Who wrote that funny piece of music that is played when clowns enter the circus?

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QUESTION Who wrote that funny piece of music that is played when clowns enter the circus?

This is a famous ‘screamer’, a circus march intended to excite an audience during the show. It was not intended as such, but was composed as a military march called Entry (or Entrance) Of The Gladiators.

Prague-born Czech composer Julius Fucik (1872-1916) wrote the music in October 1897, while serving as bandmaster for the 86th Infantry Regiment of the Austro-Hungarian Army.

Fucik originally called the piece Grande Marche Chromatique. It was designed to demonstrate improvements in the technology and construction of brass instruments, which enabled musicians to play faster – and in chromatic scales.

But the composer, who had a keen interest in Roman history, was so impressed by the description of gladiators entering an amphitheatre in Henryk Sienkiewicz’s 1895 novel Quo Vadis that he renamed it.

Fucik stayed in the army until 1913 when he moved to Berlin, married, formed a Czech orchestra and founded a music publishing firm, Tempo-Verlag. He died of cancer in 1916.

Prague-born Czech composer Julius Fucik (1872-1916) wrote the music in October 1897, while serving as bandmaster for the 86th Infantry Regiment of the Austro-Hungarian Army (Stock Image)

At the turn of the 20th century, the circus was hugely popular and bands were a key part of the entertainment (Stock Image) 

While almost universally remembered for Entrance Of The Gladiators, Fucik wrote 300 marches and dances, many of which were orchestrated, as well as chamber pieces and sacred music, including a Requiem. His Florentine March is still played.

In 1901, Canadian composer Louis-Philippe Laurendeau arranged Entrance Of The Gladiators for American wind bands, and Carl Fischer published this in 1901 under the title Thunder And Blazes. This accelerated version of the march is often known by this name.

At the turn of the 20th century, the circus was hugely popular and bands were a key part of the entertainment. They had to be highly skilled, and the music of the big top had to be exciting and fun, always performed at breakneck speed. This was particularly challenging for low brass instruments, the tuba, euphonium and trombone, which formed the backbone of the band.

Several composers specifically wrote ‘screamers’ for the big top. The American Karl L. King (1891-1971), a former euphonium player, composed numerous marches, waltzes, overtures, serenades and rags, including the world-famous Barnum And Bailey’s Favorite, dubbed ‘the grandaddy of circus marches’.

Fellow countryman Henry Fillmore (1881-1956) wrote many circus marches featuring his instrument, the trombone. Rolling Thunder and The Circus Bee both include difficult and prominent trombone parts. Many of his marches feature ‘smears’, or glissandi, an effect that can only be played on a slide trombone.

Jarred Brewer, Bootle, Merseyside

QUESTION What’s the most ridiculous, or funny, school nickname you’ve ever come across?

Most nicknames, however strange, have rational origins, but not all. The old regulars such as Dusty Miller and Chalky White have faded, though I knew a Chippy Carpenter at school. Girls seem to have fewer nicknames, although a girl named Harris in the infants’ school became ‘Tweed’. She is still a friend.

Using real names from my class, here are some examples. The simplest are family name contractions, thus McLaren was ‘Mac’ and Clements was ‘Clem’. A lad called Glew inevitably got called ‘Sticky’. There was a Dexter answering to ‘El Decko’.

Most nicknames, however strange, have rational origins, but not all (Stock Image) 

School nicknames can be for life. At reunions, a new person enters the room and those already there say, ‘You’ll have to help us. Who are you?’ The name brings blank stares. The person then says his nickname and suddenly there are smiles of recognition all round (Stock Image) 

A pair of neighbours and best friends were ‘Gitch’ and ‘Fus’ (pronounced Fooze). The names were carried from their primary school (Stock Image) 

Some can make a well-known phrase, thus a boy whose surname was Britton became ‘Battler’.

After this it got more complicated. One boy became ‘Puss’ for no obvious reason and there was a ‘Ruggs Randall’. This was alliterative and sounded cool but the origin was uncertain. A boy called Worth was dubbed ‘Harry’ which was not his name but was the name of a popular comedy actor and comedian.

TOMORROW’S QUESTIONS…

Q: Did Liz Truss ever have the opportunity to reside at Chequers?

Clive Gladstone, Cullercoats, Northumberland

Q: Why can some wines be matured in bottles for years and others can’t?

Rod Bell, Yarm, N. Yorks

Q: Can any parts of the body not heal themselves?

Tony Shaw, Edenbridge, Kent

Is there a question to which you want to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question here? Write to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Daily Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY; or email [email protected]. A selection is published, but we’re unable to enter into individual correspondence 

Other people give you your nickname – you cannot name yourself. One boy tried to call himself ‘Lion’. He was the type to be no trouble in class and perhaps thought that this might give him street cred. Despite his mane of blond hair, it never gained traction.

I recall the exact moment when a certain boy was named. A teacher misread his name as Breasley when it was Brierley. Instantly he became ‘Scobie’ after a jockey of the time.

School nicknames can be for life. At reunions, a new person enters the room and those already there say, ‘You’ll have to help us. Who are you?’ The name brings blank stares. The person then says his nickname and suddenly there are smiles of recognition all round.

A pair of neighbours and best friends were ‘Gitch’ and ‘Fus’ (pronounced Fooze). The names were carried from their primary school. Gitch was Richard and so became ‘Ritch’. The change to ‘Gitch’ was while they studied Longfellow’s Hiawatha: ‘By the shores of Gitche Gumee’. The closest I got to the origin of ‘Fus’ was that it had something to do with Methuselah. 

Some nicknames go through several iterations before settling on the final version. A friend called Read said to me: ‘I understand being called Warbler and even Warbles, at a pinch, but if they think they are going to get away with calling me ‘Warm B*lls’ they have another thing coming!’

Phil Alexander, Farnborough, Hants

Here are some nicknames I’ve encountered. In some cases I never heard their real names, as the nicknames were always used.

Squeaker – David, a very good singer; Luggsy – boy with sticking-out ears; Mousey – boy of small stature; Gassy – girl who never stopped talking; Dixie – Colin; Popeye – Peter, it’s in the eyes; Cy – Cyril; Jenny – Jane; Nellie – Lionel; Spuggy – Douglas; Jonty – Eric; Chas – Alan (no idea why!); Clibs – Clive; Ossie – Oscar; Para – Peter; Symie – Simon; Lonnie – Anthony; and Cess – a boy with the surname Pitt!

Finally I humbly submit my own – ‘Justy’. Read my surname to see why.

Clive Madgin, Durham

Is there a question to which you want to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question here? Write to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Daily Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY; or email [email protected]. A selection is published, but we’re unable to enter into individual correspondence 

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