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The 5th California owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to those historians who have gone to great lengths to collect, microfilm and finally digitize the various manuscript we draw from to form our repertoire. Unlike 'Dixie' and 'Battle Hymn of the Republic' which remain popular, obscure pieces such as the Amathusia Quickstep and Sacramento City Guards (Eleanor McClatchy collection of Sacramento History Museum) may never have seen another performance were it not for their efforts. Nearly every piece the 5th California and El Dorado Brass Bands perform are available from the Smithsonian American Memory Library of Congress . In whatever form they have been recorded, the 5th California revives the spirit of the men who wrote them during the years leading up to and including the greatest trial of our new nation, the Civil War. |
| The Alabama - March, Amathusia QS, America, Attila QS, Battle Cry of Freedom & Kingdom Coming QS, Battle Hymn of the Republic, Battle of Inkerman, Blondinette Polka, Bonnie Eloise QS, Brin D'Amour QS, Call Me Not Back From the Echoless Shore, Camptown Races, Cape May Polka, Cavalry QS, Confederate's Polka - March, Fitz Clarence Waltz, (California) Flood Mazurka, General Lee's Grand March, Goober Peas, Hail to the Chief, Home Sweet Home, Jefferson Davis' Grand March, Lorena, Marching Through Georgia, The (Southern) Marseillaies, Motor QS, New Armory QS, Oh Susanna!, The Old North State, President Lincoln's Grand March, Red White & Blue, Ripley's Schottisch, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Sacramento City Guards QS, St. Patrick's Day in the Morning & Garry Owen, Star Spangled Banner, Tenting on the Old Camp Ground, The Vacant Chair, Venus Reign Waltz, Virginia Reel, Wait For the Wagon, When This Cruel War is Over & Hoist Up the Flag, When Johnny Comes Marching Home. The following selections from the 26th North Carolina band books: Come Dearest the Daylight is Gone, Slumber Polka, Home Again, Dixie & The Bonnie Blue Flag, Luto QS, Cheer Boys Cheer, Lula is Gone, Juanita, Col. Kirkland's March, Louisa Polka, Martha QS, Listen to the Mockingbird, Carry Me Back to Ole Viginny's Shore, Last Rose of Summer. from the Brass Band Journal of Firth, Pond & Co.: Lilly Bell, Old Log Hut, Crystal Schottisch, Maggie by my Side, Pelham Schottisch, Old Dog Tray, Ellen Bayne Quickstep, Ocean Tide March, Rainbow Schottisch, Annie May, Lilly Lee, Prima Donna Waltz, Maseilles Hymn, Star Spangled Banner, Hail Columbia, Yankee Doodle, Jewel Waltz, Mendelsohn's Wedding March, Signal March, Wedding Schottisch, Massa's in the Cold Ground, Farewell My Lilly Dear, My Old Kentucky Home, Far Away. from Peter's Sax-horn Journal: Midnight March, Leona Waltz, Cradle Schottisch, E. Pluribus Unum, Anvil Chorus, Masonic March, Nannie Waltz, Charming Waltz, Sunny Hours Waltz, Mountain Belle Schottisch, Webster's Funeral March, Louisville March, Indiana Polka |
At left is a fairly comprehensive listing of the 5th California's repertoire. From stately marches, effortless waltzes and stirring quick-steps, the band plays it all. Popular music of the day was often created and published for piano within weeks of a successful debut. Every household with a daughter trained in the piano would have been the focal point of the local community and her responsibility to learn the patriotic song of the month was expected. Band leaders would create full arrangements of those pieces based on the typical construction of the band; 2 Eb soprano cornets, 2 Bb alto cornets, 2 Eb alto horns, 2 Bb tenor horns, a Bb baritone, an Eb bass and percussion (side drum and bass drum). In larger bands a Db piccolo or fife could be heard. (Modern bands have replaced the soprano cornet voice with clarinets, the alto horn with a french horn and the tenor horn with slide trombones) A brass band is just that, brassy! Expect to be excited when you hear them. In fact, having a good brass band in the regiment was a key tool used by a Colonel trying to recruit new privates. Who wouldn't want to enlist after hearing a rousing chorus of 'Battle Cry of Freedom'? |
