In Memoriam (Sousa)

From Wind Repertory Project
John Philip Sousa

John Philip Sousa


Subtitle: President Garfield's Funeral March


General Info

Year: 1881
Duration: c. 3:05
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Piano
Publisher: J.M. Stoddart & Co.
Cost: Score and Parts – Out of print.

For availability information, see Discussion tab, above.


Instrumentation

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

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Snare Drum


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Washington’s best-known Mason in 1881 was President James A. Garfield, who was a member of Columbia Commandery No. 2, Knights Templar. Sousa was also to belong to this same organization five years later, but during Garfield’s presidency he was being worked in the lower degrees of Masonry.

Sousa was not well acquainted with the president, but he was greatly shaken at the news of his assassination. In the autobiography he tells of hearing paperboys shouting the news of Garfield’s death. It was unexpected, because the president had been recovering satisfactorily from the gunshot wound of two months earlier. Shocked, Sousa rose from his bed and went outside for a walk. With the event weighing heavily on his mind he walked all through the night and into the next morning. When he returned home he immediately committed the dirge In Memoriam to paper.

The dirge was played by the U. S. Marine Band as the president’s body was received in Washington and then again at its final resting place in Cleveland. It was afterward played infrequently by the Marine Band until half a century later, when it was played while John Philip Sousa’s body was being escorted to the grave in Congressional Cemetery.

- Program Note from John Philip Sousa: A Descriptive Catalog of His Works.


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • University of Georgia (Athens) Hodgson Symphonic Band (Davaron Edwards, conductor) - 18 April 2022
  • The Heights School Band – 25 April 2017


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources

  • Bierley, P. (1973). John Philip Sousa: A Descriptive Catalog of His Works. University of Illinois Press; Urbana, pp. 52-53.
  • Perusal score