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The Music of the Corps of Drums

Roger Kennedy | 02/02/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The fife and drum has always been the earliest form of military music. Long before there were regimental and military bands there was the fife and drum. In this fine collection of fife and drum music, the corps of drums of the 1st battalion, the Grenadier Guards, provide a stirring collection of many old and new tunes. The CD starts off with the old bugle calls of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions of the Grenadier Guards. In the 18th and 19th century these bugle calls played important functions within the battalions they belonged too. This is followed by a classic medley of old fife and drum music stretching back through the ages to the 17th century and earlier. the old is also mixed with the new, and several modern selections are also included. One of the most interesting aspects of the recording as the selection of tunes played by the 18th Century band. Here one gets to hear what a Guards band might have sounded like in colonial America, or at Horseguards in London in the 1770s. The orchestration for bands in those days was vastly different, and the music resembles classical or chamber music. Nonetheless, these pieces are quite stirring, and one can imagine the red-coated lines marching in dressed ranks toward the French at Minden in 1759, or any of the other battles of this period. The listener won't find better fife music than this anywhere. Highly recommended for all serious listeners."