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 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.899870 Composed by Samuel Francis Smith, Katharine Bates & Samuel Ward. Arranged by Alexander L Burden. Folk,Patriotic. Score and parts. 9 pages. Alexander Burden #5359107. Published by Alexander Burden (A0.899870). Genre: Folk Songs, PatrioticLength: 3:35Instrumentation: Alto Saxophone and EuphoniumThis fun and accessible mashup includes three well known American folk songs: Yankee Doodle, America (My Country Tis of Thee), & America, the Beautiful. Great for any occasion, it's guaranteed to be a hit at your next performance! The Arranger:Alexander Burden is a Florida born, professional musician and music educator residing in Southwest Florida. There, he is the music teacher at Westside Elementary in Clewiston. Concurrent with his duties at Westside, he also teaches private and group instrumental music lessons and preforms regularly with various professional ensembles throughout Southwest Florida. Burden holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree with an instrumental concentration from the Bower School of Music at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida. There he studied under world renowned saxophonist Mario Bernardo. He also holds an Associate of Arts degree with a Music Education and Saxophone Performance concentration from Eastern Florida State College where he was a student of James Bishop. During his time at the Bower School of music, he served as principle saxophonist in the FGCU Wind Orchestra, lead alto in the Jazz Band Flight: Jazz at FGCU, and played soprano saxophone in the Bower Saxophone Quartet. Alexander was selected to play tenor saxophone in the 2017 National Intercollegiate Band as well as principle alto saxophone in the 2017 Florida All-State Intercollegiate Band and tenor saxophone in the 2016 Florida All-State Intercollegiate Band. In November of 2015, Alexander participated in a critically acclaimed performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City with the FGCU Wind Orchestra.

Brass Ensemble - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.808687 Composed by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897). Arranged by F. Leslie Smith. Holiday,Romantic Period,Wedding. Score and parts. 28 pages. Sweetwater Brass Press #3872461. Published by Sweetwater Brass Press (A0.808687).     Brahms completed Six Pieces for Piano in 1893, just four years before his death. It was the second from last work he would write for solo piano, an introspective composition that he dedicated to Clara Schumann. To four of the six pieces he attached the label Intermezzo. Although the term originally defined a composition that was inserted between two other pieces-say, the movements of a suite or the acts of an opera-Brahms wrote them as independent works. And of these, the most popular is this, the Intermezzo in A major, andante teneramente. As described on the website Favorite Classic Composers, It's a sweetly melancholy piece, with a strong tinge of melancholy.    Except for a few items, this arrangement is not technically difficult. For the most part, Trumpet 1 plays the melody. Some of the notes are relatively high, the highest being C6 (high D for B-flat trumpet); there are several of those. Trumpet 2 has one brief A5 (high B). Trombone carries the heavy load; it has lots of oodle-oodles in the form of up-and-down eighth notes and triplet figures plus one F2. In the tuba part the range of notes is E1 to F3 and it contains a number of octave jumps. This is a beautiful piece, but it does require that each musician listen to the other four while playing.    This arrangement was completed in 2018, and performance time runs about 4 minutes, 55 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 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: A0.808703 Composed by Guy d'Hardelot (1858 – 1936). Arranged by F. Leslie Smith. Holiday,Romantic Period,Spiritual,Wedding. Score and parts. 18 pages. Sweetwater Brass Press #6072651. Published by Sweetwater Brass Press (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.)

Brass Band Euphonium,Horn,Trombone,Trumpet,Tuba - Level 2 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1308602 Composed by Ernesto De Curtis. Arranged by Alexander Wilson. Classical. Score and Parts. 11 pages. Alexander Wilson #897842. Published by Alexander Wilson (A0.1308602). Composed by Ernesto De Curtis to words by his brother, Giambattista De Curtis, Torna a Surriento (Come Back to Sorrento) is an ode to the town of Sorrento in Southern Italy. Until recently, it was thought to have been written in 1902 for the prime minister of Italy, who was vacationing in Sorrento at the time.  However, family papers indicate that a version of it existed eight years earlier.  Perhaps the 1902 edition was revised, or perhaps it was merely a convenient time to put it forward.In any case, it is a beautiful Neopolitian song and one of the most beloved of the genre.  This arrangement for two trumpets, two horns, two trombones, euphonium, and tuba is about 1'20 long, easy to perform, and ensures all the instruments have something fun to play.

Brass Ensemble - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.797666 Composed by Brendan Collins. 20th Century,Contemporary. Score and parts. 7 pages. Brendan Collins #5337457. Published by Brendan Collins (A0.797666). A beautiful reflective work inspired by a painting of the same name by Australian artist Danila Vassilieff.  This painting currently hangs in the New South Wales Art Gallery.