Tuesday 6 July 2021
Tune of the Day: El Capitan
by John Philip Sousa, transcribed for solo flute
This march has enjoyed exceptional popularity with bands since it first appeared in 1896. It was extracted from the most successful of Sousa's operettas, also titled El Capitan, which premiered the same year.
In The Works of John Philip Sousa, Paul E. Bierley remarks:
This was the march played by the Sousa Band, augmented to over a hundred men and all at Sousa's personal expense, as they led Admiral Dewey's victory parade in New York on September 30, 1899. It was a matter of sentiment with Sousa, because the same march had been played by the band on Dewey's warship Olympia as it sailed out of Mirs Bay on the way to attack Manila during the Spanish-American War.
Thanks to Elan for suggesting this piece!