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 Quintet Horn,Trombone,Trumpet,Tuba - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1416368 Composed by Isham Jones. Arranged by F. Leslie Smith. Jazz,Pop,Standards,Wedding. 28 pages. Sweetwater Brass Press #997935. Published by Sweetwater Brass Press (A0.1416368). Isham Edgar Jones certainly kept busy.  By age 26 the Chicago tenor saxophonist led his own dance band, and it was one of the most popular of the 1920s.  But he also found time to write melodies for a whole raft of popular songs.  Twenty-one Isham Jones Orchestra recordings of his compositions peaked in the top ten most popular, and eight of those made it to the number one spot.  One was It Had to Be You, with words by Gus Kahn.     Although written in 1924, It Had to Be You defies the passage of time, still sounding fresh and contemporary.  It remains popular and has evolved into a jazz standard.     This brass quintet version retains the original key of G Major.  It opens with a suggested tempo of 104 BPM and a nine-measure introduction that combines figures and phrases from both verse and chorus.  At rehearsal letter A, Trumpet 1 begins the melody of the familiar chorus, accompanied by Tuba and Horn in F.  Trumpet 2 quickly joins and the melody changes to an upper brass trio.  The melody then passes to Trombone, back to the trio, to Tuba and then to Horn in F.  The section winds up  with the original Trumpet-Horn-Tuba combination.     The seldom-heard verse begins at rehearsal letter C and takes the form of a sort of call-and-response between upper and lower brass.  As the section nears its end, tempo slows to a suggested 80 BPM and Trombone begins to take over.     Rehearsal letter D marks the beginning of the chorus’ final time through, and here it is mostly Trombone handling the melody in quasi-Dixieland fashion.  The upper brass trio and Tuba both help out, but, for the most part, it is Trombone all the way to the end.  (Although, a good time is had by all!)     Performance time is about three minutes, fifty seconds.  All notes are within the normal playing range of each instrument with the following exceptions:  (1) Trumpet 1 has one or two A-above-its-staff notes, and (2) in the wrap-up near the end, Trombone has the option of playing a short phrase either (a) within its register or (b) higher, including a G above the staff.     The arranger, Les Smith, will be happy to provide substitute parts (for example, treble clef baritone for trombone) at no charge.  He would like to receive your suggestions, comments, corrections and criticisms.  Contact him at lessmith61@bellsouth.net.  For more arrangements by Les, enter Sweetwater Brass Press (without the quotation marks) in the Sheet Music Plus or Sheet Music Direct search box.

Horn,Trombone,Trumpet,Tuba - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1148567 Composed by Music by Richard Milburn. Arranged by F. Leslie Smith. Country,Folk,Historic,Traditional. 27 pages. Sweetwater Brass Press #748729. Published by Sweetwater Brass Press (A0.1148567). Listen to the Mocking Bird was first published in 1855. The melody originated with Richard Milburn, a Philadelphia African-American who has been described variously as a panhandling busker and as a musically inclined barber. A songwriter and publisher by the name of Septimus Winner heard Milburn's tune, arranged it, added words, put it into print and claimed credit for its creation under the pseudonym Alice Hawthorne. Supposedly, Winner sold the rights to the song for five dollars. Listen to the Mocking Bird grew to be one of the most popular songs of the mid-19th century, a real hit. Its sheet music, by one estimate, sold more than 20 million copies. It was sung and performed particularly often during the Civil War, and troops used its melody as a marching tune. It remains somewhat of a standard and has been recorded numerous times, especially as a favorite of bluegrass musicians. In the lyrics, the singer is remembering his loved one. She has passed away but he recalls their good life together. They particularly enjoyed the call of the mocking bird, which even now is singing o'er her grave. This arrangement opens in E-flat major with Trumpet 1 introducing the sweetly sad melody, I'm dreaming now of Hally. After the introduction, the tempo picks up to allegro and whirls along. It does slow down several times, and there are four one-measure deviations from the 4/4 time signature: one 6/4, two 2/4s and one 1/4. At measure 65, the key changes to B-flat major for the finale. Trumpets 1 and 2 each play one A-above-their-staff eighth note as their highest pitch; the rest of the music stays well within the normal playing range of the five instruments. Completed in 2022, performance time runs about 3 minutes, 23 seconds. The arranger, Les Smith, will be happy to provide substitute parts (for example, treble clef baritone for trombone) at no charge. He would like to receive your suggestions, comments, corrections and criticisms. For more arrangements by Les, enter Sweetwater Brass Press (without the quotation marks) in the Sheet Music Plus 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.)