Mendelssohn?s oratorio ?Athalia? grew out of a commission he had received to write incidental music for a private performance of the French tragedy ?Athalie.? He then went on to expand his original score to include three soloists, full chorus and orchestra, two orators, an overture and the piece presented here. ?War March of the Priests? is one of Mendelssohn?s most performed compositions, one reason being that it goes over so well as both a stand-alone concert piece and as a graduation/commencement processional or recessional. As this arrangement shows, "War March" adapts perfectly to the brass quintet, from the energetic and assertive triplet figures to the complementary legato section: a real gem for two trumpets, horn, trombone and tuba. This arrangement was completed in 2012, and performance time runs about 6 minutes, 42 seconds; however, its repeated sections allow it to be expanded or contracted on the spot to meet the time needs for ceremonial processions. You may contact the arranger, Les Smith, at lessmith@ufl.edu. Be sure to check out the following Sweetwater Brass Press arrangements: "Chorale St. Antoni," "Entry of the Graduates: Processional," "Departure of the Graduates: Recessional," "Marche from Sylvia Ballet Suite," "Marche militaire in D major (No. 1)" and "Academic Festival Overture." For these and other arrangements by Les, enter "Sweetwater Brass Press" (without the quotation marks) in the SheetMusicPlus search box.?

Schubert's exciting and famous Marche Militaire is arranged for Brass Quintet. The melody is passed around the group giving lots of opportunities to work on balance and independence.