Leroy Anderson wrote: "The idea for this piece came from a passage in a poem by Rudyard Kipling" titled 'Recessional.' Anderson continued, "It's unusual for a march. It goes from 2/4 into 3/4. Most marches are two beats to a measure. It's in two parts - Captains first, King's second... In THE CAPTAINS AND THE KINGS, the first part is very martial and describes the captains. The middle section is more melodic and suggests the kings... It always seemed to me that while captains may be very military men, that kings are just ordinary people like the rest of us. It's just that they have an exalted position." This work that underscores the uncertain fate of captains and kings is available in both this original orchestration, and also as a band transcription. Instrumentation in set: 2+Picc.2.2.2: AATSAx(opt) :4.3.3.1: Timp.Perc(2): Pno(opt): Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set).