodin. Arguably, the most popular of the show’s songs was Stranger in Paradise, which was based on the Gliding Dance of the Maidens from the Polovtsian Dances of Prince Igor.      This beautiful brass quintet arrangement of Gliding Dance of the Maidens was adapted from the orchestra score. The key is A major, time signature is 4/4 and tempo marking is Andantino at the opening, slowing to a suggested quarter note = 63 at measure 15. Trumpets, Horn in F and Trombone all play a few grace notes. Highest notes for Trumpets are their G-sharp just above the staff; for Trombone, E above the staff. While not particularly challenging technically, the key to playing this piece is interpretation and feeling.     This arrangement was completed in 2017, and performance time runs about 2 minutes, 38 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 Ensemble - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.808706 Composed by Fred Fisher. Arranged by F. Leslie Smith. Folk,Holiday,Jazz,Patriotic,Traditional. Score and parts. 40 pages. Sweetwater Brass Press #6215233. Published by Sweetwater Brass Press (A0.808706).      Orville and Wilbur Wright made their famous flight in late 1903; this song was published seven years later: Fred Fisher’s music with Alfred Bryan’s lyrics. The words form a narrative of a young man attempting to get his girlfriend to go up with him in his flying machine. And, that would take much more daring on her part than one might realize today. The year 1910 was still early days for aviation; most airplanes were still made of wood, wire and fabric and looked liked giant gliders. Supposedly, the Josephine of the song was Josephine Sarah Magner, reputed to be America’s first female parachutist. Magner married Leslie Burt Haddock, whose aviation career started in balloons, and made her first jump in 1905. During the next dozen years, she made more than 500 jumps. Pretty daring!     This arrangement is quirky and an absolute delight to play (and to listen to)! The first half is set in the song’s native ¾ time. The takeoff is the introduction, followed by the chorus, then the verse and again the chorus as the melody loops, rolls and spins through the five instruments. A middle section briefly quotes two other aerialist tunes-He flies through the air with the greatest of ease and Up in the air Junior Birdmen-and serves as a transition to cut time. A swing version of the chorus brings us in for a landing and final fade.     The arrangement begins in the key of C major and changes to G major during the transitional section. Suggested tempo is 76 bpm throughout. The arrangement comprises 202 measures: Horn in F plays the most notes, followed by Trombone and Tuba, while Trumpets get off relatively lightly. All notes are well within the normal playing range of the instruments; Trumpet 1 does, however, play A above its staff several times.     Completed in 2021, performance time for Come, Josephine in My Flying Machine runs about 3 minutes, 45 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.)