Celebration of Taps, A

From Wind Repertory Project
Daniel Butterfield

Adapted by Daniel Butterfield (arr. Jerry Brubaker)


General Info

Year: 1862 / 2013
Duration: c. 3:10
Difficulty: II (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Bugle call
Publisher: Alfred Publishing
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $57.00; (digital) - $57.00   |   Score Only (print) - $9.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F
Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Bells
  • Chimes
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

This moving concert work was inspired by a 150th anniversary performance of Taps in which 150 buglers were positioned throughout the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. Emotional and mysterious, this spellbinding treatment will bring patriotic flair to any event.

- Program Note from publisher


This arrangement of the ever-familiar Taps was inspired by a ceremony that was held at Arlington National Cemetery in May of 2012. The occasion marked the 150th anniversary of Taps and featured approximately 150 buglers assembled together to pay tribute to the piece, first in a mass playing of the tune, and then at noon by dispersing into all parts of the cemetery and playing individual renditions of this hallowed melody. The effect of this was very moving and in some ways mysterious. The melody echoed throughout the vast space of Arlington so the listener heard the bugles that were close and the ones that were far away, some in different keys, all contributing to the tapestry of sound.

A Celebration of Taps is an attempt to capture the effect of this ceremony in this new arrangement.

- Program Note from score


Commemorating 150 years of the playing of Taps in honor of those who served their country.

- Program Note from score


Taps is a bugle call played at dusk, during flag ceremonies, and at military funerals by the United States Armed Forces. The official military version is played by a single bugle or trumpet, although other versions of the tune may be played in other contexts (e.g., the U.S. Marine Corps Ceremonial Music site has recordings of two bugle and one band version). It is also performed often at Boy Scout, Girl Scout, and Girl Guide meetings and camps. The tune is also sometimes known as Butterfield's Lullaby, or by the first line of the lyric, Day Is Done. The duration may vary to some extent; the typical recording below is 59 seconds long.

The tune is a variation of an earlier bugle call known as the Scott Tattoo, which was used in the U.S. from 1835 until 1860, and was arranged in its present form by the Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield, an American Civil War general and Medal of Honor recipient who commanded the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division in the V Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac while at Harrison's Landing, Virginia, in July 1862 to replace a previous French bugle call used to signal "lights out". Butterfield's bugler, Oliver Wilcox Norton, of East Springfield, Pennsylvania, was the first to sound the new call. Within months Taps was used by both Union and Confederate forces. It was officially recognized by the United States Army in 1874.

- Program Note from Wikipedia


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Atlantic Wind Ensemble (Ocean Grove, N.J.) (Eliot Prowse, conductor; Kate Freeman, bugle) - 29 May 2021
  • Brevard (N.C.) College Wind Ensemble (Eric Peterson, conductor) – 7 November 2019
  • Atlantic Wind Ensemble (Ocean Grove, N.J.) (Dennis T. Eschbach, conductor; Kate Freeman, bugle) – 25 May 2019


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources