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Brass Ensemble Catalog

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BACH! for Brass Ensemble

Johann's birthday is March 21 - he'll be 327. 
Order a PDF copy and receive a free MP3 recording by the Boulder Brass*

*(if available)


Contrapunctus 9
from the Art of Fugue
arranged by Michael Allen
LISTEN
FMP
 SCORE PREVIEW
ORDER
Fantasia in C Major
BWV 570
arranged by Michael Allen
LISTEN
FMP
SCORE PREVIEW
ORDER
Air
from Orchestral Suite No. 3
arranged by Michael Allen
LISTEN
FMP
SCORE PREVIEW
ORDER
Little Fugue
Fugue in g minor, BWV 578
arranged by Michael Allen
LISTEN
FMP
SCORE PREVIEW
ORDER
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
from Cantata 147
arranged by Michael Allen
LISTEN
FMP
SCORE PREVIEW
ORDER
Komm Susser Tod
Chorale Prelude, BWV 478
arranged by Michael Allen
LISTEN
FMP
SCORE PREVIEW
ORDER
Passacaglia & Fugue in c
BWV 582
arranged by Michael Allen
LISTEN
FMP
SCORE PREVIEW
ORDER
Toccata & Fugue in d
BWV 565
arranged by Michael Allen
LISTEN
FMP
SCORE PREVIEW
ORDER
Chaconne in d
Bach/Busoni
arranged by Michael Allen
SCORE PREVIEW
ORDER
Prelude & Fugue in B flat
BWV 898 (spurious)
arranged by Michael Allen
SCORE PREVIEW
ORDER
Air pour les Trompettes
from Partita,
BWV 832
arranged by Michael Allen
SCORE PREVIEW
ORDER

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In 1976, my parents gave me two brass LP's (you may remember vinyl) as Christmas gifts
- the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble's splendid Classics for Brass and the equally spectacular Canadian Brass in Paris .  As a budding young tubist, these recordings were seminal, inspiring a deep love for the sound of the
brass ensemble in all of its various manifestations.  Immediately, I set to work transcribing and
orchestrating works for brass and have been immersed in the field ever since.

A quick perusal of the pages on this site will reveal a couple of things - 1) I seemingly have too much time on my hands; and 2) I tend towards orchestrations of keyboard works (with a few notable exceptions).  It is my belief that many composers write music for piano or organ with a more colorful palette in mind - there is simply too much implied color and effect in most keyboard music to ignore this conclusion.  The early keyboard works by the English court composers who served at the pleasure of Queen Elizabeth I would be pleased to hear their works played with such majesty and splendor, I think. Arrangers and orchestrators have used the music of Bach as a playground since...Bach.  Nevertheless, it would be the height of hubris to think that Debussy was thinking brass (his orchestral works
don't demonstrate any real predilection towards the brass instruments as a family).  But, for me, many of his
piano works simply orchestrate themselves for brass.

I have been fortunate recently to work with some of the world's truly outstanding brass ensembles, orchestrating in recent years works for the Canadian Brass, Summit Brass, and the Burning River Brass.  The orchestrations represented here have been performed by the brass sections of the New York Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, Nashville Symphony, as well as the Bay Brass, the New York Big Brass, Rodney Mack's Philadelphia Big Brass, Rhythm and Brass, the Imperial Brass, the Dallas Brass, and brass ensembles from most of the top military bands.

Of course my colleagues here in Colorado that comprise the Boulder Brass deserve a special mention - the best workshop for any arranger is direct access to a talented group of artists that can breathe vigor into the little black dots, and my friends in the Boulder Brass have been doing just that with alacrity (and patience) for 20 years.

This is a dream come true.  I hope you enjoy the sights and sounds on these pages and welcome your comments.

Mike Allen