March of the Belgian Paratroopers (arr Brown)
Pieter Leemans (arr. Michael Brown)
This work is also known, in other arrangements, as March of the Belgian Parachutists and Marche des Parachutistes Belges.
General Info
Year: 1946 / 2016
Duration: c. 2:40
Difficulty: II (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $60.00; (digital) - $60.00 | Score Only (print) - $7.50
Instrumentation (Flexible)
Full Score
Part 1
- Flute
- Oboe
- B-flat Soprano Clarinet
- B-flat Trumpet
- Violin
Part 2
- B-flat Clarinet
- B-flat Trumpet
- E-flat Alto Saxophone
- Violin
Part 3
- E-flat Alto Clarinet
- B-flat Tenor Saxophone
- F Horn
- Alto Clarinet
- Violin
- Viola
Part 4
- B-flat Tenor Saxophone
- Euphonium T.C.
- Euphonium B.C.
- Trombone
- F Horn
- Bassoon
- Cello
Part 5
- B-flat Bass Clarinet
- B-flat Baritone Saxophone
- Euphonium B.C.
- Euphonium T.C.
- Trombone
- Bassoon
- Cello
- Tuba
- String Bass
- Electric Bass
Percussion I-II-III, including:
- Bass Drum
- Bells
- Crash Cymbals
- Parade Drum
- Snare Drum
- Triangle
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 him 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
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) Maroon Campus Band (Lance Sample, conductor) – 24 June 2021
- Oklahoma State University (Stillwater) University Band (Tyler Austin, conductor) - 22 April 2021
- Eastern Michigan University (Ypsilanti) Symphonic Band (J. Nick Smith, conductor) - 20 April 2021
- Ball State University (Muncie, Ind.) Campus Band (Madison Argo, conductor) - 11 November 2020
- Central Winds: A Music Educators Wind Ensemble (Syracuse, N.Y.) (Andrew Perry, conductor) - 14 December 2016 (2016 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
- Pease, Andy. "March of the Belgian Paratroopers by Pierre Leemans." Wind Band Literature, 26 October 2021. Web. Accessed 26 October 2021
- Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications, pp. 373.