Built around a translation of the previously unpublished works of two great German military music historians, the late Lieutenant Colonel Joachim Toeche-Mittler and Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Werner Probst, here is described the history of every march in the official collections sanctioned by successive kings of Prussia, German Emperors, and later by Chief Inspectors of Music of the German Republic and The Third Reich. Even today these tunes are still used by German armed forces units, providing the only officially permitted link between them and the military history of the German nation. It describes how the use of this superb parade march repertoire spread around the world, far beyond Germany's borders, and can often be heard in use today, especially in Britain and America.
This is no apology or eulogy for a militaristic culture now long gone amongst the German people, but a description of the international and home sources for the march repertoire, and the personalities involved in composing, commissioning and dedicating marches to the leading personalities of the age, and their adoption as regimental music by the fighting units of the Old German States, Imperial Germany, and the later German Reich and Republics. Much more than a book about music, it is an unusual window on a colourful and tuneful aspect of culture in the Imperial Age, whose lasting influence is still with us.
- ISBN10 1907677682
- ISBN13 9781907677687
- Publish Date 15 June 2012
- Publish Status Cancelled
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Helion & Company
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 648
- Language English