Homeward Bound

From Wind Repertory Project
John Philip Sousa

John Philip Sousa (arr. Loras John Schissel)


General Info

Year: 1891? / 1992 / 2014
Duration: c. 2:40
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Ludwig Masters
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $50.00   |   Score Only (print) - $10.00


Instrumentation

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

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Snare Drum
  • Triangle


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

The only clue to the existence of this unpublished march was a mention in the list of compositions given in Sousa's autobiography, Marching Along, until manuscripts turned up in the basement archives of the Sands Point home in 1965. Several copyists' manuscripts for band bearing the names of U.S. Marine Band musicians were found. Marine Corps enlistment records for these men are incomplete, so establishing an exact date for the composition is improbable unless other manuscripts are someday discovered. Inasmuch as it was written while Sousa was leader of the Marine Band, it would seem that it would have been written during the homeward leg of one of the Marine Band tours (1891 and 1892) or perhaps in the return from the engagement in Fayetteville, North Carolina (1889).

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


One of a number of hitherto lost or misplaced Sousa marches, Homeward Bound was reconstructed and brought back to life in 2014 by Loras Schissel who manages the Sousa archives at the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress collection contained all but the work’s last page. Schissel was able to alternately connect the score’s lone missing page to an isolated page found at the Sousa Collection at the University of Illinois. From these reconnected materials he has created this new edition for modern bands. It is not known if the march’s musical themes were all those of Sousa, or if perhaps the score combines other tunes of the day into a typical “medley march.”

- Program Note from liner notes of Naxos CD John Philip Sousa: Music for Wind Band 16


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources

  • Aarhus, Craig. "Four Accessible Sousa Marches." NBA Journal, Winter 2024, pp. 46-48.
  • Bierley, P. (1973). John Philip Sousa: A Descriptive Catalog of His Works. University of Illinois Press; Urbana, pp. 51-52.