If individual popular songs made people sing or dance, medleys were also sure to do the trick. Music lovers could purchase several favorite tunes of the year on one piano roll, one record, one piece of sheet music. Bands and orchestras could entertain audiences and dancers with the same set of tunes. One man behind many popular medleys of Witmark tunes was Wm. Christopher O'Hare:
O'Hare specialized in medley arrangements of popular songs for orchestra and band. --Isidore Witmark and Isaac Goldberg, The Story of the House of Witmark (1939)
Medley overtures could be played as concert, theater, or dance pieces whereas medley lancers were for dancing, and lancers recordings included spoken dance calls. This popular quadrille style featured four couples performing a series of set steps/formations. Common in Europe and in early America through the Civil War era, the dance remained popular into the early twentieth century and is still performed by vintage dance groups.
When O'Hare selected a tune for inclusion in a medley overture, he generally chose from among those he had previously arranged for orchestra and/or band. Some of the individual song titles listed below appear on the previous Pop Songs page or on the later Miscellaneous Shows page.
When O'Hare selected a tune for inclusion in a medley overture, he generally chose from among those he had previously arranged for orchestra and/or band. Some of the individual song titles listed below appear on the previous Pop Songs page or on the later Miscellaneous Shows page.
The World Beater, Medley Overture (Witmark, 1902)
The Record Breaker, Medley Overture (Witmark, 1902)
Swing Partners, Medley Lancers (Witmark, 1903)
The title derives from lancers steps in which partners swing each other.
The Climax, Medley Overture (Witmark, 1903)
Popular Minstrel Medley (Jos. W. Stern, 1903)
The Leader, Medley Overture (Witmark, 1904)
The Star, Medley Overture (Witmark, 1904)
The Chief, Medley Overture (Witmark, 1905)
Balance Corners, Medley Lancers (Witmark, 1905)
Forward and Salute, Medley Lancers (Witmark, 1905)
This medley title refers to another standard lancers step in which couples step forward to salute each other, the men bowing and the women curtsying.
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The Monarch, Medley Overture (Witmark, 1906)
Form Sets, Medley Lancers (Witmark,1906)
This medley takes its name from the practice of forming a square (or "set") in preparation for the lancer/quadrille figures.
Background graphic, top of page: Witmark building, c. 1903