View Music Excerpt<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nAlthough he studied composition at Oxford, William Walton enjoyed a great deal of freedom from the stylistic leanings of his teachers and considered himself a self-taught composer. His output was not large; it includes two symphonies, three overtures, several pieces of chamber music, and three string concertos. Walton also wrote music for film productions of \u201cRichard III,\u201d \u201cHamlet,\u201d and \u201cHenry V.\u201d He was knighted in 1951 and received the Order of Merit in 1968.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\nWalton composed no original works for wind band, but many have been transcribed for that medium. Crown Imperial<\/em> was commissioned by the British Broadcasting Company for the coronation of George VI in 1937. The BBC Orchestra premiered the work a few days before the ceremony. The band arrangement by James W. Duthoit was published the same year by Boosey and Hawkes, though curiously, the arranger\u2019s name does not appear on the score or parts. The title of the march comes from the quotation, \u201cIn the beauty bearing the Crown Imperial\u201d from the poem \u201cIn Honour of the City of London\u201d by William Dunbar (1465-1520).2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\nCrown Imperial<\/em> contains parts for \u201csolo and first cornet,\u201d \u201csecond cornet,\u201d \u201cfirst trumpet,\u201d and \u201csecond trumpet.\u201d The \u201csolo and first cornet\u201d part requires two players (divisi) only if the first trumpet part is not played. The march consists of two large sections, one march-like and the other processional. The excerpt below is from the march section. <\/p>\n\n\n\nA survey of eight recordings revealed a range of tempos between quarter note = 93 and 125. It is often thought that British marches are to be performed slower than those of American composers. Recordings by British bands, however, showed fairly quick tempos for Crown Imperial<\/em>, ranging from quarter =120 to 125. Two recordings of orchestral performances conducted by the composer also show an affinity for the quicker tempos.3<\/sup> The American ensembles performed the piece at quarter note = 93 to 114.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe sixteenth notes in the excerpt must be rhythmically accurate. The performer must be aware of the tendency to enter early on the three F# <\/sup>sixteenth notes that occur after the tied F#<\/sup>\u2019s in measure 7. It is also a common mistake to make the two sixteenth notes on the second beat of measures 4 and 6 into thirty-second notes. Likewise, the triplets on the upbeat of the first beat of measure 9 should not be delayed and compressed to sound like thirty-second notes. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe performer should play through the first eighth note of measure 9 in one breath, not only for aesthetic reasons but to help avoid late entrances. Subsequent breaths should be taken during the eighth rests. The breath accents are often forgotten in poor performances. These accents and the addition of a little space between the notes are qualities necessary to create the \u201cregal\u201d atmosphere. It is preferable to employ a syllable such as \u201ctu\u201d or \u201ctee\u201d to articulate the martial theme (measures 1-20) and a more legato one like \u201cda,\u201d \u201cdu,\u201d or \u201cdee\u201d for the solo that begins in measure 28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of the ensemble doubles the cornet part in measures 1-20, but the solo cornet sound should be full. Note the \u201cfade in\u201d effect in measure 1 where the crescendo from f<\/em> to ff<\/em> occurs. This should be only a slight crescendo, saving room for a bigger crescendo in measure 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe solo after rehearsal number 7 should be played expressively with a moderate amount of vibrato and starting at a mp<\/em> dynamic level. The performer should pay close attention to the natural contour of the melodic line and make the crescendo in measure 30 more intense than the one in measure 29. This solo is doubled by the flutes and accompanied by the horns, second cornets, first trombones and bass trombone. It is important, therefore, that the player use enough breath support to \u201csing out\u201d over this ensemble, but not to cover the flutes. Above all, strive to project a solemn sound portrait, appropriate to underpin a recessional of nobles and knights of the highest order. <\/p>\n\n\n\n(The above article originally appeared in the dissertation by Anthony B. Kirkland, An Annotated Guide to Excerpts for Trumpet and Cornet from the Wind Band Repertoire<\/em>, University of Maryland, 1997.)<\/p>\n\n\n\nDr. Anthony Kirkland<\/strong> is Associate Professor of Trumpet at Mississippi State University where he teaches applied trumpet, performs in the faculty brass quintet, and is principal trumpet in the MSU-Starkville Symphony.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDr. Jim Johnson<\/strong> is the Assistant Trumpet Professor at The University of Akron, where he teaches applied trumpet, directs the trumpet ensemble, and performs with the faculty brass quintet.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEnd Notes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1<\/sup>Norman E. Smith, March Music Notes<\/em> (Program Note Press: Lake Charles, Louisiana, 1986) 441.<\/p>\n\n\n\n2<\/sup>Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n3<\/sup>William Walton, Walton Conducts Walton<\/em>, the composer conducting the Philharmonia Orchesra, Record Album SLS 5246, EMI 1982; William Walton, Music by Sir William Walton<\/em>, the composer conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra, Record Album 35639, Angel 1958.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRecordings<\/p>\n\n\n\n
American Bandmasters Association Annual Convention<\/em>. United States Marine Band \u201cThe President\u2019s Own.\u201d Lt. Col. Dale Harpham, Conductor. ABA-73-4C. Crest Records, 1973. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Bands of HM Royal Marines<\/em>. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VS4mmuhieNQ<\/a>. Mountbatten Festival of Music at the Royal Albert Hall, London, 2012. <\/p>\n\n\n\nBritish and American Band Classics<\/em>. Eastman Wind Ensemble. Frederick Fennell, Conductor. Recorded in 1958-59. Compact Disc 432-009-2. Mercury, re-released, 1990. <\/p>\n\n\n\nCrown Imperial.<\/em> The Band of Her Majesty\u2019s Life Guards. Record Album UNS 15552. United Artists International, 1968. <\/p>\n\n\n\nMusic by Sir William Walton.<\/em> Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir William Walton, Conductor. Record Album 35639. Angel, 1958. <\/p>\n\n\n\nOn Parade<\/em>. The U.S. Air Force Tactical Air Command Band. Major Lowell E. Graham, Conductor. Record Album MC-20661. Mark Custom, no date. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Regimental Band of the Coldstream Guards.<\/em> Marches Vol. I. Major Roger G. Swift, Conductor. 1988. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWalton Conducts Walton.<\/em> Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir William Walton, Conductor. Record Album SLS 5246. EMI, 1982. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Crown Imperial by Sir William Walton (1902-1983) View Music Excerpt Although he studied composition at Oxford, William Walton enjoyed a great deal of freedom from the stylistic leanings of his teachers and considered himself a self-taught composer. His output was not large; it includes two symphonies, three overtures, several pieces of chamber music, and three […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":7333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,27],"tags":[501,497,247,246,498,500,499,233],"class_list":{"0":"post-6085","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-article","8":"category-brass","9":"tag-anthony-kirkland","10":"tag-band-excerpts","11":"tag-bandworld","12":"tag-bandworld-magazine","14":"tag-jim-johnson","15":"tag-sir-william-walton","16":"tag-trumpet"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6085"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6089,"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6085\/revisions\/6089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandworld.org\/magazine\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}