Foden's much anticipated CD release of the music of composer Malcolm Arnold is now available to purchase.

Major appraisal

As previously reported on 4BR, 'Malcolm Arnold — Music for brass band' marks a major appraisal of the composer's original and arranged music for the medium.

The release has already garnered a great deal of interest, with the march 'Overseas' already broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

The release includes his brace of 'Little Suites' and the 1974 National Championship test-piece, 'Fantasy for Brass Band', as well as earlier works such as his 'Fanfare for a Festival'.

In addition, there are also premiere recordings of the overture 'The Roots of Heaven' and 'Sweeny Todd Suite' as well as a welcome recording of 'Peterloo Overture'.

Centrepiece

The centrepiece is the premiere CD recording of the remarkable 'Song of Freedom', commissioned in the early 1970s to mark the 21st anniversary of the National Schools Brass Band Association, and which 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/malcolm-arnold-music-for-brass-band

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)