Okay, a march isn’t really the type of music I’d associate with Venus (seems more Martian, to me), but I couldn’t resist posting this. Sousa wrote the march in 1882-3 (there was a Venus transit in 1882), but he did not write it specifically to commemorate that event itself. Rather, the Smithsonian Instituiton in Washington, D.C. asked Sousa to write it for a planned unveiling of a statue in honor of American physicist Prof. Joseph Henry who had died on May 13, 1878. According to a page at NASA.com, “The music was to be played while dignitaries solomnly walked from the museum to a special receiving stand in front of the Smithsonian,” in 1883.
The article notes there are other examples of music with likely ties to the transit of Venus in the Library of Congress, since they appeared around the time of the 1874 and 1882 transits. These include: “The Transit Polka” and the “The Rapid Transit.” Also, dated near the June 6, 1769 transit of Venus, the British Public Library has a copy of an old song titled, “Come ye lads and lasses with speed. The Transit of Venus,” published in London; author and exact circumstances unknown.
Thanks, Amanda, for the Sousa music. I’ve always enjoyed the Sousa marches, and lucky enough to live in Michigan, home to Leonard B. Smith and the Detroit Concert Band. Smith (a cornet player) was considered to be the successor to Sousa, and founded the DBC in 1946 and was its conductor. The Detroit Concert Band recorded all 116 of Sousa’s published marches (including the Venus Transit March), all of which are currently available on CD. (I actually have about nine of the albums on vinyl.)
The Detroit Concert Band was considered to be the premier concert band and the best for Sousa music. Its sound is slightly different than in the video clip, which has a more symphonic sound. Clips of the 116 marches can be heard at allmusic.com, search for the Detroit Concert Band.
Nothing like a good Sousa march to get the blood going, unless it would be a Strauss waltz? No polkas for me, thank you. Too reminiscent of my Polish childhood.
Again, thanks.
JannKinz
PS: Detroit is also home to Bob Seeley, a protege of Mead “Lux” Lewis and one of the world’s best boogie woogie/stride piano players on the planet. He was
Love this post. 🙂
Oh, Len, I love polkas too. One of the young lifeguards at my YMCA would play some for me during my weekly Friday visit to the pool. It’s hilarious to swim to polka music! He also would occasionally wax his mustache into fine handlebars, upon which I always commented favorably.
I think I was born in the wrong time (or maybe I also exist at that time now): I love barbershop ensembles, argyle socks, bow ties, corny jokes, and ragtime music. And polkas. And Venus (ruler of my sun sign) — though she’s timeless, of course.
Amanda,
Thank you for the post. Always been more of a polka guy myself.
A nice little piece about the transit from MSM–NPR.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2012/06/04/154282601/the-venus-transit-who-cares
While the astronomy behind Venus transits might not be news, the celestial mechanics of our own trajectories through life and the universe are an ongoing story. The transit of Venus reminds us of something essential. We are so busy worrying about getting the kids to school before homeroom, getting to work before the shift starts or getting to the gym for spin class that we completely forget time spins on many different cycles. While our heads are down waiting for a Facebook page to update on our cellphones, the solar system continues relentlessly on in its steady, stately dance of gravity, matter and motion.
The sky is the original clock and it has always reminded humans that there are times and cycles that dwarf our own. Now that we have become a global culture whose actions affect the planet on time scales of centuries or more, that kind of reminder couldn’t be more … well … timely.
It is the mirror of the Venus/Mars Amanda square effect, it makes me think I’m there or I’ll not, it shows the little enthusiasm ente the of Mars and Venus
Reninds me of the beautiful Merry Go Rounds I rode on as a child. Maybe Venus wants me to jump back on!