Brass Ensemble - Level 3 - Digital Download
SKU: A0.808706
Composed by Fred Fisher. Arranged by F. Leslie Smith. Folk,Holiday,Jazz,Patriotic,Traditional. Score and parts. 40 pages. Sweetwater Brass Press #6215233. Published by Sweetwater Brass Press (A0.808706).
    Orville and Wilbur Wright made their famous flight in late 1903; this song was published seven years later: Fred Fisher’s music with Alfred Bryan’s lyrics. The words form a narrative of a young man attempting to get his girlfriend to go up with him in his flying machine. And, that would take much more daring on her part than one might realize today. The year 1910 was still early days for aviation; most airplanes were still made of wood, wire and fabric and looked liked giant gliders. Supposedly, the Josephine of the song was Josephine Sarah Magner, reputed to be America’s first female parachutist. Magner married Leslie Burt Haddock, whose aviation career started in balloons, and made her first jump in 1905. During the next dozen years, she made more than 500 jumps. Pretty daring!
    This arrangement is quirky and an absolute delight to play (and to listen to)! The first half is set in the song’s native ¾ time. The takeoff is the introduction, followed by the chorus, then the verse and again the chorus as the melody loops, rolls and spins through the five instruments. A middle section briefly quotes two other aerialist tunes-He flies through the air with the greatest of ease and Up in the air Junior Birdmen-and serves as a transition to cut time. A swing version of the chorus brings us in for a landing and final fade.
    The arrangement begins in the key of C major and changes to G major during the transitional section. Suggested tempo is 76 bpm throughout. The arrangement comprises 202 measures: Horn in F plays the most notes, followed by Trombone and Tuba, while Trumpets get off relatively lightly. All notes are well within the normal playing range of the instruments; Trumpet 1 does, however, play A above its staff several times.
    Completed in 2021, performance time for Come, Josephine in My Flying Machine runs about 3 minutes, 45 seconds. The arranger, Les Smith, will be happy to provide substitute parts (for example, treble clef baritone for trombone) at no charge; contact him directly at lessmith61@bellsouth.net. For more arrangements by Les, enter Sweetwater Brass Press (without the quotation marks) in the search box. (Also, purchase of this piece entitles you to your choice of another of his arrangements at no charge; send a copy of your purchase receipt directly to him at lessmith61@bellsouth.net.)
