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 Quintet Horn,Trombone,Trumpet,Tuba - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1425121 Composed by Otto Kelland. Arranged by Marc Donatelle. 20th Century,Folk,Historic,Traditional. 26 pages. Marc Donatelle #1005939. Published by Marc Donatelle (A0.1425121). This well known folk song from Newfoundland has been arranged to feature the brass quintet with a Bohdran or Drum.I tried to capture the feeling of Newfoundland after visiting several times, and having family there.It features all of the instruments, beginning with a mysterious, somber tuba solo accompanied by fog horn sounds played by horn and trombone along with muted trumpets imitating a calm sea.This builds to rhapsodic climax, ending mysteriosly with the tuba.The Bohdran/Drum part is a nice addition, but there are options if one is not available. Please see notes at the end of the score.The sound example is the transition from the Celtic part with Bohdran into the climax. (Measures 62-73).

C Instrument - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.499608 Composed by E.Y. Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen. Arranged by John Fries. 20th Century,Film/TV,Jazz,Standards. Lead Sheet / Fake Book. 1 pages. John Fries #112900. Published by John Fries (A0.499608). Please contact me by email at jfries@ptd.net to make a special request or to find out all that I have to offer and to express your comments or concerns.  You can also type John Fries in the searchbar to see all I have to offer.  Over the Rainbow is a ballad composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg. It was written for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and was sung by actress Judy Garland. Arlen would often carry blank pieces of music manuscript in his pockets to jot down short melodic ideas. He described how the inspiration for the melody to Over the Rainbow came to him suddenly while his wife Anya drove: I said to Mrs. Arlen... 'let's go to Grauman's Chinese ... You drive the car, I don't feel too well right now.' I wasn't thinking of work. I wasn't consciously thinking of work, I just wanted to relax. And as we drove by Schwab's Drug Store on Sunset I said, 'Pull over, please.' ... And we stopped and I really don't know why—bless the muses—and I took out my little bit of manuscript and put down what you know now as 'Over the Rainbow.'.

Concert Band - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1285185 Composed by Christian F. J. Buettner, John Tuananh Dang, and Rajan S. Arranged by Stephen Cai. 21st Century,Video Game. Score and Parts. 66 pages. Stephen Cai #876297. Published by Stephen Cai (A0.1285185). Monody - TheFatRat (Christian F. J. Buettner) arr. Stephen Cai for Concert BandProgram Notes:MUSIC As a sequel to Pigstep by Lena Raine and Exodus by Ernest Gold, I have decided to take on the challenge of arranging the ever-famous glitch hop song, Monody by Christian Buettner (known more prominently by his online alias, TheFatRat).Similarly to Pigstep, my first arrangement, I ran into the challenge of instrumentation, as Monody’s original soundtrack almost entirely consisted of electronic instruments. However, I used the same technique I did with Pigstep to overcome this problem: assign basslines to low brass, treble melodies to mid-range instruments, and high parts to upper woodwinds. Unlike Pigstep, Monody pushed me to be more creative with the percussion section, as I had to puzzle out recreating all of the numerous sound effects throughout the piece with traditional percussion instruments. I even decided to notate a conch shell line for the war horn present at the beginning and the coda! At the end, however, it all came together nicely, and I came to realize that both this song and the process of arranging it represent a journey, albeit in different contexts. The word “Monody� refers to, in a literal sense, a song sung to mourn one’s death, which accordingly fits with my view of the piece as a journey where the narrator loses their companion. Writing the introduction measures (M.22) carried me through the genuine feelings of embarking on a mythical undertaking as the original soundtrack intends to portray. The lively middle section (M.70) was enjoyable to write as well, because the music itself is upbeat and full of energy. Finally, arranging the solo section was probably my most memorable experience. The slow and subtly melancholic character of the melody (the oboe solo) very closely alludes to the narrator’s mourning, and the enchanting lyrics originally written for this section further confirms their loss:      I still hear you in the breeze,      See your shadows in the trees;      Holding on, memories never change. The chords and harmonies that the original soundtrack provided were relatively simple to transcribe, and I found joy complementing them with luscious percussion effects. This is my interpretation of Monody, and I believe that it would be best performed as a journey, one which we can relate to as it encompasses the theme of loss; a monody. ARTWORK I also took up the challenge of creating original cover artwork for Monody, and I have to say, my level of appreciation for artists of any kind has skyrocketed ever since that endeavor. It took nearly two months of watching YouTube tutorials, onerous idea crunching, and using my sister’s drawing tablet, but I had nevertheless completed it with advice from some of my more experience peers (including my sister). Formal Credits: Cai, Stephen and Rachel Cai. “Monody� Arrangement for Concert Band cover. 2023 Lastly, I want to say thanks to my friend Matteo Sohn for being such a huge musical inspiration, and thank you for acknowledging my arrangement!

Full Orchestra - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.809057 Composed by Kim Diehnelt. Contemporary. Score and parts. 28 pages. Kim Diehnelt #4367718. Published by Kim Diehnelt (A0.809057). Striadica: A Symphonic PassageThe every-day, reshaped by contingencies. The time-bound path twists through certainty, bewilderment, and fragile reconstruction. Upon release, recognition arrives.Duration: 8 - 9 mins.I was specifically asked to write a work where everyone had something to play. As is my usual style, I tend to allow the second players and less-prominent instruments a chance to shine, and in general shake up the usual orchestral hierarchy. (The second violins, for example, even get their own solo passage!)The wind parts are much more individualized, where the first part may have a completely different line than the second.A colleague who is a trombone player challenged me to write parts that sing for his instrument; hence the word dolce occurs in the low brass parts. Although the low brass parts are rather simple, they do require finesse and nuance.In general, none of the parts are overly challenging; rather, I hope each player finds the music allows them the opportunity to express themselves both individually and as an ensemble.Instrumentation1 Piccolo2 Flutes2 Oboes2 Clarinets in A2 Bassoons4 Horns in F2 Trumpets in C3 Trombones (2 Tenor, 1 Bass Trombone)1 TubaTimpani (B / D)Percussion: Wood Blocks, Snare Drum1 HarpStrings------Commissioned by the Lake Forest Civic Orchestra, IL. Premiere performance May, 2018This item contains ONLY THE SCORE. The PDF, when printed double sided will make for an 8 ½ by 11 score with a left margin suitable for comb binding. (Please consider a larger sized comb than usual so pages may be turned quietly!) A full set of hard-copy parts are available directly from Kim Diehnelt. (Kim@KimDiehnelt.com)© 2017 Kim Diehnelt (ASCAP)