Rio

Rio is a festival of joy, rhythm and samba!

From the outset, basses and percussion drive the music forward, laying down an infectious Latin groove beneath syncopated cornets and a quirky, characterful melody. Jazzy harmonies and punchy rhythms combine to create a piece bursting with colour, energy and fun.

The percussion section has plenty to enjoy — in fact, the more the merrier! For performances with a suitably adventurous audience, extra percussion can be handed out and willing volunteers drafted in to help create an even bigger, more authentic samba atmosphere.

Bright, rhythmic and unapologetically good-humoured, Rio is a lively concert item with a real sense of occasion — a percussion party with a distinctly Latin flavour.

Asturias is one of Isaac Albéniz’s most recognisable works — a piece whose driving rhythms and dramatic contrasts have made it a favourite far beyond its original life as piano music.

Despite its title, the music is not especially Asturian in character. Instead, Albéniz evokes the sounds and atmosphere of Andalusia, drawing strongly on the language of flamenco and the guitar. The repeated rhythmic figures create an almost percussive momentum, while the central lyrical section provides a striking contrast: darker, freer and more reflective before the opening energy returns.

Originally written for piano, Asturias has since become particularly associated with the classical guitar, whose colours seem perfectly matched to Albéniz’s writing. In this arrangement for brass band, that same combination of rhythmic intensity, colour and drama is recast for the sonority and power of the ensemble.

The result is music of tremendous character — fiery and urgent in its outer sections, atmospheric and expressive at its heart.

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About the music

Vivaldissimo is a fresh reimagining of the first movement of Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Violins in A minor, a work later arranged by J. S. Bach as an organ concerto.

This version brings the music into a new setting, combining the energy and clarity of the Baroque original with elements of jazz and Latin style. Familiar material is reshaped with a more contemporary rhythmic character, while keeping the drive and elegance that make Vivaldi’s music so enduring.

It gives players and audiences a chance to hear this well-known music from a different angle — lively, colourful and unmistakably rooted in the original.

Details

Instrumentation: Brass Band
Difficulty: Grade 3
Duration: 3:40
Format: Digital PDF download — full score and parts