INTERMISSION
Hymn To The Fallen
John Williams
Arranged by Paul Lavender
Saving Private Ryan a gripping, powerful movie depicting the horrors of World War II, is another milestone in the years Steven Spielberg and John Williams have been collaborating on films. Williams' score includes this simple hymn, using chorus as an instrument of the orchestra, adding a special reverence and poignancy to the simple melody. Arranger Paul Lavender brings this dignified edition to the concert band stage.
- Program Note from publisher
Hymn to the Fallen (1998) from the film Saving Private Ryan, is a memorial for all the soldiers who sacrificed themselves on the altar of freedom in the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944. Steven Spielberg comments on Williams’ film score:
It’s a piece of music and a testament to John Williams’ sensitivity and brilliance that, in my opinion, will stand the test of time and honor forever the fallen of this war and possibly all wars. Saving Private Ryan possibly contains the least amount of score. Restraint was John Williams’ primary objective. He did not want to sentimentalize or create emotion from what already existed in raw form. Saving Private Ryan is furious and relentless, as are all wars. But where is music? It is exactly where John Williams intends for us, the chance to breathe and remember.
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Taps
Arranged by Donald J. Coakley
for the Cardinal Dougherty HS Band
for a performance shortly after the
assassination for President John F. Kennedy
"Taps" is a bugle call sounded to signal "lights out" at the end of a military day, and during patriotic memorial ceremonies and military funerals conducted by the United States Armed Forces. The official military version is played by a single bugle or trumpet, although other versions of the tune may be played in other contexts. The tune is also sometimes known as "Butterfield's Lullaby", or by the first line of the lyric, "Day Is Done". The duration may vary to some extent.
The tune is a variation of an earlier bugle call known as the “Scott Tatoo, which was used in the U.S. from 1835 until 1860. It was arranged in its present form by the Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield, a Medal of Honor recipient.[2] Butterfield commanded the 3d Brigade, 1st Division, V Army Corps, Army of the Potomac while at Harrison’s Landing, Virginia in July 1862, and wrote it to replace the customary firing of three rifle volleys at the end of burials during battle.[2] Butterfield's version in July 1862 replaced a previous French bugle call used to signal "lights out". Butterfield's bugler, Oliver Wilcox Norton, of East Springfield, Pennsylvania, was the first to sound the new call. Within months "Taps" was used by both Union and Confederate forces. It was officially recognized by the United States Army in 1874.
Captain John C. Tidball, West Point Class of 1848, started the custom of playing "Taps" at military funerals. In early July 1862 at Harrison's Landing, a corporal of Tidball's Battery A, 2nd U. S. Artillery, died. He was, Tidball recalled later, "a most excellent man". Tidball wished to bury him with full military honors, but, for military reasons, he was refused permission to fire seven rifles three times (‘three volley’ or ‘twenty-one gun’ salute) over the grave. Tidball later wrote, "The thought suggested itself to me to sound taps instead, which I did. The idea was taken up by others, until in a short time it was adopted by the entire army and is now looked upon as the most appropriate and touching part of a military funeral." As Tidball proudly proclaimed, "Battery A has the honor of having introduced this custom into the service, and it is worthy of historical note."
It became a standard component to U.S. military funerals in 1891.
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Bésame Mucho
Consuelo Velazquez
arranged by Adrian Horvath
(Spanish: "Kiss Me A Lot") is a bolero song written in 1932 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velazquez It is one of the most popular songs of the 20th century and one of the most important songs in the history of Latin music. According to Velázquez, she wrote this song even though she had never been kissed yet at the time, and kissing, as she heard, was considered a sin.
She was inspired by the piano piece “Quejas, o la Maja y el Ruisenor”, from the 1911 suite Goyescas by Spanish composer Enrique Granados. The version by Bob Eberley and Kitty Kallen with Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra reached number one in the United States in 1944. It has been covered by many artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to The Beatles and Placido Domingo.
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The Longest Day March
Paul Anka
arranged by John Glenesk Mortimer
The Longest Day is a 1962 American epic war film based on Cornelius Ryan’s 1959non-fiction book of the same name about the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944. The filmmakers employed several actual Allied and Axis D-Day participants as consultants, many of whom had their roles re-enacted in the film. Paul Anka who wrote the march/song on tonight’s program wrote music for other films and shows in which he had parts also wrote the theme for The Tonight Show starring Johny Carson as well as the English lyrics for Frank Sinatra’s signature song “My Way”.
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Homefront: Memories of World War II
various composers
arranged by James Christensen
With the recent 80th Anniversary of D-Day Landing at Normandy during World War II, it's time to look back at all the outstanding popular songs that kept up America's and the world’s hope throughout the war. This outstanding showcase includes: Thanks For The Memories; Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree; I'll Be Seeing You; It's Been A Long, Long Time; Bell-Bottom Trousers; White Cliffs Of Dover and Praise God And Pass The Ammunition.
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Armed Forces Salute
arranged by Joyce Ellers and Bob Lowden
As a tribute to all of the women and men of our Armed Forces, especially to those who paid the ultimate price for their service, we present our Armed Forces Salute. Tonight’s rendition also includes the Official Song of The U.S. Maritime Service Song of the Merchant Marine. During World War II the Merchant Marine was a key part of our uniformed forces. There were 243,000 mariners that served in the war. And 9,521 perished while serving—a higher proportion of those killed than any other branch of the U.S. military. Roughly four percent of those who served were killed, a higher casualty rate than that of any of the American military services during World War II. General Dwight Eisenhower also declared in 1944 that “when final victory is ours there is no organization that will share its credit more deservedly than the Merchant Marine.” “Their contribution to final victory will be long remembered,” Eisenhower predicted in 1945 Yet decades passed before mariners were to be recognized as veterans. To all those who have served and those who are currently serving, we salute you.
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The Stars and Stripes Forever
John Philip Sousa
With the possible exception of “The Star Spangled Banner,” no musical composition has done more to arouse the patriotic spirit of America than this, John Philip Sousa’s most beloved composition. … Symbolic of flag-waving in general, it has been used with considerable effectiveness to generate patriotic feeling ever since its introduction in Philadelphia on May 14, 1897, when the staid Public Ledger reported: “It is stirring enough to rouse the American eagle from his crag, and set him to shriek exultantly while he hurls his arrows at the aurora borealis.” By a 1987 act of the U.S. Congress, it is the official National March of the United States of America.