Скачать или смотреть "35. March" (Reconstructed Carolean March, 1715) - Fifes, Drums & Hautbois

I sometimes wonder if the melodies written down by Gustaf Blidström were all just arrangements for four hautbois, or if they were played in harmony on other instruments of the Carolean army as well. We know for a fact that the musicians of the militaries of 18th century Europe would have a lot of time to practice and entertain, as most of the time was spent in camps or on the march. Even though we also know that there was a distinction between military musicians of different ranking - with trumpeters and tympanists in the top, hautboists below, and regular fifers and drummers carrying the lowest status - is quite likely that they heard each other play and adopted each others' tunes. When arranging this march, I found that the top two parts did well on their own, so in my arrangement, I wanted to juxtapose fifers and hautboists to portray the difference in character - and status - of the two kinds of instruments.

The image, painted sometime around 1800 by an unknown Swedish artist, shows Charles XII of Sweden at the trenches during the Siege of Fredriksten, Norway, in 1718 - just before his death to a stray bullet.

Enjoy!