Under the Double Eagle (arr Laurendeau)

From Wind Repertory Project
Josef Franz Wagner

Josef Franz Wagner (arr. Louis-Philippe Laurendeau)


General Info

Year: 1891 / 1895
Duration: c. 3:35
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Carl Fischer
Cost: Score and Parts – Out of print.

For availability information, see Discussion tab, above.


Instrumentation

Condensed Score
C Piccolo
D-flat Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet Solo-I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Bass Saxophone
E-flat Soprano Cornet
B-flat Cornet Solo-I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet I-II
E-flat Horn or Alto I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Tenor Horn I-II
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Orchestra Bells
  • Snare Drum


Errata

  • Drums, 14th m. of the 1st strain (3rd system, 1st measure), beat 2: Add three slashes to the quarter note to make it a roll (as in the previous measure)
  • Drums, 4 m. before the end: Change 1st ending from one measure to two (ending begins 4 before the end)


Program Notes

The original edition of J.F. Wagner’s classic march Under the Double Eagle reads, “March by J.F. Wagner, bandmaster in the imperial and royal 49th IR Freiherr von Hess, Op. 159 Respectfully dedicated to the Imperial and Royal Reich War Minister Edmund Edler von Krieghammer, Knight of the iron Cross, 1 Class, Holder of the Military Merit Cross, etc.” When this march was premiered on November 30, 1891, no one knew that this was the birth of one of the most famous and longest-lasting marches. Within a short time, hundreds of thousands of copies were sold in the united States.

-Program Note from Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music


Wagner took the title for this march (opus 159) from the state emblem of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The eagle has been a symbol of strength and courage since ancient times; it was the emblem of the Sumerians 5,000 years ago and of Imperial Rome many centuries later. The double-headed eagle was the symbol of the Byzantine Empire for over 2,000 years before it appeared on the imperial coat of arms in Austria-Hungary.

The march itself has been extremely popular for over a century. By 1910, Franz Pazdirek was listing approximately 50 different instrumental and vocal arrangements of the work published by a dozen different firms. Beginning in 1903, Under the Double Eagle March was recorded by the Sousa Band four times before Wagner’s death in 1908. Like Sousa’s Washington Post and numerous other marches around the turn of the century, this march has probably motivated more dancers than marchers. It has been used by country and western fiddlers in the U.S. for so long that many believe the composer was from Nashville, Tennessee.

- Program Note from Program Notes for Band


Media

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Kountze (Tx.) High School Wind Ensemble(Brad Long, conductor)- 6 March 2018 (UIL Concert and Sightreading Contest)
  • Wartburg College (Waverly, Iowa) Wind Ensemble (Craig A. Hancock, conductor) – 5 November 2017


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • Girsberger, Russ. Percussion Assignments for Band & Wind Ensemble: Volume 2 L-Z. Galesville, MD: Meredith Music Publications, 2004, 323. Print.
  • "Under the Double Eagle." Accessed 29 January 2023.
  • Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications, pp. 617.
  • Wagner, J.; Laurendeau, L. (1895). Under the Double Eagle [score]. Carl Fischer: [New York].