Posted by Rick Denney on June 26, 2003 at 10:38:43:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Holst 2nd Suite - Dargason posted by Mark Heter on June 25, 2003 at 21:47:37:
I played that Jupiter arrangement in the San Antonio Municipal Band, if it's the same one, about a dozen years ago. I agree it's a winner. MUCH harder than the orchestral part, which is no picnic, because it goes so dad-gum low. It was a hyperventilation special for me. And Randol Bass (of the Metropolitan Winds in Dallas) did an arrangement for the Longhorn Band at UT-Austin of Jupiter--a marching-band arrangement. It worked marvelously well. I played that one in the Austin Symphonic Band in the mid-80's when Randy was the conductor.
For me, the chestnuts that I get tired of are the Leroy Anderson charts. And I don't need to play Broadway Curtain Time again for a long time.
I would not want to do the Holst suites at every opportunity. But once every three or four years wouldn't do me any harm, heh, heh. And I have only played the English Folk Song Suite in band once in my entire life, and never the Toccata Marziale! The classics for band are too few and therefore subject to being overplayed, but one can over-react to that risk and forget they exist.
I agree that the suites are tough outdoors. We just played an outdoor concert on Tuesday, and even the slightest traffic or other ambient noise makes any playing below mp a waste of time.
We have an anti-Sousa thing, too. I've played my share of Sousa marches, some way too often, but there are some good ones that get played less often. Fairest of the Fair is one that comes to mind. But our band has one of those dreadful Sousa march books for idiot school bands, and it has only the most common warhorses in "simplified" arrangements. Bah! No wonder everyone groans when we pull out Stars and Stripes Forever. I may have to buy us some good Sousa arrangements out of my own pocket just to get rid of that book.
Rick "who begged for Toccata Marziale for that outdoor concert" Denney