Klarinet Archive - Posting 000047.txt from 1998/10

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [kl] Marching band
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 15:48:44 -0400

On Thu, 1 Oct 1998, Kevin Fay (LCA) wrote:

> The Sousa band was not, not, not a marching band. Indeed, most Sousa
> marches were not written to march to. In a typical Sousa concert,
> marches were used to separate the more serious pieces--usually those
> insane orchestral transcriptions with all-black pages in the clarinet
> parts.

Very true, but according to what I have read, the Sousa band did march on
occasion - not to put on a show, but essentially to get themselves from
one place to another. They would arrive in a town by train, then form a
block band formation and march (and play), usually right through the heart
of town, to the location where they were scheduled to perform a concert.
It was essentially a way of publicizing their presence in the town. I
don't know if they ever did any parade marching, but probably someone on
the list will know.

Ed Lacy
el2@-----.edu

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