'THE BOY KING' is a short concert work for brass band inspired by the life and times of the ancient Egyptian Pharoah, Tutankhamun. It was believed he was between the ages of 8 and 9 years old when ascending to the throne of Egypt andreigned for a decade until his premature death aged only 18 or 19. The music utilises a number of typical middle-easternmodes and scales accompanying a heavy yet lively rhythmic pulse driven by the percussion.

The Boy King

A dramatic and dark setting of the well loved Joseph Parry hymn tune 'Aberystwyth'. This arrangement begins with a distant and chilling horn solo, depicting a misty vision of the rolling coastal hills surrounding the town. The mood gradually warms  as more of the band enter before building to a fearsome and fiery climax in a quasi-battle like musical landscape.

Aberystwyth

Composed for Strata Brass in 2020 as part of their COVID-19 induced, virtually recorded 'A Christmas Carol' (a new suite for brass band lasting around 30 minutes in total), 'A Charles Dickens Christmas' was used as the opening number for the event.

The work utilises a number of instantly recognisable fragments of much-loved Christmas carols but acts more as a quasi-premonition into the original Charles Dickens novel which follows. Each section is marked with the point in the story which the music refers to and ends in a celebratory manner.

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A Charles Dickens Christmas

Composed for Strata Brass in 2020 as part of their COVID-19 induced, virtually recorded 'A Christmas Carol' (a new suite for brass band lasting around 30 minutes in total), 'Bah Humbug!' is a tongue-in-cheek yet showy solo composed for Bass Trombone.Throughout the work, the solo line is used to depict Ebenezer Scrroge, a miserly old man with little-to-no compassion or generosity and this grumpiness is portrayed throughout the solo. Often there will be moments of lightness and hoy, quickly banished by the misery of the Bass Trombonist!

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Bah Humbug!

'Night Flight' was composed for the Foden's Band's appearance at the 2021 Brass in Concert Championships held at The Sage, Gateshead. The band's theme encompassed a large range of monsters and creatures and this work depicts one of the most notorious monsters in folklore; Count Dracula.

Throughout this short, virtuosic showpiece for Soprano Cornet and Euphonium, you can hear multiple strains of Mussorgsky's 'Night on a Bald Mountain' (with which Foden's Band opened their programme).

Night Flight (for Brass Band)

'Casper's Lament' was composed for the Foden's Band's appearance at the 2021 Brass in Concert Championships held at The Sage, gateshead.

The music is inspired by the lesser—known side to 'Casper the Friendly Ghost'; a "good ghost" who — much to the annoyance of his uncles — chooses to help people rather than scare them. Despite the uplifting and joyful narrative to the 'Casper' stories, there is a much more tragic back—story of how he come to be.

Casper's mother passed away during his birth leaving him to be raised solely by his extremely devoted father until the age of 12 when — having begged his father for a sled to play in the snow — Casper contracted pneumonia from playing out in the cold for too long and passed away shortly after.

Throughout Casper's childhood years, the pair were inseparable. So much so, that after his tragically young death, Casper simply could not leave his father to be alone in the mortal world and as a result he stuck around as the ghost we love come to know and love through the many books, series and films over the years.

Casper's Lament (for brass band)

'Maybury Hill Lullaby' was composed for the City of Bradford Brass Band as part of a programme of music based around both the original H.G Wells novel and 1978 adaption by Jeff Wayne of The War of the Worlds.‍

During the previous day, the first of the missiles from Mars had crashed into Earth and the creature within had gone about invoking chaos and destruction upon all human life nearby. 'The Narrator' (an unnamed character throughout) escapes the scene to his home on Maybury Hill, Woking and falls into a depp, haunted sleep, recalling the horrors he had witnessed before his eyes.

Maybury Hill Lullaby (for Brass Band)

'Attack of the Fighting Machines' was composed for the City of Bradford Brass Band in 2022 as part of a set of music inspired by H.G Wells' world-renowned 'War of the Worlds' book.‍

As the first part of the story nears an end, the mass evacuation of mankind begins as a crowd races toward an already packed steamer. Bedlam ensues as the steamer pulls away from port and heads toward the horizon. Just moments later, the silhoutte of a fighting machine appears, followed by another, and another, as the next battle of Man v Martin rages on to afiery conclusion.

Attack Of The Fighting Machines

'Unidentified Funkin' Object' was composed for the City of Bradford Brass Band as a Euphonium solo and later revised for Soprano Cornet. The work formed the solo feature of the band's set of music inspired by H.G Wells' 'The War of the Worlds'. At this point in the story, Ogilvy - the astronomer - approaches a mysterious cylinder which has crashed into the common.‍

Fearing there was someone trapped inside, he approaches the cylinder before an intense heat forces him back. Suddenly, the top begins rotating and unscrewing...

Unidentified Funkin' Object

DURATION: 3 minutesDIFFICULTY: 2nd+'The Battle of Sherwood Forest' was composed for BD1 Brass as part of a set of music inspired by the fairytale of Robin Hood and Maid Marian.‍

In this section of the story, we are transported to the infamous Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire where Robin Hood does battle against the evil Sheriff of Nottingham - a crooked and corrupt officer of the law employed by King Richard to tak the poor and provide for the rich. The battle ends in a stalemate, but Maid Marian (an ally of Robin's) is captured during the conflict by the Sheriff's man and escorted far, far away into solitary confinement.

The Battle of Sherwood Forest

'Under the Cover of Night' was composed for BD1 Brass as part of a set of music inspired by the fairytale of Robin Hood and Maid Marian.‍

In BD1's adaption of the fairytale, Maid Marian is held hostage by the evil Sheriff of Nottingham and it is up to Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men to rescue her from captivity. This mysterious bluesy feature for Flugel, Drum Kit and Euphonium & Baritone section paints the picture of the group quietly creeping around in their attempt to rescue Marian. Within the music, there is opportunity for staging, with the Merry Men (Euphoniums & Baritones) moving around the band to reach Marian (Flugel) on the other side of the hall.

Under the Cover of Night

'Prelude on St Clement's' was composed for the 2023 Royal Northern College of Music Brass Band Festival in memory of internationally renowned conductor and composer Bramwell Tovey.

Bramwell was the Artistic Director of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain throughout the composer's 7 years as a tenor horn player in the NYBBGB and the hymn tune 'St Clement's (no. 82 in the 120 Hymns for Brass Band book) was used by Bramwell to conclude every course. This setting of 3 verses of the hymn tune 'The Day Thou Gavest. was premiered by the RNCM Brass Band in January 2023.

Prelude On St Clements

'Ye Joyous Bells in Heaven' was composed for the Thurlstone Brass Band near Sheffield in memory of their band's stalwart John Wilmot. The Sheffield area is synonymous for it's local musical culture and melodies, and one of these - Stannington, was a particular favourite of John's. This short and bustling concert work is a joyous fantasy on the melody, with short solo features for a number of players within the band.

Ye Joyous Bells in Heaven

"Equilibrium; noun - a state of balance."

Equilibrium was composed for the Pemberton Band in 2020. This short, vibrant concert opener uses the notion of 
2 contrasting "forces" operating against each other before gradually cancelling each other out to create a musical equilibrium,
inspired by the concept of positive and negative electrons in a magnetic field.

Whilst the synopsis appears quite complex in nature, the construction of the work is quite simple; in finding several  musical
"opposites" and gradually pulling them together throughout the work. 

Loud/Quiet. 
Short/Long. 
Tonal/Atonal. 
Consonance/Dissonance.
Thick texture/Thin texture.

Equilibrium

Brass in Concert 2018

Cloak and Dagger

Eternal Source of Light Divine

How To Catch A Killer...

I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free

The Crowning

War Dance Of The Red Cossacks

Definity

A Letter Home

The Fall Of Icarus

Prelude On George Butterworth

When It Is Peace

As The World Falls Apart

'The Christmas Truce' was composed in 2018 for the Strata Brass Band and was used as part of their Christmas programme to mark 100 years since the end of the First World War. On the 24th December 1914, just a few weeks after war broke out, one of the most notable events of the 4-year conflict took place on the front line as the guns from both sides fell silent and soldiers came together on Christmas Eve. This composition for brass band and narrator tells the story of that night, painting a musical picture of the events as they unfolded.

The Christmas Truce

Brass in Concert 2019

The Real Northern Powerhouse

Youth Brass in Concert 2019

El Torero

Danse Macabre

'Temperamental' was composed as the opening item to the Reg Vardy Band's 2019 Brass in Concert Championships programme, which revolved around the 4 temperaments of Human Nature - a theory by the Greek philsopher Galen from 450 BC.  This funk-inspired short concert work is deliberately very schizophrenic in nature, encompassing all 4 moods and feelings into the music and featuring a number of soloists from within the band, notably the Flugel Horn, Solo Trombone and Percussion section.

Temperamental

'Amundsen' was commissioned by Ørskog Brass, Norway for their winning performance at the 2020 Norwegian National Championships held at the Grieghallen in Bergen.   

In December 1911, Norwegian Roald Amundsen gained global fame by becoming the first explorer to lead a team to the geographic South Pole. Amundsen and 4 other members of his team arrived 5 weeks ahead of a rival team from the UK led by Robert Falcon Scott, all of which perished on their attempted return from the pole.   

Initially when Amundsen's team set out in 1910, they were under the impression that they would be making the far shorter journey to the arctic drift to attempt to reach the North Pole, but Amundsen had received news that American explorers Peary and Cook had beaten them to this goal, and so Amundsen's focus changed southward.  

'Fram, Forward' -   
'Fram' (translating to English as "forward") was the name of the ship Amundsen used for this particular polar expedition. Amundsen had only informed 2 people of his real intentions of conquering the South Pole when the ship first left port in Kristiansand before heading south to the Portuguese island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean. After weeks at sea - causing the uninformed members of the crew to  raise a number of questions and produce a general feel of uncertainty and low spirits - it was here that Amundsen announced his true  plans to the rest of his crew. They were asked whether they wished to continue with their expedition, to which all - some begrudgingly  - agreed to sail on to the South Pole, through the great Ice Barrier before docking in the Bay of Whales on the Ross Ice Shelf.  

'Ross Ice Shelf' -   
Upon Amundsen's arrival in the Bay of Whales, the team were greeted by the sight of the enormous ice plateau's and glaciers, towering into the Antarctic sky. In 1907, Ernest Shackleton had attempted - and failed - to reach the South Pole, but his route and mapping was by now well documented. Scott and the UK team were to follow this route, whereas Amundsen and his men forged their own way to the pole through unchartered territory and deadly terrain littered with deep crevasses and canyons. The music here though, is a picture of tranquility. The eerie silence of total emptiness with only the heavy snow falling around Amundsen as Fram and the Bay of Whales disappears into the distance, faced by the maginute of the expedition ahead.   

'Advance to Polheim' -   
The first new challenge Amundsen discovered on this route was a rough, sharp and extremely steep glacier (which was later named the Axel heiberg Glacier after the Norwegian monarch who funded much of the expedition), which would take his team up from sea level to an altitude of over 9,000ft in just 20 miles, with most of this over just 7 miles. Once scaled, only the vast Antarctic Plateau stood between Amundsen and the pole. Here the race began, with only one aim - victory for himself, his team, and for the whole of Norway.

Amundsen

'Grieg Variations' is a through-composed work in the traditional style of a 'theme & variations'. The work opens with the main melodic fragment featured throughout Grieg Variations which comes from Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No.2; the final movement - 'Solveig's Song'.

This theme is followed by a set of 9 variations, each taking inspiration from various melodies and styles found within the Peer Gynt Suite. The first variation, a light-footed scherzo based upon the tonal line of Solveig's Song is followed by an 'Alla marcia' variation - in which the music is inspired by the 2nd movement - 'Arab Dance' - of the original suite. The 3rd variation takes a far darker and more aggressive turn in a variation set around the music of the 1st movement of the Peer Gynt Suite before a relaxation into a solemne revisiting of the original theme. Opening with a sombre and longing solo for Flugel horn, the focal point of this 4th variation is an extended solo for the Solo Euphonium, marked 'molto espressivo'. The new material here is used as a theme throughout this variation, being reprised by the full band immediately after as the music builds to a climax point at the top of the musical line.

Following this, there are 2 cadenzas for the Solo Horn and Solo Cornet respectively; the former inspired by the thematic material of Solveig's Song, and the latter from the Oboe cadenza at the beginning of Grieg's '2 Lyric Pieces, Op.68'. These cadenzas lead swiftly into the 7th variation, a bustling rhyhm-driven movement set in complex time. The 3rd movement of the Peer Gynt Suite No.2 - 'Peer Gynt's Homecoming' - makes it's first appearance in variation 8 in a triumphant battle-like setting before a combination of both this material and the Solveig's Song combine to bring Grieg Variations to it's close -not without a little nod to potentially Grieg's most famous work - In The Hall of the Mountain King.

Grieg Variations

'By Water and the Word' was composed for 2020 Brass Band Summer School in memory of it's long-standing course administrator Philip Biggs, who passed away in 2019. Aside from his work with BBSS, Philip was also the renowned administrator for the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain where my first opportunities as a writer of brass music were presented. It's a certainty to say that without Philip's work at the head of this organisation, there's zero chance I would be able to do what I do today as a musician, and for that it was a huge honour to write this short work in his memory.  Under Maestro Bramwell Tovey, each course would conclude with an encore of The Day Thou Gavest (St. Clements) and one of the most used hymn tunes throughout the week was The Church's One Foundation (Aurelia). Since then, these two tunes have become synonymous with the NYBBGB and in turn Philip's life & work, so I felt it fitting to combine these two wonderful sacred melodies into a new work paying homage to those memories.

By Water And The Word

'On Ikley Moor Baht'at' was arranged specially to celebrate Yorkshire Day on Saturday 1st August, 2020. The original work was performed and recorded virtually by a band from each of the 4 ridings of Yorkshirewith the arrangement being made with this 'distance banding' idea in mind. Each of the verses is painted in a unique way to each other, telling the story and  character behind the lyrics - which are sung in the traditional Yorkshire dialect.

Ilkley Moor Snippet

The online home of the compositions and arrangements of Jonathan Bates.

Jonathan Bates Music

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