Page 28 - La Musica e l'Arma

28 La Musica e L'arMa La musica miLitare negLi stati Preunitari
Regno di Napoli, 1813.
Ussari della Guardia Reale. Trombettiere

Military Bands

he presence of musicians within the armed forces has
very old roots. They were present in the professional
T armies in the late 1700s, and during the Napoleonic
era military bands underwent massive develop-
ment, which other European armies took as a
model.
The uniforms were garish and full of colours; the
drums, fifes, trumpets, and especially the drum major
drew attention both on the battlefield and in the activi-
ties in Europe during the European Restoration.
During the 19th century, more and more military bands were
formed, with different formations in different countries, with
the purpose of displaying military might in addition to per-
forming musical duties. Thus military music acquired new
value: that of a communication link between the closed world
of the barracks and the civil society in a period when music
became an essential part of the life in the Italian Risorgimen-
to. Therefore, military bands turned into formations training
new generations of musicians who gradually became more and more pro-
fessional until the bands were finally composed of real professional musi-
cians instead of amateurs or people who played by ear.