This month’s Web Exclusives audio downloads not only include a popular march and featured violin solo, but also holiday music favorites. Whether sitting by the fire with some hot cocoa, trimming the tree, or hosting a holiday party, the following three classic holiday tunes are perfect for any occasion this month:
Joy to the World
Parade of the Wooden Soldiers
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
The Featured Soloist audio download for December is Johann Sebastian Bach’s Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D minor for Violin, BWV 1004, performed by Gunnery Sgt. Erika Sato. The selection, considered by many to be one of Bach’s greatest works, was written in the early 1700s and is a theme and variations on the opening four-measure chord progression and repeated bass line. The popular violin solo demonstrates a variety of musical moods, from tragedy to joy to resignation, and it requires every aspect of violin technique known during Bach’s time.
Sato performed the Chaconne on Feb. 16, 2014, during a Chamber Music Series performance in John Philip Sousa Band Hall at the Marine Barracks Annex in southeast Washington, D.C. Video of the performance is also available at www.youtube.com/usmarineband.
Download Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D minor for Violin, BWV 1004
The March of the Month audio download for December hearkens back to the early 1800s by a composer not usually associated with marches. Ludwig van Beethoven’s Military March No. 1 in F, “York’sher,” is a tattoo march or Zapfenstreich (literally translated as “strike the tap”) that was an evening military call signaling to tavern owners to close the tap for the night. Beethoven’s first tattoo march was very popular with the York Corps and so frequently played by the unit that the piece was eventually known as “Marsch des York’schen Korps.” The piece was later arranged for modern wind instruments by Johannes Schade.
The Marine Band performed the selection under the baton of Assistant Director then-Capt. Michelle A. Rakers on Feb. 18, 2007 at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland in College Park.
Download Military March No. 1 in F, “York’sher”