Bridges, Lines and Stones - Score Only Brass Band - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1667796

SCORE ONLY

Thanks to the pioneering - if often somewhat corrupt - enterprises of George Hudson (the so-called ‘Railway King’) York became a major junction for the railways of Great Britain in the 19th century. This work reimagines three rail journeys, to the west, east and north of York. The three pieces which make up Bridges, Lines and Stones were revised and assembled into this triptych in May-June 2025.


Fox. Travelling west towards Harrogate, the line carries us over the dramatic viaduct at Knaresborough, crossing the River Nidd and offering impressive views of the steep gorge and the remains of a medieval castle. The title refers to another Victorian entrepreneur, Samson Fox, who gave Harrogate its first fire engine, built Grove Road School, funded the Royal Hall and provided affordable social housing. He provided the town with some of the earliest street lighting and also founded the Royal College of Music in London. The music begins slowly, gradually accumulating thematic material before quicker music arrives, but both possess a repetitive, ‘industrial’ quality: the sound of Victorian gothic. Fox was commissioned by The Harrogate Band to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2020.


Epithalamium. Heading east out of York takes us over the River Ouse and across the Wolds to Scarborough; Hudson promised that his new railway would transform Scarborough into the ‘Brighton of the North’! A highlight of this journey is a glimpse of the ruins of Kirkham Priory on the banks of the River Derwent. The main melodic ideas in this movement are a chant-like theme (beginning on solo instruments but subsequently passed around the band) and a descending sequence, reminiscent of church bells. (I composed this epithalamium for my own wedding in 2024: my wife loves travelling to Scarborough!)


Northern Line was composed for the York Railway Institute Band in 2008 to mark the ongoing restoration of The Flying Scotsman (completed in 2016). This time the journey is northward, offering spectacular views of the Romanesque architecture of Durham Cathedral, and then the iconic bridges over the Tyne as we approach Newcastle. The music is insistently rhythmic, like a huge machine, but again we hear the ringing of bells along with references to music from the first movement. (DL).