Gottschalk was one of America's firstimportant composers. His numerous worksfor piano are mostly light. His Marche desGibaros from the Souvenir de Porto Ricotranscribed by Karl Hinterbichler is lively andbright. American born Louis MoreauGottschalk (1829-1869) was one of thegreat pianist/composers of his day. Hebegan his career in Europe but spent mostof his life touring from coast to coast in theUS, as well as South America, and theCaribbean.

He composed more than 100 works whichcombine the typical European Romanticvirtuoso style with musical traditions fromSouth America, the Caribbean, Spain andsacred and popular songs from the UnitedStates.

Originally for solo piano, Souvenir de PortoRico (op. 31), bears the subtitle Marche desGibaros, a reference to the peasants of theisland. The simple melody derives from aPuerto Rican song 'Si me dan pasteles, lesd�nmelos calientes,' 'If you give me cakes,give them to me hot,' sung by strollingmusicians during the Puerto RicanChristmas season. This simple melody isthen subjected to a series of variations. Themusic depicts the sound of strollingmusicians, first heard in the distance,coming ever closer, rising to a climax andthen fading as the Gibaros march away intothe distance. The syncopated rhythmsstrongly suggest its Caribbean origins.

Instrumentation is for 2 Trumpets in Bb(Trumpet 1 doubles on Piccolo), Horn,Trombone and Tuba.

?American Patrol? is the best-known work by Frank White (F.W.) Meacham (1856?1909), an arranger and composer associated with Tin Pan Alley, the home of New York City-based songwriters and music publishers who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century. ?American Patrol? incorporates both original musical themes by Meacham and melodies from patriotic songs of the era such as ?Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean? and ?Dixie.? The ?patrol? format was popular in the latter 19th century, and was intended to represent a military band approaching, passing, and fading into the distance. It typically included an introduction played pianissimo or piano, in imitation of bugle calls or drums, then themes played progressively louder until a recapitulation of the first theme(s), gradually fading away and finishing softly, like the march began. Published for piano in 1885 and for wind band in 1891, ?American Patrol? became and remained popular through World War I and II, enjoying renewed popularity during WWII and beyond thanks to a swing arrangement for Glenn Miller's band by Jerry Gray. �Copyright 2013 Todd Marchand / ConSpiritoMusic.com