If anyone needs authentic circus-type music, look no further than HERE. This is the real deal!

I have purchased about six of these CD's, and they are tremendous. The performances are good and the recording quality is great. I bought these to use for a "Book Circus" event at our local library, and this will really make our day.

You can order the CD's by mail or EBay. I tried the latter so I could pay by credit card, and was pleasantly surprised to find the CD's in my mailbox within three days. Now that's service! SETH

Richard Windmarsh has been going a great job with this for years as part of the Windjammers band.
He advertises a lot in the Circus Report.

Prior to this the only way to get decent original sounding circus music was to take lp records and convert them. I did that and I can;t tell you how excited kids get with this music.

Richard

I agree. These are great.

Day 6

BTW, there are also two very good circus band CD's available from Amazon.

The first is "Under the Big Top," click HERE to view. Technically perfect performances of some very difficult music, very nicely recorded, but a little more restrained than the Whitemarsh South Shore Concert Band CD's. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since listening to this stuff can grate on your ears after a while (and that's from someone who loves this music!)

The second is "Screamers," click HERE to view. These "screamers" (slang for circus marches) are performed by the Eastman Wind Ensemble under Frederick Fennel. Although it's a 1991 recording, the master was done on 35mm film, so the fidelity is pretty amazing and it sounds like it was recorded yesterday. These are really uptempo over-the-top performances, but if you need something to get the audience's blood pumping, this will definitely do it. SETH

Ooo I have one of the CD's mentioned in the first post and yup they are great. I used one of the tracks for a cheesy trad circus act and it went down a treat.
In case your not really in to ebay you can also find the cd's on amazon.

Hi Sethb,
Thank you for the link! Which 6 CD title did you buy and are they different or do they start to sound alike after listen to a few of them?
Your input is greatly appreciated! Thanks again.
Maps

Maps -- I purchased various CDs, mostly based on the titles of the selections. I'm familiar with a lot of circus music and so I have my own favorites. But I also heard plenty of interesting music I'd never heard before, which was a pleasant surprise. Each CD is a good mix of marches, waltzes, gallops, triumphal, polkas, etc. So almost any one you choose will be fine, the quality is very consistent throughout. If you get a few of them, they will start to sound alike after a while, so no need to get all 36 unless you are a diehard collector or circus music lover.

The later CDs seem to have some more modern music on them, which is not always a good thing. And the last five or so are anthologies of certain kinds of music -- waltzes for aerial artists, gallops for clowns, triumphal for entry music, and so forth. You can listen to parts of each CD on Amazon at its MP3 site, and then decide what you like.

For ordering, you can use Amazon (but not all volumes are currently available). The Ebay connection on the Sounds of the Circus website is very reliable, it's not like dealing with some unknown guy with a few CDs in his basement; this was apparently set up specifically to distribute these CDs, and it works very well. SETH

Thanks Mr Seth. I am actually looking for music for a tightrope, a trapeze and juggler type music for my marionettes. If you do not mind, which CDs do you possess that you would recommend for that kinda feel?
Thank you so much for taking time to post recommendation.
Frankie

Frankie -- I think your best bet would be the "Under the Big Top" CD I noted above, click HERE for more info.

The playing style is a little more restrained and not quite as "over the top" as in the "Sounds of the Circus" series. It's still plenty lively, but this makes it more listenable over repeated playings. There are all styles of circus music represented, lots of stuff for juggling and good circus atmosphere, and the performances are crisp and very well done.

I believe there are also one or two good "suspense waltzes" (with soft drum rolls and crash cymbals) on that CD, which are for aerial acts. But if you need more waltzes, then Volume 33 of "Sounds of the Circus" is all waltzes. You can get the MP3 download of individual cuts for $1 each or the entire album in MP3 for $8 at Amazon, click HERE to view. You can also get the actual CD direct from South Shore's website for $15 plus $2 shipping, either by mail or using Ebay ordering (which I recommend as very fast and convenient), click HERE for more info.

Hope this helps and good luck with it! SETH