The Liberty Bell

As the composer of no fewer than 136 marches - many of them among the most successful of their kind - John Philip Sousa must have found it very easy to write such things. Or so you might think. In fact, as he said, “The whole process is an exacting one… A march stimulates every centre of vitality, wakens the imagination. But it must be good. It must be as free from padding as a marble statue. Every line must be carved with unerring skill. Once padded it ceases to be a march. There is no form of musical composition wherein the harmonic structure must be more clear-cut. There must be a melody which appeals to the musical and the unmusical alike. There must be no confusion in counterpoint."

There is no better example of Sousa’s mastery in this exacting art than The Liberty Bell, even though it was written originally for one of his many operettas, the (unfinished) Devil’s Deputy. It was then adapted and given its present title when the Liberty Bell was taken from its home in Philadelphia for exhibition at the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893. In spite of its being named after a historic icon of American indepence, however, it is now firmly associated with comedy - thanks to its characteristically irreverent use as the signature tune for Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Like Fucik’s Entry of the Gladiators, it lends itself to comedy partly because of its cheerful vitality but also because it flirts so dangerously with vulgarity that it needs only a little exaggeration in performance to send it over the top.