Band

Journey back to the days of royalty and chivalry as guests at the King's Ball! A noble procession of Lords and Ladies enters the magnificent hall, followed by the Princess and the Prince. All stand as the King and Queen arrive to make their stately entrance. Renaissance harmonies and resplendent scoring bring the grandeur of the royal court to your concert stage. Cross-Curricular study: The Renaissance Life. Let the feast begin!

Feature the section that delivers the energy in this great new arrangement by James Curnow. Based on a French folk song that tells a story about three young drummer boys, the music uses imitation, question and answer and stylistic rhythmic figures to challenge these proud musicians. While featuring the percussion section, there are also great parts for everyone else, so the entire group will stay engaged and productive in rehearsal. Spirited!

At last the bass clarinet can shine in this major new solo work for bass clarinet and concert band. This composition begins with a rather mysterious opening passage with atmospheric sounds and effects. The soloist plays -preferably backstage- a number of fragments and melodic patterns, without actually starting the piece. After this somewhat hesitant introduction, a lively, cheerful allegro entitled Con Giocondita (with joy) bursts out. It is swarming with irregular meters, changing tempos, and polyrhythm, through which the listeners (and sometimes also the musicians) constantly get the feeling that they are being tossed around. The second movement brings rest and peace making careful use of sound colours. The upbeat finale, titled Con Allegria (with cheerfulness), is the most significant movement for the soloist. This is a challenging piece of music that demands great virtuosity, but with the correct performer it will be a real highpoint in any concert..

The Gran Finale from the second act of Verdi's famous opera Aida, composed in 1869, is a complex part of the drama as in one single scene many different characters, all with contrasting emotions, appear on stage at the same time. The scene opens in Ancient Egypt when the Egyptian general Radames and his troops, which have just beaten Ethiopia, come marching in. The Egyptians sing a celebration song for him and there is a sound of trumpets playing the triumphal march to receive the hero. The well-known triumphal march, transcribed in this edition for concert band by Franco Cesarini, closely follows Verdi's original score and will bring any concert to a dramatic close.