Brass Ensemble - Digital Download SKU: A0.1024971 Composed by Simon M. Sperl. Contemporary. Score and parts. 28 pages. Sperl Publishing #3912935. Published by Sperl Publishing (A0.1024971). This piece, Fables, Fiction and Folklore, is built on a mode and musical figure that can be transposed by a tritone while maintaining every note in the scale.  In other words, whether it’s played in G or C#, the exact same notes are used.  This mirroring of the musical figure is meant to symbolize how we see ourselves.  We look in the mirror and see something that may look like us but is, in fact, as far away from reality as possible. We look past all the good and beautiful things in ourselves and our worlds while only seeing our faults and blemishes. On the other hand, when we look at others, we see idealized versions.  We think about them as if they are fictionalized characters in a story.  Let’s focus on the positive when we look at ourselves and our lives and forgive the imperfections.  We’re the heroes of our personal folktale.

Brass Ensemble - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.808712 Composed by F. Leslie Smith. Arranged by F. Leslie Smith. Children. Score and parts. 37 pages. Sweetwater Brass Press #6656487. Published by Sweetwater Brass Press (A0.808712).     Gremlins, trolls and hobgoblins. All are imaginary or supernatural, products of folklore. The first is a mischievous elf. The second, a product of Scandinavian imaginations, is a rather unattractive dwarf (or maybe a giant) that dwells in caves or on mountains. The third is a small, hirsute and naughty household spirit. In other words, these are just the types of beings that show up on your doorstep on October 31 evenings threatening to play tricks unless you provide treats.    This composition exemplifies not only these creatures, but also the witches, skeletons, ghosts, vampires, black cats and other scary beings that populate Halloween. Written in the key of C minor with a 6/8 time signature, it rolls along at a suggested tempo of 96 BPM. Based primarily on the traditional melody, The Hearse Song (the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out), it also quotes the composer’s own The Eerie Night and Chopin’s Marche Funèbre. And like the worms of the song, the melodies work their way sinuously in and out among the five instruments. Most notes are well within normal playing range: Trumpet 1’s highest is five A notes above its staff; Tuba’s lowest, G below the staff. There are no tricky rhythmic figures. It’s just a fun piece for Halloween . . . or any time of the year.    Completed in 2021, performance time for Gremlins, Trolls and Hobgoblins runs about 3 minutes, 33 seconds. The composer, 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 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 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.954884 Composed by Irish Folk Tune. Arranged by Rick Rangno. Children,Folk,Holiday. Score and parts. 19 pages. Rick Rangno #4363421. Published by Rick Rangno (A0.954884). This arrangement is based on an old Irish air found in P.W. Joyce's collection Ancient Irish Music published in Dublin in 1873. In Irish folklore the leprehaun is portrayed as a little bearded man, wearing a green coat and hat, and who gets into all kinds of mischief. In general they are solitary creatures who spend their time as cobblers making and mending shoes and have a pot of gold hidden at the end of the rainbow. According to the legends, if you are lucky enough to find a leprehaun and catch him you can exchange his freedom for his treasure. But leprehauns can be a tricky...take your eyes off him for just a second and he'll be gone in a wink leaving you with nothing!This should be played quite boisterously and playfully. It could fit into many types of programs of a light nature. Ideal for St.Patrick's Day or children's concerts.