VICTORY MARCH
by LEYLA SAZ arr. KAthryn woodard
Leyla Saz, Composer
Kathryn Woodard, Arranger
Grade 3 | 2:45 | 1908/2020
Victory March is a melody Leyla Saz composed in 1908 to commemorate the Young Turk Revolution. (The original also has lyrics appropriate for the occasion.) While military bands - and compositions for them - were a part of Ottoman tradition at this point in time, Saz’s song melody bridges different styles, a reflection on her varied musical training in both Ottoman-Turkish and Western styles. It was also composed without harmonization - in the Ottoman style. In this arrangement Kathryn Woodard has taken Saz's original melody and fused it with Western harmonies and rhythmic accompaniment.
ABOUT LEYLA SAZ …
Composer Leyla Saz was born in Istanbul in 1850 and grew up in the Ottoman palace as daughter of the palace physician. Her education in the palace included instruction in both Turkish and Western styles including piano studies. Saz composed over 200 instrumental and vocal works in her lifetime. In addition to composing, she wrote poetry, patronized Turkish art, and her memoir is considered a leading source on life in the 19th-century Ottoman Imperial Harem.
Leyla Saz, Composer
Recorded in September 2019 by South Dakota State University Wind Ensemble and Dr. Jacob Wallace.