Military Escort (arr. Balent)

From Wind Repertory Project
Henry Fillmore

Henry Fillmore (as Harold Bennett) (arr. Andrew Balent)


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General Info

Year: 1923 / 1990
Duration: c. 2:15
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Carl Fischer
Cost: Score and Parts - Out of print.


Instrumentation

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

The introduction of Military Escort (called "the best easy march ever composed") came from a march by Will Nicholson of Vallonia, Indiana. Fillmore bought the work for $35, revised the melody and harmony, added an additional 96 bars of his own material, and copyrighted the march in 1923 for both band and orchestra, using his Harold Bennett pseudonym.

Designed for beginning groups, Fillmore was amazed when the manuscript was read by his Shrine Band, and the members proclaimed it one of his very best marches. The composer apparently did not realize that the open-tone cornet fanfares and low brass melodies, as well as the repetitive "shave-and-a-haircut" rhythms, had been familiar to instrumentalists for centuries. Using these basic patterns, Fillmore produced an uncomplicated masterpiece which rises and falls in the band popularity polls but never disappears. According to Paul Bierley, Military Escort even outsold The Stars and Stripes Forever march for a period of about four years. A few years later, Sousa told Fillmore, "I wish that march had my name on it!"

- Program Note by Program Notes for Band


Media

None discovered thus far.


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

  • Courage (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Clark) (1919/2003/2012)
  • His Honor March (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Clark) (1933/2014)


All Wind Works


Resources

  • Fillmore, H.; Balent, A. (1990). Military Escort: March [score]. Carl Fischer: New York, N.Y.
  • Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 205.