Think: Marching Band: Score & Parts

The Odyssee tells the story of Odysseus the undaunted hero. In times long ago the blind poet Homer wrote this famous epic. The 'Odyssey' follows the 'Iliad' the story of the bloody war between the Greek and the Trojans. This battle endsafter ten years thanks to the Odysseys famous trick. the Trojan Horse. The Odyssey is not a war epic but a story about perseverance loyalty adventure and the survival instinct of its ingenious hero. In The Odyssey Homer describes howOdysseus the king of Ithaca had to endure another ten years of affliction after the ten years of war in Troy before he could finally return to his home land. During those years his wife Penelope had to try and keep her many admirers away.These men not only wanted het hand but also the kingship. To prove her husbands worth she played a trick: 'As soon as I have finished weaving this shroud for my father-in-law Laertes I will choose one of you to become my husband' she promisedthem. But during the night she secretly loosened what she had woven during the day prolonging the time until Odysseus would finally return. After twenty long years when he finally stood at the door she wondered: Is this really my husband? Ishe an imposter? Cunningly she asked him to move the bed because only she and her husband know that the bed was immovable and was build around an old three trunk! Odysseus was deeply moved: this really was his wife his Penelope! Nearly threethousands years later the loyalty and strength of this character and all the dangerous adventures that Odysseus survived thanks to courage and intelligence still moves us today. Odyssee by Jan Bosveld is not just an adventure story butrather a characteristic piece in which memories of Homers story can be heard. The composition opens with a firm stirring theme describing our hero Odysseus in detail: This man is not to be taken lightly. The further development of thisshort introduction completes this character sketch: trustworthy perseverant and a genius. After that we can picture Odysseus on the lonely beach of Ogygia. Do the trumpets depict his memories of the war of Troy? Does he think of his wife as werecognise the weaving loom of Penelope in the murmuring eighth? In the solemn plaintive part that follows we can imagine Penelope feeling lonely sitting in the womens room with her servants.One of the girls plays the harp but that does notclear the sombre atmosphere. Then we can imagine seeing the sorceress Circe who changed Odysseus men into swine. After she gives a simple magic sign something follows that reminds us of the sound of pigs grunting. Then the Odysseus theme resounds:the hero comes to savi his comrades. Assisted by Hermes he forces Circe to lift the spell. The piece ends the same way as it began with an animated theme: Odysseus is still the same undefeated and not to be taken lighty!

This bittersweet song from 1967 is a real classic, partly due to the rendition by two queens of soul, Dionne Warwick and later also Aretha Franklin. The theme was very topical at the time: A woman is concerned about her husband fighting in the Vietnam War, and thinks about him during her day-to-day worries. Top arranger Peter Kleine Schaars created a tasteful and carefully orchestrated version. His arrangement stays true to the original colour and feel of the song, and, as a grade 3 piece, is still perfectly playable for most bands.

This piece was inspired by the composer watching his young son Benny playing ‘soldiers’ with his collection of teddy bears - how appropriate!But it made him think of the many character pieces which take the form of a ‘toy march’ the most notable examples being by Haydn Tchaikovsky and Leon Jessel. Parade of the Clockwork Soldiers is in the form of a ‘patrol’ (starting and ending quietly with a louder middle) and aims to represent a band marching past the listener. In fact where the hall layout permits it it could be possible to add a little choreography to the piece starting and ending with only a few instruments on stage.

As performed by The Babys-Le groupe de pop-rock britannique The Babys a été fondé à Londres en 1976. Surfant sur la mode « groupe ado » The Babys développent néanmoins un style solidement rock. Les débuts sont prometteurs mais le groupe ne connaîtra pas le succès escompté. Ciblant le marché américain ils entrent au Top Hot 100 Charts avec deux chansons signées Jack Conrad et Ray Kennedy : Isn't It Time et Every Time I Think of You. Le groupe se sépare en 1981.

And now for something completely different! Who but William Himes would think of deconstructing and the reconstructing the 'birthday' song into this amazingly creative overture? And who else could do it so well? The cognitive and the affective domains are both in for a treat as you prepare this intriguing new work for performance. Be sure to hear the CD demo and look closely at the score. There are some amazing things going on here.Unexpected!