Brass bands flourished in mid-nineteenth century America and were an integral and indispensable part of the social, cultural, and political life of the land. Regimental bands assumed tremendous importance during the Civil War whilst civic bands supplied the bulk of the entertainment in many a small town in the post-bellum years. It was during this period that the march as a genre experienced its greatest musical flowering with the advent of Sousa and his contemporaries. The schottisches, waltzes, polkas, quicksteps and serenades provide a delightful and charming portrait of the time and are sequenced for maximum listening pleasure. The playing, on difficult period instruments, is absolutely spectacular.
