[ Naxos American Classics / CD ]
Release Date: Wednesday 2 January 2013
This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.
John Philip Sousa's compositions and the unprecedented international popularity of the Sousa Band helped establish the identity of a nation still culturally innocent and full of brash new energy. Sousa's patriotism is represented in the Globe and Eagle March, the inspiring Keeping Step with the Union March and the setting of war verses for the We Are Coming March. Upbeat pieces such as the Tally Ho Overture contrast with the Sunday hymn fantasy In Pulpit and Pew, the fantasy In Parlour and Street, a medley of popular, operetta and operatic tunes, and a charmingly original version of Sousa's favorite folk-song Bonnie Annie Laurie.
"My clear favourite on this disc is the last work, Bonnie Annie Laurie, which makes use of the title song, a favourite of the composer, in the Trio. To make it even more obviously the climax of the piece a counter-melody to it is played before the tune itself, an effective device which Sousa used elsewhere. The other marches all have that loose-limbed swagger which other composers have imitated without the same success. This is another desirable addition to a very desirable series." MusicWeb