Three Slavonic Dances for Woodwind Ensemble. Par SPARKE PHILIP. Slavonica! est une commande du Bloomsbury Music Group pour le Bloomsbury Woodwind Ensemble. Le compositeur désirait créer un ensemble de trois danses slaves modernes, fortement inspirées de Dvo ák : une danse d’ouverture, une « sousedská », et une « sko ná » entraînante qui accélère jusqu’à la coda tumultueuse. Ces danses se prêtent à…

Arr. Philip Sparke. Par HOLST GUSTAV. Christina Rossetti wrote the words to this famous Christmas carol in 1872 in response to a request from the magazine Scribner's Monthly for a Christmas poem. They were set to music by Gustav Holst (1874-1934) for inclusion in the first edition (1906) of The English Hymnal, edited by his life-long friend, Ralph Vaughan Williams. Philip Sparke has carefully arra…

Arr. Philip Sparke. Par FRANCK CESAR. Although Cesar Franck won many prizes during his student days his music was generally unrecognised by his contemporaries. His pieces were written in the romantic style whilst retaining a classical structure and his later compositions were referred to as 'cathedrals of sound'. Panis Angelicus is poetic and almost serene and this arrangement by Philip Sparke ret…

Par SPARKE PHILIP. Three Klezmer Miniatures is Philip Sparke’s third work based on traditional Jewish klezmer melodies, after Shalom! and A Klezmer Karnival. Klezmer music originated in the ’shtetl‘ (villages) and the ghettos of Eastern Europe, where itinerant Jewish troubadours, known as ’klezmorim‘, had performed at celebrations, particularly weddings, since the early Middle Ages. In Three Klezm…

Euphonium Concerto No. 3. Par SPARKE PHILIP. Diamond Concerto est une oeuvre de commande de la formation allemande Musikverein Mörschied, dirigée par le Dr Eric Grandjean, pour un concert avec un invité spécial, le soliste Steven Mead. Ensemble, ils ont créé cette oeuvre le 28 avril 2012 au théâtre de la ville d’Idar-Oberstein. Cette commande représente l’un des points culminants d’une amitié de t…

Five States of Change. Par SPARKE PHILIP. Evolution est une commande de l’institut Kunstfactor pour la 4e division des Championnats néerlandais de Brass Band en 2011. Cette oeuvre est dédiée à Jappie Dijkstra et au Music Information Centre (MUI) d’Arnhem, aux Pays-Bas, en hommage à leur rôle exceptionnel dans le développement du répertoire pour Brass Band. Le compositeur écrit :L’idée de cette com…

Par SPARKE PHILIP. MASQUERADE was commissioned by Stadtmusik Willisau from Switzerland (Reto Güdel, conductor) to celebrate their 175th anniversary in 2003 and first performed by them in November that year. 1. OvertureThe first movement opens with a fanfare-like figure, featuring the brass, before the main them is introduced over staccato chords. After a short, syncopated interlude a legato theme …

Par SPARKE PHILIP. Second to None est un titre qui convient parfaitement à ce morceau, même s’il fait en fait référence à « Nulli Secundus », la devise du British Corps of Army Music, l'orchestre qui a fait la commande auprès de Philip Sparke. La pièce commence par une fanfare, suivie de deux citations courtes de deux de leurs propres marches, et un Vivace festif. Une section plus legato crée un b…

Rheinfelden Sketches. Par SPARKE PHILIP. In each of the four movements of this major work for concert band, the composer has tried to capture in music something of the spirit of this beautiful Swiss town of Rheinfelden, which lies on the banks of the Rhein. The opening movement, Promenade, sees woodwind and brass alternating short melodic fragments leading to a noble melody from the horns. The dre…

Par SPARKE PHILIP. Dances and Alleluias was commissioned by the British Federation of Brass Bands for the inaugural English National Brass Band Championships, held in the Lyric Theatre at The Lowry, Salford Quays, on July 1st 2006. In this fantastic work the composer mixes wonderful slow music, vocal in nature and ecstatic in mood, along with faster dances to create a challenging piece, which will…