Essay by James M. Lambrecht, Professor of Music, Director of Bands

Little is known of early twentieth-century painter Ivan Ivanovitch Kowalski other than a small citation describing him as a Russian-born painter of landscapes, a watercolorist and pastel artist who lived and worked in Paris. He was sensitive about the changing seasons and liked landscapes with water (Bénézit 18-19). As the international center of the world of art, Paris attracted many other expatriate Russian artists including Bakst, Benois, Chagall and the composer Stravinsky to name a few (White 244).

In Park Scene with Band (1909), we see the influences of Impressionism and Post-Impressionist pointillism championed by Georges Seurat. The large tree, the seated girl and the young woman wearing a red dress draw us to the subject of the gathering-the band. A small ensemble is implied and due to the distance, no instruments are displayed. An apparent conductor and sheet music on stands leaves no doubt as to the activity. The festive occasion replete with balloons, likely included orchestral transcriptions of Berlioz, Bizet, Delibes, and Saint-Saëns along with patriotic, revolution-era marches by Gossec, Catel, Jardin and especially the national anthem La Marseillaise by Rouget de Lisre.

A moderate temperature allowed this autumnal concert. Since the eighteenth century, the French enjoyed outdoor band performances for any special or historical occasion including Bastille Day celebrations (July 14) or the special performance of Hector Berlioz' Symphonie Funèbre et Triomphale (1840), celebrating the tenth anniversary of the July Revolution of 1830. That performance called for a band of over 200 and was witnessed by a crowd so large that it completely overpowered the music (Berlioz 253-255).

The lasting influence of French outdoor band performance on American bands can be first seen immediately following the American Civil War. Large outdoor concerts were "conceived in the tradition of the 'Monster Concerts' of the French Revolution" (Hansen 42). This can be witnessed weekly throughout the summer months in many city or town parks or at the U.S. Capitol steps where one could hear the U.S. Navy Band (Mondays), The U.S. Air Force Band (Tuesdays), The U.S. Marine Band (Wednesdays) and the U.S. Army Band (Fridays).

Yet there is perhaps no finer example than that of the founding of the Sousa Band in 1892. After very successful tours with the United States Marine Band in 1891 and 1892, John Philip Sousa was ordered by the Marine Corps surgeon to recuperate in Europe. The wily entrepreneur David Blakely persuaded Sousa to attend a performance by the Garde Républicaine Band, considered the finest band in the world. After hearing the band, Sousa resigned his commission with the Marine Band and formed his own professional band with Blakely as manager. The initial contract reads: "It shall be the aim and duty of the said Sousa by individual effort, and band rehearsals and practice, and by the preparation and furnishing of music, to make this band equal in executive ability to the band of the Garde Républicaine in Paris" (Bierley 151).