World Is Waiting for the Sunrise, The
Ernest Seitz (paraphrased and scored by Harry L Alford)
Subtitle: Concert Marche Militaire
General Info
Year: 1919 / 1934
Duration: c. 2:50
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Harold Gore
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $60.00 | Score Only (print) - $7.00
For additional availability information, see Discussion tab, above.
Instrumentation
Full Score
D-flat Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet Solo-I-II-III-IV
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Bass Saxophone
Cornets Solo-I-II-III
E-flat Horn or Alto I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion, including:
- Bass Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Snare Drum
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise is a popular ballad with lyrics by Gene Lockhart and music (Toronto 1918) by the concert pianist Ernest Seitz, who had conceived the refrain when he was 12. Embarrassed about writing popular music, Seitz used the pseudonym "Raymond Roberts" when the song was first published by Chappell in 1919.
More than 100 recorded versions have been commercially released. Initially, when the song's hopeful sentiment appealed to post-war North America, it was recorded by both singers and instrumentalists. Later, as a popular vehicle for improvisation, it was recorded by many jazz musicians. The Beatles recorded a home version on a Grundig tape recorder, sometime in the late 1950s. One of the most memorable covers of the song was done by Stan Laurel in the Laurel and Hardy film The Flying Deuces (1939), as Laurel takes the bed strings and plays the song on it like a harp. It was an ironic gesture as the boys, who joined the FFL, were caught deserting and were to be shot at dawn.
- Program Note from Wikipedia
The World is Waiting for the Sunrise was composed as a ballad by Ernest Seitz (words by Eugene Lockhart) in 1919. In 1934, A.A. Harding commissioned Harry Alford to arrange the ballad into a euphonium-feature halftime selection for the University of Illinois Marching Band. On the day of the scheduled premiere (November 3, 1934), a heavy rain caused many of the spectators to leave the stands during the first half of the football game with Army. At halftime the Illinois Band outlined a cannon, “shot” the letters A-R-M-Y out of the “barrel,” and then formed a concert band formation. As the first notes of The World is Waiting for the Sunrise sounded, the rain reportedly ceased, and the sun shone through the clouds long enough for the band to perform the new work.
- Program Note from Program Notes for Band
Media
- Audio CD: Braddock Secondary School Symphonic Band (Roy C. Holder, conductor) - 2004
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- University of Utah (Salt Lake City) Wind Ensemble (Rebekah Daniel, conductor) - 20 April 2022
- Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles (Chicago, Ill.) Symphonic Band (Kyle Rhoades, conductor) - 14 November 2021
- University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) Symphony Band (Michael Haithcock, conductor) – 22 November 2019
- Blacksburg (Va.) Community Band (David McKee, conductor) – 5 May 2019
- University of Houston (Texas) Moores School of Music Wind Ensemble (David Bertman, conductor) - 11 February 2016 (2016 TMEA Conference, San Antonio)
- Hendersonville (N.C.) High School Symphonic Band (Jeffrey Phillips, conductor) – 8 May 2014
- Braddock Secondary School (Burke, Va.) Symphonic Band (Roy C. Holder, conductor) – 16 December 2004 (2004 Midwest Clinic)
Works for Winds by This Composer
- The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise (arr. Alford) (1919/1934)
Resources
- Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Ernest Seitz." Accessed 16 January 2016
- Seitz, E.; Alford, H. (1939). The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise: Concert Marche Mmilitaire [score]. Chappell and Co.: New York City.
- Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications, pp. 7.
- The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise, Wikipedia Access 16 January 2016