Liberty Hall Drum and Fife Corps at Manassas

[33rdaladrummer]

[4VADRUMMER]

Re: Liberty Hall Drum and Fife Corps at Manassas

Outstanding job guys! There is no Corp better today! New musicians and older ones trying to improve your impression take heed...... This is what the field music of the civil war sounded like! Not like that all the more common New England jam session music.

[cprljohnivey]

Re: Liberty Hall Drum and Fife Corps at Manassas

Huzzuh Liberty Hall!

[Sue]

Re: Liberty Hall Drum and Fife Corps at Manassas

"Not like that all the more common New England jam session music."

Wow, that was great music played briskly and well with a personal flair. . . it was wonderful, and I thought it sounded just like a New England jam session (minus the libations, of course). ;-) I wish I could have heard more of the commentary, though.

[Tertel]

Re: Liberty Hall Drum and Fife Corps at Manassas

Huzzah for Liberty Hall!While you guys were on stage at the reenactment, the Fort McHenry Guard Fife and Drum Corps was on stage at Manasssas Battlefield Park doing the NPS Commemoration. Ed BEARSS is a tough act to follow.
sample:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPbR-...&feature=feedu

Tim Ertel

[4VADRUMMER]

Re: Liberty Hall Drum and Fife Corps at Manassas

To be clear on my comment........ Will and the boys don't play modern music that is common at jam sessions and throughout the Corps of New England. Not saying there is anything wrong with that stuff but if you are doing Civil War field music, do it right. Liberty Hall seems to be the only ones that actually get it and have actually done the research to back up everything they do. Talking to Will Chappelle or Joe Whitney about field music is an education on the subject to say the least. I wish more folks took time to defarb their music at events like every other aspect of the campaigner side of the hobby. Meaning I'd like to see more groups doing research and finding out what was really played versus let's play what we have always played. That's a big impossible dream though because they didn't play all the cool, modern drumbeats and tunes that everyone plays today during the civil war. One thing is for certain, most folks haven't a clue if you do play the wrong stuff!(-; That's been proven time and time again, everytime I go to an event!

[Sue]

Re: Liberty Hall Drum and Fife Corps at Manassas

Eric, I think that's because not everybody does their homework. The Ancients aren't "wrong," and neither are the reenactors. What's "wrong" is when people can't tell the difference between the two and use them interchangeably. I think of it as a dots in time. The Ancients have, say, a uniform that reminds us of ca 1776 (one dot). They play "Yankee Doodle" ca 1796 (another dot). They also play "Minstrel Boy," ca, 1812 and "Grandfather's Clock," (1877) (still more dots). If you continue this kind of examination, you end up with so many dots that you can't distinguish one from the other (unless you look very closely) and end up with with a long (historical) line, which in truth is made strong by cramming so many dots together (let's call that "tradition.") Reenactors, on the other hand focus on a specific time period (dot), which may swell with all the information crammed into it but remains well-circumscribed with impenetrable boundaries--which, as you point out, is as it should be. Good music, played well by sensitive and knowledgeable musicians--that is what the reenactors have in common with the Ancients, and that is what I heard in the Liberty Hall clip. I guess I've been immersed in this for so long I didn't focus on the specific tunes being played. . . sorry, but now you know the truth, I *am* older than dirt! ;-)

[Sue]

Re: Liberty Hall Drum and Fife Corps at Manassas

P.S. IMHO, I think there's enough out there that we can reconstruct a fairly credible CW drum repertory, but to do that we have to get our heads out of the Company books and into the Hart books. . . at the very least, that would take the paddy-flah-flahs out of reenactments, but I'm no drummer, so I will leave that to the experts. I'm just going to sit on the sidelines with a Diet Coke and enjoy what I hear ;-)


Susan, please sign your first and last name when posting on the AC. You can use the settings to creat and auto signature that has your signature for every post. Thanks! Herb Coats, Moderator

Ooops, sorry. Susan Cifaldi

[joewhitney]

Re: Liberty Hall Drum and Fife Corps at Manassas

Aw, we all know it's Cifaldi! (The Diet Coke is a dead giveaway!)

I lean more towards Howe than Hart myself, as Howe's works were much more widely published than Hart's manual, so if they weren't reflecting what was commonly played before they came out, they probably did afterward!

But in reality, the most commonly played music, especially at the beginning of the war, was probably a simplified, dumbed down, easier for beginner recruits to digest versions of the duty tunes and beats, as evidenced by the music in the regulation tactics manuals (as flawed musically as they are).

Of course, those belonging to elite, urban or pre-war units probably played the more sophisticated versions, since they would have had better access to the fancier printed versions, and experienced players soon found (and still find) the simplified versions too boring.

It's both fortunate and unfortunate that New England kept fife and drum music alive. It's unfortunate because there is a lot of pollution from modern or postwar music into historical reenacting of all periods, but fortunate as it kept many unwritten traditions and styles alive, and has provided a great source of ancient musicians interested in bringing their existing talents and instruments to reenacting.

Also, the large community of New England musicians has provided a great source of new friends with which to share our mutual love of both of these old, loud musical instruments, and more opportunities to play Civil War martial music, even if way up in the frozen North!

Joe Whitney

[Sue]

Re: Liberty Hall Drum and Fife Corps at Manassas

Amen, Joe ;-)

The reason I like Hart is because there are drum beats plus tunes. He was a teacher of drum-bands and thus knew what was in the air. We don't need his word or all those testimonials in the back of the books, the vernacular nature of his music proves it. Howe's music was all things to all people and thus more generic.

Today it's more like the soggy North. . . Westbrook Muster is currently in full swing, but only until 8 p.m. tonight. Per order of the State Police, all must "evacuate" :-) by then. . . I wish everyone on the east coast all the best in the next few hours--stay safe!

Susan Cifaldi

[Tertel]

Re: Liberty Hall Drum and Fife Corps at Manassas

Susan,
In the link above the editor cut off the second piece of the set which was Rosebud Reel. The FMG Fife and Drum Corps is playing mostly from Col. Hart's and Howes manuals for beatings and fife music. Here it is included in this music demo clip from last April.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tln9-agOYA

I to have many friends that are into the New England Ancient F&D and those that are into strictly historical beatings and music. There is a time and place for whatever it is you are playing whether its a Jam session or a historical music demonstration at a state, national park, reenactment.
Bottom line is leave the non period stickings and music for the jam sessions/musters and stick to the period publications the way its written whether its War of 1812, or Civil War for historical presentations. One of our new favorite pieces is Lucy Long from Howe's. Resources are there. Good to see CW groups today going beyond all B&E.

Tim Ertel
FM Fife and Drum

[Sue]

Re: Liberty Hall Drum and Fife Corps at Manassas

Thanks for the clip. Rosebud is one of my favorites. ;-)

Susan Cifaldi

[Halden]

Re: Liberty Hall Drum and Fife Corps at Manassas

This is very nice post and i like the video and music as well.