Obras inaugurales para orquesta de viento

Der Titel Hail the Dragon! bezieht sich auf das Werk The Year of the Dragon, das Philip Sparke im Jahre 1984 für denselben Auftraggeber geschrieben hat. Das Stück beginnt mit einer lebhaften, energier...

Exultation is a short and energetic concert opener that is similar to a palindrome. A fanfare opens the work, juxtaposing 3/4 and 6/8, reminiscent of Latin-American music. The main theme is first hear...

Marching Winds was commissioned as the set piece for the Youth Festival Singapore 2010, a competition for all the youth orchestras in Singapore. As the title indicates, it is written in the form of a...

The special occasion that Philip Sparke was honoured to write this piece for was the 200th anniversary of the Stadtmusik Bad Säckingen. Since Bad Säckingen is known as the 'Trompeterstadt', or trumpet...

Named after the leaf displayed on Canada's flag, Maple Leaf Overture was composed specifically to open a Canadian school's symphonic band tour of England. A short fanfare during the overture smoothly...

Five States of Change was commissioned by Kunstfactor for the 4th section of the Dutch National Brass Band Championships (NBK) 2011. It is dedicated to Jappie Dijkstra and the Music Information Centre...

Golden Winds was commissioned by Jugendblasorchester Schramberg, Germany, to celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2012. They gave the premiere, conducted by Andreas Hirt, at their Christmas concert tha...

The work opens with a stern fanfare in bare fifths, which leads to a cantabile theme introduced by alto saxophone. This builds to a climax and reintroduces the fanfare, which slowly evolves into the s...

With Clouds Descending is a fantasy on the powerful Advent hymn Helmsley which is long associated with another Advent hymn - Wesley's Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending. The hymn tune is divided into...

Second to None is a perfectly suitable title for this work, though it actually refers to 'Nulli Secundus', the motto of the British Corps of Army Music, who gave the commission to Philip Sparke. The...

The Way to Heaven was commissioned by the Royal Air Force Music Services. 2015 was the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, which took place between July and October 1940, when the courageous fi...

The Way to Heaven was commissioned by the Royal Air Force Music Services. 2015 was the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, which took place between July and October 1940, when the courageous fi...

Spirit of Andalusia was commissioned by The Glasgow Wind Band. The brief was to create a fascinating 5-minute opener, however, during the compositional process, the piece started to take the form of a...

Spirit of Andalusia was commissioned by The Glasgow Wind Band. The brief was to create a fascinating 5-minute opener, however, during the compositional process, the piece started to take the form of a...

A Bluegrass Overture was commissioned by Gabriel Wooley and funded by a grant from Leslie and Cathy Anderson for the Central Kentucky Concert Band to celebrate their 40th anniversary in 2016. This ene...

A Bluegrass Overture was commissioned by Gabriel Wooley and funded by a grant from Leslie and Cathy Anderson for the Central Kentucky Concert Band to celebrate their 40th anniversary in 2016. This ene...

Highdays and Holidays was commissioned by the South Berks Concert Band to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2016. The band rehearses in the village of Mortimer, which has a long and fascinating histor...

Song of Friendship was commissioned by the Concert Band of Jumonji University, Saitama, Japan and their conductor, Yutaka Nishida. The commission marked the 50th year of Yutaka Nishida's involvement w...

Festival Prelude 'Ad Excel' was commissioned by the AD Concert Band, from Solihull in the UK, to celebrate their 40th Anniversary in 2016. The title, Ad Excel, is a play on words: it is Latin for 'to...

Festival Prelude 'Ad Excel' was commissioned by the AD Concert Band, from Solihull in the UK, to celebrate their 40th Anniversary in 2016. The title, Ad Excel, is a play on words: it is Latin for 'to...

Watch Your Step! was commissioned by Stadtmusik Biel from Switzerland and is dedicated to the mayor of Biel/Bienne, Erich Fehr. The title was chosen to represent Biel as the watch-making capital of Sw...

March Prelude: Alnwick Town was commissioned by the Alnwick Playhouse Concert Band (with Ray Thompson as conductor) to celebrate their first 25 years. It opens majestically with answering phrases betw...

Mercury Rising was commissioned by sinfonisches blasorchester wehdel and its conductor Thomas Ratzek, to celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2018. They premiered this piece in their half-century conce...

Mercury Rising was commissioned by sinfonisches blasorchester wehdel and its conductor Thomas Ratzek, to celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2018. They premiered this piece in their half-century conce...

Bacchanalia was commissioned by the Yokohama Bacchus Brass Orchestra to celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2019. The band wanted the title of this short opener to reflect the reference to Bacchus in...