WIND BAND TITLES

Concert Pieces

Celebrare Celeberrime (Carl Vine arr. Phillip Littlemore)
Celebrare Celeberrime - to celebrate to the full and with the greatest speed. As the title suggests the intention is to lead, as quickly as possible, to a sense of joy and excitement without dwelling on the grandiose. The finale of this  joyous work is intended to sound precipitous rather than declamatory, hopefully leading the audience on to anything that might follow.

A Christmas Overture (Nigel Hess arr. Phillip Littlemore)
This vivacious and colourful Christmas Overture offers a set of traditional carols, skilfully juxtaposed and interwoven, provide the thematic material. They are, in order of appearance, Ding Dong! Merrily On High ; Deck The Halls; Il Est Né Le Divin Enfant; Infant Holy, Infant Lowly; Personent Hodie; We Wish You A Merry Christmas and Angels, From The Realms Of Glory , which bring the overture to a majestic close.
 
Coronation Scene from 'Boris Godunov' (Modeste Mussorgsky arr. Phillip Littlemore)
The Coronation Scene is set in the Square of the Moscow Kremlin, between the Cathedral of the Assumption and the Cathedral of Archangel Michael, the year is 1598. After being crowned as Tsar, Boris Godunov acknowledges the people’s acclamations and the bells of the two cathedrals, as well as many churches within the vicinity can be heard ringing out across St Petersburg.
 
Keystone Kops (Carl Davis arr. Phillip Littlemore)
The Keystone Kops was a series of silent comedies featuring an incompetent group of policemen. The Keystone Kops were renowned for making mistakes, particularly with a great deal of energy and activity, and all done with a major lack of coordination. Carl Davis's energetic theme provides a fitting musical portrait of a silverscreen phenomenon.

Ladies in Lavender (Nigel Hess arr. Phillip Littlemore)
Ladies in Lavender starred Judi Dench and Maggie Smith as sisters Ursula and Janet Widdington. A young Polish violinist from Krakow is swept overboard from a ship bound for America. The sisters nurse him back to health. Nigel Hess' beautiful theme has now been transcribed for concert band.
 
Long Road (Ēriks Ešenvalds arr. Phillip Littlemore)
Ešenvalds' Long Road has the simple sincerity of a hymn yet is is both beautiful and lush. At the midway point a gentle susurration of bell-sounds, descant recorders and tin whistles appear over sustained brass. There is a brief downwards shift followed by an elated return of the main theme before the evanescent tinkling ushers the piece to its close.
  
Music for a Found Harmonium (Simon Jeffes arr. Phillip Littlemore)
The Penguin Café Orchestra created an instantly recognisable sound world, beautifully crafted to convey simple wonder and joy. This arrangement of their famous Music for a Found Harmonium perfectly captures the exuberance of this uplifting music.

Only in Sleep (Ēriks Ešenvalds arr. Phillip Littlemore)
A vision of childhood experienced through dreams, Ēriks Ešenvalds' Only in Sleep is a work of subtly powerful expressiveness and features the oboe.
 
Perpetuum Mobile (Simon Jeffes arr. Phillip Littlemore)
The Penguin Café Orchestra knew better than anyone how to create an incredibly catchy hook. This brilliant arrangement of Perpetuum Mobile will have audiences tapping in 15/8 all the way home.

The Ringing Isle (Jonathan Dove arr. Phillip Littlemore)
Handel called Britain ‘the ringing isle’ because he heard bells ringing everywhere. Dove incorporates some traditional change-ringing patterns, from ‘Grandsire Doubles’, ‘Oxford Treble Bob Minor’ and his own version of ‘Plain Bob Major’. 

Ring Out, Wild Bells (Jonathan Dove arr. Phillip Littlemore)
Dove's rousing setting of Tennyson's poem, made famous in his choral cycle The Passing of the Year  is here given a thrilling new life as a concert band showpiece. This exuberant arrangement is a show-stopper, a joyful and virtuoso celebration.
 
R.P.M. (Matthew Hindson arr. Phillip Littlemore)
R.P.M., or Revolutions per Minute, seeks to capture the feeling of unrelenting speed, acceleration and momentum. The composer was influenced by heavy metal music, and describes the overall effect as similar to that of driving in a car at a very high speed.
 
Run To The Edge (Jonathan Dove arr. Phillip Littlemore)
Jonathan Dove's thrilling and energetic showpiece was originally composed for the London Schools Symphony Orchestra. This expert arrangement provides  the music for a  high-velocity joy ride.

Salutation (Ēriks Ešenvalds arr. Phillip Littlemore)
Originally composed for a cappella choir to a poem by Bengali poet and musician Rabindranath Tagore. The music takes up the spiritual message of the poem, that we live our lives in one salutation to God ending back in an eternal home. This brilliant arrangement adds a work of great contemplative beauty to the repertoire.
 
The Snowman (Howard Blake arr. Phillip Littlemore)
Raymond Briggs' charming Christmas story is a children's classic. Its popularity has been further enhanced by frequent television broadcasts of the award winning animated film The Snowman. This transcription of the complete concert suite, and therefore suitable for synchronsation with the animated film.

Stars (Ēriks Ešenvalds arr. Phillip Littlemore)
One of the most popular of all contemporary choral works, Ēriks Ešenvalds' Stars is a work of shimmering beauty, a vision of ‘beating hearts of fire’ seen overhead on a still, dark night. This arrangement fwill bring a moment of rapt stillness to any concert programme.

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