The Romantic Period
ca. 1810 – 1910

Political and social changes in the post-revolutionary 19th century diminished the aristocracy that had supported and employed wind musicians during the earlier Baroque and Renaissance periods. The emergence of a social “middle class” escalated support for public concerts, which became more frequent and important in the public sphere. As a result of increasing popular interest in the concert band, the Romantic period saw the rise of many professional and amateur wind ensembles. Band music became a widespread form of popular entertainment and concert bands began to provide ample employment for displaced court musicians.

Concert bands developed rapidly with significant advances in England, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States. In England, factories and mines in the early 19th century began to establish wind bands, which were used to boost morale and provide entertainment for the workers. By the mid part of the century, woodwind instruments in these and other concert bands were replaced by chromatic brass instruments, which launched the English brass band movement. 1865 marked the foundation of the Royal Military School of Music in London, which became a major training ground for English wind band directors.

In France during the first half of the 18th century, enormous fêtes were held to celebrate the French revolution. Ensembles comprising hundreds of players and singers were employed for these festivities, most frequently performing patriotic cantatas and marches. The founding of the free school of the Parisian National Guard in Paris (later renamed the Paris Conservatory) in 1795, and La Societe de Musique de Chambre pour Instruments a Vent in 1879, established France as a major center for wind music. The enthusiasm for the large wind ensemble that developed during the Romantic period is still present in modern-day France.

In Romantic-period Germany, a course to train bandmasters was established at the Musikhochschule in Berlin. The Musikhochschule soon become an important training center for Prussian, German, and non-European military bandmasters.

Russian military music during the Romantic period was prevalent and was mostly influenced by the Prussian bands in Europe. Composer Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov served as inspector of music bands for the Russian Navy from 1873-1884, where he worked to improve the standards the musical training in this region of the world.

The United States saw the rise of the Golden Age (1880-1925) of the American professional concert band, a time during which wind bands were the most popular form of public entertainment. Great American bandmasters such as Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore and legendary Marine Band Director John Philip Sousa led the American band movement at the height of its success. Bandmasters and musicians were celebrities of the day, and performances by bands such as Gilmore’s Band, the United States Marine Band, and the Sousa Band attracted thousands.

Learn more about these bandmasters.

More information about “The Golden Age” is available in the Marine Band’s 2002 CD release, Retrospective.

Romanticism initiated the ideology of creating art for art’s sake, which inspired musicians to connect music with nationalism, nature, experience, literature, etc., and to compose music that elicited a deep emotional response. Many popular and patriotic works for concert band were created during this time.

Notable Romantic period composers who composed significant works for winds include Hector Berlioz, Symphonie funèbre et triomphale (1840); Richard Wagner, Trauermusik (1844); Camille Saint-Saëns, “Orient et Occident,” Opus 25 (1869); Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Concerto for Trombone and Band (1877); Antonin Dvorák, Serenade in D minor, Opus 44 (1878); and Richard Strauss, Serenade in E-flat, Opus 7 (1881).

Many European and American composers such as Russell Alexander, Kenneth J. Alford, W. Paris Chambers, Henry Fillmore, Julius Fucik, Edwin Franko Goldman, R. B. Hall, and Karl King worked to develop the musical form known as the march. The march gained significant momentum in America, developing unique characteristics and emerging as an important American musical form.

Perhaps the most well-known American march composer was Sousa, who later was nicknamed “The March King” for helping popularize the march in America and around the world. Sousa composed some of the nation’s most beloved marches, including “The Washington Post,” “Semper Fidelis,” and “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”

In addition to these advances in concert band repertoire, significant technical advances were made to wind instruments. These new instrument technologies helped the concert band grow in size.

The development of keys and valves on wind instruments made them easier to play and helped broaden the range of tones that instruments could produce.

In the mid-19th century, Adolph Sax (1814-1894) developed the idea of a blended ensemble of conical bore instruments (saxhorns). He invented the saxophone, which was patented in 1846.

With the help of these and other technological developments, instrumentation standards in the concert band were revised; by the mid-part of the century, the beginnings of the modern wind band were put into place. American manufacturers began producing musical instruments, and the ensuing reduction in imports lowered instrument costs and increased access both for amateur and professional musicians. This helped to increase the number of community bands that developed across the United States.

In both Europe and the United States, civilian and military bands performed regularly in parks, resorts, and festivals. A band’s repertoire included music for military use, original music, transcriptions of orchestral and operatic repertoire, light popular music, marches, dances, and potpourris.

The United States During the Romantic Period

Pre-Civil War Band Music (1810-1860)

The period between 1810 and 1860 gave rise to many significant military and civilian concert bands in America:

• The United States Military Band at West Point, in West Point, N.Y., was founded in 1815.
• America’s first professional civilian band was organized in 1825. Initially a band of mixed wind instruments, the Independent Band of New York was renamed Dodsworth’s Band after its leader, Thomas Dodsworth. By 1836, it had evolved into an all-brass band.
• America’s oldest community band, the Allentown Band <link to www.allentownband.com> formed in 1828 in Allentown, Pa. The Allentown Band remains active today.

During the pre-Civil War period, the Marine Band performed regularly for official government functions and began giving public concerts more frequently. Following the War of 1812, the U.S. Marine Corps increased in size and the band grew to 92 members. Congressional cutbacks in 1817, however, reduced membership to 42.

In July 1826, the Marine Band participated in ceremonies for the 50th anniversary of America’s independence. The official parade, which included President John Quincy Adams, marched along Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to the U.S. Capitol.

On July 4, 1828, the Marine Band participated with President Adams in the groundbreaking of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The Marine Band performed from the first of several boats to sail up the canal. Some of the music performed at the event included, “Yankee Doodle,” “Hail Columbia,” “President’s March,” “Roslin Castle,” “Soldier’s Glory,” “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and “Hail to the Chief.” This was the Marine Band’s first known performance of “Hail to the Chief” in the presence of a U.S. President.

During the pre-Civil War period, the Marine Band’s musical responsibilities in and around Washington continued to increase. In the early to mid-1840s, the Marine Band began performing regular concerts on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, a tradition that continues today. The band also began weekly public concerts on the White House grounds, a performance series that continued until the administration of President Herbert Hoover. The instruments that were used included flutes, E-flat and B-flat clarinets, trumpets (including the new valved trumpets), French horns, bass horns, and percussion instruments.

In 1855, the U.S. Marine Corps appointed one of the Marine Band’s most influential and important directors in its history, Francis Maria Scala. Scala led the Marine Band through the Civil War period until 1871, during which time he increased the band’s size and modernized its instrumentation to include piccolos, cornets, baritones, trombones, tubas, and snare and bass drums.

Civil War Band Music (1861-1865)

During the Civil War, the Union and Confederate armies had brass bands that varied in size from eight to 24 players. These groups were important for maintaining discipline and morale and served other military and ceremonial functions. Bands also performed familiar tunes for troops, providing a link to home for many of the soldiers.

American composer Stephen Collins Foster (1826-1864) wrote music during the pre- and post-Civil War periods and became the first significant American composer. His simple melodies, which reflected American song traditions of the mid-19th century, quickly spread across the nation and became iconic American works. “Oh! Susanna” (1848), for example, was carried as far west as the California Gold Rush before its official publication. Because of his instant success, Foster became the first American composer to support himself solely by songwriting. He was the first musician nominated to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in 1940.

The sentimental folk nature of Foster’s songs spoke to Americans of all ethnic, racial, social, and political backgrounds. Though his Civil War songs reflected support for the Unionists, his familiar tunes were loved by all Americans, particularly the troops serving on the Civil War battlefield. Many of Foster’s works are still recognized in today’s American culture. “My old Kentucky home” (1853) and “Old Folks at Home” (“Swanee River”) (1851) are the state songs of Kentucky and Florida.

The Marine Band was stationed in Washington during the Civil War, performing regular public concerts and regularly supporting White House events. In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress that officially recognized the Marine Band by law; this was the first official recognition of the band by legislation. The Director was designated as “Leader/Principal Musician,” and a Drum Major and 30 musicians were authorized.

Although he was not a musician, President Lincoln loved music, and his taste was quite broad. He appreciated Scala’s work to improve the quality of the band, and frequently attended Marine Band performances. President Lincoln enjoyed the popular music of the day as well as the opera; he supported Scala when he was criticized for playing too many operatic selections and not enough military and popular music.

In November 1863, the band accompanied President Lincoln to Gettysburg, Pa., for the dedication of the National Cemetery, during which the President gave his famed Gettysburg Address. Among the members of the band who traveled with President Lincoln to Gettysburg was a trombonist named Antonio Sousa, a Spanish immigrant of Portuguese descent, who also worked as a cabinetmaker at Marine Barracks Washington.

Sousa’ son, John Philip, later become the Marine Band’s most famous member and legendary 17th Director.

Post-Civil War Band Music (1865-1910)

Bands that remained together after the war frequently performed for Civil War reunions. Many of these groups became town bands that would perform regularly in gazebos, parks, bandstands, and town centers.

A Change in Scenery

As railroad construction resumed and people migrated west, traveling musicians spread their talent to many who had never heard this kind of entertainment before. Many North Americans had their first (and most likely only) exposure to the great masters of music to include Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppi Verdi, and Richard Wagner.

Before the advent of modern technologies including the radio, phonograph, and television, live music was a very popular form of entertainment.

Woodwinds on the Rise

At the height of his fame, Boston bandmaster Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore re-introduced woodwinds into his band and the all-brass band in America slowly began to disappear.

Native Sounds

Ethnicity and nationalism inspired many amateur bands that existed across the country after the Civil War.

The Industrial Revolution brought a surge of immigrants to American shores, and bands that were exclusively Italian, German, or Swiss, for example, formed based on convenience (local neighborhoods populated by a certain ethnic group) and a sense of national pride in their homelands.

Also at this time, many black Americans joined together to form amateur bands. Due mainly to the unavailability of formal musical education at the time, many of these African-American musicians fused their African musical heritage and rhythmic vitality with the conventions of the brass band. The resulting musical style gave birth to the first uniquely-American art form, jazz.

No Place for a Lady

Musical culture during the Romantic period was dominated greatly by male musicians, and bands were no exception. Since women generally were not allowed to join many of the professional bands except as violinists, soprano soloists, or harp soloists, many of them performed in their own bands. These bands were mainly modeled after the male bands of the day.

One of the most well-known female ensembles was Helen May Butler’s Ladies Military Band. Butler herself was a trained violinist, cornetist, composer, and conductor, and on occasion was referred to as the “Female Sousa.” Once the group was established, they maintained that they were “equal in ability to any of the men’s bands.”

Some of the distinguished women cornet soloists of the time were F. Louise Horne, Anna Berger, Louise Shaffer, Edna White, and Alice Raymond.