Zeitgeist John Philip Sousa
Artists do not create in a vacuum. They reflect their times or at the very least are affected by the lives they lead which are also influenced by the public sphere. The term for this reflection is "Zeitgeist." It literally means "spirit of the times." John Philip Sousa and his works can be classified under this term of "Zeitgeist." Most of Sousa's music was composed during a period known as the gilded age. This period is known for its gross materialism and blatant political corruption in the United States. However, Sousa's music does not seem to reflect this corruption, but rather it reflects a way to deal with the corruption and mishaps of the times. John Philip Sousa, also known as the "March King," was born on November 6,1854, in Washington D.C., near the marine barracks where his father, Antonio, was a musician in the marine band . He received his grammar school education in Washington and for several of his school years enrolled in a private conservatory of music operated by John Esputa, Jr. . There he studied piano and most of the orchestral instruments, but his main passion was the violin. He became very good at the violin, and at age 13 he was almost persuaded
There he worked as an arranger, composer, and proofreader for publishing houses . In the march Sousa proclaims that other nations may think that their flag is the best, "but the flag of the North and South and West is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom's nation . This is because Sousa was responding to the negative messages being sent out by the political society by helping Americans realize how great their nation is. In this case it is very hard to find the "Zeitgeist" in Sousa's compositions of this time. As a young boy, the martial music of army bands in the streets of Washington during and immediately following the Civil War had a profound effect on him. In fact they even seem to contradict the spirit of that era. Rehearsals became exceptionally strict, and he shaped his musicians into the country's premiere band . His first two marches that he wrote as leader of the band, "The Gladiator" and "Semper Fidelis," were received with great acclaim in military band circles and from that time on he received ever-increasing attention and respect as a composer . The military was important to Sousa's music style. When he got to land he set the tune down on paper. Eventually he even set words to it . Within congress the Senate generally overshadowed the House of Representatives. " The House was one of the most disorderly and inefficient legislative bodies in the world. " This song became so popular with the American people that Sousa's band played it at almost every concert until his death . was called "The Waltz King," that American bandmaster Sousa should be called the "March King.
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Acceptance Essays
