On Sunday evening, July 5, WASBE attendees were treated to a very exciting and spirited performance by the New Sousa Band under the direction of Keith Brion, one of the foremost authorities on the history of the Sousa band and their performance practices. The current band members are selected from major orchestras, military bands, university faculties, and free-lance musicians. The evening’s repertoire was played staying true to the original performance practices of the Sousa band. Encores, as were displayed in Sousa’s concerts, were announced by one of the percussionists holding up a large cue card displaying the title. Traditionally encores were added after each piece on the printed program, which was done during Sunday’s concert as well.
The next morning, Mr. Brion and the band presented an informative clinic discussing and further demonstrating many of the performance practices and intricate nuances found in Sousa’s marches. Many points shared that can be applied to all 135 include:
- Treating all accents as pitches that should receive a deepened tone versus being struck.
- Bringing out all accidentals on strong beats
- Having the brass stand during the last chorus, playing between mezzo forte – forte, resulting in an easily projected rich golden sound versus remaining seated playing too loudly, into the backs of players sitting in front of them.Mr. Brion has incorporated this approach into the New Sousa Band as it was not part of Sousa’s performance practice.
- In some cases, emphasizing more from the weight of the downbeat, not so much moving forward towards something
- Playing repeated sections a little softer; 1st time woodwinds (without brass) have to play marcato, consider adding one cornet to double melody as, for instance, Sousa did with Herbert Clarke.
- Euphonium often playing marcato, rarely fluffy.
- Conducting 6/8 marches by laying the beat on its side, table-top conducting, for the triplet feel vs. 2 vertical downbeats.
- Attaching the bottom cymbal (18”) to the top of the bass drum with a lighter cymbal brought down on top. In rehearsal and performance, aurally, the cymbals should be attached to the trumpet section.Bass drum player should listen and hide in the tuba sound – “the bass drum should live and die with the tuba section.” Snare drums to play referenced with the horns.
- Playing on natural gut drums without the use of wire or cable snares.In so doing the sound is deeper than is produced by more modern drums with wire or cable snares.
- Sousa having treated all introductions as overtures to the rest of the piece.The introductions were always written when the rest of the march was finished and bits of the intro’s can be heard in the rest of each march.
- In Brion’s editions, whenever woodwinds are playing without brass, no cymbals are used especially so that their articulation is not covered up.
Some of the performance practices and compositional approaches for particular marches discussed by Mr. Brion and performed by the band included:
King Cotton
The trio is, in large part, the trio of Washington Post inverted – whatever went up, goes down and vice versa. Take particular notice of the snare drum part in the next to last measure of the march:first time is sforzando followed by a decrescendo; second time is forte-piano followed by a quick crescendo which “kicks the hell out of the end of the march.”
Stars and Stripes Forever
In the second strain treat beat two as the downbeat with regard to emphasis. Treat the trio in 1-beat per measure and the dog-fight in 4 per bar. Sousa added an arpeggiated solo harp part in 1911 (that was not in the original).Brion encourages conductors to bring out the tuba part during the piccolo soli.He also suggests experimenting with a divisi tuba part, adding a part 8vb.
Washington Post
Ghosting the first eighth-note of each short motive at the trio
Several interesting historical anecdotes about Washington Post were shared with those in attendance. The march was named for the Washington newspaper, making the paper famous.As a symbol of their deep appreciation to the march king, a statue of Sousa was placed in their main office in 1888 where it remains to this day. Sousa was very purposeful in his rhythmic treatment of the march as a new 2-step dance was coming into fashion at the time.He was confident the march would fit the dance like a glove. Sousa was right. Not only did the march spread like wild fire, but it also made him a pop star of the time.
Tempi
Sousa's marches often conformed to the standard military tempo of the time. His early military marches are on the slower side. When standard military tempos increased in speed, the marches often did likewise. There are periods where 118-120 were used. Raoul Camus offered the thought that military tempos in the 1920's were temporarily raised to 128. Sousa's marches of the 1920's reflect this sort of faster tempo. At the clinic, the band played a variety of tempos beginning with "The Thunderer" at 110 and going as far as a concert version of "Manhattan Beach" as performed by Sousa in the 1920's at about 144. The clinic included twelve different marches, each one demonstrating the validity of various tempi and styles for Sousa's Marches.
Thinking Like a Violinist
Mr. Brion was certain to discuss the march king’s strong instrumental ability as an accomplished violinist and that all bands would benefit greatly if the conductors think as a violinist when approaching Sousa marches: “If you think as a wind player, you’ll never get it.It will be ok, but never great.” Other descriptors Mr. Brion used to describe performance approach included: light, contrast, phrasing, and contour.
Conclusion
Brion strongly feels that Sousa’s 135 marches, as a whole, are (still) too neglected as a major contribution to the United States' band repertoire. The New Sousa Band’s performance was a thrilling way to conclude the first full day of the WASBE conference and their clinic the Monday morning was a welcomed follow-up eagerly anticipated by all those in attendance.
To read more about the New Sousa Band, visit their website at:www.newsousaband.com