Fanfare for the Common Man

Aaron Copland

General Info

Year: 1942 / 1944
Duration: c. 3:00
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestral brass and percussion
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $29.50

Instrumentation

Full Score
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Trombone I-II-III
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion, (2 players), including:

Bass Drum
Tam-tam

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

From the concert stage to the gridiron halftime show, the Montreal Olympics and television commercials, Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man has challenged performers and excited listeners. The score was written in 1943 "for the common man, who, after all, was doing all the dirty work in the war and in the army. He deserved a fanfare." Copland later used it as an integral part of his Third Symphony.

- Program note for Program Notes for Band

In the summer of 1942, Eugene Goosens asked eighteen American composers to contribute patriotic fanfares for performance by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra during its 1942-43 season. Ten of these were written for brass and percussion alone and were selected for publication. These works were not only to enrich the literature for brass and percussion but to pay tribute to all those involved in World War II.

Among those composers participating were Paul Creston, Walter Piston, Howard Hanson, Deems Taylor, Virgil Thomson, Bernard Wagenaar, and Aaron Copland.

The titles were selected by the composers themselves, and it is not surprising that Aaron Copland should have chosen to do honor to the man who performs no deeds of heroism on the battlefield but who shares the labors, sorrows, and hopes of those who strive for victory.

- Program Note from publisher

Media

Audio: Reference recording. University of Florida Wind Symphony (David Waybright, conductor)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

United States Military Academy (West Point, N.Y.) Band (Daniel Toven, conductor) - 28 January 2023
Rockford (Ill.) Wind Ensemble (Ken Goodman, conductor) - 23 October 2022
University of Tulsa (Okla.) Wind Ensemble (Andrew Anderson, conductor) - 28 February 2022
University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) Wind Ensemble (Travis J. Cross, conductor) – 6 November 2021
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Wind Ensemble (Christopher J. Wodruff, conductor) – 30 October 2021
United States Air Force Band (Washington, D.C.) (Don Schofield, conductor) - 3 July 2021
South Dakota State University (Brookings) Wind Symphony (Jacob Wallace, conductor) - 12 February 2021
University of Wyoming (Laramie) Wind Symphony (Robert Belser, conductor) - 5 November 2020
Appalachian State University (Boone, N.C.) Brass Ensemble (John Stanley Ross, conductor) – 8 October 2020
University of South Florida (Tampa) Wind Ensemble (Matthew McCutchen, conductor) – 25 September 2020
United States Marine Band (Washington, D.C.) (Bryan P. Sherlock, conductor) – 23 February 2020
University of Colorado Boulder Wind Symphony (Donald J. McKinney, conductor) – 6 February 2020
The Ohio State University (Columbus) Wind Symphony (Russel C. Mikkelson, conductor) – 4 December 2019
University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Wind Symphony (Kevin Michael Holzman, conductor) – 26 November 2019
United States Army Field Band (Ft. Meade, Md.) (Jim R. Keene, conductor) – 12 November 2019 (High Point, N.C.)
University of Southern California (Los Angeles) Thornton Wind Ensemble (Sharon Lavery, conductor) – 1 November 2019
Rowan University (Glassboro, N.J.) Wind Ensemble (Joseph Higgins, conductor) – 2 May 2019
Oklahoma State University (Stillwater) Wind Ensemble (Joseph Missal, conductor) – 31 March 2019
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) Symphony Band (Michael Haithcock, conductor) – 15 March 2019
Atascadero (Calif.) Community Band (Randy Schwalbe, conductor) – 3 March 2018

Works for Winds by This Composer

Appalachian Spring (arr. Morita) (1944)
Appalachian Spring (arr. Patterson) (1944)
Buckaroo Holiday from "Rodeo" (tr. Megan) (1941/2000)
Buckaroo Holiday from "Rodeo" (tr. Sudduth) (1941)
Canticle of Freedom (arr. Duffy) (2000)
Celebration (arr. Lang) (1938/1945)
Ceremonial Fanfare
A Copland Portrait (arr. Grundman) (1986)
A Copland Tribute (arr. Grundman) (1986)
Danzón Cubano (tr. Rogers) (1949/2000)
The Dodger (arr. Knox) (c. 1880/1950/)
The Dodger. See also: Old American Songs I
Down a Country Lane (tr. Patterson) (1962/1991)
El Salón México (tr. Hindsley) (1939/1972)
Emblems (1964)
Excerpts from "Appalachian Spring" (arr. Longfield) (1944)
Fanfare for the Common Man (1942/1944)
Fanfare for the Common Man (arr. Longfield) (1942/1944/2007)
Finale from "Symphony No. 3" (trans. Patterson) (1946/)
Hoe Down from "Rodeo" (arr. Moss)
Hoe Down from "Rodeo" (tr. Rogers)
Inaugural Fanfare
Laurie's Song (tr. Martin) (1954/ )
Laurie's Song (arr. Silbert and Buchanan) (1954/ )
Letter from Home (arr. Belski) (1944)
A Lincoln Portrait (tr. Beeler) (1942/1951)
Old American Songs (arr. Moss) (1950/2006)
Old American Songs I (arr. Silvester) (1950/2001)
Old American Songs II (arr. Duffy) (1952/2001)
Our Town (arr. Singleton)
An Outdoor Overture (1938/1948)
Preamble for a Solemn Occasion (1949/1974)
The Promise of Living (arr. Curnow) (1954/2012)
The Promise of Living (tr. Duffy) (1954/2000)
The Promise of Living (tr. Hile) (1954)
The Promise of Living (tr. Singleton) (1954/2002)
Quiet City (arr. Hunsberger) (1941/1992)
The Red Pony (1969)
Scenes from "Billy the Kid" (arr. Hilliard) (1941/2000)
Stomp Your Foot (tr. Duffy) (1954/1956/2000)
Symphony No. 3. See: Finale from "Symphony No. 3"
Themes from "An Outdoor Overture" (arr. Curnow) (1938/2014)
Three Excerpts from "Our Town" and "Simple Gifts" (arr. Cohen)
Three Latin American Sketches (arr. Mikkelson) (1972/2021)
Variations on a Shaker Melody (1960)
Waltz and Celebration (arr. Lang) (1944/1972)

Resources

Fanfare for the Common Man, Wikipedia
Manuscript Score from the Library of Congress
Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 137.