“OUR NATION’S GUEST” MUSIC FOR THE VISIT OF MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE TO THE UNITED STATES 1824-25
Arranged by Jari Villanueva for small wind band.
This selection represents but a few of the many dozens of compositions and arrangements written to honor General Lafayette on his visit to the United States in 1824-25. At every stop, in every city, bands welcomed Lafayette, grand balls were held, and ceremony after ceremony commemorated his visit and his service to our new nation. Most of this music is unfortunately lost to us today. What remains is generally in the form of piano sheet music, but it is clearly evident from the inscriptions that these pieces were originally performed by military brass bands. This arrangement was carefully done in the style of the period with no modern harmonization or alteration to the original and represents, as closely as possible, the sound of the bands that Lafayette heard.
HONOR TO THE BRAVE
Grand March as Performed by his Military Band at the ball given at the New Theatre
Francis Johnson (1792-1844)
Francis Johnson was America’s first African-American musical star. He was biracial and was raised in a fairly well-to-do household in an upscale free-black section of Philadelphia. He had a patron, James Forten, who saw to it that he received a good education and musical training. Frank Johnson and his Black Band enjoyed widespread fame from the 1820s through the 1840s. Based in Johnson's hometown of Philadelphia, they were employed by three white Pennsylvania militia regiments as their official band.
Johnson’s ensemble provided the music for the events in Philadelphia celebrating the return of General Lafayette to America in 1824, and Johnson himself wrote several compositions for the occasion. In 1837 he took his group on a concert tour of Europe, the first American musicians of any race to do so. Johnson’s band was also the first in America to present integrated concerts, with white vocal soloists joining his all-black ensemble during the 1843-44 concert season. Johnson was a virtuoso on the keyed bugle as well as a skilled trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He founded a music school, published approximately 300 compositions, and wrote many pieces to feature his own keyed-bugle playing.
This Grand March written in 1824 in honor of Lafayette’s visit to the United States, was written for the band Johnson directed. It starts with a trumpet fanfare to announce the arrival of Lafayette and then has three salutes (Three Cheers) given as respects to the general.
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23 авг 2024
