Sousa 8: Music for Wind Band

Wow, another home run in the "John Philip Sousa Music for Wind Band" series. Volume 10 includes three, count 'em, three, pieces that I am not aware have been recorded elsewhere: the overture to the operetta "The Charlatan"; the incidental music "Lily Bells"; and the fantasy "When My Dreams Come True."I just hope Keith Brion keeps recording! Highest recommendation.

Keith Brion and the Royal Artillery Band continue to produce quality and authentic performances of Maestro Sousa. I appreciate the inclusion of the lesser known works and the splendidly researched liner notes. I look forward to the next volumes, and I recommend these recordings to all my band director colleagues.

This as a great series of Sousa recordings and this latest volume, 14, is no exception. Thanks to Naxos for making one of America great musicians and showman available.

Who knew that marches were not even 10% of his work?

As usual, this is another superb recording in every respect. I only wish Naxos would publish more of these and not wait so long between releases.

More great Sousa unknowns, played well.

What could be a better way of celebrating the Fourth of July than by attending a community parade and by listening to the music of the American composer John Philip Sousa? The Fourth of July always will be associated with "The Stars and Stripes Forever" which Congress has declared the National March of the United States. Sousa wrote a great deal of music beyond the handful of familiar marches, as shown in this new CD of Sousa's, "Music for Wind Band". Keith Brion, renowned for his performances of Sousa, conducts the Central Band of the Royal Air Force in a program which highlights the multi-faceted character of Sousa's music.Brion conducts Sousa's music with spirit and verve and the Central Band of the RAF performs with aplomb. There are many solo passages in Sousa's music giving the individual musicians the opportunity to showcase their talents. Sousa's music is immediately accessible, lively, rhythmical and -- sometimes overlooked -- lyrical. Melodies follow one another with abandon in the marches and other works. The works on this CD show the influence of Offenbach, Wagner, and Verdi upon Sousa.The 12 works included on this disk range span Sousa's career from "The International Congress" composed in 1876, when he was a young man of 21 to his final march, "The Circumnavigators Club" composed in 1931 just before his death. The CD includes two of Sousa's familiar marches: "Espirit de Corps" (1888) still symbolized the spirit of the U.S. Marines while "The Loyal Legion" (1890) commemorates the Union officers who had served in the Civil War over 25 years earlier. Together with these familiar marches, three works, the "Overture to the American Maid" (1909), "Listen to my Tale of Woe -- Humoresque (1888) and "El Capitan and his Friends" receive their world premiere recordings on this CD.The CD includes two lengthy and infrequently heard works. "El Capitan" and his Friends" is a three movement suite consisting of excerpts from three operettas Sousa composed in the 1890's, "El Capitan", "The Charlatan" and "The Bride Elect". Each of these three movements includes melodies in profusion derived from these once-popular operettas. The longest movement, from "The Bride Elect" includes music of many changes in mood and tempo and many solo passages joined together in a musical potpourri. The longest piece on the CD, about 25 minutes in length, is also one of Sousa's earliest. Written at the request of Jacques Offenbach for the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876, "The International Congress" is a collection of patriotic songs that Sousa arranged and fused together. It begins with a fugual arrangement of "Yankee Doodle" and it concludes with a rousing version of "The Star Spangled Banner". Familiar patriotic anthems from many other countries are included in the body of the work.With its patriotic themes, emphasis of the American band and frequent use of musical quotation, Sousa's music reminds me of the work of Charles Ives, a latter, more iconoclastic American composer, who probably learned something from the "American March King".This CD is the 14th in an ongoing series that began in 2001 of Keith Brion conducting Sousa's complete music for wind band. Different bands have been featured in the course of the series. The CD was recorded in 2012, and the liner notes include a brief discussion of each of the works performed. It is a treasure to have a complete collection of Sousa under Brion. Naxos is to be commended for including this long-running set of recordings in its "American Classics" series. I enjoyed spending Independence Day with this CD of music by John Philip Sousa. The release was exquisitely timed to coincide with the holiday. Naxos kindly provided me with a copy of this CD for review.Total Time: 64:54Robin Friedman

This disc marks volume 14 of Keith Brion’s excellent survey of Sousa’s band works. Its well sequenced 65 minute program includes not only marches, but occasional pieces and instrumental selections drawn from the composer’s numerous operettas as well as some notable discoveries. Constant throughout is Sousa’s penchant for attractive tune spinning and nimble, innovative scoring. Sousa enthusiasts will find much to admire here. The central Band of the RAF performs with snap and vigor. Some of the standout tracks: #1, #2, #4, #7 and #12. The sound pickup is tight, full-bodied and well delineated. The liner notes, adapted from several authoritative sources, are highly informative.

rocks at times

very good