England, which spanned the Thames River between the City of London and Southwark in central London from 1209 until 1831. The song rather flippantly refers to attempts, realistic or fanciful, to repair it. It may date back to bridge-related rhymes and games of the late Middle Ages, but the earliest records of the rhyme in English are from the 17th century. The lyrics were first printed in close to their modern form in the mid-18th century and became popular, particularly in Britain and the United States, during the 19th century.
This clever arrangement includes 13 variations of the song, passed around to just about every instrument in the band. The composer cleverly quotes fragments of many well-known pieces against the melody, including Big Ben chimes, Aram Khachaturian’s Sabre Dance, Fiddler on the Roof, Camptown Races and O du Lieber Augustin. It briefly slips into a minor mode, and also has short sections which suggest music from Scotland and Germany.
From the composer:
“London Bridge was originally written for brass quintet and later scored for concert band. It was designed to appeal to children, but also to the child remaining in the rest of us. It kind of developed as it went along and ended up where it is today if that makes any sense at all. A few days after the first draft was finished, I took it to a clinic for high school band members at one of the Anchorage schools. The clinic was put on by the Canadian Brass, who were in Anchorage on a concert tour. They sightread it at the clinic. I even asked them to autograph the parts. They did. I did not have the nerve to ask them what they thought about it, and they offered me no opinion. That may have been good. This is a terrific novelty piece that shows off the whole group, quotes famous pieces and allows the players to really have fun.”
James (Jim) Parcel (b. 1947) was raised in Portland, Oregon. He attended the University of Oregon (Eugene), achieving a Bachelors Degree in Music Education. He moved to Anchorage, Alaska where he taught band at the high school level for over thirty years. Mr. Parcel received a Masters Degree in Music Education, also from U of O.
Jim has always been an active trombone player playing in the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, several jazz ensembles and combos as well as in brass quintets. He started experimenting with composing and arranging in his early years of teaching and his interest in composition continues.
The music for London Bridge was purchased for The Gateway Concert Band by
Susan Evans and Ross Fjermedal.
