SKU: A0.808686

    This is one of the most beautifully arranged short pieces in the Sweetwater Brass Press catalog.
   Jean-Paul-Égide Martini wrote Plaisir d'amour in 1784. He took the words from a poem that appears in Célestine, a short novel by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian. The poem begins, Plaisir d'amour ne dure qu'un moment (The pleasure of love lasts only a moment). Over the years, Martini’s melody has proved popular with other composers, including Hector Berlioz and Louis van Waefelghem. Two relatively recent songs that made use of the plaintiff refrain are the Christian hymn, My God Loves Me and the song Can't Help Falling in Love, which was performed by Elvis Presley in the film, Blue Hawaii.
   This arrangement is not technically difficult, but it does require discipline and interpretation. As in the original, there are two key changes, F to A-flat and then back to F.  The time signature has been changed from Martini’s 6/8 to ¾ but retains all relative note values. Trumpet 1 plays the melody with occasional harmony from Trumpet 2. Horn in F provides arpeggio accompaniment throughout most of the song, with some help from Tuba and Trombone. With respect to high and low notes: Trumpet 1 has one A5 grace note (to a G5 quarter note); Trumpet 2 has three above-staff quarter notes in a row, A5, B5 and A5; Trombone has one F4; and Tuba has a number of F1 notes and one section of octave jumps involving F2 to F3 and A2 to A3.
   This arrangement was completed in 2018, and performance time runs about 3 minutes, 51 seconds. The arranger, Les Smith, would be very interested in your comments; contact him at lessmith@ufl.edu or leave a review on the SheetMusicPlus website. For more arrangements by Les, enter Sweetwater Brass Press (without the quotation marks) in the SheetMusicPlus search box.

SKU: A0.808703

     This song is a great piece to play for a general concert. But it really shines in matrimonial settings. The fact is: No wedding is complete without the performance of Because.
     Helen Guy, the daughter of an English sea captain and a French singer, was born at Château d'Hardelot in France. She entered the Paris Conservatory at age 15, and in her early 20s composed a musical setting for Victor Hugo’s Sans toi, which gained some popularity. She composed over 300 songs using the name Guy d'Hardelot. She was also a noted piano accompanist. After marrying W.I. Rhodes, she settled in London and taught singing. As a composer, she is best remembered for Because (Parce Que), for which she wrote both the music and the French words. It was first published in 1902 with English lyrics by Edward Teschemacher and has since been recorded many times by many different artists.
     This arrangement was derived from the 1902 Chappell & Co. score in C major for piano and voice. For the most part, however, the musical setting is original and different. Throughout most of the piece, Horn in F carries the melody with Trombone and Tuba providing an arpeggio accompaniment. Trumpets 1 and 2 play a syncopation figure for the opening and the end but during the majority of the arrangement they provide an antiphonal response to the melody. The opening is marked Poco Adagio with a suggested metronome setting of 76, but the tempo does vary rather frequently. All notes are well within the range of each instrument; e.g., B-flat Trumpets’ highest note is G at the top of their staff, while Tuba’s lowest note is A below the staff. All-in-all, this arrangement is a beautiful and poignant setting for an old favorite, a real crowd pleaser.
     Completed in 2020, performance time for Because runs about 3 minutes, 22 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.)

SKU: A0.808676

    Marvin Hamlisch’s score for the 1973 movie The Sting revived interest in ragtime music. Ragtime, of course, is music, often in march-time, that features syncopation, a ragged beat. It originated in African-American districts of large cities and first flourished during the period, 1895-1918. One of the most successful ragtime composers was Scott Joplin, known as the King of Ragtime. Hamlisch used several Joplin compositions as background music for the George Roy Hill-directed film, and one of those was this beautiful and contemplative 1909 composition, Solace: A Mexican Serenade.  
   In All Music Guide to Classical Music: The Definitive Guide to Classical Music (Woodstra et al., ed., CMP Books: 2005), Blair Johnston called Solace a musical hybrid neither authentically Mexican nor authentic ragtime. It is, instead, a habanera, but also a very lovely piece of Americana.
    This brass quintet arrangement of Solace was adapted from the Joplin piano score. Like the score, this arrangement is in 2/4 time and contains a lot of 16th notes. Joplin’s tempo instruction, however, is Very slow march time, and the metronome marking suggests 96 eighth notes a minute, so in reality the actual tempo is an andante 4/8. Trumpet 1 has some B-above-the-staff notes in the last section, Trumpet 2 has a few interesting rhythmic figures in section B; Trombone has 3 or 4 F-above-the-staff notes, and Tuba plays a couple of top-of-the-staff A’s in section D and at the very end. Plus, of course, the piece is syncopated.
    Completed in 2017, this arrangement runs about 6 minutes, 10 seconds. Contact the arranger, Les Smith, at lessmith@ufl.edu; he would be delighted to hear from you. For more arrangements by Les, enter Sweetwater Brass Press (without the quotation marks) in the SheetMusicPlus search box.

SKU: A0.1028537

Your Song was written by Elton John & Bernie Taupin and released in October 1970 on the Album Take Me to the Pilot. Your Song was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 and was included on the Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004 and 2010. Since its release it has been covered by many artists such as Rod Stewart, Lady Gaga and Ellie Goulding. It has featured in movie sound tracks such as Moulin Rouge sung by Ewan McGregor and most recently in the 2019 film Rocketman featuring Taron Egerton as Elton John.

This arrangement is designed for players of an intermediate / advanced standard. The balance of the arrangements relies on the accompanying parts not over powering the main melody and should remain smooth unless marked. Repeating bars 5-11 is optional on the D.S. doing the repeat lengthens the arrangement by approx. 30sec. 

SKU: A0.931693

Feature your fabulous trombone player with this jazz style quintet composed by Dr. John D. Swan. The trombone solo is accompanied by the quintet throughout.

There is a jazz section for the improvising trombonist to demonstrate her/his skills. If the trombone player does not improvise, a Lead Sheet with the changes for other improvisers in the quintet to use is included.

Here is another feature of this work: if no one improvises in the quintet, but you still want to feature the trombone solo, markings in the score and parts explain how to omit the jazz improvisation section and take an Optional D.S. back to letter A, and then jump to the Coda.

A Raggy Boogaloo is an audience pleaser where your quintet of 2 trumpets, horn in F, trombone and tuba can perform an up tempo jazzy ragtime piece. This work fits well in school demonstration concerts, on the concert stage, or in concerts in the park when weather permits.

When performed at tempo with all repeats, and the full jazz improvisation solo section, the piece is 9 minutes and 25 seconds long.

SKU: A0.782787

This fifth volume of Christmas carols arranged for various quartets contains soprano, alto, tenor, and bass parts in various transpositions for quartets of woodwinds, brass, or mixed ensembles. The full score is arranged unconventionally by voice part, rather than instrument convenience of dealing with a variety of possible quartets or other mixed ensembles. Reprint the parts as needed within your organization. There are four other volumes of these, with ten arrangements each, as well as the same set of arrangements specifically for string quartet, with bowings and other markings, in some alternate keys. Lyrics are available separately for the complete set of 45 carols, for audience or church assembly sing-alongs.

SKU: A0.782783

The second volume of ten (10) quartets contains soprano, alto, tenor, and bass parts in various transpositions for quartets of woodwinds, brass, or mixed ensembles. The full score is arranged unconventionally by voice part, rather than instrument, with the four part C score at the top for easy reading. Reprint the parts as needed within your organization. There are four other volumes of these, as well as the same set of arrangements specifically for string quartet, with bowings and other markings, in some alternate keys.

Good Christian Men, Rejoice

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O Come, All Ye Faithful

‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime

Still, Still, Still

O Christmas Tree

Wassail Song

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Go Tell It on the Mountain

Ding! Dong! Merrily on High

SKU: A0.782784

The first volume of ten (10) quartets contains soprano, alto, tenor, and bass parts in various transpositions for quartets of woodwinds, brass, or mixed ensembles. The full score is arranged unconventionally by voice part, rather than instrument, with the four part C score at the top for easy reading. Reprint the parts as needed within your organization.  There are four other volumes of these, as well as sets of arrangements for string quartet and string trio (2020) specifically, with bowings and other markings.

Contents:
Joy to the World
Silent Night
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
O Sanctissima
Noel Nouvelet
Pat-a-pan
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
Wexford Carol
Angels We Have Heard on High
Lo! How a Rose E’er Blooming