Search - Garde Republicaine :: Marches et Fanfares

Vive Le Garde!

Roger Kennedy | 04/02/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This powerful selection of French marches are given superb treatment by the Garde Republicaine. This double CD will give the listener a comprehensive study of French martial music over the years. The recordings are a compilation of numerous older LPs taken from the EMI collection. Several directors of music and different years of the band are higlighted. Unlike other efforts of this type, EMI gives the year and director for each recording. This is how compilations should be done.



Those wanting a good start point for French martial music can't go wrong here. All the well known selections are included here, as well as many lesser known works. You will find classics such as "Sambre et Muese", "Marche Lorraine" and "Consulaire Garde et Merango". These are contrasted by many lesser known marches, operatic transcriptions, and duty trumpet calls.



A slight warning about French martial music. The gallic spirit seems to enjoy a heavy dose of drum and bugle acconpaniment with most marches. This is called a Fanfare, and in most bands the drum and bugle element makes up close to half the total instrumentation. This tradition probably goes back as far as Louis XIV, and was simply built up over the years. Certainly the Napoleanic period saw the zenith development of French military bands, and several selections on disc one highlight this. Also, the French enjoy playing their marches with numerous repeats for each section. Most marches will seemingly go on and on! The listener should realize this is the parade ground style for most French military bands.



French marches are not for the faint of heart! The Gallic spirit likes to hit you on the head with the force of their patriotism!

If the listener heeds these warnings, they should be in a good position to enjoy a truly fine collection of French marches, spanning many years. If you buy just one CD of French marches, this double CD set should amply fill the bill."