Colonel Bogey (ed. Williams)
Kenneth J Alford (ed. Mark Williams)
General Info
Year: 1914 / 2001
Duration: c. 2:40
Difficulty: I-1/2 (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Alfred Music Publishers
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $49.00; (digital) - $49.00 | Score Only (print) - $7.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F
Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Percussion, including:
- Bass Drum
- Bells
- Crash Cymbals
- Snare Drum
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Here's the favorite march made famous as the theme to Bridge On The River Kwai. It's very appealing to both band and audience and offers some great teaching opportunities as well. Invite your audience to join in on the whistling!
- Program Note from publisher
The interval of a descending minor third, seemingly basic to human communication, appears to be a factor in the composition of this march and also a reason for its innate appeal. Strolling on the Fort George golf course in Inverness, Scotland, one day in 1913, Ricketts reportedly heard the two-note interval whistled as a warning, and the result was a world-famous march with the familiar golf term "bogey" in its title.
In 1957 the film the Bridge on the River Kwai revived interest in this World War I march, and the younger generation of soldiers (and bandsmen) sang the same bawdy words heard by Alford [the pseudonym of Frederick Ricketts] 30 years earlier. According to Lt. Col. F. Vivian Dunn, the composer "greatly deprecated this usage, but was resigned to it as he understood the cheerful fortitude of the British troops in the face of adversity in the war." Capitalizing on the popularity of the original march -- still among the world's most popular -- Rickets later arranged a potpourri of several of his marches using the title Colonel Bogey on Parade.
- Program Note from Program Notes for Band
Media
- Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
- Audio CD: Leesville Road High School Symphonic Band (David Albert, conductor) – 2001
- Audio CD: Maryville Intermediate School 6th Grade Wind Ensemble (George Hayden III, conductor) - 2007
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA) District V Middle School Honor Band (George Hayden, conductor) – Winter 2010
- Maryville (Tenn.) Intermediate School 6th Grade Wind Ensemble (George Hayden III, conductor) – 21 December 2007 (2007 Midwest Clinic)
- Leesville Road High School (Raleigh, N.C.) Symphonic Band (David Albert, conductor) – 21 December 2001 (2001 Midwest Clinic)
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Army of the Nile (1941)
- By Land and Sea (1941)
- Cavalry of the Clouds (1923)
- Colonel Bogey (1914)
- Colonel Bogey (ed. Fennell) (1914/1982)
- Colonel Bogey (arr. Glover) (1914/2000)
- Colonel Bogey (arr. Williams) (1914/2001)
- Colonel Bogey on Parade (1934)
- Dunedin (1928)
- Eagle Squadron (1942)
- Eagle Squadron (arr. Rogers) (1942/2016)
- The Great Little Army (arr. Winter) (1916)
- HM Jollies (1929)
- Holyrood (1912)
- The Lightning Switch Fantasia (1924)
- The Mad Major (ed. Fennell) (1921/1983)
- Middy, The (arr. Gore) (1917)
- A Musical Switch (1921)
- Old Panama (1929)
- On the Quarter Deck (1917)
- Standard of St George, The (1930)
- The Thin Red Line (1908/1925)
- The Vanished Army (1918)
- The Vanished Army (ed. Fennell) (1919/1986)
- The Vedette (1913)
- The Voice of the Guns (1917)
Resources
- Alford, K.; Williams, M. (2001). Colonel Bogey [score]. Alfred Publishing: Van Nuys, Calif.
- Perusal score
- Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications, pp. 504