Most listeners are aware that Sousa wrote much patriotic band music, often of a martial nature, but he also produced a vein of works which, while still having nationalistic and patriotic ties, are of a more idealistic cast. Such was the case with Hands Across the Sea, composed to buoy America's role in maintaining world peace in the post-Spanish-American War era. He prefaced the score to this march with a quotation from an English diplomat, John Hookham Frere: "A sudden thought strikes me—let us swear an eternal friendship." That said, the listener will find little in this music that varies from Sousa's more martial style, a style itself quite jovial in its triumphs, quite good-natured in its proud nationalism. Hands Across the Sea opens with a jaunty, carefree theme, the wind sonorities light and generally in their middle and upper ranges. An equally attractive march appears midway through, its manner initially mellow and nonchalant. It gradually turns more animated and colorful, the piccolo dancing merrily above suave wind sonorities. The work closes with this spirited theme played proudly, the brass flamboyant, the cymbals crashing, and the whole brimming with festivity and vivid color. For band music enthusiasts and Sousa mavens, this three-minute gem will have great appeal.

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