, 1892-04-19
SHERIDAN'S RIDE.
Set to Music by the Leader Of
the Marine Band.
what HE HAS to say About a
Great Musical Compositton.-He
is i'm Favor of American subjects
for Good Music.


Great Musical ComPOsition.-H He
is i'm Favor of American subjects
for Good Music.
John Philip Sousa's "Sheridans Ride, ;"
which was produced by the Marine band
for the first time in Washington City, has
since been a topic of discussion in musical
circles. The author of it has been kept
busy acknowledging congratulations from
his admirers, who are legion, and whose
opinion the composition takes high rank
among Professor Sousa's productions. To
a Washington Post reporter who requested
Professor Sousa to outline the salient feat
ures Of soremarkable musical descrip-
ton he said:
"a little over year ago, produced for
the first time in public the Chariot Race
founded on the incidents described in that
famous scene in General Lew Wallace's
book, Ben Hur' It was so we'll received
that thought another descriptive compo-
sition founded on subject nearer the
hearts of the American people would stand
an excellent chance of success. After read
ing war poetry and "reminiscences, l select
ed for the first part OF this new compost
ton the first verse of Higginson's Wait
ing for the Bugle.
eve wait for the bugle the night dews are
cold,
The limbs Of the soldiers feel jaded and old.
The field of our bivouac is windy and bare.
There is lead in joints, there is frost in our
The future is veiled and its fortunes unknown,
AS we lie with hushed breath till the bugle is
blown.
In this described as accurately as my
ability as composer would permit the
sleeping camp, with the introduction of
the two bugle signals used in the United
States Army tactics-'the assembly and
the reveille.' After that is heard the muf-
fled d'tramp of an approaching army. The
sleeping soldiers awaken with q few meas
ures of musical agitation, in which the
lett motif Of the Confederates is heard
and the second part of the composition
the attack begins.
"In this attempt to describe musically
the first verse Of I. Buchanan Reads
poem, 'Sheridan's Ride
"Up from the south at break of day,
Bringing to Winchester fresh dismay,
The affrighted air with shudder bore
Like herald in haste to the chieftain's door,
The terrible grumble and rumble and roar,
Telling the battle was on once more,
And Sheridan twenty miles away.
ttHere is first heard the lett motif of the
Union cause. In the attack, the two mo-
tives contend for supremacy but the CON
federate gradually scars above the Union,
the latter growing fainter and fainter until
there is a tremendous musical shrek, and
the attack is forgotten in the death of
Thoburn. From poem called the Sol
dier's Dirge the lines
''But bear me first to yonder grassy sod,
Whence i can turn my eyes upon the fight:
Gently there, leave me now alone with God,
And go you back to battle for the right
gave me the inspiration to depiets this
hero'g death. AT the end Of this theme is
heard a low rumbIing sound, which grad
ually increases until the full power of the
band is brought into acti6 and describes
The Coming of Sheridan.'g
Far away in the rear was heard cheer
after cheer. Were e-enforcenlents coming
Yes, Phil Sheridan was coming, and he
was host
"The first that the general saw were the groups
OF stragglers, and then the retreating troops
Whatwas done? what to do? glance told him
~
He dashed down the line, mid storm of
And the WY Of retreat checked it's course
there, because
The sight Of the master compelled it to pause
With foam and with dust the black charger was
BY the fash of his eye and the red nostrils play,
He seemed to the whole great army to say
have brought you Sheridan all the way
From Winchester down to save the day.
"Here the musical action is reversed the
union motive gradually gaining the ascen-
dency until it scars triumphant into The
apotheosis.
"Hurrahl huTrah! for Sheridan
Hurrah hurrah for horse and man
And when their statues are placed on high,
Under the dome of the Union sky,
The American soldiers temple OF fame.
There with the glorious generals name
Be it said in the letters both bold and bright,
Here is the steed that saved the day,
By carrying Sheridan into the fight
From Winchester-tw miles awayl
''This part of the composition is a musi-
cal setting of the last verse of 'Sheridan's
Ride and is founded on the Union motive.
II am more than pleased with the sue
cess the piece has achieved in PhiladeI-
phia and here in Washington, and think,
in measure, it proves that our people like
to hear musical descriptions Of historical
topics of national character.
''Had | given a NEUROLOGICAL title to this
composition, and here Mr.. Sousa smiled,
''some fellow with green goggles and long
hair would probably have slapped me on
the back and congratulated me on my
! classical composition. By this I do not
mean to say that there has been any ad-
verse criticism on this composition, but
do mean it will rebound more to the credit
of our native composers if they use Ameri-
can instead of NEUROLOGICAL subjects