United States Marine Band: Music of Richard Strauss

The United States Navy Band’s Sea Chanters Chorus recorded this album in order to pay tribute to the many journeys that have enriched the lives of its performers. The music on Journeys ranges from deeply moving to whimsical and has become associated with the ensemble during the geographic and emotional journeys they have taken. This album is truly a timeless expression of the more than 48 years that the Sea Chanters have been providing the world with wonderful music.

This album was recorded in commemoration of the US Navy Band’s 75th anniversary. Each piece found on Mystic Chords of Memory is dedicated to all of the officers, men and women, past and present, who have contributed their time and talents to the Navy Band, earning it the title of the “World’s Finest.” The pieces on the album represent the works of some of the world’s greatest composers such as Aaron Copland and Philip Sparke. Robert Jager was commissioned to compose the title track "Mystic Chords of Memory" to celebrate the 75th anniversary. This album is a fantastic representation of the talent, dedication, and professionalism that is characteristic of the United States Navy Band in every endeavor.

SOUSA Semper Fidelis. Manhattan Beach. Comrades of the Legion. Sabre and Spurs. The Gallant Seventh. King Cotton. The Gridiron Club. Who’s Who in Navy Blue. The Invincible Eagle. The Royal Welch Fusiliers. La Reine de la Mer Waltz. Processional Polonaise. Suite: Looking Upward. The Bride Elect: Selections . Easter Morning on the White House Lawn • John Bourgeois, cond; U.S. Marine Band • ALTISSIMO 9722 (70:40)

The March King had a lifelong distrust of recordings. Of the 1,166 shellacs that the Sousa Band made for the Victor Talking Machine Co., he conducted only six. These are pored over by dedicated Sousa scholars, including a former director of the Yale Band. Their holy grail is Sousa’s “authentic” performance style. Yes, HIPness has reached the parade ground.


What makes such historical sleuthing important is that the outdoor versions of Sousa’s beloved marches are only a rough template for what he did in concert. Every piece had a “secret” arrangement, cued by hand and passed along by word of mouth, that doesn’t appear in any published edition. I served my time marching at football halftime alongside my fellow high-school clarinetists, and we did what rank-and-file players still do: We played all the time, with few rests; we maintained a slow walking pace; we were loud. But Sousa considered the march to be among the most difficult genres to perform correctly.


One reason is that he was a violinist, although he learned from boyhood onward to play every band instrument (his father enlisted him in the Marine Band at age 13 to keep his son from running away to join a circus band). He worshipped Johan Strauss II, Arthur S. Sullivan, and Jacques Offenbach. In other words, Sousa had a refined ideal in his mind of nuance and elegance, not the blaring patriotic display his marches are mostly used for. In concert, as opposed to the marching field, he preferred thinner orchestration, subtle phrasing, and varied accents. But these “secrets” can only be gleaned by interviewing surviving band members who played under him until his death in 1932, picking up the style by ear from original Sousa Band recordings, and laboriously comparing manuscripts and meager handwritten notations on the parts the band used.


Wrap up all this research with a bow, and you get the present CD from the U.S. Marine Band, which Sousa conducted for a relatively brief stint between 1880 and 1892. The extensive program notes make for fascinating reading, even if your knees can no longer contemplate marching two miles in the Easter Parade. Your ears will immediately notice how enjoyably civilized these performances are. Band director Col. John Bourgeois sets the tempo at a relaxed 118–120 beats a minute, which Sousa favored—he sped up the pace for encores, to get the audience more excited. The instrumentation is lean until the “grandioso” finish, when it’s all hands on deck.


The album’s title, Semper Fidelis , refers to the only popular march on the disc. Rather than a collection of greatest hits, the program highlights Sousa’s diversity, since he wrote songs, suites, waltzes, and operettas, none as successful as his marches. My favorite rarity here was the 18-minute suite Looking Upward , Sousa’s precursor to Holst’s The Planets , with movements titled “By the Light of the Polar Star” and “Mars and Venus.” One hears the best of Sousa’s exotic touches, actual chords for the horns and trumpets, and something forbidden in a field march, an accelerando.


The Marine Band, which produced and engineered the CD, shows off its considerable musicianship as a concert ensemble; the recorded sound is full but a bit too distant to capture much inner detail. To be candid, Sousa’s best tunes are in his two dozen or so most famous marches, but even in their absence these are eye-opening works. All his life he secretly wanted to be America’s Johan Strauss, Jr., and for once a recording comes close to fulfilling his wishes.

FANFARE: Huntley Dent

PRESIDENT'S OWN UNITED STATES MARINE BAND: Sound Off!

PRESIDENT'S OWN UNITED STATES MARINE BAND: Director's Choice

This album was created to celebrate the 190th Anniversary of the Marine Band in 1988. The Marine Band, founded by an Act of Congress on July 11, 1798, is America's oldest musical organization. The Marine Band has participated in many historic "firsts," among them being the development of sound recordings. From early cylinders, to this first Marine Band recording on compact disc, musicians and historians have an impressive chronology of the organization's repertoire and performance practice. The choice of music spanning a century reflects an important facet of the Marine Band's role in performing music that honors tradition. From Fife and Drum features historic recordings from 1890, 1898, 1914, 1927, 1954, 1974, all the way to 1988. You will hear the "Washington Post" conducted by John Philip Sousa and played by his band in 1890, a special message from President Ronald Regan, and introduction from Paul Hume, former music critic and editor for the Washington Post.

Recorded by the Air Force Band of the Golden Gate, Alla Marcia contains a series of marches for band. No other musical genre packs as much punch into a small package as does the march. The basic composition of the march is fairly simple: movement, dynamically portrayed, using the basic elements of rhythm, melody, and logical form. On Alla Marcia, Captain Chevallard and the Air Force Band of the Golden Gate illustrate these components with the power and subtlety characteristic of the march style. The tracks on this album represent eight nationalities, providing diverse music with universal appeal.

UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY BAND: West Point On the March

United States Air Force Academy Band: The Big Blue Ball

Not Sousa, Vol. 3: Even More Great Marches Not by John Phili

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE BAND AND SINGING SERGEANTS: Christma

This album features classics like "Stars and Stripes Forever," and "Men of Ohio," along with John Philip Sousa’s "Washington Post" performed by the bands of each branch of the military! (Altissimo)

Classical Music

This recording offers music representative of the festival traditions of five different cultures: Russia (or more precisely, the former Soviet Union), Mexico, Poland (by way of France), Greece, and Rome. While the music certainly reveals the differences one would expect from such diverse cultures, the similarities are even more striking. The universal elements of a festival-the exuberance, the gratitude, and the reverence-are present in this music, and serve to remind US of the commonalities of human existence.

Windscapes

"A selection of concert recordings by The Jazz Ambassadors, an ensemble consisting of musician members of the United States Army. Includes Billie Holiday's “Fine and Mellow”, Bricusse/Newley's “Who Can I Turn To?” and concludes with the patriotic “Battle Hymn of the Republic”. What a great band! I can't imagine better ambassadors for our country. - Marvin Hamlisch"

Celebrating 50 Years of the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps

Music and song have had an impact throughout time and the Civil War was no exception. During the Civil War, music and musical instruments served a practical purpose. Drums were used to keep soldiers in line. Fifes were popular instruments because they could be heard over cannon noise. And bugles were used as a way to issue commands. Songs from the Civil War served many purposes. They were used to tell stories, be it a soldier's or a slave's. Certain songs were used to inspire troops, while other songs were about a soldier missing home or about people at home missing a soldier. The Civil War was a turbulent time in American history and much was lost. Fortunately, most of the music and songs survived.

John Philip Sousa's music lives on through this superb recording. Performed by the esteemed United States Marine Band, this is an historic compilation that includes such favorites as "The Stars and Stripes Forever," "Semper Fidelis," and "The Washington Post." Equally welcome are such lesser-known works as "The Bride Elect," "Jack Tar," and "Man Behind the Gun," which offer a glimpse into the music not so familiar to casual Sousa listeners.
Under the leadership of Colonel Albert Schoepper, the performances are detailed and filled with nuances exemplified by the clarity of "The President's Own." The musicality and responsiveness of this ensemble is extremely noteworthy, as Schoepper's renditions provide a rich, well-balanced equilibrium between the wind, brass, and percussion. The unified dynamic control of the group sounds effortless, as does their interpretation and handling of Sousa's relentless, almost whimsical phrasings. These supercharged performances truly illustrate the unparalleled tradition of the Marine Band's playing of Sousa's music. Simply put, there is no better way to experience the music of the original "March King."

The wind ensemble repertory has a rich history and a vibrant contemporary presence. Donald Grantham, for example, evokes gospel music of the 1920s and '30s in Starry Crown, which draws on the earthy vitality of call-and-response sermons. Steven Bryant's Ecstatic Waters reaches forward to present a pulsating narrative of exuberance, contradiction and subtle dialogue. Gordon Jacob wrote two series of settings of Old Wine in New Bottles in which he took old English settings and clothed them in his zesty and witty colors. To end, we have the songful lyricism of Carter Penn's Hold This Boy and Listen. Stephen L. Gage has served as instrumental music coordinator, professor of conducting, and director of bands at Youngstown State University's Dana School of Music since 1993.

Glorious Past, Boundless Future

50 American Patriotic Military Songs is presented as a three-disc set of the greatest patriotic music available! This album features over fifteen traditional favorites such as 'This Land is Your Land', 'God Bless America', 'You're a Grand Old Flag', and 'God Bless the USA', along with all the service songs, and Naval and Air Force hymns. This best-selling album also features original compositions by members of the military band including the songs 'The Flag Still Flies High', 'They Died For You, They Died for Me', and 'Honor With Dignity'. This is a great patriotic collection with over two and a half hours of marches, concert band, choral, sing-a-long, and contemporary songs for all to enjoy!

UNITED STATES ARMY BRASS BAND: Firestorm

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy the National Symphony Orchestra presented a new work by Peter Lieberson called "Remembering JFK," an orchestral piece with movie star Richard Dreyfuss narrating excerpts from Kennedy's speeches. This CD includes that and previously unreleased pieces from Kennedy's 1961 Inaugural Concert. That concert includes Leonard Bernstein's "Fanfare for the Inauguration of John F. Kennedy" and "Symphonic Dances from 'West Side Story.' " Also included is George Gershwin's "Concerto in F."