Scope and Content Note
The Music of the Sousa Band and Victor Grabel dates from 1861 to 1954 with the bulk of the materials ranging from 1880 to 1933. Arrangements and transcriptions of songs, arias, overtures, dances, and suites created for the Sousa Band chiefly comprise the collection, which also includes printed arrangements and several original compositions by John Philip Sousa and Victor Grabel. Most notable among these are the manuscript parts for Sousa's The Chariot Race, In Parlour and Street, and Songs of Grace and Songs of Glory, as well as Grabel's "Parade of the Tinker Toys" and "United We Stand." Well-known arrangers in addition to Sousa and Grabel represented in the collection include Herbert L. Clarke, Giuseppe (Joseph) Boccavecchia, J. B. Claus, and Sir Daniel Eyers Godfrey. The materials primarily consist of printed and manuscript parts. In many instances, printed piano-vocal scores are included with the manuscript band parts.