Barnum and Bailey's Favorite
Encyclopedia
Barnum and Bailey's Favorite is a circus march
written by Karl King
for the circus of the same name in 1913.
in 1913 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 euphonium
in many circus bands including Barnum and Bailey's
, for more than a decade. As is common in his compositions
, Karl King made the euphonium part a major voice in the march.
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'" and is one of the most recognizable marches of all time.
joining the euphoniums in their theme to the end of the strain.
The trio
begins with another introduction
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. It adds one more flat and is now in the key of concert Db Major. The melody for the trio is in the flutes, first clarinet
, first trumpet
, tenor saxophones 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 Bb 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
is reached. The third time through the trio melody, the euphoniums and upper woodwinds play small passages of eighth notes in a counter melody to the established melody in the cornets, trombones and first bassoons. The section repeats one more time from the break strain and the collective ensemble finishes the piece in a homogenized fortissimo ending.
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
written by Karl King
Karl King
Karl L. King was a United States march music bandmaster and composer. He is best known as the composer of Barnum and Bailey's Favorite.-Biography:...
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 Karl KingKarl King
Karl L. King was a United States march music bandmaster and composer. He is best known as the composer of Barnum and Bailey's Favorite.-Biography:...
in 1913 and was published through C. L. Barnhouse Company
C. L. Barnhouse Company
The C. L. Barnhouse Company is an American music publishing firm. It was founded in 1886 by Charles Lloyd Barnhouse. It has been headquartered in Oskaloosa, Iowa since 1891....
. 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 euphonium
Euphonium
The euphonium is a conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced"...
in many circus bands including Barnum and Bailey's
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is an American circus company. The company was started when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1907, but ran the circuses...
, for more than a decade. As is common in his compositions
Compositions
Compositions is the fourth album by the American R&B/soul singer Anita Baker. The album peaked at #5 on Billboard 200 and was certified platinum in 1990, making it Baker's third platinum selling album...
, Karl King made the euphonium part a major voice in the march.
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'" 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 Ab 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 Ab, then Db minor second-inversion with concert Fb in the bass voices and then another Ab chord second-inversion with the basses having a concert Eb. 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 trombones and tubasTubas
Tubas or Toubas is a small Palestinian city in the northeastern West Bank, located northeast of Nablus, a few kilometers west of the Jordan River. A city of over 16,000 inhabitants, it serves as the economic and administrative center of the Tubas Governorate. Its urban area consists of 2,271 dunams...
joining the euphoniums in their theme to the end of the strain.
The trio
Trio
- Musical ensembles and forms :*Trio , three people performing music in some way*Piano trio *String trio *Trio *Clarinet-violin-piano trio...
begins with another introduction
Introduction
Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to:* Introduction , an opening section of a piece of music* Introduction , a beginning section which states the purpose and goals of the following writing...
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. It adds one more flat and is now in the key of concert Db Major. The melody for the trio is in the flutes, first clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, first trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, tenor saxophones 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 Bb 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
Crescendo
-In music:*Crescendo, a passage of music during which the volume gradually increases, see Dynamics * Crescendo , a Liverpool-based electronic pop band* "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", one of Duke Ellington's longer-form compositions...
is reached. The third time through the trio melody, the euphoniums and upper woodwinds play small passages of eighth notes in a counter melody to the established melody in the cornets, trombones and first bassoons. The section repeats one more time from the break strain and the collective ensemble finishes the piece in a homogenized fortissimo ending.