Entry March of the Boyars: Concert Band Conductor Score

Fennell's stewardship of this score matters enormously. By returning to the original 1895 orchestral source and reconsidering the entire work, he restored what previous editions had compromised or omitted, including percussion parts and low clarinet voicing that add harmonic depth and color. For conductors seeking a march with genuine musical substance rather than empty bombast, this edition offers the real article.

Dignified and processional, with a sense of pageantry tempered by genuine lyricism. The work moves forward with purpose and weight, never breathless; there's warmth in the harmony and refinement in the orchestration that lifts it above typical concert march formulas.

Grade 3 bands with solid fundamentals and the musicianship to handle lyrical phrasing within a march context. This suits ensembles that want to program something beyond the standard parade repertory without overreaching into advanced difficulty.

• Balance the march's thematic material across the ensemble rather than letting the melody dominate; Halvorsen wrote contrapuntal inner voices that deserve audibility.
• Shape phrases with deliberate harmonic motion rather than mechanical phrasing; the underlying chord changes provide natural architecture.
• Let the percussion parts breathe as musical contributors, not mere timekeeping; the full parts add textural variety Fennell restored.
• Attend to low woodwind and low brass voicing, which grounds the harmony and prevents the sound from becoming thin or shrill.

Program this as a concert opener to establish tone and polish, or use it to bridge between a classical selection and a modern work. Its formal elegance pairs well with late Romantic repertory or as a counterpoint to contemporary pieces that deliberately break with march tradition.

• Phrasing within march form
• Harmonic analysis of late Romantic progressions
• Balance and blend across multiple melodic lines
• Precision with restored and newly engraved percussion parts
• Stylistic awareness of early 20th-century concert march conventions