Hands Across the Sea (march)
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"Hands Across the Sea" is an American
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
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 ...
composed by
John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dist ...
in 1899.


History

The march was written in 1899. When the march premiered the same year at the Academy of Music 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 ...
, the audience insisted that it be repeated three times. The march is "addressed to no particular nation, but to all of America's friends abroad."Paul E. Bierley,
The Works of John Philip Sousa
' (1984), p. 60. In 1901, John Philip Sousa heard the Virginia Tech Regimental Band (The
Highty-Tighties The Virginia Tech Regimental Band, also known as the Highty Tighties, VPI Cadet Band, or Band Company was established in 1893 as a military marching band unit in the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Unive ...
) playing "The Thunderer" at the
Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood A ...
in Buffalo, New York. Sousa was so impressed that he dedicated a performance of his latest march, "Hands Across the Sea", to the band. Sousa prefaced the sheet music's score with a quotation from the English diplomat
John Hookham Frere John Hookham Frere (21 May 1769 – 7 January 1846) was an English diplomat and author. Early life Frere was born in London. His father, John Frere, a member of a Suffolk family, had been educated at Caius College, Cambridge, and became Sec ...
: "A sudden thought strikes me; let us swear eternal friendship."
All Music Guide to Classical Music: The Definitive Guide to Classical Music
' (Blackbeat, 2005: eds. Chris Woodstra, Gerald Brennan & Allen Schrott), p. 1,295.
Music: A Monthly Magazine
'' Vol. 16. The march was composed in the wake of the Spanish–American War and is idealistic, in addition to patriotic, in nature. "Hands Across the Sea" remains one of Sousa's more popular marches and is still performed widely by bands.


Composition

One reviewer describes the march this way: "Hands Across the Sea opens with a jaunty, carefree theme, the
wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...
sonorities light and generally in their middle and upper ranges. An equally attractive march appears midway through, its manner initially mellow and nonchalant. It gradually turns more animated and colorful, the
piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...
dancing merrily above suave wind sonorities. The work closes with this spirited theme playing proudly, the
brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
flamboyant, the
cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...
s crashing, and the whole brimming with festivity and vivid color. For band music enthusiasts and Sousa mavens, this three-minute gem will have great appeal."


See also

*
List of marches by John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He composed 136 marches from 1873 until his death in 1932. He derived few of his marches from his other musical c ...


References


External links


Hands Across The Sea (audio file)
– In
MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
format; from th
John Philip Sousa website
maintained by David Lovrien, hosted by the
Dallas Wind Symphony The Dallas Winds (also known as the Dallas Wind Symphony or DWS) is a professional concert band based in Dallas, Texas. The Dallas Winds was founded in 1985 by Kim Campbell and Southern Methodist University music professor Howard Dunn. It was or ...
{{Authority control American military marches Sousa marches 1899 compositions Concert band pieces