History
Screamers were mostly composed in a 60-year period (1895 – 1955). Circuses were in need of music that would stir the audience into a frenzy, as four-footed animals galloped across the ring. Because march music was a prominent part of American music at that time, and because it carried such a quick tempo, it was this that ringleaders demanded.Musicality
Circus marches are faster than a normal military march, often 130 to 150 beats/minute.Although screamers tend to follow the march form, many times they are abbreviated, and additions, such as a quick cornet call introduction to a new melody, are included. The average screamer can last a minute to three and a half minutes.
Screamers are a very demanding type of music, due to their extremely fast and advanced rhythms, especially the low-brass parts. Double and even triple tonguing is often required in order to play these rhythms. The trio in The Melody Shop is a good example of this.
Many screamers have two prominent melodies playing at once. Although this is not unusual in a march, screamers tend to go further with this. The low-brass section can be playing a long, stately melody, while the woodwinds can be moving along with a phrase of 16th notes, or vice versa.
Due to the circumstances in which screamers are played, dynamics tend to stay at a level forte. Unlike some military marches, piano is rarely used.
Composers
The most prominent composer of circus marches is Karl L. King, more notably with his march Barnum & Bailey's Favorite. Other screamer composers include Fred Jewell, and Henry Fillmore. John Philip Sousa, with the exception of On Parade and a few others, did not write any circus marches.Popular screamers
- The ABA March by Edwin Franko Goldman
- Americans We by Henry Fillmore
- Barnum & Bailey's Favorite by Karl L. King
- Bennett's Triumphal by Melvin H. Ribble
- The Big Cage by Karl L. King
- The Billboard March by John N. Klohr
- Bombasto by Orion R. Farrar
- Bones Trombone by Henry Fillmore
- Bravura by Charles E. Duble
- Bugles and Drums by Edwin Franko Goldman
- Circus Bee by Henry Fillmore
- Circus Days by Karl L. King
- Circus Echoes by Arthur W. Hughes
- Circus King by Charles E. Duble
- Floto's Triumph by Fred Jewell
- Gallito by Santiago Lope
- His Honor by Henry Fillmore
- Invictus by Karl L. King
- Klaxton by Henry Fillmore
- The Melody Shop by Karl L. King
- Onward and Upward by Edwin Franko Goldman
- Robinson's Grand Entree by Karl L. King
- Rolling Thunder by Henry Fillmore
- The Squealer by Will Huff
- The Screamer by Frederick Jewell
- Smilin' Jack by Robert S. Keller
- Them Basses by Getty H. Huffine
- Thunder and Blazes (1897) by Julius Fučík
References: Fennell, Dr. Frederick: Screamers- American Circus Marches 1963 Whitmarsch, Richard: Sounds of the Circus(28 volumes of circus music)
See also
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Last updated on Wednesday June 18, 2008 at 14:58:56 PDT (GMT -0700)
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