**** Here'e the software version of a fine new march by A.J. Fortuna. Breezy Bay- Some catchy melodies! I'm annexes to hear the first band recording. jB
There
are presently over 60 jBosserman marches available on UTube.. The current most viewed slideshow
is Graduation Marchwith over 26,000 views.
*Can anyone
help with these marches? If you know the name and/or composer of this march please
let us know. It would be greatly appreciated. Just click below to hear short clip. (Courtesy
Rapid Share)
See If You Can Identify
This Mystery March Composer?
An
American, born in the last half of the 19th century, at age 12 he was performing as soloist on the cornet, and at age
16 played violin in a theater orchestras. He quickly gained recognition as an arranger, conductor,
and composer. One of his popular marches, Associated Press, was written in 1897. He
formed his own band in 1899 and became a prolific composer with over 140 marches to his credit. His works were published by
over 12 publishing companies of the time. He died in 1940. Click HERE to find out all about our mystery composer.
Which Marches Are Most Popular?
There
have been a few march popularity polls that I am aware (15 to 20) taken in the last 50 years, particularly among band directors
and music professionals, both in America and Europe. ( There have obviously been many more of which I am not aware) Most of
these polls have been quite limited with 1000 or less voters. American polls clearly put Stars & Stripes as number one
but international polls consistently have the German march Alte Kameraden (Old Comrades) as number one. Other than these
two marches there is no clear cut lineup of favorite marches in any of the the polls I have studied. jB
An
international poll by Norman E. Smith from 1976 - 1986 of 1000 plus qualified voters had the following top 10 marches:
1- Stars & Strips by Sousa, 2-Old Comrades (Kameraden) by Teike, 3-
Washington Grays by Grafuila (Spanish), 4- Colonel Bogey by K. Alford (British), 5- Barnum
& Bailey by King, 6-National Emblem by Bagley, 7- Florentiner by Fucik (Check),
8-Semper Fidelis by Sousa, and (tied) Valdres by Hanssen (Norway), 9- Inglesina (Little English Girl) by Cese, and
10-Under The Double Eagle by J.Wagner (Austria). In the 99 places listed in the poll, Sousa had 19
places,, Filmore had 6, and King had 5.
The Wikipedialists about 65 marches which are labeled "popular" because they are frequently played in America.
It is interesting to note that in this list there are 3 marches by Fillmore, 4 by King, and 11 by Sousa.
What March did John Phillip Sousa say was the
best march ever written...besides one of his own?
What's the best known musical composition by a Vermonter? The National Emblem March, written
in 1906 by Craftsbury's E.E. Bagley.
John Phillip Sousa named this the finest march he *didn't* write--the National
Emblem March quotes extensively from "The Star Spangled Banner" (which wouldn't become America's official national
anthem until 1931).
Here's Bagley's Wikipedia entry:
Edwin Eugene Bagley (1857-1922) was born in Craftsbury,
Vermont. He began his music career at the age of nine as a vocalist and comedian with Leavitt's Bellringers, a company of
entertainers that toured many of the larger cities of the United States. He began playing the cornet, traveling for six years
with the Swiss Bellringers.
After his touring days, he joined Blaisdell's Orchestra of Concord, New Hampshire.
In 1880, he came to Boston as a solo cornet player at The Park Theater. For nine years, he traveled with the Bostonians, an
opera company. While with this company, he changed from cornet to trombone. He performed with the Germania Band of Boston
and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Edwin Eugene Bagley is best known for composing marches. His most famous march, National
Emblem, is played as a patriotic tune at Independence Day celebrations in the United States and features an excerpt of The
Star-Spangled Banner. A theme from this march is popularly sung with the words "and the monkey wrapped his tail around
the flagpole".
NEW TO Band Directors! I’ll send you absolutely
FREE. (including shipping), the score and one each of the concert band parts to any of my
18 original marchesas played on my Sounds of Sousa Concert Band CD! For details go to my march link
above. This is a limited offer, tentatively good until January 30, 2012 jB
Click here to send your comments about the Free March Music Website!
March Title or Composer Search - Over 500 Marches Listed!
(Do not use "The" in
front of march title! Ttitles starting with "March" listed under M's))
MarchKing.Com was started in 2005 as an effort to promote my own marches but in early 2007 I enlarged the site to include
links of all the other marches I found available on the Internet. It's strictly a non-profit endeavor because
I love march music, and I'd like to share this with everyone who feels the thrill and excitement
of a good march!
I'm not a career musician but played in the 82nd Division Army Band during WWII
and attended Cincinnati Conservatory for one year after leaving the service. During
that time I studied with one of Sousa's solo cornet players,Frank "Doc" Simon, an experience I will never forget.
Later,
in 1961-64 while I was a member of the North American Aviation Band in Columbus Ohio, I had discussions with Paul Bierley while he was working on Sousa's biography and I picked up many tidbits concerning march
music. I appreciate any comments you may have.. jB
March Title or Composer Search - Over 500 Marches Listed!
(Do not use "The" in
front of march title! Ttitles starting with "March" listed under M's))