The Fairest of the Fair

	The Fairest of the Fair John Philip Sousa wrote "The Fairest of the Fair" in 1908. This version is performed by the United States Navy Band
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Cover page of piano transcription

"The Fairest of the Fair" is a 1908 march by John Philip Sousa. One of Sousa's more melodic, less military marches, it was composed for the annual Boston Food Fair of 1908.^[1]^[2] It is claimed that the memory of a pretty girl he had seen at an earlier fair inspired the composition.

History

Sousa composed "The Fairest of the Fair" in 1908, intending the Sousa Band to perform it at the annual Boston Food Fair in the fall of that year. It is the only work of any kind that he composed that year^[1] and one of only a handful of compositions that he wrote between 1906 and 1910.^[3] He apparently completed it in New York during the summer, as the final page of the original score was signed "John Philip Sousa, Camp Comfort, Saranac Lake, Adirondack, New York, July 8, 1908."^[1]

Notes

1 2 3 Fennell, Frederick. "The Sousa March: A Personal View". Performing Arts Encyclopedia. The Library of Congress. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
↑ Per piano score at File:JohnPhilipSousaFotFp2.jpg
↑ Bierly 2001, p 72

References

Bierley, Paul E. John Philip Sousa: American Phenomenon. Miami, FL: Warner Bros. Publications, 2001.

External links

The Fairest of the Fair, Dallas Wind Symphony

Includes links to Sousa Band recording, sheet music from the Library of Congress, etc.

Sousa Band

John Philip Sousa

Musical compositions	"The Fairest of the Fair" "The Gallant Seventh" "The Gladiator March" "Hands Across the Sea" "High School Cadets" "Kansas Wildcats" "King Cotton" "The Liberty Bell" "Manhattan Beach" "Minnesota March" "Semper Fidelis" "The Stars and Stripes Forever" "The Thunderer" "Transit of Venus March" "U.S. Field Artillery" "The Washington Post"

Operettas	Chris and the Wonderful Lamp Désirée El Capitan

Other performing arts	"The Army Goes Rolling Along" Stars and Stripes Stars and Stripes Forever

Other	List of compositions by John Philip Sousa audio files John Philip Sousa House United States Marine Corps United States Marine Corps Band

Honoraria	John Philip Sousa Bridge John Philip Sousa Foundation John Philip Sousa Junior High School (Bronx) John Philip Sousa Junior High School

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