- Compendium of Historical Articles
- Rise & Development of MIL Music
- A Speech in London by Kipling
- The Romance of Regimental Marches
Forward by – Lieutenant Albert Williams MVO MUS DOC – Bandmaster HM Grenadier Guards
(George Henry Farmer – Published London WM Greeves, 83 Charing Cross Road, WC 1912)
To write a general history of military music, one embracing a continuous and coherent account of its progress, is no easy task; for the simple reason that its development has not been general, but has proceeded on different lines in different countries.
The growing interest in the subject manifested in Britain during the recent years is perhaps not the least encouraging feature noticeable in connection with the spread of general culture; the best wind-band combinations now attracting vast audiences on concert platforms formerly considered the exclusive monopoly of the grand orchestra.
There is on all sides, an acquaintance with music, vocal or instrumental; and whilst much of this may be of only an elementary character, there is, and that more widely diffused than is perhaps generally known, a very high standard of musical culture indeed abroad.
During the past half century, literature in all branches of musical art has grown enormously and is still being poured out at a bewildering rate – yet works treating of military music, of its history, or its theory, are conspicuously rare, and may be counted almost on the fingers of one hand.
True, the existing traces of its beginnings and development are meager, and even what is to be gleaned on the subject is exceedingly difficult of access. The reader need only note the authorities cited in the present volume – all rare, or comparatively rare, works – in order to satisfy himself that the story of military music is only to be found strewn about among the pages of history in what might appear to be a loose and hap-hazard manner.
One has to seek among the highways and by-ways of literature for data; memoirs and autobiography, official documents and anecdotes, annuals and records of all kinds, doings in themselves entirely unconnected with the subject of music, but yet furnishing some trace, some tiny fragment of information, helpful to the author. His materials are scattered over several centuries; involving much painstaking research, much diving into dusty almost forgotten corners, much wading through ponderous tomes, which in the end yield perhaps one scant paragraph of any practical use to the inquirer, nay, sometimes even rewarding him with nothing for his pains.
The representative military band of the present day has reached a high state of executive excellence; its constitution, already rich, is ever expanding; while its repertory, with certain slight reservations, knows no boundaries.
France has always taken the lead in military music. Its archives furnish many important documents bearing on schemes for the art’s betterment, in which we find associated all the principal musical names of the day. This year (1912) France is promoting a grand international contest for bands. Large prizes are offered, on for ₤and it is confidently hoped that all the nations will send representatives.
Austria and Germany boast some really fine bands, although – and this particularly is the case in the latte country – one feels that artistic considerations often yield to those utilitarian.
Much attention has been devoted to wind band music in Italy – the service combinations being rarely below fifty in numbers, including the fanfare. The Italian cavalry has no music. All the large cities boast very fine organizations of seventy to eighty musicians, which, while they are under municipal control, enjoy wide European fame.
The continent is now so easy of access and international exhibitions so frequent, undertakings in which good open-air music occupies so important and conspicuous a place as to necessitate usually a special bureau of management all to itself, that we are now more or less familiar with most of the bands of European reputation.
But the Western hemisphere has not been inactive. For although new or comparatively new countries do not, by reason of their want of leisure classes, cultivate art in anything like the same degree as do the nations of older civilizations, yet we find on the American continent several really capital wind instrumental combinations.
America itself has at least half-a-dozen good bands; mostly proprietary. Among government organizations the band of the Washington Marines, under Mr. Santlemann, stands easily foremost. Mexico, too, has a very band in that of its artillery stationed at Mexico city. They are seventy-five strong, the instrumentation being on the French model, and embracing the entire family of saxophones. They play an up-to-date repertoire and give the capital renderings of such writers as Puccini and Saint-Saëns. Another very interesting body of performers is the band of the Filipino Scouts, fifty strong. They play entirely from memory, thus limiting the extent of their repertory, but, having regard to the conditions under which musical studies must be pursued in their country, the finished manner in which these little fellows render their fairly diversified programmes is little short of amazing. They show a decided predilection for ornate music, which is, I suppose, only natural to players who have to commit to memory.
Owing to a variety of causes military band music has increased enormously in popular favour in the British Isles during the past twenty years.
The advent of the annual exhibition, the popularity of the sea-side holiday, Sunday concerts – winter and summer – playing in the public parks – all have contributed to render wind band music indispensable: whilst no gala, flower-show, cricket match or even race meeting is considered quite complete without its band.
A marked advance, too, is to be noticed in the programmes now performed. France and Germany have long included in their open-air band performances excerpts from the best masters, from works of that class which merits, and is distinguished by, the term classical; but it is only comparatively recent years that any great strides in this direction are found in British bands, such improvement, or attempt at improvement, being often made only reason, the dear of incurring the censure of those who, if they do not altogether disapprove of military bands, at any rate discourage all serious work by these organizations and view such efforts with an amused and superior air – as one might Bach on an harmonium or Wagner on a tin-whistle.
And here we may note that there has of late sprung up a school of reactionnaires who raise their voices – at times a pretty harsh, loud and offensive voice, too – against what they are pleased to term the pretensions of military conductor. They deplore the performance by military bands of the best musical works, the maltreatment of the most noble productions of art. “Where is the rush of the violins?” “I miss the sweep of the strings” are examples of their slang. They would prohibit the military band altogether, to them it is sacrilege, the conductor anathem a, they rend their garments and go in sackcloth because of his iniquities. In short, they would relegate the military musicians to his original and proper place, playing marches at the head of his regiment; or at least to attendance at country fairs, where his artistic depredations should be restricted to the Coote and Tinney polka and quadrille nicely out of tune.
With the very best desire to be agreeable and accommodating, we venture to believe that the military band is capable of much higher things. It seems nothing short of disgraceful that such views as those referred to should in this progressive age gain admission to the columns of the public press.
A really good assortment of wind instruments, perfectly intoned, the proportions being just and nicely balanced, and giving an artistic and intelligible rendering of a good work is, to the discerning auditor, such as is to be found by the thousand at a summer evening performance in Hyde Park, much to be preferred to a poor rendering of the same or a similar work by a second rate organist or inferior orchestra, whose piteous plea is that theirs is “the instrument for which the composer designed his work,” wretched and commonplace though the rendition be.
In spite of all ill-natured abuse and invective; in despite even of ridicule, responsible and educated military musicians are not likely to be deterred or in any way influenced by the diatribist. They will guided solely by consideration for the dignity of their art; for the steady and certain advance of the peculiar branch which they have made their own; modestly, yet firmly, believing that it is with them either to ennoble or to degrade that branch, and that by setting themselves lofty ideas by the earnest pursuit of only the highest aims, they may contribute to real progress, a swell as to the diffusion of the joys of music among the people; having special and solicitous regard too, for that vast majority of the people who find little or no opportunity of hearing the best orchestras.
Music – so frequently likened to medicine – should always be of the best. Bad drugs, ‘tis said, only aggravate an ailment and are worst than none at all. So with music. If the carping critic would effect reforms in military band programmes, would place limitations on our possibilities for evil, then we say; “very well, delete the bad, excise the musical slang and have only good music.” Do not force us to “deck the lovely messenger of peace” in cap and bells, in rouge, powder and pompoms.
It is recorded that during the “hundred days” Napoleon created Cherubini a Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur – as leader of the band of the National Guards of Paris. At a lecture delivered quite recently at the Royal United Service Institute it was suggested that by certain reductions in the numbers of our army bands a saving of 7,000 men might be effected! Another type of the reactionary.
It is interesting and gratifying to know that the importance of military music as a factor in the nation’s existence, as contributory element to its joys – and sometimes to its sorrows – is not wholly lost sight of in Britain.
Measures have at different times been adopted to encourage original composition for military bands. In 1872 the Alhambra management offered a prize of ₤200 for the best fantasia. The committee of adjudicators presided over by Sir Arthur Sullivan, declared M van Herzeele, a Belgian, the winner.
During recent years considerable impetus has been given to progress in the same direction by the action of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, who, for the coronation of the late King Edward, and again for that of His present Majesty, offered substantial prizes for the best coronation march; and stipulated, among other conditions, that the competing works should be scored for a military band.
Again, in 1909, this same company offered five prizes for original military band compositions moulded in the higher forms, an offer which had the very gratifying result of attracting of several native musicians of note, thus promoting and stimulating production.
Furthermore, it presents annually a medal to the best over-all student of the two representative training schools for military music, the Royal Military School of Music at Knellar Hall and the Royal Naval School at Eastney; thus placing these service institutions on an equal footing, a s regards recognition by the ancient guild with the great civil schools, the R.A.M., R.C.M. and G.S.M.
At Kneller Hall composition is encourage by the offer yearly of a prize for the best original work in the form of an overture, and here it is significant to note that the competitors sometimes exhibit an acquaintance with such advanced classic models as those represented by Brahms. (Mention is made of this latter fact merely as indicating the spirit of inquiry abroad among these young musicians.)
The Royal Naval School of Music is a particularly important institution, over four hundred students being under daily instruction. It supplies the entire navy with musicians – a truly gigantic undertaking – its obligations differing considerably thereby from those of the sister institution at Kneller Hall.
Mr. Farmer has already many claims to the gratitude of musicians by his very interesting work on the Royal Artillery Band, and this latest contribution to military musical history as an industrious and intelligent writer on that subject.
Any light thrown on the very obscure history of military music can but prove acceptable to the musically curious, and the present volume will not be least welcome to those who, like myself, have, as students, so frequently deplored the paucity of works treating of military music; who have had at times to plod laboriously through whole volumes in order to verify some short but important statement on which the mid lingered in doubt.