Manhattan Beach March (arr Balent)

From Wind Repertory Project
John Philip Sousa

John Philip Sousa (arr. Andrew Balent)


General Info

Year: 1893 / 2015
Duration: c. 2:15
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Carl Fischer
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $95.00; (digital) - $95.00   |   Score Only (print) - $12.00


Instrumentation

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

  • Bass Drum
  • Bells
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Snare Drum


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

This well-known march was composed in 1893 to commemorate the Manhattan Beach Park Resort (Brooklyn, New York), a regular venue for the band and a launching point for many of their concert tours. The march is somewhat unique in structure. It does not contain the more traditional break strain common to most marches, but instead has four equal sections of 32 bars including repeats, each with its own melody. The work also contains unusual dynamics. Unlike most marches, this march begins softly. Later, the final D section begins softly, grows progressively louder then fades away, perhaps as a marching band passing in review. The work ends quietly without a stinger.

- Program Note from The Instrumentalist


Following in the footsteps of Patrick Gilmore, Sousa became a popular figure in Manhattan Beach, the famous New York summer resort. One of his most lavish medals was presented to him in 1894 by the proprietor, Austin Corbin, and other shareholders. The previous season, Sousa had dedicated the march to Corbin, and one of his manuscripts is inscribed to him.

Sousa once told a reporter that the march had been derived from an earlier composition, probably The Phoenix March (1875): "I wrote Manhattan Beach while playing a summer engagement at that once-popular resort, using as the basis an old march I had composed when I was with Milton Nobles."

Manhattan Beach became a staple of bands all over the world, but the Sousa Band performed it differently by playing the trio and last section as a short descriptive piece. In this interpretation, soft clarinet arpeggios suggest the rolling ocean waves as one strolls along the beach. A band is heard in the distance. It grows louder and then fades away as the stroller continues along the beach.

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


During Sousa's lifetime, Manhattan Beach was a highly fashionable New York summer resort, and in 1893 he and his band began a long series of engagements there. With 19 former members of Gilmore's Band, a dozen or so very capable players from Europe, and some of the most outstanding artists from other bands in his group, Sousa knew the musical and entertainment potential of his band. However, his first business manager, David Blakely, was skeptical, and it was at the first Manhattan Beach concert series that he invited the most prominent critics and musicians in New York to hear the band and offer their criticism. Their comments were so flattering that Blakely was convinced that Sousa was correct in his judgment. Sousa composed Manhattan Beach March during that first summer and added many operettas and other major works during subsequent summers at the resort.

-Program Note from Program Notes for Band


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

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Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources