''Washington Grays'' is an American march composed by Claudio S. Grafulla in 1861. It is a mainstay of both the parade and concert band march repertoire. Grafulla's most popular piece was composed for the 8th Regiment, a New York state militia based at the

Kingsbridge Armory The Kingsbridge Armory, also known as the Eighth Regiment Armory, is a decommissioned armory at Jerome Avenue and West Kingsbridge Road in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. It was built in the 1910s, from a design by the f ...

in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. The term "Grays" in the title refers to the color of the regimental uniforms. The band books of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

(including the Port Royal Band Books arranged by Grafulla) included many charts of the prolific composer's music, including this composition. There are elements of the Italian and German march in ''Washington Grays'', with running sixteenth notes and responding bass voices creating a counterpoint. ''Washington Grays'' breaks the march formula by containing no introduction, break strain, or stinger.

Frederick Fennell Frederick Fennell (July 2, 1914 – December 7, 2004) was an internationally recognized conductor and one of the primary figures in promoting the Eastman Wind Ensemble as a performing group. He was also influential as a band pedagogue, and grea ...

wrote of this march: "Masterfully simple, effectively contrasting, its incessant flow of musical ideas is overwhelmingly convincing. It is a march of great passion – no introduction, no break strain, no stinger. A real indoor rouser from 1861." This march represents technical difficulties for band members (it is graded a "5" in a system of "1" being the easiest and "6" the most difficult). The music for the clarinet and Eb cornet players is particularly challenging. The popularity of ''Washington Grays'' is due in considerable part to its early arranger. The Canadian

Louis-Philippe Laurendeau Louis-Philippe Laurendeau (1861 in St-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada – 13 February 1916 in Montreal) was a Canadian composer and bandmaster. He also held an editorial position with Carl Fischer, the New York music publishers. Most of Laurendeau's c ...

(1861-1916) (using the pseudonym G. H. Reeves) made a modern concert band arrangement for Carl Fischer from brass band parts in 1905. Others who have made arrangements and editions include Frederick Fennell and Loras John Schissel. The duration of the march is between three and a half minutes to four minutes.

First Recording

''Washington Grays'' was likely first recorded by Arthur Pryor's Band by the

Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidia ...

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

, recorded on March 30, 1909 (Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings).

''Washington Grays'' or ''Washington Greys''

The march is titled both ways (just as the color can be spelled "gray" or "grey"). The Library of Congress' Catalogue of Copyright Entries uses both "Grays" and "Greys" for different arrangements of the march. Music publishers use both titles. Carl Fischer uses "Grays" and Barnhouse uses "Greys", while Kalmus uses both spellings. "Grays" is used for this article because it is used much more frequently in cataloging the scores and recordings of the march.Note, however, that the name of the regiment was spelled the "Washington Greys" by the ''New York Times'' (August 10, 1859) �
"The Washington Greys, of New York, in Boston."
The

Washington Grays Monument ''Washington Grays Monument'', also known as the Pennsylvania Volunteer, is a bronze statue by John A. Wilson. The monument represents the Washington Grays who served in the 17th, 21st and 49th Pennsylvania Militia during the American Civil War ...

also represents a regiment in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Notes

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References

*Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings (web resource). Matrix number B-6946. *Fennell, Frederick. A Conductor’s Interpretative Analysis of Masterworks for Band. Hal Leonard Corporation, 2008. Page 60.

External links

Conductor's score
arranged by Loras J. Schissel March music 1861 songs American military marches

First Recording

''Washington Grays'' or ''Washington Greys''

See also

Notes

References

External links