July 4, 1776

This extremely patriotic piece is tailor-made for the purpose of singing about, well... July 4, 1776! As you might have expected, it is a stately and majestic tune, appropriate to the subject and orchestrated as a symphonic march, complete with layers of drums and percussion. Be sure to turn it way up in performance, not just so your singers can stay with it, but also to amplify the goosebump factor of brass fanfares, horn rips, and soaring strings.

The melody is kept approachable so that you can use it with singers of all ages. Perhaps even as an audience sing-along, at least during the choruses. To help that effort, consider projecting the lyrics – with or without graphics – onto a large screen during performances.

After the initial simple unison statement of the chorus at measure 5 (with pick-up), the chorus repeats going into bar 13 with the addition of an optional second part. This part acts as a bit of a response to a call at first, becoming more harmony afterwards as the orchestration also ramps up a bit, adding layers and countermelodies to amplify the grandness.

The song changes tone going into bar 22, both dynamically and stylistically. More hymn-like at this point, it features an optional soloist or two. We used a younger voice for the first part of the solo, and an older one for the second part, but you could use the same person throughout if you prefer. Or you could do it as a soli, featuring a few voices together. Going into bar 30, all singers join back in at forte, accompanied by the rich, full orchestra.

The next section, which starts at measure 37, introduces the fanfare theme, first in the key of B-flat, then modulating to the key of C at bar 39. A slight ritard leads into the next iteration of the chorus at bar 41. Everything that is played on the recording is accented at this point, and singers are encouraged to do likewise. This goes all the way to the end with the familiar melody of "from sea to shining sea" (from "America The Beautiful") tastefully tucked in. See if your students can identify it.

You will find the isolated rehearsal track for part 2 at our web site.