The John Philip Sousa Appreciation Thread

I just listened to some Sousa music on NPR performed by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops and I AM CHARGED! :smiley:

Sousa’s marches speak to me not only of power but also of compassion. My car speakers are probably blown now, but I positively cranked it on my way to the supermarket and back a little while ago.

Guess there’s no point to this thread but just to ask y’all if you feel the same way I do?

Thanks

Quasi

I love John Philip Sousa! I have an LP of his marches, and it makes great exercise or housecleaning music! I also found in my younger days it made for great “mood music” on a romantic date. If the guy liked making out to “The Liberty Bell March,” I knew he and I would get along . . .

I was always partial to The Washington Post March but enjoy all his music a great deal. He did more than marches, though it was all for band IIRC, but those get very little play.

If you like Sousa like I like Sousa ;), then by all means check out Kenneth J. Alford as well, famous for Colonel Bogey and writer of a great number of kick-ass, brass-heavy pieces.

Eve AND Archive Guy answered a post of mine!
What’s the chances of that happenin’? :wink:

I will check out Mr. Alford’s music, Guy, and I thank you for the reference.

Eve: You have some damn high standards! :wink:

Quasi

Yes, Sousa wrote wonderful stuff,
Full of bangs, full of booms, full of bashes,
I agree, I just can’t get enough,
Of the horns and the cymbal crashes;

I’m partial to El Capitan,
And the Liberty Bell, full of thunder…
And of course there’s the Stars and the Stripes!
Mr. Sousa was a mousa-cal wonder.

[He wrote some operetta too, along with waltzes and other dance music, some for orchestra. There was a great album of his lesser-known stuff at one point; it was called Peaches and Cream and I believe it may have been put out by the Cincinnati Pops, but don’t quote me…Anyway, worth a listen or twelve.]

Wonderful march music! :cool:

I like The Fairest Of The Fair, myself. Hell of a dogfight in that one.

I also need to second the Kenneth Alford suggestion, and add K.L King (the initials might be wrong, it’s been years). He had some excellent marches.

I think I’ll have to dust off the euphonium and trombone and start playing those again. They were too much fun. :slight_smile:

As a former euphonium player, I have to like Sousa – his marches are among the only things in the repertoire with decent euphonium parts (along with Holst’s “First Suite in Eb for Military Band”). I still hear the melody line of the trio of “King Cotton” in my sleep at times.

Rackensack: “I played on the euphonium when I was only five.”

Eve: “Izzat so? I played on the linoleum when I was only three.”

It’s got to be the Stars and Stripes Forever. That one always gets the blood pumping. :slight_smile: