R.B. Hall

Independentia

Independentia March was first published in 1895. At least eight of Hall's other marches were also published in 1895. He was living in Waterville, Maine, at that time, was thirty-seven years old, and had established certain principles in the composition of his marches. As demonstrated by Independentia, Hall's marches were composed primarily for the typical community bands in the New England area around the turn of the century. If the prestigious military and professional bands in the United States and Europe chose to play his music (and they did), that was fine! His marches are gems of simplicity and understatement, composed of flowing melodies and countermelodies, contrasting dynamics, and occasionally an element of surprise - as in the two beats of silence (or bass drum/cymbal solos) just before the last strain of this march.