The Unknown Journey

SKU: BT.AMP-418-140

9x12 inches. English-German-French-Dutch.

The Unknown Journey was commissioned by Kwansei Gakuin University Symphony Band which was established in 1954 and has grown to become one of the top college bands in Japan. The composer chose the title as the piece seemed to create its ownmomentum as it developed, starting slowly and continuously increasing the tempo. Towards the end it gradually transmogrifies into the closing bars of Ravel’s La Valse, a piece which perfectly characterises the idea of unstoppable momentum.

The Unknown Journey is geschreven in opdracht van de Kwansei Gakuin University Symphony Band, die werd opgericht in 1954 en daarna is uitgegroeid tot een van de beste universiteitsorkesten van Japan. De componist heeft de titel gekozen omdathet werk zijn eigen drijfkracht leek te creëren terwijl het zich ontwikkelde vanuit een langzaam begin en steeds in een wat hoger tempo. Tegen het slot wordt de muziek geleidelijk getransformeerd tot de laatste maten van Ravels La Valse, eencompositie die het concept van een onstuitbare drijfkracht perfect karakteriseert.

The Unknown Journey wurde von der 1954 gegründeten Kwansei Gakuin University Symphony Band, die zu den besten Universitäts-Blasorchestern Japans zählt, in Auftrag gegeben. Der Komponist wählte diesen Titel, da das Stück seinen eigenen Schwungzu entwickeln scheint, indem es langsam beginnt und das Tempo sich kontinuierlich steigert. Zum Ende hin verwandelt es sich allmählich in die Schlusstakte von Ravels La Valse, ein Stück, das die Idee des unaufhaltsamen Schwungs perfektbeschreibt.

The Unknown Journey fut commandé par le Kwansei Gakuin University Symphony Band, un orchestre d’harmonie établi en 1954 qui est désormais l’un des meilleurs orchestres universitaires du Japon. Le compositeur choisit ce titre puisque, pendantle développement du morceau, il semblait créer son propre élan, commençant lentement et accélérant continuellement. Vers la fin il devient progressivement semblable aux dernières mesures de La Valse de Ravel, un morceau qui caractériseparfaitement l’idée d’élan irrépressible.

SKU: BT.AMP-448-130

9x12 inches. English-German-French-Dutch.

WINNING PERFORMANCE EBBC LILLE 2016Raveling, Unraveling In Search of ‘La Valse’ was written for the Cory Band as their own-choice test piece for the 2016 European Brass Band Championships in Lille. The piece found its genesis in Sparke’s The Unknown Journey (2014) forconcert band, and the use of Ravel’s La Valse as a structural undercurrent to the original piece is an act of reverence. Sparke’s aim was to produce a work that is organic rather than episodic in nature. The composer’s view is that little inmusic does this better than La Valse and for this reason he uses various sections of this masterpiece, both manipulated and quoted verbatim (including much of its stunningclosing passages) to provide the overall geography of his new work. Asthe music progresses, more of the Ravel appears, surfacing completely as the piece reaches its climax - a gesture of homage to the French master.

WINNAAR EBBC LILLE 2016Raveling, Unraveling In Search of ‘La Valse’ is geschreven voor de Britse Cory Band als keuzewerk voor de Europese Brassband Kampioenschappen van 2016 in Lille. De oorsprong ligt in Sparkes The Unknown Journey (2014) voorharmonieorkest. Het is een diepe buiging naar Ravels La Valse, die wordt gebruikt als een soort structurele onderstroom van een origineel stuk muziek, met als doel een werk te maken dat organisch van karakter is. De componist heeftverschillende gedeelten uit het meesterwerk ingebracht, zowel bewerkt als letterlijk geciteerd met veel van de prachtige slotpassages om de algehele opbouw van zijn nieuwe werk te scheppen. Naarmate demuziek voortgaat, verschijnt er meer vanRavel, waarna de wals volledig opduikt in de apotheose: een fraai eerbetoon aan de Franse meester.

SIEGER EBBC LILLE 2016Raveling, Unraveling In Search of La Valse wurde für die Cory Band als selbst ausgewähltes Prüfungsstück bei den European Brass Band Championships 2016 in Lille komponiert. Die Komposition hat ihren Ursprung in Sparkes 2014 entstandenemStück The Unknown Journey für Blasorchester. Es handelt sich um eine Art Hommage, denn Ravels La Valse wird hier als formale Grundlage für ein eher in sich geschlossenes und nicht nur episodenhaftes Originalwerk verwendet. DemKomponisten zufolge gibt es kaum eine Musik, die dies besser vermag als La Valse. Er verwendet verschiedene Abschnitte aus diesem Meisterwerk, sowohl bearbeitet als auch direkt übernommen inklusive zahlreicher fantastischer Schlusspassagen ,um die Gesamtstruktur seines neuen Werkes darzustellen. Je mehr die Musik voranschreitet, umso mehr wird Ravels Einfluss erkennbar, vor allem beim Erreichen des musikalischen Höhepunktes des gesamten Stückes eine Hommage an den französischenMeister.

VAINQUEUR EBBC LILlE 2016Raveling, Unraveling In Search of La Valse a été composé pour le Cory Band comme pièce de choix pour le Championnat Européen de Brass Band 2016 Lille. L’œuvre tire son origine de la pièce de concert pour orchestre d’harmonie de Sparke,The Unknown Journey (2014). Une marque de respect La Valse, ce nouveau morceau utilise l’œuvre de Ravel comme sous-courant structurel et a comme objectif un genre organique plutôt qu’épisodique. D’après le compositeur, La Valseest l’un des seuls morceaux qui réussit accomplir ceci. Il se sert de plusieurs sections de ce chef d’œuvre, aussi bien modifiées que citées telles quelles y inclus laplupart de ses magnifiques passages finaux pour établir la structure généralede ce nouveau morceau. Plus la musique progresse, plus la musique de Ravel apparaît, et domine alors que l’apogée est atteinte un hommage au maestro français.

SKU: BT.DHP-1196079-140

English-German-French-Dutch.

Centenary 2019 is a three-movement suite based on a local folksong and was commissioned by Chr. Fanfare De Lofstem, from the Dutch province of Friesland, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary in 2019. ‘AwakeningVillage’, the first movement, musically describes the waking up and coming to life of the village. ‘Bintje Monument’ was inspired by a famous sculpture that was placed to honour headmaster Kornelis Lieuwes de Vries (1854-1929) whodeveloped the well-known potato variety called ‘bintje’. The finale, ‘Journey into the Unknown’ refers to the band’s memorable 2011 concert trip to the United States of America, in which the composer combines elements of thefolksong and fragments from ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’. The piece consists of a wide range of playful and melodic sequences as well as some galvanizing rhythmical passages.

Het driedelige werk Centenary 2019 werd gecomponeerd in opdracht van Chr. Fanfare De Lofstem uit het Friese Sumar ter gelegenheid van het honderdjarig jubileum van de vereniging in 2019. Het is gebaseerd op een plaatselijkvolksliedje. In het eerste deel, ‘Awakening Village’, wordt verklankt hoe het dorp ontwaakt en tot leven komt. Deel twee, ‘Bintje Monument’, is ge nspireerd op een sculptuur ter nagedachtenis van hoofdonderwijzer Kornelis Lieuwesde Vries (1854-1929), die het bekende aardappelras bintje ontwikkelde. De finale, ‘Journey into the Unknown’ verwijst naar een concertreis die de muziekvereniging in 2011 naar de VS maakte. De componist laat elementen uit hetleidmotief en flarden van ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ in het slotdeel van dit werk samenkomen. Het werk als geheel bestaat uit diverse speelse en melodische sequensen, alsook opzwepende ritmische passages.

Centenary 2019 ist eine dreisätzige Suite, die auf einem lokalen Volkslied basiert. Das Stück wurde von der Kristlike Fanfare De Lofstem aus der niederländischen Provinz Friesland anlässlich ihres 100-jährigen Bestehens imJahr 2019 in Auftrag gegeben. Der erste Satz, Awakening Village“, bringt das Erwachen des Dorfes musikalisch zum Ausdruck. Bintje Monument” wurde von einer bekannten Skulptur inspiriert, die zu Ehren von Kornelis Lieuwes deVries (1854 1929) entworfen wurde, der Lehrer in Sumar war und die bekannte Kartoffelsorte Bintje“ entwickelte. Das Finale, Journey into the Unknown“, bezieht sich auf die beeindruckende Konzertreise des Orchesters in dieVereinigten Staaten von Amerika im Jahr 2011. Hier kombiniert der Komponist Elemente des Volksliedes mit Fragmenten der amerikanischen Nationalhymne The Star-Spangled Banner“. Das Stück zeichnet sich durch zahlreiche verspielteund melodische Sequenzen sowie spannende rhythmische Passagen aus.

Centenary 2019 est une commande de la Fanfare De Lofstem, un ensemble du village de Sumar, dans la province néerlandaise de la Frise, pour marquer son centenaire, en 2019. Cette suite en trois mouvements est fondée sur unechanson traditionnelle locale. Le premier mouvement, « Awakening Village » (Le village s’éveille), dépeint l’éveil et la reprise des activités du village. « Bintje Monument » (Le monument la Bintje) s’inspire de la célèbresculpture qui rend hommage Kornelis Lieuwes de Vries (1854-1929), un directeur d’école qui a créé une variété de pomme de terre bien connue, la Bintje. Le dernier mouvement, « Journey into the Unknown » (Voyage vers l’inconnu),évoque une inoubliable série de concerts aux États-Unis. Ici, le compositeur combine des éléments du leitmotiv et des fragments de « The Star-Spangled Banner » (La Bannière étoilée). Cette pièce comprend de nombreusesséquences enjouées et mélodiques, ainsi que plusieurs passages rythmiques exaltants.

SKU: BT.DHP-1196079-120

English-German-French-Dutch.

Centenary 2019 is a three-movement suite based on a local folksong and was commissioned by Chr. Fanfare De Lofstem, from the Dutch province of Friesland, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary in 2019. ‘Awakening Village’, the first movement, musically describes the waking up and coming to life of the village. ‘Bintje Monument’ was inspired by a famous sculpture that was placed to honour headmaster Kornelis Lieuwes de Vries (1854-1929) who developed the well-known potato variety called ‘bintje’. The finale, ‘Journey into the Unknown’ refers to the band’s memorable 2011 concert trip to the United States of America, in which the composer combines elements of thefolksong and fragments from ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’. The piece consists of a wide range of playful and melodic sequences as well as some galvanizing rhythmical passages.

Het driedelige werk Centenary 2019 werd gecomponeerd in opdracht van Chr. Fanfare De Lofstem uit het Friese Sumar ter gelegenheid van het honderdjarig jubileum van de vereniging in 2019. Het is gebaseerd op een plaatselijk volksliedje. In het eerste deel, ‘Awakening Village’, wordt verklankt hoe het dorp ontwaakt en tot leven komt. Deel twee, ‘Bintje Monument’, is ge nspireerd op een sculptuur ter nagedachtenis van hoofdonderwijzer Kornelis Lieuwes de Vries (1854-1929), die het bekende aardappelras bintje ontwikkelde. De finale, ‘Journey into the Unknown’ verwijst naar een concertreis die de muziekvereniging in 2011 naar de VS maakte. De componist laat elementen uit hetleidmotief en flarden van ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ in het slotdeel van dit werk samenkomen. Het werk als geheel bestaat uit diverse speelse en melodische sequensen, alsook opzwepende ritmische passages.

Centenary 2019 est une commande de la Fanfare De Lofstem, un ensemble du village de Sumar, dans la province néerlandaise de la Frise, pour marquer son centenaire, en 2019. Cette suite en trois mouvements est fondée sur une chanson traditionnelle locale. Le premier mouvement, « Awakening Village » (Le village s’éveille), dépeint l’éveil et la reprise des activités du village. « Bintje Monument » (Le monument la Bintje) s’inspire de la célèbre sculpture qui rend hommage Kornelis Lieuwes de Vries (1854-1929), un directeur d’école qui a créé une variété de pomme de terre bien connue, la Bintje. Le dernier mouvement, « Journey into the Unknown » (Voyage vers l’inconnu),évoque une inoubliable série de concerts aux États-Unis. Ici, le compositeur combine des éléments du leitmotiv et des fragments de « The Star-Spangled Banner » (La Bannière étoilée). Cette pièce comprend de nombreuses séquences enjouées et mélodiques, ainsi que plusieurs passages rythmiques exaltants.

SKU: BT.DHP-1155640-130

English-German-French-Dutch.

Download the Digeridoo sound file here.In five musically and thematically continuous parts, this composition transports us to foreign, fascinating places - stepping into the shoes of the explorers who set off to discover unknown lands centuries ago. The test piece for the Dutch Brass BandChampionships 2015 (Challenge Section) holds interesting solo parts for flugelhorn and trombone. An exciting musical journey!

SKU: PR.46500013L

UPC: 680160600151. 11 x 14 inches.

I n 1803, President Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clarks Corps of Discovery to find a water route to the Pacific and explore the uncharted West. He believed woolly mammoths, erupting volcanoes, and mountains of pure salt awaited them. What they found was no less mind-boggling: some 300 species unknown to science, nearly 50 Indian tribes, and the Rockies. I have been a student of the Lewis and Clark expedition, which Thomas Jefferson called the Voyage of Discovery, for as long as I can remember. This astonishing journey, lasting more than two-and-a-half years, began and ended in St. Louis, Missouri and took the travelers up more than a few rivers in their quest to find the Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean. In an age without speedy communication, this was akin to space travel out of radio range in our own time: no one knew if, indeed, the party had even survived the voyage for more than a year. Most of them were soldiers. A few were French-Canadian voyageurs hired trappers and explorers, who were fluent in French (spoken extensively in the region, due to earlier explorers from France) and in some of the Indian languages they might encounter. One of the voyageurs, a man named Pierre Cruzatte, also happened to be a better-than-average fiddle player. In many respects, the travelers were completely on their own for supplies and survival, yet, incredibly, only one of them died during the voyage. Jefferson had outfitted them with food, weapons, medicine, and clothing and along with other trinkets, a box of 200 jaw harps to be used in trading with the Indians. Their trip was long, perilous to the point of near catastrophe, and arduous. The dream of a Northwest Passage proved ephemeral, but the northwestern quarter of the continent had finally been explored, mapped, and described to an anxious world. When the party returned to St. Louis in 1806, and with the Louisiana Purchase now part of the United States, they were greeted as national heroes. I have written a sizeable number of works for wind ensemble that draw their inspiration from the monumental spaces found in the American West. Four of them (Arches, The Yellowstone Fires, Glacier, and Zion) take their names, and in large part their being, from actual national parks in Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. But Upriver, although it found its voice (and its finale) in the magnificent Columbia Gorge in Oregon, is about a much larger region. This piece, like its brother works about the national parks, doesnt try to tell a story. Instead, it captures the flavor of a certain time, and of a grand adventure. Cast in one continuous movement and lasting close to fourteen minutes, the piece falls into several subsections, each with its own heading: The Dream (in which Jeffersons vision of a vast expanse of western land is opened); The Promise, a chorale that re-appears several times in the course of the piece and represents the seriousness of the presidential mission; The River; The Voyageurs; The River II ; Death and Disappointment; Return to the Voyage; and The River III . The music includes several quoted melodies, one of which is familiar to everyone as the ultimate river song, and which becomes the through-stream of the work. All of the quoted tunes were either sung by the men on the voyage, or played by Cruzattes fiddle. From various journals and diaries, we know the men found enjoyment and solace in music, and almost every night encampment had at least a bit of music in it. In addition to Cruzatte, there were two other members of the party who played the fiddle, and others made do with singing, or playing upon sticks, bones, the ever-present jaw harps, and boat horns. From Lewis journals, I found all the tunes used in Upriver: Shenandoah (still popular after more than 200 years), Vla bon vent, Soldiers Joy, Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier, Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy (a hymn sung to the tune Beech Spring) and Fishers Hornpipe. The work follows an emotional journey: not necessarily step-by-step with the Voyage of Discovery heroes, but a kind of grand arch. Beginning in the mists of history and myth, traversing peaks and valleys both real and emotional (and a solemn funeral scene), finding help from native people, and recalling their zeal upon finding the one great river that will, in fact, take them to the Pacific. When the men finally roar through the Columbia Gorge in their boats (a feat that even the Indians had not attempted), the magnificent river combines its theme with the chorale of Jeffersons Promise. The Dream is fulfilled: not quite the one Jefferson had imagined (there is no navigable water passage from the Missouri to the Pacific), but the dream of a continental destiny.

SKU: PR.114423470

ISBN 9781491137314. UPC: 680160687473.

A commission from the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, for any combination of instruments of her choosing, quickly sparked Shulamit Ran to create a trio for Flute, Viola, and Harp. She writes of this instrumentation: “something about its color palette reminded me of the image I have of Santa Fe as a sun-drenched city of warm hues, a thriving arts scene, and a spirit of relaxed tolerance.” In this subtle, yet dramatic work, the instruments begin the journey with distinct, contrasting musical personalities, which gradually begin to coalesce, though not without surprise twists along the road.
Being commissioned by the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival to create a new work for the major milestone of its 50th anniversary was both an honor and a special delight. My choice of the flute, viola, and harp combination for this composition was reached quickly and almost instinctively, motivated not only because I relished the thought of composing for an instrumental ensemble I had not previously written for, but also because something about its color palette reminded me of the image I have of Santa Fe as a sun-drenched city of warm hues, a thriving arts scene, and a spirit of relaxed tolerance.In All Roads Leading I treat the instruments intermittently as three distinct characters who have their own individual “voices” and musical materials, while at other times they coalesce into a single, more unified entity. In the sections expressive of the instruments’ individual “souls”—as I like to call them—the music ranges from the songful, to the impassioned, but also the volatile. In contrast, where all three instruments act as a single entity, the music tends to be highly rhythmic, sometimes dance-like, even angular, and spiky.As the work progresses, the boundaries between these contrasting approaches become deliberately blurrier and more intertwined, perhaps reminding one of a tale with various twists and turns in the plot. And although eschewing a formal recapitulation, various motivic threads as well as emotive “states” are eventually brought full circle, as if to fulfill an intended role that crystallizes only as All Roads Leading plays out its full journey. Simultaneously with the general unwinding and relaxation that is reached nearthe end, a mutation of an earlier more threatening element appears at the very closing of the work, perhaps a reminder that the unknown always lies ahead.

SKU: CA.3410411

ISBN 9790007212575. Language: German.

An unknown work from the so-called Buckeburger Bach, which at first was ascribed unjustly to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. The story of the Suffering of the Lord is examined from a different perspective. Pilgrims have undertaken a journey to the Holy Land and when they arrive they are informed by a hermit of the suffering and death of Christ. An additional figure, an angel, lends this representation of the Passion a heightened form for communicating the importance of the suffering of Christ.. Score and part available separately - see item CA.3410400.