Alfred Reed

Poetry And Power

When John F. Kennedy was inaugurated at 35th President of the United States, the poet, Robert Frost, an honored guest at the ceremony, said that we were entering an age of poetry and power. Some two and half years later, less than a month before his assissination, President Kennedy, in dedicating the Robert Frost memorial at Amherst College, took up this theme, in a memorable speech celebrating not only America's military heroes, but her artistic ones as well, and said, 'When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.' This deeply stirring passage has been taken as the basis for this Ceremonial Concert March, dedicated to the memory of John F. Kennedy. Ths music is fundamentally a three-part form. It is scored for a large and varied instrumentation, showing off to the fullest possible extent the range of tone color and dynamic range of the modern, fully integrated Symphonic Band.