Par SADELER GEORGES. Schola Vitae, dedicated to the former director of UGDA Music School in Luxembourg, Paul Scholer, describes in an 8-minute piece that learning and playing music is a school for life. Starting with popular scales that ascend and descend through various keys, an essential tool familiar to every musician appears: the metronome. It sets the tempo, and musicians practice their themes together or against each other, register by register. In music, however, it's not just about technique and precision, but also about emotions. Music connects people, fosters friendships, and accompanies them through the highs and lows of life. The sense of togetherness in music becomes increasingly audible. Everyone works together and pulls in the same direction to ultimately achieve something great. Georges Sadeler, born in 1988 is a Luxembourgish composer and saxophonist with the Grand Ducal Military Band of Luxembourg. His father kindled his interest in composing and arranging at an early age, a study he later continued under his two teachers Marco Pütz and Claude Lenners, both of whom taught at the Conservatoire of Music, Luxembourg. He gradually began to establish his own style, combining the enormous range of possibilities of contemporary music and classical music and, in the years that followed, he won six first prizes at various national and international composition competitions. His works have since been performed all over Europe. / Date parution : 2023-10-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band / Harmonie

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896). Par BRUCKNER ANTON. Anton Bruckner (b. 4.9.1824, Ansfelden, d. 11.10.1896, Vienna) didn’t have it easy. Throughout his life, the Austrian composer was plagued by self-doubt. Anton Bruckner came from a simple, rural background. After the death of his father, he was accepted as a choirboy at the monastery of Sankt Florian in 1837. After several years as a school assistant and his own organ and piano studies, he first worked as organist in St. Florian, then from 1855 as cathedral organist in Linz. Introduced to music theory and instrumentation by Simon Sechter and Otto Kitzler, he discovered Richard Wagner as an artistic role model, whom he admired throughout his life and also visited several times in Bayreuth. In 1868 Anton Bruckner became professor of basso continuo, counterpoint and organ at the Vienna Conservatory; ten years later court organist; and in 1891 finally honorary doctor of the University of Vienna. He was considered an important organ virtuoso of his era, but had to wait a long time for recognition as a composer. It was not until Symphony No.7 in E major, composed between 1881 and 1883, with the famous Adagio written under the effects of Wagner's death, that he achieved the recognition he had hoped for, even if he was reluctant to accept it given his inclination towards scepticism and self-criticism. Anton Bruckner was a loner who did not want to follow a particular school or doctrine. He composed numerous sacred vocal works, such as his three masses, the Missa Solemnis in B flat minor (1854), the Te Deum (1881-84) and numerous motets. As a symphonic composer, he wrote a total of nine symphonies and many symphonic studies from 1863 onwards, tending to revise completed versions several times over. Bruckner's orchestral works were long considered unplayable, but in fact were merely exceptionally bold for the tonal language of their time, uniting traditions from Beethoven through Wagner to folk music, on the threshold between late Romanticism and Modernism. Anton Bruckner composed about 40 motets during his lifetime, the earliest a setting of Pange lingua around 1835, and the last, Vexilla regis, in 1892. Thomas Doss has compiled some of these motets in this volume for symphonic wind orchestra. These motets show many characteristics of personal expression, especially Bruckner's colourful harmony in the earlier works, which is in places aligned with Franz Schubert (changes between major and minor; and movements in thirds). Later works are characterised by many components which, in addition to the expanded stature of the movements, include above all a sense of the instrumentation as an outward phenomenon and the harmony as a compositional feature that works more internally. Some aspects of Bruckner's work are the result of his long period of study, which familiarised him not only with the tradition of his craft, but also gave him insights into the 'modernity' of his time in such composers as Wagner, Liszt and Berlioz. From this developed his personal standpoint, which always pursues the connection between the old and the new. / Date parution : 2023-07-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

Par ZIEGELBACK ANDREAS. Bleak Forest is a piece for smaller concert bands and offers the musicians above all space to improve their sound and their effect playing. The technical requirements are therefore deliberately kept low. With this piece, the composer won the VLAMO International Composition Contest 2022. Thematically, the work is influenced by the composer's childhood memories. In his hometown there was a dark and mysterious forest, that seemed to the children in the small village to be magical. Without a reasonable explanation, every trip into the woods was exciting and somewhat terrifying. There were tales of dangerous animals, which can be heard at the beginning of the piece, as well as magical beasts. The magic of the forest is depicted musically from bar 70 in the andante section. The snapping of the fingers represents single raindrops. From bar 99 onwards, we hear the trek home, with the occasional moments of trepidation as the children spook each other with their fanciful tales. In the end, though, we arrive safely at home because after all, magical beasts only exist in fairy tales… don’t they? Andreas Ziegelbäck studied music education at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, and history at the Paris Lodron Universität, Salzburg. In addition to his studies, he trained in ensemble conducting for wind orchestra with conductor and composer Thomas Doss. It was Doss who sparked Ziegelbäck’s interest in composing. In 2021, Andreas Ziegelbäck completed his composition studies with Johannes Maria Staud. In 2020, he took part in a brass band composition masterclass in Bern with Oliver Waespi, followed by a premiere by the Swiss Army Brass Band. / Date parution : 2023-10-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band / Harmonie

Dances from 'The Cossacs'. Par ELLING CATHARIUS. The Opera “The Cossacs” by Catharinus Elling is based on the Nikolai Gogol novel about Taras Bulba. “The Cossacs” was premiered in 1897 at Eldorado in Kristiania (the old name on Norway’s capitol Oslo). Despite positive response in the papers of that time, the opera was newer performed again in it’s entirely. The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation have an abbreviated recording in it’s archives, but no complete performance is known to date. The Norwegian National Opera Orchestra recorded both the overture and the dances in 2021, conducted by Ingar Bergby. Thet are both a part of the CD “Norwegian Opera Overtures”. This arrangement is not commissioned by anyone, but rather written to better the availability of quality Norwegian orchestral music arranged for Concert Band. This edition is a good opportunity to be more familiar with Norwegian heritage of orchestral music. / Date parution : 2023-07-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

Par SCHJELDERUP FREDRICK. Momentum Sequences was commissioned by Skjold Skoles Musikkorps (Norway) for their 60th Anniversary in 2021. The title of the term Momentum can be explained by an event that creates extra energy, or the driving force of a moving object. In this case, both the driving force, The energy and the object can be translated to the music, the conductor and the band. The piece is divided in three movements; «I.Signals», «II.Light» and «III.Finale» which builds up the Momentum of the piece’ character and theme. / Date parution : 2023-07-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

Kokosmøttøya. Par ROGERS SCOTT. A trip to Coconut Island is always enjoyable! Soft Latin rhythms, a relaxing tempo, and tutti rhythm figures combine to create the perfect vacation. Coconut Island introduces young musicians to Latin rhythms. The percussion parts are built up of short, repeating patterns that are easily learned. The melody is mostly made up of short diatonic patterns and falling intervals of a third, making the piece easily attainable for young players. / Date parution : 2023-07-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie