Regimental marches of the Imperial German Army

[MaxR]

[Two topics dealing with the same subject have been merged and renamed by the host, Ivan Ž.]

Gentlemen,

I am hoping somebody out there can help me find an old regimental march. My problem is this...

I know my grandfather was in either the 1st or 2nd Leibhusaren Regiment during WW1. (Since I have the skull cap badge for his busby, I know it isn't the 17th Regiment.) But how can I determine if it is the 1st or 2nd regiment? My dad remembers his dad singing his old regimental march and still remembers the tune. If I can find the 1st and 2nd Leibhusaren regimental maches and play them for him, I am hoping he can identify which song his father sang. Alternatively, I have a recording of my father humming the tune that I could e-mail as an mp3 file to any expert out there who may be able to identify it. I know it sounds crazy, but it might just work.

Is there anybody out there that could help me out? Or even point me in the right direction?

Thanks much,

Max

[Tintin1689]

I am afraid each Regiment, as cavalry, has up to four official marches - for ranking past at walk, trot and canter and for being inspected. Often the inspection piece and the walk past are the same.

I will look these up for you and post before the end of the week.

There may of course be other, unofficial, marches and songs.

[MaxR]

Thank you Tintin1689. That would be most helpful. My dad also said that sometimes his father would hum the march very slowly. Are there times when the same song would be played at different speeds? For more somber occasions, perhaps?

[Tintin1689]

Here they are:-

1st Hussars

Inspection - Langsamer Marsch (Mangener), AMIII 3
Walk Past - Regiment Bonin, AM III 86
Trot Past - From the Ballet "Giselle", AM III 33
Canter Past - 1st Hussars, HM III B22

2nd Hussars

Inspection - Victoria Marsch, AM III 61 (written for the wedding of Princess Victoria to Wilhelm II's mother and incorporating "Rule Britannia" it was never played again on parade after Britain declared war on Imperial Germany in 1914)
Walk Past - Mollendorf's Parade March No1, AM III 51
Trot Past - From the Opera "Aline" , AM III 11
Canter Past - Alexander Marsch, AM II 161

As to slower and faster versions this is probably the canter past as several canters are infantry marches in 6/8 time and are played slower as canters (ie 114 paces to the minute as marches and 92 paces to the minute as canters). This is the case with the Alexander Marsch so I think we are moving tentatively toward the 2nd.

[MaxR]

Thank you Tintin 1689. This is a tremendous help! I'll try to find some of these marches and compare them to my father's "memory" over the weekend. I'll let you know the results.

I was wondering what the codes are after each march, i.e., AM III 51, HM III B22, etc. Any clues?

One more question, for the 1st Husar inspection march, could the composer be listed as Carl Mangner? It looks like there are several Langsamer marches.

[In Treue fest]

There is a March for the 2. Leibhusarenregiment composed by Carl Maria von Weber in 1822 with the title Marsch für das Königlich Preußische 2. Leibhusaren-Regiment (Trot Past).

The Princess Royal Victoria Marsch was composed by Wilhelm Wieprecht in 1858:

http://www.militaermusik-online.de/foru ... 1135513621

[Tintin1689]

The codes identify the pieces of music in the Armee Marsche (AM) or Heeres Marsche (HM) manuals which listed marches approved for use in public ceremonial. AM had three volumes - I Inspection Pieces, II Quick Marches, III Music for Mounted Bands. The AM collection was compiled between 1817 and 1929, originally by the Kingdom of Prussia.

When Hermann Schmidt was appointed Inspector of Military Music in 1929 he had a good clear out and removed over 100 older marches that were almost never used.He also introduced marches from the non-Prussian states so that they could be used on parade throughout the Reich. This became the HM collection which was first promulgated in 1933. HM followed the same structure of volumes except there was III A for walks and III B for trots and canters.

As you have found with Langsamer Marsch many of the pieces have the same title, indeed the early pieces often have no title at all, so the numbers are very useful to know what you are actually getting...

Carl Mangner is the chap. The Weber trot is sometimes known as "Vivace Marcia" and is one of the last flowerings of cavalry music purely for trumpets.

[In Treue fest]

When Hermann Schmidt was appointed Inspector of Military Music in 1929 he had a good clear out and removed over 100 older marches that were almost never used.He also introduced marches from the non-Prussian states so that they could be used on parade throughout the Reich.

The Armeemarschsammlung also contained not only Prussian Marches, but also Marches from the other German states.

[Amartus]

Hi there

Apologies if this is in the wrong sub-forum; please let me know if I should repost in the WWI section.

I have come across a reference to there being a regimental march of the old imperial 3. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß (it was apparently played at the funeral of Hindenburg in 1934). I cannot however seem to find said march on the internets. Does anybody know what this march was and / or where I could find it?

Many thanks in advance,
Amartus

[Ivan Ž.]

Marsch nach Motiven der Oper "Der Brauer von Preston" [Armeemarsch II, 116] by Carl Neumann (march based on motifs from Adolphe Adam's opera "Le brasseur de Preston"). You can hear it online. Not sure whether it was played at the Hindenburg funeral though.

Cheers,
Ivan

[Amartus]

Thank you kindly. Mungo Melvin's biography of Manstein records that it was played at the funeral, quoting Manstein himself.