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From: capivaron
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  • is it 4 time hard to tell 4

  • my high school band did this song

  • I performed this in the So Cal Jr High School Honor Band back in 1974. To this day I still love this march and I'm glad I found it here. A little fast, but still good. Thanks for the memories.

  • I'm playing the second suit myself with the group I'm in an we have the same trouble with rushing in the percussion section on occasson also. But this song is made difficult to show a bands talent.

  • I don't know what the deal is with Americans, they always rush British marches! Take time to smell the roses (or sip the tea)! Even though it sounded frantic, well done.

  • @jmogle13 I noticed the percussion section (particularly the snare) kept rushing also, so it may have been intended (slightly) slower..

  • It's very catchy. Does anyone else think that the melody for March sounds like Drunken Lullabies by Flogging Molly? But obviously this came first :3

  • I don't know when you played this, but we played it in 7th grade. It was REALLY hard. We did great, but we probably should have saved it until high school.

  • i thought that the song was really good, we have to play this now in band and this sounds like a really good song so good job!!!

  • This isn't a college level piece. It IS however my most favorite piece of music to play. Holst was a genius and this piece doesn't get the recognition it deserves.

  • this song is so awesome!!! I'm playing it this year in the Wind Ensemble band of my high school... and yes... the euphonium solo sounds AWESOME!!

  • That Euphonium solo is amazingggg.

    I get to play that this year!!!!

    Except we are changing it to a trombone solo ^_^

  • me too dude!! high five *slap*

  • yaa! i convinced my band teacher to let my concert band play this this year. we're not bad, but it needs work.

  • i agree that this peice is not easy i'm in tenth and last year was played and we were amazing at or concert. too bad you couldn't played you probably would've won our at least had a really good chance of winning for playing a peice like this

  • haha... in my band... we don't got a euphonium, lol a triggered trombone player has to play 1st trombone and euphonium part

  • love the Euphonium solo in all the parts!

    So much emotion can be put in them!

  • Oh my goodness, I absolutely love the part that runs from 1:58 to 2:40 - It just reminds me of a lovely, majestic Irish jig. It makes me want to dance, yet fall in love. x]

    And the Song Without Words... I always just think this song is SO beautiful, and it leaves me speechless, yet peaceful/relaxed. ^_^

  • @ChocolatePheonix I like that part too...but it reminds me more of a sea chantey than an Irish jig, LOL

  • dude i can play the tenor sax and trumpet part to this

  • Very british

  • You guys did great on this!

    Our first alto sax had to play the cues for the baritone solo, because our baritone sucked xD

    Your speed for Claudy Banks is how the saxes wanted to take it =] But nooo, the clarinets and flutes couldn't play it that fast =/

    And I really love Song Without Words. The second alto sax part for that is sooo weird. But I love it <3

    This is a college-level piece? I never knew that... I'm in a 7-12 band, and we played it for our spring concert. Loved it <3

  • loved playing this song! played first flute and piccolo. great job on the way you played this though

  • great clarinet solo!

  • Omg... i've played this song all years of my high school life xD freshman year:1st flute sophmore:piccalo solo!!!! :D junior:1st bassoon senior year (now) first clarinet!!!! :D

  • Played Euphonium in High School, by far my favorite song to play...so many solos for Euphs.

  • Wow, that's great playing :)

  • our band has to play this and we're in middle school. it's really to play at a fast tempo.

  • MIDDLE SCHOOL? This is a college level piece! I thought it was hard, as a freshman!

  • tubas have to man up.......

  • Trombones need to push through the high notes, but other wise. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Awesome job.

  • jeez.... I can play it fast, but not that fast.... I don't like playing at 1:28... It's boring....

  • Go to 04:30, it's awesome!

  • my sister played this song and she says it isn't the simplified piece...she's an ok player...

  • the second movement is so beautiful

  • I love this piece!

  • My school can play this and we're only a junior high and im in 7th grade. We are the second best band in texas.

  • ....thats nice......

  • Get over yourself kid. It is about creating good music, not creating good music at a certain level.

  • thats good to kno. no need to brag tho darlin.

  • on the second repeat when the band enters after the euph solo one of the trombones made me go "EWW" lol but otherwise, good stuff.

  • My wind ensemble is playing this, its a fun piece.

    Also, I'm pretty sure that there is a simplified version that is playable for middle schoolers for whoever was talking about that, most middle school kids don't have the range to play this as written.

  • My orchestra is also playing this, but it isn't simplified and we're just in high school.

  • Simply a fun piece.

  • I dont even want to know what this song would sound like in a middle school band. they are terrible no matter what way you look at it.

    this is not a difficult piece, but middle schoolers, come on now.

    i have new freshman coming into my clarinet section for symphonic band that cant even count lol.

  • man the clarinets look cool...all cool and calm and completely awesome!!

  • In the begining the Trumbone played loud during the Baritone solo and the Trumpet solo was beautiful

  • pretty good. solos covered up a little in places. everyone had bells in their stands - BAD - tuba puff - BAD - trumpet solo - NICE.

  • we played the sogn without words part

  • im playing this in my eighth grade band. surprisingly, we sound very good. i'm first chair flute, and i have the solo for fantasia on the dargason because we don't have a piccolo

  • tell me, is this vey hard? like on a scale of 1-10? i really love this song, and (not really likely) it be cool if my concertband could play this

  • it's a good level of difficulty, it's challenging but still enjoyable

  • we're also playing this in our eighth grade band! its one of my favorite pieces we're playing.

  • We're playing this at school. Song without words ...I always get a tear in my eye haha, so sad. I play it with my eyes closed, so emotional.

  • We too are playing this at school. Roberson High in Asheville, NC. I play tuba and the parts are hard as hell, but I can play it alright. What we don't have is a Euphonium (baritone) player that's worth anything.

  • We have a sweet bari player, he does the solo at :57, it really sounds great.

  • hell yeah! the tuba part is hard as hell, but its sooo fun!

  • Oh yeah, Holst was good to the tubas. Our band played First Suite last year, and I'm a tuba player, so I pretty much jump for joy at the thought of playing any Holst piece, especially the suites...or Mars.

  • Oh yeah, Holst is good to us Tuba players.

  • Ohh yeah . we're preforming this tomorrow.. i'm so exctied :)

  • awhh yeahh!!

  • Holst is one of the very few composers in the history of western music that can actually write a GOOD tuba part. I would say Vaughn Williams, Grainger and Hindemith are the others

  • HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

    this is the ONLY good tuba part ive gotten in high school

  • @jamesy11111

    I would also mention Prokofiev, Mahler, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky

  • We're playing it too. I wish our trumpets were that in tune. great job!!

  • I play trumpet and I must say this is a really fun song to play.

  • I as well play trumpet and it is a wonderful piece to play. My Bach Stradivarius trumpet sounds wonderful on this piece.

  • Multiple Euphonium solos FTW.

  • OMG!!! I loved playing this piece last year!!! My favorite would always and forever be the Fantasia on the Dargason!

    And I don't know if it's the sound quality or just selective instrument, but the trombones and trumpets like to stick out and the tubas have something that makes me a little aggravated! lol But overall, well executed and you had some better spots than my band when we played this fine piece of music literature!

  • I'm playing this song in my High School band. It's a really good song.

  • Great song, and played beautifully. As a tuba player, I can understand how the baritone solo can bring the entire band down. You really have to follow the conductor really well that part because there seems to be "tuba apathy". The rests in the last half of the bar tends to slow down the entire band down.  In this case, the tuba player did it well.

    And the baritone solo was excellent! Brings back excellent memories! Well done, guys!

  • euphonium solo: 7/10 good sound

  • well,children...I recieved my performance degree in Euphonium from Indiana University and have been a band director for many years - so - let's talk about the euphonium solo. It's all about musical line and intonation!and it's really difficult - since most of our instrument are so woefully out of tune with themselves. I always played a besson - whit an amazing rich tone - but the upper register was SOOOO sharp! listen again at the f's and g's in the solo - and you'll see what i mean!

  • I get that problem too. I'm a senior in high school and the school horn is a Besson (I want to buy one like it) and every note from the mid A natural up is consistently out of tune (not horribly, but it's noticeable). Is that common in Besson horns, or is there something I can do to fix it? Me and the BD tried playing around with the valves once, but no luck. Also, the fourth valve is pretty flat, even when pushed in all the way.

  • Karen Fannin?! I've met her and enjoyed a nice talk - she's at Hendrix College now. What group is this?

  • great Baritone solo, just like me. :)

  • I think its a euphonium they have for tht part actually

  • Trombones like to stick out on the favorite part huh!!

  • wow. you guys rest your clarinets the same way we do. XDDD

  • Solo is Supposed to be Oboe with clarinet..

    in the score i have and my oboe music it says "Solo (or clarinet)" for the oboe part and for the Solo clarinet part it says "solo with oboe".. dunno what music you guys have

  • My oboe part says the same thing, too. It says "Solo (or clarinet)".

  • The March, Blacksmith and Fantasia on the Dargason are my favorites (not included the 2nd part because I didn't play it for my concert). I'm the only clarinetist boy at my school and did all the clarinet solos. :) My concert is next week!

  • The solo in the second movement is supposed to be played by the clarinet player. Its in the "solo clarinet" part. I own the score, and I have to analyze it for a college corse. The oboe player is supposed to play the chordal notes.

    If you don't believe me, buy the score.

  • It is in doubt to which instrument Holst intended the solo to be performed on. Many of the mainstream publishers (ie, boosey and hawkes) write for clarinet because it is more widely played then the oboe. Most scores have paragraph or so that explains what I just said.

  • i played this song when i was freshman... euphonium part of this song is pretty hard

  • you know what, I'm a Junior right now (Junior in High School, that is), and we're performing this for our spring concert. The Euphonium part isn't as hard as everyone told me it was, the only thing that gives me a problem is section A of Song Of The Blacksmith

  • I played this in highschool had to learn the euphonium as a trombone player for it... I wish the solo was a bit cleaner in the first movement and the trombones coulda pulled back a bit it seemed a bit too accented during the solo...

  • whaat? in the first movement at 1:42, it's supposed to

    dut dut duzz duzz duzz dut dut duzzzzz

    (dut= reg. notes, duzz=rolls)

    at least that's how my school's snare drum does it, and it sounds a bit better..

  • The snare drum in this recording is playing it exactly how it's written. It sounds like your school's snare drum is improvising.

  • i played this piece like 6 years ago and loved it, as a trumpet player i have to say the lead trumpet does a nice job in the second movement, nice subtle vibrato and good tone

  • As a first trumpet player, and a fellow player of this piece... I Agree completely with you.

  • Nice job overall, but as an alto saxophone player I must say that the solo wasn't nearly loud enough in the second movement. It is piano, but it is a soloist piano: play it with lots of air and confidence!

  • nice baritone solo, all our's does when he's up is look at every1 and smiles

  • well , the start was a tad rushed, and the trombones rushed during the Euphonium solo, but all in all a excellent performance!

  • I play Euphonium in my high school band, and I love that solo....its not as hard as people make it out to be! And, I think this group plays this tempo very well!!!

  • I agree, the solo is actually VERY easy, my only problem is hitting the high notes consistently, as I get tired quite quickly, but I can usually get it

  • lol my high school band has our 1st trombone covering that part

  • im having a little trouble playing at "J"

    kinda hard for me cuz i play bassoon and i have trouble playing the high partch...

  • I am playing bassoon too.

    I must say some part of the high notes and the fingering are not easy.

    And the most problem for me is the 'slur'.

    This band... very very nice!!!

    Excellent!!!

    I wish I can play that

  • I'm only in a concert band, so we're playing at a slower tempo of course, but this peice is so much fun!

    I like how much repitition there is, because once you have it under your fingers, it's fairly simple..(though I'm not so happy with the f key..I miss playing Bb..lol)

    (flute)

  • I`m in concert band, too. We`re trying to play this, and even though I`m the second to last 3rd clarinet [because I suck that much] I`m having the easiest time with it. everyone else in my section is struggling. Thank you for posting this up, It made it easier to practice, and I got an A+ when we got tested on this.

  • Tempo presto. WHY?

  • I'm both in a community college band as a fill in Euphonium as well as my high school band. We're doing the First in the Community College Band and Second in my high school band. I'm a soloist in the Second and let me tell you that solo in the march is so awesome!!!

  • My band is playing this and I am first chair Euphonium so I got to play the solo in the March and it was the most amazing thing ever. I enjoyed playing it.

  • I think our Euphonium, since we're also playing it is about to start crying becasue of his solo...lol

    I'm tuba.

  • i had to play the euphonium solo in my school band too :) it was funnnnnn..but i messed up on that high G the second time through gahhhh

  • We're playing this piece in our band, and this sounds great....

  • This is such a great piece, all 4 movements. We're currently playing it now in my band, and i being first oboe get to play the solo for the second movement. I'm having some troubles with hitting low C, it just doesn't want to come out.

    But yeah... Great job!

  • yea the rewritten version has the clarinet as the solo... lol and i have the solo part!!!

  • i've always wanted to play this... =/ i love it so much!

  • We're playing this in my band too. Sounds super cool. One of the band directors calls movement 3 "Give Mr Meiste a Heart Attack Song". Cus it's loud and all, lol.

  • this is amazing!

    and i have this piece in my folder and the solo in movementII is on clarinet.. my band director told us that the piece had been rewritten, perhaps the solo used to be for oboe, but it's for clarinet now.

  • omg that solo in mvmt 2 is def on oboe...

  • yeah its supposed to be on oboe... sounds a lot better with oboe! its kinda wierd that a killer band like this wouldn't have an oboe......

  • The solo is supposed to be for an oboe, really? Cause our clarinet player is playing it.

  • I played this yesterday at my concert I am the 1st cornet/trumpet part!

  • euphonium solos blow me away in the second movement. I gotta play both euphonium and 2nd trombone parts in my high school band lol :P. Go trombones and euphoniums!!!!

  • yall are pretty good. what grade is this?

    and also did you play all 4 movements?

  • "March" is a real blast to play with the trombone. ;) Song w/o words is beautiful.

  • I must say, you are way good! Our band is playing it this year, and we aren't doing so good. . .so far. Although we're only in ninth grade and I think our teacher expects to much of us.

    Anyway, great job! It sounds awesome! Two thumbs up!

  • We played this in High School, my band mistress gave it to me in year seven saying I had to perfect the eupho solo in the first movement. We eventually performed it.

    Awesome much.

  • clarinet?! The solo in the second movement is meant to be on the oboe! We played this for Festival my senior year, and it's definitely one of my best memories of band.

  • we played that when i was in seventh grade. my best friend got the Euphonium solo. amazing.

  • Ah, this reminded me of grade 9 when we played it :)

    it was one of the most classic && awesome band piece ever!

    2nd movement is the BEST movement!

    xoxo

  • im in grade eight and we are playing that... awesome song

  • song without words is one of my favorite pieces of all time. i have two solos in it for our spring concert on b-flat and e-flat clarinet.

  • Hey I play clarinet too! we played this last year and I was so mad because I really liked the solo for Song with No Words and I got solo Clarinet for the concert after lol. anyways I love this song so mouch lol. Jordyn

  • I love this song!! I played it with my 7th grade band, it was really hard (im a flutist!) the first part was hardest for me, but the rest were all okay as far as a flutist can go! But all in all it is a really fun peice. This band did spectacularly!!

  • Oh wow. this is amazing. our band is playing this....omg. XD I love it. I'm so ready for monday now. i really wanna get back to playing it!!

  • where are the saxophones????

    well it was great I LOVE THIS SONG!!

    I prefer the 4th movement though

  • sounded great. it sounded really good overall. only thing i would say is that the trombones were sticking out in during the euphonium solo. its cool that you guys played out the chords, but you're taking the euphonium's spotlight!!! lol. sounds awesome though. really.

  • We have to play this for my band class. . .and I play piccilo. It's so freaken hard! We probably wont get it up to speed since we're only in a ninth grade band. =D

  • We played this for our last concert. In the second movement they made the Clarinet solo an oboe solo (me being the soloist). I have to say that it makes more sense (in the style) to have it be an oboe solo. But well done! I still really liked it! This piece is amazing!

  • I want to play this at my high school cuz Ive only played the last movement in middle school and it sounded really cool!

  • Fantasia always sounded like an Irish jig to me. Was my favorite of the 4 when I played it.

  • u guys are so good. i wish i could play this as well as the trombones in urr band

  • i got this music recently... im a baritone player and am so excited about the solo! who ever played the baritone part in this concert did a really great job... that G is pretty hard to get. =]

  • Actually I thought the person who played the solo was a base trombone but w/e... awesome anyways!

  • Yeah, I am pretty sure that was the bass trombonist playing the solo, but it was quite good. We just got this piece in our high school band, and I have to say, getting the higher notes to come out as smoothly as he did, was very nice.

  • In our school, we use a baritone, and it sounds a little fumbly right now. (She's not very confident yet). But its getting there.

  • High G's definitley the hardest note to hit on the euphonium within the high Bb to Pedal Bb register.

  • Not a chance. High Bb is much harder for me. I can get all the way to a B but the C refuses to come out

  • you guys are really good

  • we are too at my school, it so much fun to play!

  • Have you played Armenian Dances? It's amazing!

  • I'm playing this right now...i love it

  • darkwitch 721,

    you are really full of yourself. its actually really sad. this is a sweet song btw lolololol!

  • we're playing that song this year also.

    it's pretty sick.

    i love blacksmith and

    fantasia on the dargason

    they have the right tempo but they rush a couple of the eight notes.

    the snare is a bit ahead.

    but very good anyways.

    good job

  • song was played well, but the middle part should have had the oboe. its just not the same without it.

  • i play the ooobooooe but i might not be playing it with the ensamble this year :(

  • My band is playing that this year. Its such a good piece.

    But I do have to ask, why is it that people insist on bragging about what chair they held. It doesnt matter. Im sorry, but that bothers me.

  • We played this last year. Fun piece.

    -1st Chair Trombone

    -1st Chair French Horn

    -Low Brass Section Leader

    Yeah...I rule.

  • btw, seanmd80, although i love bassoons and respect your opinion, i think that if Mr. Holst had wanted it to be a bassoon solo, he would have made it so. i can think of no better instrument to use for this solo than euphonium (of course not- i play it) but if one was unavailable, bassoon would be my second choice.

  • you get 2 play it in freakin' middle school!? the only reason i played in eighth grade (im a frehie now and i kick anus) is because i joined a community orchestra that did a couple band pieces. i played euphonium- i slaughtered the repeated solo in "march" and maimed the three in "fantasia."then i got my braces off and i could play it perfectly. i was ticked. euphoniums rule; long live the band geeks!

  • we are playing this in middle school !!

  • I played the Euphonium solo at my high school concert and nailed it!!

  • I can play the euphonium solo in the first movement.

  • I play solo clarinet in my HS Band, and I think in this band, she could vary the volume just a bit for emotion, and stretch the tempo a bit at the "ad lib."

    We don't actually have a euphonium, so our bassoon plays the 1st movement solo, and I must say I like it with the bassoon better. It brings out that melancholy emotion.

  • i really like how they transfered over from happy to sad...my class can't do that gverry well...my fave part has to be eather song without words(on my sheet music is called i will love who i love i think...(werd aint it eh?))or song of the blacksmith.

    love band

    flutes and band rule all!!!<3<3<3

    ps-i am called a band geek...and am proud of it

    pps-band geeks rule!!!

    ppps-band geeks reunite!

  • we're playing in our band now.. i'm a freshman clarinet with 2nd part...

  • Which school performed this?

  • we did this too..i played the snare part

  • we did this, I had the baritone solo in the march...and I was only a freshman! We had an excellent oboe player and alot of great low brass who didn't overpower so we did pretty well overall

  • Yea i played this on tuba as well. That one part in the 4th movement was hell.

  • This is the song I have to play for my Harmony Sénior tryout! AWSOME SONG!

  • I played this song on tuba with my brass quintet last year.

    So much fun... the fourth and fifth movements are pretty difficult though...

  • this piece rocks, my band's practicing it now.

  • played ds suite durin high school. i had fond memories of ds piece. will nvr forget it.

  • Just a little constructive critisizm because I played this song in competition and the band ranked Excellent, in the second part, the low brass section overpower the oboe and that is a very delecite part.

  • Excellent.

  • very well played... my high school band played the entire movement, and it was pretty hard!! overall, balance wasn't to bad, and tuning and expression was nice. we are lucky enough to have an EXCELLENT oboe player, and on the second movement that tone color is almost neccassary to the piece... but otherwise, overall a pretty good job.

  • We just played this for our end of the year concert. It's always good to hear what the song is supposed to sound like before hand.

    Trombones & F Horns rule all~!

  • I loved when my high school band played this. I was such a novice then I was playing 3rd trumpet, by the time I was good enough to play 1st we never played songs this good. And the euphonium was a lil off key on the high note.