Our Flirtations
by John Philip Sousa
Concert Band - Digital Sheet Music

Concert Band - Level 4 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1152172

Composed by John Philip Sousa. Arranged by Wesley Besancon. 20th Century,March. Score and Parts. 62 pages. Wesley Besancon #752386. Published by Wesley Besancon (A0.1152172).

Throughout Sousa’s career as a conductor, he often altered the performance of his marches without marking or changing the printed music. These alterations were designed for concert performances and included varying dynamics and omitting certain instruments on repeated strains to expand the range of the musical textures, as well as adding unscripted percussion accents for dramatic emphasis at key points in the music. Although Sousa never documented his performance techniques himself, several players who worked extensively with Sousa provided directions for his frequently performed marches, most notably cornetist Frank Simon. Sousa continued to conduct many of his earlier marches later in his career with these unique alterations, but he rarely returned to several of the marches composed between 1873 and 1880. Although no written confirmation exists for how Sousa might have performed these earliest compositions, select elements of his typical performance practices can also be applied to these marches. “Our Flirtation” is the earliest march for which Simon documented Sousa’s common adjustments in performance. The Complete Marches of John Philip Sousa appears in chronological order and is based on some of the earliest known sources for each composition. These newly edited full scores correct many mistakes and inconsistencies found in the parts of early publications; however, all remaining markings and the original scoring are preserved. Additionally, the alterations traditionally employed by the United States Marine Band in performance are incorporated throughout; either those specifically documented by Sousa’s musicians or changes modeled on the customary practices of “The March King.” Performance practices that deviate from the original printed indications are described below and appear in [brackets] in the score. In many instances these indications appear side-by-side with the original markings. An open diamond marked with an accent in the cymbal part indicates that the cymbal player should let that accent ring for an additional beat before rejoining the bass drum part. Second strain (m. 21-38): The dynamic should drop to piano first time through with piccolo, E-flat clarinet, cornets/trumpets, and trombones tacet first time. Additionally, all clarinets should play down one octave as indicated by the cued notes. All instruments rejoin fortissimo and at the original octave in the first ending. A percussion accent may be added in m. 29 the second time. The printed percussion figure in the first ending continues the previous pattern, yet muddies the pick-ups to the second strain and may be omitted for just that one bar as indicated after the downbeat. Trio (m. 39-54): Piccolo and cornets/trumpets are tacet once more as well as cymbals, but trombones have an interesting part in the texture and may continue to play softly here. All instruments rejoin for the fortissimo pick up notes in m. 54. Interlude/Break-up strain (m. 55-70): A percussion accent may be added on beat two in m. 62 and 70, both times, to match the accented chords in the rest of the band. Final strain (m. 71-end): The first time through this strain is piano once more and piccolo, cornets/trumpets, trombones, and cymbals are tacet again. First and second B-flat clarinets should also play one octave lower as indicated by the cued notes. All instruments rejoin in the first ending for the repeat of the break-up strain and play fortissimo to the end.