ISSUE 4 FALL 2000 CONTENTS DEFINING the WIND Defining the Wind Band Sound
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A JOURNAL FOR THE CONTEMPORARY WIND BAND ISSUE 4 FALL 2000 CONTENTS DEFINING THE WIND Defining the Wind Band Sound ... page I BAND SOUND: by Donald Hunsberger Patrick Gi lmore and his contributions to the THE GILMORE ERA (1859-1892) development of the American wind band BY DONALD HUNSBERGER INSIGHTS Three Japanese Dances .. page 12 In Wine/Works Issue 2, we discussed the development and influence of the English militm)l by Bernard Rogers band journal in shaping English ensembles during the second half of the 19th centu1y. A new full score and set of pruts in an edition These English band practices were brought to America by music and instrument distributors by Timothy Topolewski and furth er highlighted by the visit of Daniel Godfrey and the Band of the Grenadier Guards CONVERSATIONS to Boston in 1872. The one person who, above others, may be credited for creating fonvard A Talk with Frederick Fennell .. page 18 movement in American band instrumentation is Patrick Gilmore, whose contributions were Conductor Fennell talks about hi s eru·ly previously listed as occurring through instrumentation expansion, balancing the number of impressions of the first performance of pe1jormers, and especially through his awakening both the A1nerican public and the musical the Three Japanese Dances in 1934 world to the vast untapped potential of the full woodwind-brass-percussion ensemble [WindWorks Issue 3]. A Talk with Mrs. Beman/ Rogers ... page 20 Elizabeth Rogers discusses Bernru·d Rogers' Th e period between the Civil War and John Philip Sousa ssuccess with his own professional approach to writing the Three Japanese Dances band in the 1890s has been somewhat of a historical "black hole" due to a lack of available resources; it is hoped that important events and developments may be fo llowed through WIND LIBRARY analysis of instrumentation/personnel changes and especially through actual scores of the Catfish Row by George Gershwin ... page 22 period. Research also provides a chronological route one may follow to trace the growth of the An exciting wind band setting of Gershwin's American band. This chronicle presents Gilmore and his many developments and own suite from P01gy and Bess contributions. It will also take a side trip to the Allentown Band, Allentown PA, the oldest continuing non-militmy band in the counfl y and will present exce1pts ftvm an 1883 band Kitten on the Keys ... page 24 by Zez Confrey scoring manual, perhaps the first published in the United States. The listings ofinstrum entation A great encore from the Novelty Piano will snve to illustrate which instruments were brought into active use, wh ile an analysis of repettoire of the 1920s scores of the period may reveal the actual employment of each timbre within the woodwinds and brasses. The Duke of Marlborough Fanfare ... page 26 by Percy Grainger A first-time fu ll score of Grainger's fascinating concett opener Concerto for Horn in E-flat, K. 417 .. page 28 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozrut The newest accompaniment from the Classical Wind Band Accompruliment Project ON THE BOOKSHELF.. page29 PATRICK SARSFIELD GILMORE present, thi s time played by Boston city firemen , in the "Anv il Choms" by Patrick Gilmore was born in County Galway, Ireland on Christmas Day, Verdi. Frank Cipoll a, a Gilmore researcher and author states, "His penchant 1829. (Some question the actual date as there were different versions of hi s for sho wmanship and monumental extravagance quite naturall y early life.) As a young boy, he played cornet and joined the local band of overshadowed everything else he did ." Fo llowing thi s presentation, he went Athorne; the director was a man named Keating who gave young Patrick on a European vacation where he most probably made the necessru·y instruction in harmony and instrumentation. ruTangements for hi s next production, the World Peace Jubil ee, to be In 1849, when he emigrated to America, landing in New York and then presented in Boston in 1872. traveling to Boston at the age of 19, he was an outstanding E-flat cornet performer. He played with several local bands and became the leader of the THE WORLD PEACE JUBILEE- 1872 Boston Brigade Band, from 1853 to 1855. That year he was appointed leader This next confere nce would become a defi ning moment for the of the Salem Brass Band, where he served for fo ur years. He was already development of instrumentation and section balancing in the American band composing songs and marches, gaining a reputation for their qua lity. as Gilmore opened the doors for America to hear and experience the highest In 1859, he founded his own band, incorporating the responsibility for quali ty European bands and standru·ds. In the period of June 17 - July 4, both business and financial matters into hi s duties, and thereby creating one 1872, Gilmore presented Daniel Godfrey and the Band of the Grenadier of the first professional ensembles in the country. The band performed under Guards from London, the Gru·de Republicaine Band under Jean Georges the name "Gi lmore's Band" and was notable for its inclusion of woodwinds Paulus from Pru·is, Heimich Sru·o and the Band of the Kai ser Franz Regiment with the usual brass instmmentation, thus the use of 1859 as the beginning of from Berl in, plus the National Band of Dublin, Ireland conducted by Edwin the Gilmore Era. That year also saw the publication of hi s "First Set, P. S. Clements. In addition, Johru111 Strauss, Jr. and his orchestra were present as Gilmore's Brass Band Music," a collection of twelve marches, quicksteps, a was Franz Abt, the fru11ed German song writer. The resident "house" slow march, and several pol kas. The remaining source for this publication, an orchestra was conducted by Jacques Offenbach among others. This gathering E-flat cornet book, is in the Music Di vision of the Library of Congress. of such world-c lass quality organizations was fo llow ing on the footsteps of a When the Civil War erupted in 186 1, Gilmore and his band joined the recent impmtant Europeru1 event - a band competition held at the Massachusetts 24th Regiment of Volunteers and accompanied the troops on International Exhibition in Paris in 1867. Whi le little has been written about the Bumside Campaign to the Carolinas and Roanoke Island. In 1862, all thi s event, it must be considered a positi ve step forwru·d in the establishment Northern military bands were mustered out of service in a major of balanced instrumentation and personnel assignments. reorganization that resulted in a new program creating 13 men bri gade bands. Gilmore and the band returned to Boston where he was later given the duty THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION of reorganizing all the Massachusetts military bands. Ten countries were included with their finest bands competing. The jury, During this period, two of the songs most associated with Gi lmore were which included Hans von Bulow, Edwru·d Hanslick, Leo Delibes, Ambroise published: "John Brown's Body" (1861) and "When Johnny Comes Thomas, ru1d Otto Nicolai, awarded the first prize equa ll y to Prussia, Garde Marching Home" (1863). The latter was published under the pseudonym de Pru·i s, ru1d Austria. A comparison of the winning instrumentations and Louis Lambe1t with Gilmore's own name appearing on later publications of personnel balances wi ll illuminate the "struting ground" Gilmore had to the song. utili ze as he began to turn hi s Americru1 style brass-with-reeds band into a 1864 marks the first of several events that would bring Gilmore some of true sy mphonic ensemble with balanced sections: hi s fame (and in many ways overshadowed hi s music and instrumentation contributions to the emerging American band). He had been appointed to be in charge of aUb ands and music in the Department of the Gulf by General N. 73rd Regiment Band of Austria P. Banks and thus made two supervisory trips to New Orleans. In 1864, 1 piccolo 2 cornets Michael Hahn was to be inaugurated as Governor of Louisiana and Gi lmore 2 flute 12 trumpets agreed to produce a celebration in honor of thi s event. 3 A-flat clarinets 6 horns Gilmore's enthusiasm was boundless and set a style of operation that he 4 E-flat clarinets 6 trombones would follow in later years in Boston. He assembled a brass band of over 500 12 B-flat clarinets 6 B-flat saxhorns pl ayers, a choms of over 6,000 voices, and a battery of rutillery, along with 2 bass clarinets 3 E-flat alto saxhorns 50 ruwi ls, that pe1formed along with all the church bells of the city. The city 2 bassoon 3 B-flat baritone saxhorns fathers presented him with a sil ver goblet filled with money (some repmts say 2 B-flat bas saxhorns (euphonium) "greenbacks," others say "gold"). It was this unfettered style of presentation 6 BB-flat contrabass saxhorns and overblown activity that later led him to present the National Peace 6 percussion Jubilee in Boston in 1869. About this time, he was calling his band in Boston "Gilmore's Grand Boston Bru1d." A program contained in Richru·d Frru1ko This instrumentation produced a woodwind section of 26 players, with Goldman 's text "The Wind Band" li sts an ensemble of25 players. heavy emphasis upon the clru·inet section to provide non-brass melodic The National Peace Jubilee entourage included an orchestra of I ,000, a timbre. It also reinforced the small flute section through the use of the three chorus of 10,000, ru1d an audience of 50,000.