-I think Hendel now proposes to have but 12 trumpets and 12
French horns; at first there was to have been sixteen of each, and
I remember I told the King so, who, at that time, objected to their
being any musick; but, when I told him the quantity and nomber of
martial musick there was to be, he was better satisfied, and said
he hoped there would be no fidles. Now Hendel proposes to
lessen the nomber of trumpets, etc. and to have violeens. I dont at
all doubt but when the King hears it he will be very much
displeased. If the thing war to be in such a manner as certainly to
please the King, it ought to consist of no kind of instrument but martial instruments. Any other I
am sure will put him out of humour, therefore I am shure it behoves Hendel to have as many
trumpets, and other martial instruments, as possible, tho he dont retrench the violins, which I
think he shoud, tho I beleeve he will never be persuaded to do it. I mention this as I have very
lately been told, from very good authority, that the King has, within this fortnight, expressed
himself to this purpose.
-The autograph score indicates the eventual instrumentation was 9 trumpets, 9 horns, 24 oboes, 12 bassoons,
and 3 pairs of kettledrums (plus contra-bassoon and bass serpent, later deleted). Handel later noted that
strings should double oboe and bassoon parts, which suggests either a compromise was reached between
the composer and the king, or simply stubbornness on the composer's part.
-The rehearsal on April 21 was a great success. The band of 100 played to an audience of 12,000 at the
Vauxhall gardens, creating such interest that "So great a resort occasioned such a stoppage on London
Bridge, that no carriage could pass for 3 hours.
-The celebration itself was another matter. Walpole described the event as follows:
The rockets, and whatever was thrown up into the air, succeeded might well; but the wheels,
and all that was to compose the principal part, were pitiful and ill-conducted, with no changes of
coloured fires and shapes: the illumination was mean, and lighted so slowly that scarce any
body had patience to wait the finishing; and then, what contributed to the awkwardness of the
whole, was the right pavilion catching fire, and being burnt down in the middle of the show.
-No mention is made regarding the music, which may explain why Handel quickly scheduled another concert
within a month. The Music for the Royal Fireworks was, without a doubt, the most famous composition and
performance of wind music to date, due to the size of the ensemble required as well as the large audience
that received it.
-MEHTER BANDS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
-The Ottoman Empire had a profound effect on Western Europe for a number of centuries, especially
east of the Danube where Moslem vied with Christian for control the area. Despite the clash over
religion, there undoubtedly has a certain fascination that Western Europeans had for this exotic
culture that stretched from Eastern Europe to the Near East.
-The Europeans were particularly fascinated by the visual and
aural impact of the Mehter Bands. These ensembles were
held in high regard, similar to the pomp and circumstance tied
to military band performances today. Indeed the mehter
bands, or "janissary" as the European courts referred to them,
were the forerunner of many contemporary practices such as
the use of the bell tree, cymbals, bass drum, timpani, and
oboes. Even the Shakos worn on the heads of marching band
members or the baton or mace held proudly aloft by the drum
major can trace their roots to these ensembles. As mentioned
where their conquering armies were
unsuccessful. Mozart's The Abduction from
the Seraglio placed an opera libretto in a
harem, and Beethoven inserted a curious
but effective "alla turca" march in his
monumental Ninth Symphony. Other works
included Haydn's "Military" Symphony No.
100, Gluck's The Unexpected Meeting,
Beethoven's The Ruins of Athens, as well
as Louis Spohr's Notturno in C Major for
Wind Instruments and Turkish Band.
An Ottoman Mehter band 18
earlier, the Turkish band was first encountered by Westerners
during the crusades to the Near East.
-Whereas in early years the use of instruments was a strategy
of battle (see Chapter 1) performances of the Mehter Band
were also used to set the tone for battle as well as to
demoralize the enemy. Their purpose was to incite the
warriors with visions of victory during war, and provide
concert music during times of peace for the Sultan at his
Topkapi palace.
-Nor did interest in this exotic ensemble escape the rulers and
military leaders of Europe. In the second decade of the 18th century Augustus II of Poland received a full
Turkish military band as a gift from the sultan. Not to be outdone, Empress Anne of Russia sent to
Constantinople for a similar band composed of treble and tenor shawms, a fife, a pair of kettledrums, a bass
drum, ordinary and large cymbals, and a triangle. In 1741 Ritter von der Trenck marched into Vienna
preceded by Turkish music, and in the War of the Austrian Succession Marshal de Sax had Turkish music in
his Uhlands. Even Prussia succumbed to the trend, but after a Turkish ambassador ridiculed a performance
given by the European musicians, Turkish performers replaced them.
-Turkish music also spread to the British Isles. By the end of the century the British Royal Artillery Band had a
bass drum, cymbals, and tambourine, later adding the Turkish crescent. In 1785 the band of the Coldstream
Guards included two tambourines and a Turkish crescent [pole or baton with a crescent shape on the top to
which bell are attached. Also known as a "jingling johnny"]. The British bands never engaged Turkish players,
but enlisted blacks to play instead. With their elaborate dress (coats and turbans), coupled with flashy
performance antics, these performers provided an exotic element to the band's performance
-The numbers of the Mehter Bands
were designated according to
degrees: a Mehter Band of the
Seventh Degree consisted of seven
bass drums, seven oboes, seven
trumpets, seven cymbals, and seven
pairs of nakkares (small, shallow
timpani). Mehter Bands were as
small as the Third Degree, or as
large as the Twelfth Degree.36 In
battles even larger numbers were
assembled. Suleiman the
Magnificent (1520-1566) reportedly
employed over two hundred players
during his quest for Vienna.37 The larger bands employed the Cevgen or Turkish Crescent. The players move
the crescent up and down in time to the music while singing of the ancient glories of the empire. The
performance setup required the players of each instrument type to be grouped together, with the whole
ensemble standing in a semi or full circle, depending on the number of players.
-In 1836, the Sultan Mahmut II abolished the Mehter Band as well as the elite Corps of Janissaries and hired
P
T
the brother of Gaetano Donizetti to establish a military band more on the order of those in Western Europe.
The Turks revived it in 1911, only to see the quick demise of the Second Mehter Band with the fall of the
Sultanate in World War I. In time the Third Mehter Band was formed after the Chief of the Turkish General
Staff visited London in 1952 and heard the Scottish Bagpipers on parade--an event which inspired him to
recreate the glories in sound enjoyed long ago by a once powerful empire
-THE COURT OF PETER THE GREAT
-Peter the Great who reigned in Russia from 1682-1725 (he assumed control of the government in
1689) had a special penchant for regimental bands: the elite Preobrazhensky guard had some 40
drummers and 32 flute players, while lesser bands contained some 10-12 members. In the decisive
battle at Pltava in 1709, where Peter defeated King Charles XII of Sweden, the Russians captured some 120
musicians, including trumpeters, oboists, flutists, drummers and cymbal players, and needed 54 carts to
transport the instruments they seized.
-CONCLUSION
-The components of Baroque wind music--tower music, clarino trumpet playing, and the oboe bands of
the French court--eventually deferred to the development of the wind octet, and the development of
symphonic form with its balance of winds and strings with limited use of percussion. A new
instrument, the clarinet, caught the imagination of composers of the Classical period as it challenged the oboe
for dominance.