Unveiling their 2015 show, the Centennial Marching Band is proud to present…

A long time ago, the Persian king, Shahryar, was betrayed by his wife. In retaliation, he would marry a new woman every day and behead her the following morning. This continued for one thousand days until he was introduced to the vizier’s daughter, Scheherazade. In an effort to save her own life, Scheherazade asks permission to say good bye to her sister, Dunyazade. Dunyazade asks Scheherazade to tell her a story, and the king lay awake the entire night, listening to the wonderful tale. As dawn came, Scheherazade had not yet finished the story. The king spared her life so she could continue the story the next night. This continued night after night as Scheherazade began new, elaborate tales. At the end of one thousand and one nights and one thousand stories, Scheherazade told the king she had no more tales to tell, but all was well; the king had fallen in love with her.

In 1888, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov composed a symphonic poem based on pictures from One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Asian stories and folk tales. It is from this centuries old collection of tales that we get the stories of Aladdin, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor. There are several different versions of the collection, all unified by the story of Scheherazade.

Reference Works

Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Fritz Reiner
I. The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship
II. The Story of The Kalender Prince
III. The Young Prince and the Princess
IV. Festival in Baghdad

Santa Clara Vanguard 2004
Attraction: The Music of Scheherazade

Santa Clara Vanguard 2014
Scheherazade