Tansy Davies – Keep On Keepin’ On (Brass Quintet) – Score Digital Download

Fast and furious with all the excitement expected in a finale. Good luck! Arranged by Tom Whitehurst and suitable for colleges, conservatories, professionals, amateurs and community performing groups.

This attractive brass quintet based on the traditional sea shanty What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor opens with a fanfare followed by a main theme, first on trumpets and then on the horn. A series of linked variations follow, with the tune passed between the instruments in constantly changing tempos and styles. A strong rhythmic accompaniment keeps the sea shanty mood and the piece finishes with a showy flourish. Arranged by Eileen Clews, this light hearted work gives each player the chance to show off their instrument, so making it an ideal concert piece or a study piece for brass workshops.

This arrangement by Robin Benton uses just two of the numerous themes from Richard Wagner's overture to his 1868 opera The Mastersingers of Nuremberg. The opening theme represents the Mastersingers themselves. This dignified melody is stated and then developed contrapuntally, leading to the second theme - this theme is used in the opera for the entry of the Mastersingers. The music builds to a climax that introduces a short reprise of the majestic Mastersingers theme, and triumphant fanfares bring the piece to a rousing finish.

The Planets Suite in Miniature is an attempt to take the listener through Gustav Holst's orchestral masterpiece in less than ten minutes using only five brass instruments. Only five of the seven most famous and recognisable melodies from the original are used, beginning, like the prototype, with Mars. The different movements appear in the same order as Holst wrote, although the rhythmic pattern of Mars reappears on occasion. The piece ends with a clash of interest as the two most well known movements, Mars and Jupiter, compete for the right to finish. The harsh sounds of Mars are heard first before the hymnal Jupiter theme is heard over the driving rhythm of Mars. Jupiter finally triumphs with the piece ending with one final verse of the tune used for the hymn I Vow To Thee My Country. This instantly recognisable arrangement by Thomas Chinery is both challenging and playable, and of a length that will not tire the players too much while at the same time maintaining the essence and power of the original music to ensure interest for both audience and players alike. A recording by the Argento Brass Quintet can be heard on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGg1-pcHzrs