The Malcolm Arnold Society has announced that brass band lovers can now pre-order the CD of its ground-breaking recording project collaboration with Foden's Band prior to its release later this month.
Major appraisal
'Malcolm Arnold — Music for brass band' marks a major appraisal of his original and arranged music for the medium, with the much loved brace of 'Little Suites' and National Championship test-piece, 'Fantasy for Brass Band', linked to earlier works such as his 'Fanfare for a Festival' and the march 'Overseas'.
In addition, there are also premiere recordings of the overture 'The Roots of Heaven' and his 'Sweeny Todd Suite' and a welcome recording of 'Peterloo Overture'.
Centrepiece
The centrepiece comes with the premiere recording of the remarkable 'Song of Freedom', commissioned in the early 1970s to mark the 21st anniversary of the National Schools Brass Band Association that featured poems on the subject of freedom written by young children.
Arnold remarked: "...the standard was so high that I had great difficulty in not making the work twice as long; I found the directness and, very often, the sadness of the poems to be most moving".
To purchase
To purchase: https://the-malcolm-arnold-society.sumupstore.com/product/pre-order-copy-of-the-foden-s-band-cd-of-malcolm-s-music
Play list:
1. Fanfare for a Festival (arr. Philip Sparke)
2. March: Overseas Op. 70 (arr. Neil Richmond)
3. The Roots of Heaven: Overture (arr. Neil Richmond)
4-6. Little Suite for Brass Band No.2 Op. 93
7. Fantasy for Brass Band Op. 114
8-11. Song of Freedom Op. 109
12-14. Little Suite for Brass Band No. 1 Op. 80
15. Sweeney Todd (arr. Philip Littlemore)
16. Peterloo Overture (arr. Andrew Duncan)