Esprit de Corps

Esprit de Corps was originally commissioned by the United States Marine Band of Washington, D.C., Col. John R. Bourgeois, conductor. Based upon The Marine's Hymn, Esprit de Corps is a kind of fantasy-march that serves as a tribute to the Marine Corps as well as to the Marine Band. Composed immediately after the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, the composer chose to forego an elegy-type tribute in favor of a work that reflects the positive spirit of the Corps, full of energy and dynamism. Even the tempo marking, Tempo di Bourgeois, reflects the dramatic and spirited conducting of Col. John R. Bourgeois, who was conductor of the Marine Band at the time of composing.