Kazoodie Ko Whirl: Rarities from America's Golden Age of Bands

T

he Nineteenth Century saw a radical advancement in the design of brass musical instruments. Adolphe Sax, working in Paris during the mid-1840's, created a homogeneous family of keyed brass instruments that were capable of playing the chromatic scale and were not difficult to learn to play. He called these Saxhorns. They became very popular and came in many configurations (bell up, bell forward, circular, bell over-the-shoulder, etc.). Armed with the new Saxhorn, the already popular town bands of America grew and multiplied into what is today known as, "The American Brass Band Movement". Music publishers began releasing folios for small Brass Ensembles intended to supply the growing market of town bands. Among the early folio titles were, The Brass Band Journal, and Peters' Saxhorn Journal. The proliferation of community and military bands brought about a need for more and more musical arrangements for them to play. Many talented composers and arrangers, such as Claudio S. Grafulla, began work supplying the bands with new arrangements of existing songs, as well as brand new compositions. We are pleased to present many of these wonderful surviving musical arrangements to a new audience.

1. You Naughty, Naughty Men, T. Kennick & G. Brickwell, composed for and dedicated to Miss Millie Cavendish, John F. Stratton Military Band, 1867. This is a Quickstep arrangement of a delightful song that appeared in the hugely popular 1866 New York production of The Black Crook. Featuring sorcery and a Parisian ballet troupe, aspects of the production were seen as scandalous for the time, prompting Mark Twain to remark that the play "debauched many a pure mind".
2. Louisville March, J. Schatzman, Peters' Saxhorn Journal, 1859. This march includes a soli section that features the Over-The-Shoulder Saxhorns of the band's Eb Alto section.
3. The Light of Other Days, Michael Wm. Balfe, 25th Mass. Regt. Band. In 1836, lyricist Alfred Bunn and composer Michael Balfe created the opera, The Maid of Artois. Twenty years after its premiere, one of the opera's Arias, Light of Other Days, was described as “the most popular song in England that our days have known.”
4. Easter Galop, Edward Leinbach, 26th North Carolina (Salem) Band. Early on Easter morning in North Carolina, Moravian musicians would make their way to the center of town, playing their instruments and singing, converging on the church to celebrate The Resurrection.
5. Kazoodie Ko Whirl Overture, David L. Downing, Manchester Cornet Band, 1852. This Comedic Overture features several variations of Pop Goes the Weasel combined with other tunes.
6. Fireman's Quickstep, anon., 1st Brigade (Brodhead) Band, 1864. This spirited Quickstep features tour-de-force performances from the Eb & Bb Cornetists.
7. Sultan's (Esmeralda) Polka, anon., Squire's Cornet Band Olio, 1871. A light "Salon" polka, a type of piece popular in Europe as well as America, Sultan's Polka (sometimes called Esmeralda) was already in its 75th edition according to a piano sheet music arrangement of 1851.
8. College Galop, Gustavus W. Ingalls, 3rd New Hampshire “Port Royal” Band, 1862. This is a medley of “College” songs. Several school songs are presented along with some student favorites. Among the schools represented are Yale, Oxford, and West Point Academy.
9. Attila Quickstep, Claudio S. Grafulla, 1st Brigade (Brodhead) Band, 1846. Claudio Grafulla used the melodies from Act II, Scene 1 of Verdi's opera as the musical basis for this wonderful Quickstep.
10. Star of the County Down, traditional Irish tune, 18th century. This arrangement for full 19th Century-style Eb brass band is by Charles L. Johnston, a member of the 2nd Louisiana String Band.
11. Port Royal Galop, Claudio S. Grafulla, 3rd New Hampshire “Port Royal” Band, 186-. The 3rd New Hampshire served as the Post Band at Port Royal, South Carolina. The large supply depot and headquarters saw many community socials. This galop was composed for such an occasion.