Anderson wrote: "The idea for this piece came from a passage in a poem by Rudyard Kipling. "It's a quote from Kipling's 'Recessional,'
'The tumult and the shouting dies, the Captains and the Kings depart, Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice, A humble and a contrite heart, Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget, lest we forget."
"It's unusual for a march. It goes from 2/4 into 3/4. Most marches are two beats to a measure. It's in two parts - Captains first, King's second."
In "The Captains and the Kings", the first part is very martial and describes the captains. The middle section is more melodic and suggests the kings.
"It always seemed to me that while captains may be very military men, that kings are just ordinary people like the rest of us. It'a just that they have an exalted position."
- Leroy Anderson, Feb 27, 1972; USAF Band Concert, Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C.
For the last of Leroy Anderson's 33 1/3 long-playing records with Decca, the composer brought six new works to record along with numerous compositions from the Broadway musical "Goldilocks". Along with the five other new works by Anderson completed in 1962, they and the Decca record were collectively called "The New Music of Leroy Anderson" 1.
They were published by Woodbury Music Corporation which Anderson had created in 1961 in order to control the publishing rights to his music. Woodbury Music Corporation was reorganized as "Woodbury Music Company LLC in 2003.
1. "The New Music of Leroy Anderson": "Arietta", "Balladette", "The Captains And The Kings", "Clarinet Candy", "The Golden Years", "Home Stretch" and from the Musical Goldilocks - "I Never Know When", "Lazy Moon", "Pirate Dance", "The Pussy Foot", "Pyramid Dance", "Shall I Take My Heart and Go ?", and "Town House Maxixe".
Significant recordings
United States Air Force Band, Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C.; Leroy Anderson, conductor; February 27, 1972
Decca Records recording session, Manhattan Center, New York, NY; Leroy Anderson, conductor; June 16, 1922.
Leroy Anderson conducted a studio orchestra in his 1962 Stereo recording of "The Captains And The Kings" for Decca Records. 49 musicians, many of whom were the Principals of their respective orchestra sections, came to perform for the recording. They were chosen from the New York Philharmonic, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the NBC Symphony, the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Goldman Band and the Beaux Arts Trio.
The studio orchestra included 10 First Violins, 6 Second Violins, 4 Violas, 4 Celli, 3 Basses, 3 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 2 Trombones, 3 Drummers and 1 Pianist.
Copyrights to the music of Leroy Anderson
are held by Woodbury Music Company LLC.
For information concerning the use
of Leroy Anderson's music,
contact the Leroy Anderson family at:
info[at]woodburymusic[dot]com.
Back to Music of Leroy Anderson
