Star-Spangled Banner (arr. Moses Tobani)

From Wind Repertory Project
John Stafford Smith

John Stafford Smith (arr. Theodore Moses Tobani, ed. Marc Oliver)


General Info

Year: 1814 / 1906 / 2011
Duration: c. 1:40
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Song
Publisher: Ayotte Custom Musical Engravings
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $50.99; (digital) - $50.99   |   Score Only (print) - $13.00


Instrumentation

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

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Snare Drum


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

This version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was the encore piece of a work that Theodore Moses Tobani called Grand American Fantasia, a medley of American songs that was first published in 1906 (when The Banner was still referred to as the unofficial American hymn.) In his arrangement Moses-Tobani wrote (what I call) flying woodwinds -- the flutes and clarinets are racing through the skies while the rest of the band plays their boring parts. The words to the Banner are from the poem Defense of Ft. McHenry by Francis Scott Key; the music is derived from To Anacreon in Heaven, a popular British and American pub song by John Stafford Smith.

- Program Note adapted from Marc Oliver


The Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort M'Henry," a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in the Chesapeake Bay during the Battle of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812.

The poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London. To Anacreon in Heaven (or The Anacreontic Song), with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Key's poem and renamed The Star-Spangled Banner, it would soon become a well-known American patriotic song. With a range of one octave and one fifth (a semitone more than an octave and a half), it is known for being difficult to sing. Although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today.

The Star-Spangled Banner was recognized for official use by the Navy in 1889, and by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.

Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American officialdom. Hail, Columbia served this purpose at official functions for most of the 19th century. My Country, 'Tis of Thee, whose melody is identical to God Save the Queen, the British national anthem, also served as a de facto anthem. Following the War of 1812 and subsequent American wars, other songs emerged to compete for popularity at public events, among them The Star-Spangled Banner.

- Program Notes from Wikipedia


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

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Works for Winds by This Composer

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Resources

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