Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 2, dedicated to Charles Villiers Stanford, was composed and first performed in 1901. It has always lived in the shadow of the more famous March No. 1 but is regarded as the finest of the six military marches by some.

This fine arrangement for Brass Quintet (Trumpet parts are in B-flat) by Charles Decker is appropriate for advanced performers and is about 3 minutes in length.

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.

Sousa considered the Semper Fidelis March his finest work. He composed and dedicated it to the U.S. Marine Band in 1888 after a request by President Chester Arthur.

The instrumentation is for standard Brass Quintet: Trumpets in B-flat, Horn in F, Trombone & Tuba with optional piccolo trumpets and optional rubber hose for the horn in the middle section.