"Barnum and Bailey's Favorite" is a circus

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

written by

Karl King Karl L. King (February 21, 1891 – February 19, 1971) was a United States march music bandmaster and composer. He is best known as the composer of "Barnum and Bailey's Favorite". The most expensive painting in Iowa, the "Karl L. King Portrait ...

for the circus of the same name in 1913.

Composition of the march

"Barnum and Bailey's Favorite", often referred to as "The Granddaddy of Circus Marches", was composed by

in 1913Osborn, William, Music in Ohio, Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio, 2004, P. 458 and was published through C. L. Barnhouse Company. King's earliest known compositions date from 1909 with this, his most famous work, being composed in only his fifth year of composing. King played

Baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

in many circus bands including

Barnum and Bailey's The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling) is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Ear ...

, for more than a decade. As is common in his

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

s, Karl King made the baritone part a major voice in the march.Hudson, David, Bergman, Marria, and Horton, Lauren, Biographical Dictionary of Iowa, University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, 2008, P.284 King was asked by the bandmaster of the

Barnum and Bailey Circus The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling) is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Ear ...

Ned Brill to write a march for the circus. This has become his most famous composition, being called "the finest work written to celebrate 'The Greatest Show on Earth'"Wood, Lucile, Barnum and Bailey's Favorite - jacket notes, Alfred Publishing, 1999 and is one of the most recognizable marches of all time.

Structure of the march

The composition is largely a standard march consisting of an introduction, a first strain, second strain, trio and a break strain. The intro, first strain and second strain are all in the key of concert A and the piece is written in

cut time ''Alla breve'' also known as cut time or cut common timeis a musical meter notated by the time signature symbol (a C with a vertical line through it), which is the equivalent of . The term is Italian for "on the breve", originally meaning tha ...

. The tempo may range 120 to 160 beats per minute. The introduction lasts eight measures with the ensemble playing three chords of A, then D minor second-inversion with concert F in the bass voices and then another A chord second-inversion with the

basses Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass ...

having a concert E. The cornets/ trumpets fanfare the next four measures as the basses play counter melody play juxtaposed into the first strain. The first strain has the upper woodwinds, high brass and euphonium playing an eighth note melody as the band swells in dynamics before reaching the end of the strain with more trumpet and euphonium fanfare. In the second strain, the melody starts out in the low winds and brass in a loud and quick fury of notes in a passage in F minor. This is traded off to the high voices in a softer running melody as the euphoniums play a running counter melody. This repeats itself with the

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

s and

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

s joining the euphoniums in their theme to the end of the strain. The trio begins with another

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

that has the high and middle voices playing chords in tied half notes and whole notes as the lower choir plays a little passage of quarter notes. Like almost all major key marches, it adds one more flat and is now in the key of concert D Major. The melody for the trio is in the

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

s, first

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

, first

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

s, and euphonium and is played at a

dynamic Dynamics (from Greek δυναμικός ''dynamikos'' "powerful", from δύναμις ''dynamis'' "power") or dynamic may refer to: Physics and engineering * Dynamics (mechanics) ** Aerodynamics, the study of the motion of air ** Analytical dynam ...

of piano. The main melody of the trio is repeated with no other voices changing; the portion is repeated at a softer dynamic once more. Much like the second strain, the break strain transitions strongly into its melody from the second strain only this time it is in B minor and repeats the passage one whole step down. The last few measures of the break strain jump down from fortissimo to mezzo-forte and builds back up with eighth notes being passed back and forth between the upper voices and the euphoniums and tenor saxes until the end of the

crescendo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer dependi ...

is reached. The third time through the trio melody, the euphoniums and upper

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...

play small passages of eighth notes in a counter melody to the established melody in the

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

s, and first

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

s. The section repeats one more time from the break strain and the collective ensemble finishes the piece in a homogenized

fortissimo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer dependi ...

ending.King, K.L., Barnum and Bailey's Favorite, Alfred Publishing, 1999 NOTE:the description of the composition is taken from reading of the score referenced and, while a knowledge of music is required to understand the reference, is a factual narrative of the music in the source document.

References

External links

Sheet music and recording
{{Authority control Circus music Concert band pieces March music 1908 compositions