# I Love a Parade!



## itywltmt

En français

For years growing up in Montreal, May 1st was the province-wide starting date for leases, making May 1st _moving day_ in the province of Québec. In the 1970's, this date moved three months to the right and (in what some would argue was an affront to Canadian patriotism) that date moved to July 1st (Canada Day, a week to the day after June 24th, Québec's _Fête Nationale_, the date Quebecketrs traditionally celebrate as their national holiday).

One of my best friends was born on May 1st, and we routinely called him "the mover's son". There you go - Bonne fete, Denis!

But for many in Europe, May 1st is _May Day_, Europe's equivalent of _Labour Day_ I suppose. It was also used by some communist countries as a day to celebrate "the common man", the worker, and there were (and probably still are) massive parades everywhere.

Russian May Day Parade HD 

It is in that vein that I propose that we look at "parade music", marches of all kinds, as a theme for today. The selections and video clips I chose present not only marching bands, but also "concert marches" from opera and the concert hall in general. It is in that vein that I programmed *Berlioz*'s _Racoczy March_, *Verdi*'s _Grand March_ from _Aida _and *John Ireland*'s _Epic March_.

From film, I chose *Meredith Willson*'s 7_6 Trombones_ from his musical _The Music Man_ (the *Robert Preston* original, not the *Matthew Broderick* cheesy Made-for-TV-and-DVD remake), and a pair of noteworthy film marches by *John Williams*: his memorable _Imperial March_ from the _Star Wars_ saga, and his unforgettable march from one of Steven Spielberg's few forgettable movies _1941 _(Yes, for every _Schindler's List_ there is an _Ishtar_, Mr. Spielberg!)

"Dotting the I" is an irresistible marching band formation that is the trademark of the *Ohio State Marching Band*, a formation first developed by Band director Eugene Weigel in 1936. The tradition, started by trumpeter John Brungart is reserved for a senior (fourth year) Sousaphone player. According the the OSU Marching Band website:



> To be eligible to dot the "i", a sousaphone player must at least be a fourth-year member of the OSUMB. Since more than one person usually meets this requirement, the sousaphone player who has marched the most pre-game ramps is given the first choice of which script he/she wishes to dot. This is picked from the scheduled performances of Script Ohio for the upcoming season. This process continues until all fourth-year members have chosen a dot.


According to the website, the honour is sometimes bestowed on a "special guest" - Honorary "i"-dotters with the OSU Marching Band include: *Bob Hope*, legendary OSU football coach *Woody Hayes*, golf legend *Jack Nicklaus*, Heavyweight Champion *Buster Douglas* and astronaut and longtime Ohio senator *John Glenn*.






Of course, no march program is complete without the obligatory *Sousa *marches. In addition to the _Liberty Bell_, you can visit a past PTB featuring the USAF Heroitage of America Band for some more favourites!

*PLAYLIST DETAILS​*
*Harold ARLEN (1905-1986)*
_I Love a Parade_ (1931)
Lawrence Welk Orchestra and Singers

*Meredith WILLSON (1902 - 1984)*
"Seventy-Six Trombones" from _The Music Man_ (1957)
From the 1962 film

*John WILLIAMS (*1932)*
_The March from "1941"_ (1979)
Original Film Soundtrack

"Imperial March" from _Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back_ (1980)
John Williams conducts the London Symphony Orchestra

*Richard RODGERS (1902 -1979)
Robert Russell BENNETT (1894 - 1981)*
"The Guadalcanal March" from _Victory at Sea_ (1952)
Robert Russell Bennett conducts the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra

*Julius FUCIK (1872 - 1916)*
_Vjezd gladiátorů_ (Entry Of The Gladiators), op. 68
Uncredited performance

*John IRELAND (1879-1962)*
_Epic March_ (1942) 
Richard Hickox conducts the London Symphony Orchestra

*Hector BERLIOZ (1803-1869)*
"Racoczy March" from _La damnation de Faust_, Op. 24
Arthur Fiedler conducts the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

*Edvard GRIEG (1843-1907)*
"March of the Dwarfs" from _Lyric Suite_ (orchestration of Op.54)
Sir Malcolm Sargent conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra

*Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901)*
Act II, Scene 2 from _Aida _(1871) "*The Grand March*"
(Occupies the first 11:45 of the clip - clip includes remainder of the scene)
Arturo Toscanini conducts the NBC Symphony and Robert Shaw Chorale

*Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY *(1840-1893)
_Marche Slave_ in B-flat minor, Op. 31 (Slavonic March)
Leonard Bernstein conducts the New York Philharmonic

*Carl Michael ZIEHRER (1843 - 1922)*
_Schönfeld-Marsch_, op. 422 
Uncredited performance

*Johann Strauss I (1804 - 1849)*
_Wiener Stadt-Garde Marsch_, Op. 246 (orchestrated by John Georgiadis)
John Georgiadis conducts the London Symphony Orchestra

*John Philip SOUSA (1854-1932) *
_The Liberty Bell March_ (1893)
Uncredited performance

*Robert Sherwood HAGGART(1914 -1998)
Raymond BAUDUC (1909 -1988)*
_South Rampart Street Parade_ (1939)
The Lawrence Welk Orchestra featuring Johnny Klein at the drums

*May 4th, 2012, "I Think You Will Love This Music Too" will be adding a new montage "Musikalische Akademie der 7. Mai 1824" to its Pod-O-Matic Podcast. Read our English and French commentary May 4th on the ITYWLTMT Blogspot blog.*


----------

