With Bells On: Novelty Marches and Pieces for Brass

You can hear some marching bands letting their hair down a bit here in some descriptive records, sometimes with attendant sound effects.


01 The Phantom Brigade – The Home Guards Band If it is possible to be both spooky and sprightly, well, this is.

02 Baby Parade – Band of H.M. Welsh Guards Very curious, this one. No idea what picture I am supposed to conjure up, or how they get that baby sound effect.

03 In the Shadows (with bells) – Reg. Band of H. M. Scots Guards, Cond. Mr. F. W. Wood A very traditionally structured piece, with some interesting use of tempi, perhaps representing the shadows of the title.

04 In A Clockmaker’s Shop (Orth) – The Black Diamond Band Spirited and experimental, as all good novelty marches should be!

05 The Sunshine of your Smile (cornet solo) – Sgt. Hunt (cornet) & Irish Guards Band It’s not a march, it’s not a novelty record, and there’s some appalling broadband noise on this one, too, but it’s here because a wonderful piece for brass and that melody is too pure and beautiful to be forgotten (or even to be sung – the lyrics don’t quite live up to the promise of the tune).

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