March of the Belgian Parachutists (arr Bourgeois)

Pieter Leemans

This work is also known as March of the Belgian Paratroopers and Marche des Parachutistes Belges.

General Info

Year: 1945 / 2000
Duration: c. 4:15
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts - $65.00 | Score Only - $10.00

Instrumentation

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

Bass Drum
Crash Cymbals
Glockenspiel
Snare Drum

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

While he was serving his year of military duty at the end of World War I, Leemans's regimental commander asked him to compose a march; it was begun but never finished. Near the end of World War II he was having dinner with a group of paratroopers and was again asked to compose a march. As the group commander, Maj. Timmerman, drove him home that night, the march theme came to mind, and he wrote out all of the parts after reaching home.

The trio of the march originated from a march written for an N.I.R. radio contest. After only winning the consolation prize, the march was abandoned and is known with the competition designation V. A quiet, unaggressive essay in the easy-paced European style, it is set in the form of a “patrol”; the music marches on from the distance, plays, and passes.

Friends told Leemans later that they had heard the march at a circus in France, a wedding in India, and a military music pageant in the United States.

- Program Note from Program Notes for Band

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
Audio CD: VanderCook College of Music (Chicago, Ill.) Symphonic Band (John M. Long, conductor) – 2000

State Ratings

Kansas: IV

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

University of South Florida (Tampa) Symphonic Band (Alain Rodriguez, conductor) - 21 November 2023
University of Texas (Austin) Longhorn Band (Drew Dickey, conductor) - 16 April 2023
Ball State University (Muncie, Ind.) Wind Symphony (Jeremy Harmon, conductor) - 30 September 2022
Mid America Freedom Band (Kansas City, Mo.) (Russell Houser, conductor) – 24 February 2019
Bellefonte (Penn.) Community Band (Joshua Long, conductor) - 22 April 2018
University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) Maroon Campus Band (Cassandra A. Bechard, conductor) – 4 December 2017
University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) High School Honor Band (Laura Sindberg, conductor) – 22 January 2017
University of North Texas Symphonic Band (Dennis W. Fisher, conductor) – 22 October 2015
San Jose (Calif.) Wind Symphony (Edward C. Harris, conductor) - 17 May 2015
Heart of Texas (San Antonio) Concert Band (Brian Scherff Jr., conductor) - 2012
VanderCook College of Music (Chicago, Ill.) Symphonic Band (John M. Long, conductor) – 22 December 2000 (2000 Midwest Clinic)

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

March of the Belgian Paratroopers (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Brown) (1945/2016)

All Wind Works

Atomium March (1957)
March of Old Brussels (1936)
March of the Belgian Commandos
March of the Belgian Parachutists (arr. Bourgeois) (1945/2000)
March of the Belgian Paratroopers (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Brown) (1945/2016)
March of the Belgian Parachutists (arr. Wiley) (1945/1975))
March of the Belgian Parachutists (arr. Swearingen) (1945/2007)

Resources

Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Pieter Leemans." Accessed 17 February 2015
Leemans, P.; Bourgeois, J. (2000). March of the Belgian Parachutists: For Concert Band [score]. Wingert-Jones Publications: Kansas City, Mo.
Pease, Andy. "March of the Belgian Paratroopers by Pierre Leemans." Wind Band Literature, 26 October 2021. Web. Accessed 26 October 2021
Pierre Leemans, Wikipedia
Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications, pp. 373.