The Washington Post (march)

"The Washington Post"
"The Washington Post"
March by John Philip Sousa
	Cover of the 1889 sheet music for "The Washington Post"
Composed	1889
Audio sample
	The United States Marine Band performs "The Washington Post" file; help;

"The Washington Post" (often called "The Washington Post March") is a march composed by John Philip Sousa in 1889. Since then, it has remained as one of his most popular marches throughout the United States and many other countries.

History

In 1888, the recent purchasers of The Washington Post newspaper—Frank Hatton, a former Postmaster General, and Beriah Wilkins, a former Democratic congressman from Ohio—requested that Sousa, the leader of the United States Marine Band, compose a march for the newspaper's essay contest awards ceremony, in conjunction with a campaign to promote the newspaper under new ownership. Sousa obliged; "The Washington Post" was introduced at a ceremony on June 15, 1889, "with President Benjamin Harrison in attendance" before "a huge crowd on the grounds of the Smithsonian Museum".^[1] It quickly became quite popular in both the United States and Europe^[1]^[2] as the standard musical accompaniment to the two-step, a late 19th-century dance craze.^[3] This led to a British journalist dubbing Sousa "The March King". Sousa is honored in The Washington Post building for his contribution to the newspaper and his country.

The composition is in the public domain in the US, as its copyright has expired, due to Sousa's death more than 70 years ago and its publication before the early 1920s.

During the award ceremony the young essay-contest winners were presented with gold medals that were hand-crafted by local jewelers Galt & Bro., with each having unique designs and custom engravings.^[4]

Composition

$\relative c'' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"piano" \tempo 4. = 120 \key g \major \time 6/8 r4 d8 d( cis d) | e r8 r8 e4.( | fis8) r8 r8 fis4.( | a8) r8 r8 g4. ~ g4 g8 g fis e | d8 r8 dis8 e r8 es8 | d4 d8 d d d | d8 r8 dis8 e r8 es | d4 }$

Music

This recognizable march is written in standard form: IAABBCCDCDC. Written in compound duple meter, it is suited as an accompaniment to the two-step, a new dance introduced at that time.

The opening strain of the march is famous and familiar to many. Typically, the march is played at a tempo of 110 to 120 beats per minute, rarely any faster.

March enthusiasts have argued that the trio sections' mellow and moving phrases are among Sousa's most musical. Six sudden eighth notes move the melody along. Its unusually calm break strain is a simple adaptation of the trio melody. It then moves on to the first trio repeat, where the low brass begins an even more mellow countermelody.

Scoring

Woodwinds: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons
Brass: 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba
Percussion: timpani, cymbals, bass drum, snare drum, triangle
Strings: violins I and II, violas, cellos, double basses

Dance

The "two-step" became so strongly identified with Sousa's march that the dance was often called "The Washington Post". In addition, many performance arts groups around the world dance to the famous song. ^[5]

Recordings

Although many recordings of this march have been made over the years, the original recording of the march played by the United States Marine Band, conducted by Sousa's concertmaster,^[6] was made on Graphophone cylinder for the fledgling Columbia Records company in Washington, D.C., in 1890, catalogue Columbia Cylinder Military #8. It has been reissued in the compact disc era in 1999 by Legacy International as March King: John Philip Sousa Conducts His Own Marches, and as the earliest track of its 26-disc compendium of the history of the Columbia label, Sony Music 100 Years: Soundtrack For A Century. In 1893, this march was recorded on North American Phonograph Company cylinder #613 by Foh's 23rd Regiment Band of New York. This acoustical recording, unlike many others, has audible, clear, well-recorded drums.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b "The Washington Post March". YouTube, "The President's Own". Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
^ Washington Post staff (January 1, 2021). "Washington Post company history". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
^ "John Philip Sousa Collection". University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Archived from the original on May 31, 2009.
^ WETA (January 2, 2019). "The Washington Post Celebrates Young Authors With One of the Most Famous Pieces of Music in History". Boundary Stones: WETAs Washington DC History Blog. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
^ James Haskins and Kathleen Benson, Scott Joplin: the Man Who Made Ragtime pp 74, Doubleday and Company, 1978. ISBN 0-385-11155-X
^ Sousa himself wanted nothing to do with graphophone cylinders, or as he said, "canned music".
^ Collected Works of the 23rd Regiment Band at archive.org

External links

Washington Post by "The President's Own" United States Marine Band: Modern 2016 PDF (2-page portrait), MP3, and video combining those
Washington Post by The Sousa Project: scanned PDF (landscape), LilyPond, generated PDF (1-page portrait)
Washington Post scanned PDF (landscape) of the 1889 Carl Fisher release
The Washington Post: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

[TPO-1] "The Washington Post March". YouTube, "The President's Own". Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2019.

[2] Washington Post staff (January 1, 2021). "Washington Post company history". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 22, 2024.

[3] "John Philip Sousa Collection". University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Archived from the original on May 31, 2009.

[4] WETA (January 2, 2019). "The Washington Post Celebrates Young Authors With One of the Most Famous Pieces of Music in History". Boundary Stones: WETAs Washington DC History Blog. Retrieved April 6, 2019.

[5] James Haskins and Kathleen Benson, Scott Joplin: the Man Who Made Ragtime pp 74, Doubleday and Company, 1978. ISBN 0-385-11155-X

[6] Sousa himself wanted nothing to do with graphophone cylinders, or as he said, "canned music".

[7] Collected Works of the 23rd Regiment Band at archive.org

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v t e John Philip Sousa
List of compositions List of marches List of operettas
Marches	"Anchor and Star" "The Black Horse Troop" "Boy Scouts of America" "Columbia's Pride" "The Dauntless Battalion" "The Fairest of the Fair" "The Gallant Seventh" "The Gladiator March" "Hands Across the Sea" "The High School Cadets" "Imperial Edward" "The Invincible Eagle" "Kansas Wildcats" "King Cotton" "The Liberty Bell" "Manhattan Beach" "The Minnesota March" "Nobles of the Mystic Shrine" "The Royal Welch Fusiliers" "Semper Fidelis" "The Stars and Stripes Forever" "The Thunderer" "Transit of Venus March" "U.S. Field Artillery March" "The Washington Post"
Operettas	Chris and the Wonderful Lamp Désirée El Capitan The Charlatan
Adaptations	"The Army Goes Rolling Along" Stars and Stripes Stars and Stripes Forever
Other	John Philip Sousa House John Philip Sousa Baton
Honoraria	Armed Forces March Competition John Philip Sousa Bridge John Philip Sousa Foundation John Philip Sousa Junior High School (Bronx) John Philip Sousa Junior High School
Category

v t e National symbols of the United States
Symbols	Flag Great Seal Bald eagle Uncle Sam Columbia Phrygian cap General Grant (tree) American Creed Pledge of Allegiance Rose Oak Bison
Landmarks	Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) Liberty Bell Mount Rushmore National Mall West Potomac Park
Mottos	In God We Trust E pluribus unum Novus ordo seclorum Annuit cœptis
Songs	"The Star-Spangled Banner" "Dixie" "America the Beautiful" "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" "The Stars and Stripes Forever" "Hail to the Chief" "Hail, Columbia" "America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" "God Bless America" "Lift Every Voice and Sing" "The Army Goes Rolling Along" "Anchors Aweigh" "Marines' Hymn" "Semper Fidelis" "The Air Force Song" "Semper Paratus" "Semper Supra" "National Emblem March" "The Washington Post March" "Battle Hymn of the Republic" "Yankee Doodle" "You're a Grand Old Flag" "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" "This Land Is Your Land" "Battle Cry of Freedom"