Nobles of the Mystic Shrine

Among John Philip Sousa’s many marches, the instrumentation in Nobles of the Mystic Shrine is unique in that it includes harp, triangle, and tambourine. The inclusion of these non-traditional marching band instruments provides a setting, texture, and style derived from the clanking and chiming Turkish music associated with the Shriners, previously known as the “Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.” Also unique is the musical form—an introduction and first strain set in B^b minor, unusual for the majority of Sousa’s marches. Sousa was a Shriner and member of the Almas Temple in Washington, D. C., being named the first honorary director of the Temple Shrine Band in 1922. (Source: JRO)