![]() Then, the entire band plays together - and, by then, we're all marching! The trombones thunder in with a bold counter melody. Woodwinds repeat, and later, the response of the piccolo. The march begins with a hearty introduction by the horns with great smashing beats on drums, followed by the melody. Performances vary according to the arrangements of individual band directors or orchestrators, especially regarding tempo and the number and sequence of strains employed, as well as the number and type of instruments used. The song repeats distinct melodies in sections, called strains, using different instruments to repeat and lead. The march is scored for an orchestra consisting of two flutes, a piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, bass drum, snare drum, glockenspiel, and strings. When he reached shore, he set down the measures his brain-band had been playing for him and he never changed a note of it! THE STARS and STRIPES FOREVER MARCH The distinct melody of the march kept on playing in his head with the same themes echoing and re-echoing.Īmazingly, John Philip Sousa did not transfer a single note of that music to paper while on the steamer. He wrote in his autobiography, 'Marching Along,' that he suddenly began to sense the rhythmic beat of a band playing within his brain. While standing on the deck of an ocean liner, he heard the march playing in his head! On Christmas day in 1896, he was returning to the United States from a vacation in Italy. John Philip Sousa was a Marine, a musician, and a bandleader. ![]() You won’t be able to sit still, and you won’t be able to get it out of your head for some time to come! JOHN PHILIP SOUSA Either way, on July 4th, find The Stars and Stripes Forever and listen. If you are younger, you may never have heard it. If you are older, you may not have heard it for a while. Immediately greeted with great enthusiasm.īy a 1987 act of Congress, The Stars and Stripes Forever became the official National March of the United States of America. It is a giant, It was first performedĪt Willow Grove Park, just outside Philadelphia, on May 14, 1897, and was John Henken is the Philharmonic's Director of Publications.A patriotic march written by John Philip Sousa. His skill as a piano improviser and his great love of American music came together (not for the first time) in his freewheeling adaptation of The Stars and Stripes Forever. Gould created orchestral scores for various media and genres, including Broadway musicals ( Billion Dollar Baby), ballets ( Fall River Legend), films ( Windjammer), and television ( Holocaust). ![]() He studied at the Institute of Musical Art in New York and throughout his teen years gave piano recitals, in which improvisation on themes suggested by the audience usually played a part. As an example, Sousa wrote lyrics for The Stars and Stripes Forever so that he could sell the popular march as a song.Īnother child prodigy, the multifariously talented Morton Gould wrote his first compositions at the age of six. Royalties from sheet music sales made Sousa rich, and he took every opportunity to expand his market. In addition to 135 marches, Sousa composed 70 songs, a number of operettas, and suites and fantasies for band. Twelve years later he resigned and formed his own band, which became famous around the world thanks to Sousa's inspired marches. A few years later he could be found leading a vaudeville orchestra in Washington, D.C., and in 1880 he returned to the Marine Band as its new director. Piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 3 clarinets, 3 bassoons (3rd = contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (including snare drum), and six pianosĪlthough John Philip Sousa began his musical studies on the violin under his father's guidance, he soon became proficient on wind instruments - so much so that he was playing in the Marine Band by the time he was 13 years old. ![]()
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