The First Memorial Day

The first “Memorial Day” commemoration was held in Charleston in May 1865.  Charleston had been evacuated by the Confederates in March.  General Lee surrendered only a month later, and the city lay in ruins.  Even so, the newly freed slaves wanted to recognize the Union soldiers who had sacrificed their lives to free them. There had been a prisoner of war camp at the old Washington Race Course where over 250 Union troops had died while in captivity.  During the war, slaves were conscripted to bury the dead in mass graves.  After the war, leaders in the freedmen community wanted to give these soldiers, whom they called “The Martyrs of the Race Course”, a proper burial.  They reopened the mass graves and moved each soldier to their own gravesite in a cemetery that was located in what had been the infield of the race course. After this was accomplished, the community gathered on May 1, 1865, to decorate the graves and honor the dead.  Prayers and scripture readings were followed by sermons and hymns, and flowers were placed on each grave.  The event was followed by a picnic.  Union soldiers accompanied the crowd, and when they returned home, they told the story of the event.  It started a national movement to honor the fallen soldiers of the Civil War, then expanded to honor all those who have sacrificed their lives in the service of their country. 

Years after the war, the Washington Race Course was redesigned as Hampton Park.  The soldiers’ remains were transferred to the National Cemetery in Beaufort. Our concert at the park will be near the location of the original gravesites.

The Moment of Remembrance, followed by “Taps” and “The Star Spangled Banner”

The National Moment of Remembrance was created by President Clinton to observe a moment of silence to occur at 3:00 p.m. (local time) on each Memorial Day. This is to encourage Americans everywhere, to pause for one minute at 3:00 p.m. (local time) on Memorial Day, to remember and reflect on the sacrifices made by so many to provide freedom for all.

The Washington Post March

Sousa was the director of the Marine Band in the late 1880’s when the Washington Post asked him to compose a march which would be performed at an awards ceremony for a children’s essay contest. The march became an immediate success, and not only because of its catchy melodies. A new dance craze, the “two-step” had just emerged on the scene, and the Washington Post was a perfect fit for the dance music. It became an instant dance sensation and was played all around the world over the next few decades. It actually rivalled the “Maple Leaf Rag” in popularity in the 1890’s.

Next to “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” “The Washington Post” has been Sousa’s most widely known march. It was a standard at Sousa Band performances and was often openly demanded when not scheduled for a program. Unlike “Stars and Stripes”, Sousa made very little money from Washington Post, even though his publisher made enormous profits. As for Sousa, he was paid a total of $35.00: $20 for the piano version, $5 for the band version, and $5 for the orchestra arrangement.

An American Spectacular

This medley of American patriotic melodies is subtitled “A Musical History of the United States”. Beginning with “God Save the King” from colonial times, the music progresses in order of their appearance in American history, from the Revolution, The War of 1812 through early westward expansion, the Civil War, World War I and II and closing with excerpts from “America the Beautiful”. Visitors to “Liberty Square” at EPCOT may recognize these arrangements, as they were originally used as background music at that part of the theme park.

Liberty

A musical essay on the concept of Liberty, the piece explores the emotions one feels when considering the concept of liberty in American life. Composer Rossano Galante, a veteran orchestrator for the major Hollywood studios, uses his talents to express in music the concepts of what liberty means to us. Beginning with a thoughtful, quiet opening, the music gradually rises and expands, then suddenly shifts to a driving tempo that is reminiscent of the soundtracks of classic Westerns. The sweeping sounds and charging rhythms suggest the wide open spaces and vistas of the American West, where the idea of each person living their life, being free to pursue their dreams, is an essential element of the American psyche.

Overcome

Considered one of the most powerful “movement” songs of the 20th century, and continuing today, “We Shall Overcome” evolved from slave hymns that were also used as work songs in the antebellum era.  An early version of the song was published in the late 1800’s and was a staple of the black church. The tune was based on the old hymn, “O Sanctissima”, and that tune can be heard in the song to this day.  In 1908, a coal miners’ strike in Alabama is the first time a form of the song (“I shall Overcome”) was heard at a rally, sung by both black and white miners who joined the strike together. Even though the strike failed, the song inspired black leaders at the time. 

The version that we all came to know was first sung in the fall of 1945 at the Cigar Factory, when the workers, again black and white, went on strike.  This time, they added verses specific to their cause, and also changed the first verse to We Will Overcome, which quickly evolved over time and growing usage to “We Shall Overcome”.  Pete Seeger, the folk singer who helped spread the song across the country, and especially in protest movements, credited Charleston’s own Septima Clark with making the final change from “We Will”, to “We Shall”.  The clear and simple text, combined with the simple, easy to sing melody, has made this song one of the most easily recognized and powerful songs of the last century.  Along with “Amazing Grace”, “We Shall Overcome” is one of the most sung congregational melodies in American music.

St. Louis Blues

W.C. Handy was called “The Father of the Blues”. Based in Memphis, he refined the blues, bringing them out of the Mississippi Delta and into the mainstream of American music. His most famous work, St. Louis Blues, was performed by artists from Louis Armstrong to Glenn Miller. In WWII, Glenn Miller, the leader of the US Army Air Corps Band in Europe, created a march version that not only inspired the troops, but became a popular hit at home. W.C. Handy’s great music has stood the test of time, and continues to be one of the most famous blues tunes even today.

Armed Forces Salute

Each year, The Charleston Concert Band performs this medley of the service songs to recognize not only those who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedoms, but also to thank those among us who have served and are still with us today. If you served in one of the branches of the Armed Forces, or you had a family member who served, please stand during the playing of your service song to be recognized for your/their service. They will be performed in this order:

Army; Coast Guard; Marines; Air Force; Navy.

Please accept our musical recognition of your service and the sacrifice of so many.

America the Beautiful

No song better describes the beauty, spirit and exceptionalism of our country than “America The Beautiful”. In 1893, at the age of 33, Bates, an English professor at Wellesley College, travelled to Colorado to take a position at Colorado college. Her trip enabled her to see some of the beautiful vistas of the West (“amber waves of grain….. purple mountain majesties”) and, inspired by what she saw, she penned the poem which would become the lyrics of the song. Meanwhile, Samuel A. Ward, the organist at Grace Church in Newark, had been similarly inspired to write a new hymn tune while crossing New York Harbor on the ferry. His tune was called “Materna” and was used as an alternate tune for hymn settings such as “O Mother Dear, Jerusalem”. Mr. Ward died in 1903, and never met Katherine Bates or saw the poem. The poem was set to Ward’s tune in 1910 and immediately became a hit. It soon rivaled the “Star Spangled Banner” as the most sung American patriotic tune of the 20 th century, and is even more popular than ever. It is considered the second National Anthem by many. Carmen Dragon, the conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra wrote this arrangement in the 1950’s and it has been the most performed version of this great song to this day.

The Stars and Stripes Forever

There can be some discussion about what would make a better national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner” or “America the Beautiful”, but there is no argument about what is the “National March”. There is no song more closely tied to the nation than “ The Stars and Stripes Forever”!

According to the US Marine Band description of this great march, someone asked John Philip Sousa, “Who influenced you to compose ‘Stars and Stripes Forever,’” and before the question was hardly asked, Sousa replied, “God–and I say this in all reverence! I was in Europe and I got a cablegram that my manager was dead. I was in Italy and I wished to get home as soon as possible. I rushed to Genoa, then to Paris and to England and sailed for America. On board the steamer as I walked miles up and down the deck, back and forth, a mental band was playing ‘Stars and Stripes Forever.’ Day after day as I walked it persisted in crashing into my very soul.” When he arrived in New York, he put pen to paper and the great march was born.