A medley, or set, of Sousa marches would certainly fit the bill as well. Too few are commonly heard anymore...'tis a pity.

How about simply a medley (or full set) of Sousa marches? Too few are heard anymore, anyway...more's the pity.

You can hear a 6-minute portion of Buck's piece here (scroll to item 15): http://music.napster.com/album/songs.htm?albumid=12443851#

The Buck piece left me, um, underwhelmed. Besides, The Star-Spangled Banner is played to open many Fourth of July concerts. Once the theme is played, who needs to hear the variations?

Steve Hall's suggestion is good, but I would note that the Boston Pops and the National Symphony already end their concerts with Stars and Stripes Forever, which launches the main fireworks show of the evening. Fireworks around the country tend to be accompanied by a prerecorded medley of patriotic music, although the intended synchronization of music and fireworks is often imperfect.

Well, of course you were underwhelmed. No bells, no fireworks, no cannon fire. You can't expect to get a comparable effect without ordnance.

I have long wondered why the Independence Day concert includes so much music from foreign composers. In my humble opinion American composers have produced enough appropriate music to fill the night.

Mr. Hall is quite right: a serious Sousa deficiency in most of these holiday concerts.

The Capital 4th concerts, which used to be rather splendid, have over the years become hackneyed, tacky showcases for movie stars, terrible singers and badly written (and read) narrations. In addition, they have become a waste of the talents of the National Symphony Orchestra, which has improved immeasurably since the departure of Rostropovich. Most of the music has little to do with America, never mind the Nation's birthday. The Sousa marches are left to the end, to be played whilst the fireworks are launched and the credits roll. I suggest more and earlier Sousa marches, no 1812, and the Ives "Variations on America," arr for orchestra. Also "It's a Grand Old Flag" and any number of similar songs. Problem solved. Happy Birthday, America!

It's the cannons.

Orchestral pieces that use artillery as percussion are few and far between.

The plural of "cannon" is "cannon:" the plural of "Canon" is "Canons," as in "Canons and Fugues."

Also, 1,000 culpae, I mis-spelled "Capitol." It should read Capitol Fourth" concerts. I trust everyone is now happy.

I went home to Tennessee for my fireworks fix and was delighted to find the local hometown celebration has grown to include the a regional community symphony orchestra. They played a number of patriotic standards, including the Southern classic by Lee Greenwood, Proud to Be An American. Some would say it doesn't get any more American than that, but personally I'd suggest Aaron Copeland.