Contributed by: Jack Kopstein
The music of Kenneth J Alford has become synonymous with the tradition of British military music and in particular the Royal Marine bands.
Kenneth Alford (Fredrick Joseph Ricketts) was born in London on February 21, 1881. Yearning for a career in military music, he joined the Royal Irish Regiment in 1895. After playing the cornet, piano and organ in the Royal Irish Regiment and serving in India, Frederick Joseph R Ricketts became a student bandmaster at the Royal Military School of Music in 1904 . He became the bandmaster for the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1908. He also served as director of music for the Royal Marines where he gained his most prominence. Ricketts composed under his mother’s maiden name, Alford, and is remembered as one of the finest composers of military marches. He was a master in instrumentation and possessed a clear melodic sense. His marches often contain inventive counter melodies. He was a superb organist and this talent enabled him to compose brilliant and strong original melodic phrases into his marches.
He remained in the Army until 1927, when he was commissioned into the Royal Marines as a Director of Music. After a total of almost fifty years’ service to the Crown he retired in 1944 in rather poor health and died in the following year on 15th May. During his long military career, he wrote many marches that remain famous to this day and particular popular across both brass band and the mechanical music fraternities alike. His march Eagle Squadron was a salute to the Americans serving in the Royal Air Force prior to America’s entry into WWII.
Alford marches are contained on several Altissimo and Naxos albums including the album “Colonel Bogey on Parade” which contains many of his finest compositions including Holyrood,. The Vedette ,Colonel Bogey, Great Little Army, On the Quarterdeck, The Middy,The Voice of the Guns and many others.
Contributed by: Jack Kopstein
“Hail to the Chief” is a march primarily associated with the President of the United States. Its playing accompanies the appearance of the President at many public appearances. For major official occasions, the United States Marine Band and other military ensembles generally are the performers. It is preceded by four ruffles and flourishes when played for the President. The song is in the public domain.
Verses from Sir Walter Scott’s The Lady of the Lake, including “Hail to the Chief who in triumph advances!” were set to music around 1812 by the songwriter James Sanderson (c. 1769 – c. 1841), a self-taught English violinist and the conductor of the Surrey Theatre, London, who wrote many songs for local theatrical productions during the 1790s and the early years of the 19th century.
A version of Lady of the Lake debuted in New York May 8, 1812, and “Hail to the Chief” was published in Philadelphia about the same time, as ‘March and Chorus in the Dramatic Romance of the Lady of the Lake’. Many parodies appeared, an indication of great popularity.
Association with the President first occurred in 1815, when it was played to honour both George Washington and the end of the War of 1812 (under the name “Wreaths for the Chieftain”). Andrew Jackson was the first living President to have the song used to honour his position in 1829, and it was played at Martin Van Buren’s inauguration in 1837. On July 4, 1828, the U.S. Marine Band performed the song at a ceremony for the formal opening of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which was attended by President John Quincy Adams. Julia Tyler, wife of John Tyler, specifically requested its use at her husband’s inauguration. It was used at James Polk’s inauguration, Later it became a mainstay to announce the arrival of the president; William Seale says, “Polk was not an impressive figure, so some announcement was necessary to avoid the embarrassment of his entering a crowded room unnoticed. At large affairs the band…rolled the drums as they played the march…and a way was cleared for the President. Under the term of Harry Truman the Department of Defence made it the official tribute to the President. It has now become standard practice for the president to be honoured by the playing of the music by any function where a band is in attendance
During the American Civil War (1861-1865) the same piece was also used to announce the arrival of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. On October 3, 1861, Davis visited with Generals P.G.T. Beauregard, Joseph Eggleston Johnston, and Gustavus Woodson Smith at Fairfax Court House (now the City of Fairfax) for a Council of War. While at Fairfax, President Davis also conducted a formal Review of the Troops, which numbered some 30,000. At the start of the review, the band of the 1st Virginia Infantry struck up “Hail To The Chief” and concluded with “Dixie”.
Contributed by Jack Kopstein
First Published 1897. Written on Christmas day 1896.
Composer John Philip Sousa
“The Stars and Stripes Forever” is a patriotic American march widely considered to be the finest work of composer John Philip Sousa. In fact, the march received the great honor of being selected by an act of Congress as the National March of the United States of America in 1987.
Surprisingly, John Philip Sousa’s great American patriotic march, “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” was written not in the aftermath of a great battle, but on an ocean liner as Sousa and his wife were returning from a European vacation. In his autobiography, Marching Along, Sousa wrote after he learned of the recent death of David Blakely, then manager of the Sousa Band, that he suddenly had an epiphany and had written the march in his head. He committed the notes to paper soon after his arrival in America on Christmas Day 1896. It was first played by the Sousa band on May 1st 1897 in Augusta Maine. At that time the march was unnamed . It was on May 14th 1897 in a Philadelphia concert that the march was premiered as the “Stars the Stripes Forever” and received rave reviews in the press.
Sousa tells the rest of the story in his autobiography, Marching Along.
Here came one of the most vivid incidents of my career. As the vessel (the Teutonic) steamed out of the harbor I was pacing on the deck, absorbed in thoughts of my manager’s death and the many duties and decisions which awaited me in New York. Suddenly, I began to sense a rhythmic beat of a band playing within my brain. Throughout the whole tense voyage, that imaginary band continued to unfold the same themes, echoing and re-echoing the most distinct melody. I did not transfer a note of that music to paper while I was on the steamer, but when we reached shore, I set down the measures that my brain-band had been playing for me, and not a note of it has ever changed.
The march was an immediate success, and Sousa’s Band played it at almost every concert until his death.
Sousa usually had the custom of sketching out the scores of his marches in pencil and then later inking out the full score and for parts to be e extracted by the copyist. Many of the pencil sketches are still preserved. It is interesting to note however that not one single sketch of the “Stars and Stripes Forever” has been located. This bears out the contention that the march was indeed conceived completely in his head
*The original Sousa instrumentation of the march included:
Piccolo in Db
Two Oboes
Two bassoons
Clarinet in Eb
Two Clarinets in Bb(1-2)
Alto saxophone
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone saxophone
Three Cornets(1-2-3)
4 Horns in Eb(1-2-3-4)
Three Trombones(1-2-3)
Euphonium
Tuba
Percussion
The first known recording of the march was made by Berliner Recording Company on August 18th 1897 (#61) in New York, followed by Columbia (#532) in Washington. Later recordings by Edison and Victor were conducted by Arthur Pryor. Although Sousa would conduct performances of his march at virtually every concert until his death, only one recording of Sousa performing the march with his band which was, made on August 7th 1909 by Edison (#285 and #2104) in New York is known to survive today. Sousa disliked recordings and radio, and most of the Sousa band recording sessions were conducted by Herbert L Clarke.
“The Stars and Stripes Forever” follows the standard American march form. Its trio is the most famous part of the march. Most bands adopt the Sousa Band practice of having one or three (never two) piccolo players play the famous obligato in the first repeat of the trio. In the second repeat (marked “Grandioso”), the low brass joins the piccolo players with a prominent counter melody. The official version, as played by the United States Marine Band, is performed in the key of E-flat.
Sousa wrote lyrics to the piece, although they are not as familiar as the music itself.
Let martial note in triumph float
And liberty extend its mighty hand
A flag appears ‘mid thunderous cheers,
The banner of the Western land.
The emblem of the brave and true
Its folds protect no tyrant crew;
The red and white and starry blue
Is freedom’s shield and hope.
Other nations may deem their flags the best
And cheer them with fervid elation
But the flag of the North and South and West
Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom’s nation.
Hurrah for the flag of the free!
May it wave as our standard forever,
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right.
Let despots remember the day
When our fathers with mighty endeavor
Proclaimed as they marched to the fray
That by their might and by their right
It waves forever.
Let eagle shriek from lofty peak
The never-ending watchword of our land;
Let summer breeze waft through the trees
The echo of the chorus grand.
Sing out for liberty and light,
Sing out for freedom and the right.
Sing out for Union and its might,
O patriotic sons.
Other nations may deem their flags the best
And cheer them with fervid elation,
But the flag of the North and South and West
Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom’s nation.
Hurrah for the flag of the free.
May it wave as our standard forever
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right.
Let despots remember the day
When our fathers with mighty endeavor
Proclaimed as they marched to the fray,
That by their might and by their right
It waves forever.
Where on high the Almighty falters never.
Our banner for two hundred years!
Oh pioneers! Here’s to the stars and stripes forever!
Altissimo Recordings is proud to report that the march continues to thrill our clients as never before and is featured on 61 of our albums. Here are a couple of featured albums that include the famous march:
http://www.militarymusic.com/marines-sousas-greatest-hits-and-some-that-should-have-been-p-75.html
http://www.militarymusic.com/marines-heritage-of-john-philip-sousa-vol-p-4523.html
*The instrumentation given is contained on the holograph score which is in Sousa’s hand and is the inked score he wrote on or about April 25/26 1897in Boston.
References: Perspectives on John Philip Sousa- James R Smart-Music Division Library of Congress 1983
The Incredible band of John Philip Sousa – Paul Edmond Bierley Published University of Illinois Press
(Buy the book on MilitaryMusic.com for only $34.95) http://www.militarymusic.com/books-incredible-band-of-john-philip-sousa-p-134.html
The U.S. Army Chorus Celebrates 55 years
Contributed By: Jack Kopstein
Major Dwayne S. Milburn, Director
In 1956 The U.S. Army Chorus was established as the vocal counterpart of The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” and is one of the nation’s only professional men’s choruses. From its inception, The U.S. Army Chorus has established and maintained a reputation of excellence in the performance of male choral literature. Beyond the traditional military music and patriotic standards, the repertoire of the Army Chorus covers a broad spectrum which includes pop, Broadway, folk, and classical music.
The Army Chorus performs frequently at the White House, the Vice President’s Residence, the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court, and the State Department. World leaders, such as the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy, former Presidents Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, Lech Walesa of Poland, and Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union have been serenaded by the Army Chorus during state visits. These visiting dignitaries are often greeted in their native tongues, as the Chorus is able to sing in more than 26 languages.
In 2007, the group was featured at the State Dinner held in honor of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and in 2008 at the State Arrival Ceremony for Pope Benedict XVI held on the south lawn of the White House. The Chorus participated in the dedication ceremonies of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, and the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library, and memorial ceremonies honoring significant events in our country’s history including the Korean War Veterans Memorial, National World War II Memorial, and the Pentagon Memorial. The Army Chorus was personally requested to perform for the private interment services of former Presidents Ronald Wilson Reagan in 2004, and Gerald R. Ford in early 2007.
The Army Chorus regularly appears with the National Symphony Orchestra in the televised Memorial Day and Independence Day performances from the U.S. Capitol. Also, the Chorus has performed with the Atlanta Symphony, the Cincinnati Pops, the San Francisco Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, Grant Park Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Annapolis Symphony, and the Dallas Wind Symphony.
The group has been featured on many well-known stages, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Hall Music Hall, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Meyerson Symphony Center. In 1999, the Chorus was invited to perform with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square for a live radio and television broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word.
In 2008, the Army Chorus joined forces with the Colorado Symphony Chorus, the Aspen Festival Orchestra, and conductor David Zinman for a rare performance of Arnold Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder at the Aspen Music Festival.
The members of the Army Chorus, most of whom hold advanced degrees in music, are selected from among the nation’s finest musicians. In 2011 the group will celebrate its 55th Anniversary which will be marked with concerts that include a reunion of past members, many of whom have gone on to successful careers in music education and as soloists on Broadway and opera stages around the world.
Visit the U.S. Amy Chorus website:
http://www.usarmyband.com/chorus/the_us_army_chorus.html
Army Chorus Events Calendar:
http://www.usarmyband.com/event-calendar.html
The United States Navy Sea Chanters
Contributed By: Jack Kopstein
The spread of cultural richness is one function military music plays in the defence of our democracy throughout the world. This was never truer than during the Cold War. From 1948-1991, members of the Navy Band travelled throughout the United States, South America and Europe, performing for millions while playing their part in the advancement our national diplomatic interests.
One such Cold War mission occurred on December 1961, when 29 members of the United States Navy Band were sent to West Berlin to participate in a series of concerts sponsored by the United States Information Agency (USIA). The USIA, led at the time by Great American Newsman Edward R. Murrow, who was charged with influencing a positive image of the United States overseas. It accomplished this mission through propaganda campaigns that included motion pictures, television and radio broadcasts, funding of libraries, arts exchanges, etc. The USIA’s main goal at this time was to thwart the spread of communism and counter the negative propaganda created by the Soviet government.
The catalyst for this particular Navy Band Cold War mission began on June 24, 1961. In his first months as President, John F. Kennedy met with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at the Vienna Summit. In a strong response to a war threat made by Khrushchev, Kennedy stated, “Then, Mr. Chairman, there will be a war. It will be a long, cold winter.” A few months later the Berlin Wall was constructed and the battle lines were effectively drawn.
With tensions running high, it became absolutely necessary that a positive diplomatic message be sent throughout the Eastern Bloc countries. To do this the State Department and the USIA turned to the United States Navy Band. A USIA letter to the band stated that Berlin had requested a “first-rank American choir” to participate in a special “Berlin Christmas” broadcast. The Sea Chanters, formed in 1956, had already established an international reputation and were perfect for the task at hand.
On December 20th, members of the Navy Band including the Sea Chanters, together with a small jazz combo, vocalist Ben Mitchell Morris, and Harmonica soloist Dick Bain, departed for West Berlin. Over the next four days these musicians performed a dozen special concerts for American military personnel, German civilian groups, hospital patients, and radio broadcast audiences.
“We were billeted at the Berlin Hotel. Over the next several days we made the usual rounds of singing at hospitals, military installations, and other venues. We were taken on several bus tours of the city, East Berlin, which we entered and left through Checkpoint Charlie. West Berlin had been largely rebuilt by then and was a lively, festive place, brightly decorated for Christmas. East Berlin was for the most part rubble. The only Christmas decoration was a pitiful string of lights on the sign of a small shop. That section of the city was almost completely dark. The Russians used buildings, with the windows and doors bricked in, as part of the wall. One of the most moving sights on the trip was a Bible that one of the masons had mortared in as a brick in one of the windows.
We were encouraged to go into East Berlin often to establish that, although the Russians had cut it off from the West by the wall, the Eastern Zone was still occupied in part by the Allies, and American military personnel had the right to access the entire city. ”
The trip culminated in a very special 90 minute “television spectacular.” Taped on December 23rd, this concert featured the Sea Chanters, the famous American contralto Marian Anderson, The Oberkirchen Boys Choir, The St. Hedwig Cathedral Choir, The Berlin Radio Orchestra, Cardinal Spellman of New York, and taped messages from President Kennedy, British Prime Minster Harold McMillan, and French President Charles De Gaulle. This live broadcast was telecast throughout Germany and fed to the Eurovision TV Network. With an estimated audience of over 200 million viewers, including an estimated several million viewers in East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary, the Sea Chanters performed brilliantly and were an integral part to the success of this mission.
President John F Kennedy said of the mission:
It is difficult to judge the importance of this type of cultural diplomacy. What is definite, however, is that the members of the Navy Band distinguished themselves by projecting a positive American image at a time of heightened Cold War tensions. This is a legacy that the men and women of the Navy Band have proudly maintained.
“I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well.”
Today The Navy Band Sea Chanters is the United States Navy’s official chorus and remain one of America’s finest vocal groups. The ensemble performs a variety of music ranging from traditional choral music, including sea chanteys and patriotic fare, to opera, Broadway, and contemporary music. Under the leadership of Senior Chief Musician Georgina L. Todd, the Sea Chanters perform for the public throughout the United States. . In 1956, Lt. Harold Fultz, then the band’s assistant leader, organized a group from the Navy School of Music to sing chanteys and patriotic songs for the State of the Nation dinner. An immediate success, Admiral Arleigh Burke, then Chief of Naval Operations, transferred them to the Navy Band, named them the Sea Chanters and tasked this all-male chorus with perpetuating the songs of the sea. In 1980, the group added women to their ranks and expanded their repertoire to include everything from Brahms to Broadway.
The Sea Chanters are frequently found at the center of our most important national events, including Inauguration Day, 2009. They have played a vital role in comforting the nation in times of mourning, including appearances at memorials for the astronauts of the space shuttle Columbia and the presidential wreath laying ceremony at the United Airlines flight 93 crash site in Shanksville, Pa. Their performance of “Amazing Grace” for the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance at the National Cathedral in Washington after the events of 9/11 inspired all in attendance as well as a national television audience. They have appeared at the Kennedy Center Honors and with the National Symphony Orchestra for the nationally telecast “National Memorial Day Concerts” at the U.S. Capitol. In addition the group has appeared on “Larry King Live” and “CBS This Morning” as well as at the premier of the movie “Pearl Harbour”. . The Sea Chanters have enjoyed a great reputation performing with such stars as Perry Como, Marian Anderson, Kenny Rogers and Lionel Richie.
Throughout their history, the Sea Chanters have remained true to the Navy’s watchwords of pride and professionalism, and they continue to flourish as a vibrant ensemble.
Altissimo salute the artistry, and spirit of a truly great American Institution THE US NAVY SEA CHANTERS
See them live on YouTube in a thrilling video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojbQctA9qyA
Visit the Navy Sea Chanters’ Website:
http://www.navyband.navy.mil/sea_chanters.shtml
Sea Chanters’ Events Calendar:
http://www.navyband.navy.mil/event_calendar.shtml
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.
This sentence has been called “one of the best-known sentences in the English language “and “the most potent and consequential words in American history”.
The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The birthday of the United States of America—Independence Day—is celebrated on July 4, the day the wording of the Declaration was approved by Congress.
The Declaration justified the independence of the United States by listing colonial grievances against King George III, and by asserting certain natural rights, including a right of revolution. Having served its original purpose in announcing independence, the text of the Declaration was initially ignored after the American Revolution. Its stature grew over the years, particularly the second sentence, and a sweeping statement of individual human rights:
After finalizing the text on July 4, Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms. It was initially published as a printed broadside that was widely distributed and read to the public. The most famous version of the Declaration, a signed copy that is usually regarded as the Declaration of Independence, is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Although the wording of the Declaration was approved on July 4, the date of its signing has been disputed. Most historians have concluded that it was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed. The sources and interpretation of the Declaration has been the subject of much scholarly inquiry.
The famous wording of the Declaration seen above has often been invoked to protect the rights of individuals and marginalized groups, and has come to represent for many people a moral standard for which the United States should strive. This view greatly influenced Abraham Lincoln, who considered the Declaration to be the foundation of his political philosophy and who promoted the idea that the Declaration is a statement of principles through which the United States Constitution should be interpreted.
Music has become just as much a part of the July 4th as the occasion itself!
With our great selection of 4th of July songs, you can listen to your favourite Independence Day tunes all year round and let freedom ring everyday with Fourth of July music. If you’re patriotic and looking for music that suits your passion, then you’ve come to the right place.
Whether you’re barbequing, heading off to see fireworks and friends, or just watching the festivities from the comfort of your own home, 4th of July songs are a great way to enhance your holiday and look back on those that made this day possible. And, with our library of Fourth of July albums available from our site, you’ll be able to enjoy your favourite Independence Day songs at reasonable prices.
Our wide variety of Independence Day music includes: America the Beautiful, Battle Hymn of the Republic, This Land is My Land and much more. This summer, let our Independence Day music make your holiday special, order 4th of July music today.
See the original article here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence