"Barnum and Bailey's Favorite" is a circus

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

written by

Karl King Karl L. King (February 21, 1891 – March 31, 1971) was a United States march music bandmaster and composer. He is best known as the composer of " Barnum and Bailey's Favorite". Early life Karl Lawrence King was born in the village of Painte ...

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 horn The baritone horn, sometimes called baritone, is 3 or 4 valved tenor-voiced brass instrument in the saxhorn family.Robert Donington, "The Instruments of Music", (pp. 113ff ''The Family of Bugles'') 2nd ed., Methuen, London, 1962 It is a pist ...

in many circus bands including Barnum and Bailey's, 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 ...

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 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. 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 Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the b ...

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 (, 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 lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

s and

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

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 member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

s, first

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

, first

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

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 (whi ...

s, and euphonium and is played at a dynamic 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 are the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings require interpretation by the performer depending ...

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 re ...

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. There is also a soprano cor ...

s, and first

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind 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 virtuosity ...

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