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MMD > Archives > April 2008 > 2008.04.04 > 04Prev  Next


Karl King Marches
By Matthew Caulfield

There was mention in the 080402 MMD of Karl King's marches.  Somehow
Wurlitzer and other band organ roll makers never put much or any of
Karl King's work on rolls, preferring instead the work of composers
like John Philip Sousa, Harry J. Lincoln, and E. T. Paull.  The only
King march that made it onto Wurlitzer band organ rolls was "Barnum and
Bailey's Favorite March," a well-known circus melody.

William H. Rehrig's "The Heritage Encyclopedia Of Band Music" lists 293
compositions by Karl King (1891-1971).   Of those, 185 are marches.
At the end of his sketch of King's life, Rehrig says this:

    "Today King, along with Henry Fillmore, ranks behind only John
    Philip Sousa as an American march composer.  .... In particular
    the  marches he wrote for better bands have stood the test of time,
    most having been written before 1940.  After 1940, most of his
    music was written for school bands and is classified as grade 2
    or grade 3."

Looking down the list of King marches, one sees that much of his output
postdates 1940, which is perhaps why, in spite of the size of his march
corpus, his reputation rests on relatively few -- and early -- composi-
tions.

Matthew Caulfield
Irondequoit, NY


(Message sent Fri 4 Apr 2008, 22:04:27 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.)

Key Words in Subject:  Karl, King, Marches

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