4 OTHER HISTORICAL EVENTS IN THE 19TH CENTURY

The Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, also known as the Paris Conservatory, was established in France in 1795. Smaller music schools existed prior to the creation of the Conservatory, but their roles were markedly different. Many of these music schools did nothing more than pair a student with a teacher. However, the Ecole Royale de Musique et de Declamation and the Ecole gratuite de Musique de la Gard Nationale offered their students a more thorough music education. These two schools would eventually merge in order to create the Paris Conservatory.

The Ecole Royale de Musique et de Declamation, directed by François-Joseph Gossec, was established by royal decree in 1784. The primary purpose of this school was to train performers in general music, as well as singing and theatrical performance for operas, symphonies, and ballet.^[1] In 1789 Gossec resigned from his school duties to work with Bernard Sarette and the Corps de Musique de la Garde Nationale.^[2]

Sarette was a military band leader, who started a 45-member band meant to perform for civic festivals and demonstrations. A wind band of that proportion was unheard of prior to this, so to train instrumentalists for the ensemble, Sarette received funding from Paris to open the Ecole de Musique de la Garde Nationale in 1792. The 120 students who attended the school received free private instruction from the Corps de Musique de la Garde Nationale musicians.

Upon re-examination a brief three years later, the Convention Nationale concluded that supporting two music schools was not in the best interest of Paris and decided to reform the two into one school. Thus, the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Danse was formed on August 3, 1795.^[3]

Born into a family of instrument makers, Adolphe Sax created many instruments throughout the nineteenth century, yet his saxhorn (patented in 1845) and saxophone (patented in 1846) families remained the only instruments to maintain any real impact.^[4] In 1858, he joined the faculty at the Paris Conservatory to create a saxophone studio, where he taught until the studio was disbanded in 1871 (later reinstated in 1900).

Saxhorns are conical brass instruments with upright valves endorsed by the Distin family. The Distins were a British family with their own quintet that performed throughout Europe and America and, in 1844, became the official agent for selling saxhorns. Concerts were well attended everywhere the quintet performed. Because of the Distin family’s travels, these instruments quickly became popular in the United States prior to Civil War.^[5]

Traveling groups, like the Distin family quintet, along with a growing availability of instruments, inspired more brass bands to form throughout Europe and America. The brass band started in Europe at the end of the eighteenth century and functioned as military bands, church bands, and civic ensembles. Civic bands performed at social functions and were the most popular of the three types of ensembles.^[6] Americans searched for new ways to create music, and the brass band allowed more amateurs to perform. They copied the idea from Europe, and brass bands began to form across the United States. Nineteenth-century music critic, John Sullivan Dwight wrote, “All at once the idea of a brass band shot forth: and from this prolific germ sprang up a multitude in every part of the land….”^[7]

In 1828 Englishman, Thomas Dodworth arrived in New York with his sons Allen, Harvey, and Charles. Thomas played trombone, and Allen was a skilled piccolo player, so they joined the Independent Band of New York; however, in 1834, the community band changed its instrumentation to brass only. The band changed its name to The City Band of New York after changing the instrumentation. This was the first all-brass band in the United States, but the group disbanded soon after the change. Allen Dodworth immediately started a new brass band called the National Brass Band, and in 1836 the name was changed to the Dodworth Band.

Despite the growing criticism, the Dodworth Band had quite a career.   Allen’s younger brother Harvey took control of the band in the late 1830s, and he then allowed his son Oleon to succeed him in 1890. The band performed throughout New York, but its longest playing contract was performing at events with the 71st National Guard Regiment of New York.^[8] In 1838 the Dodworth Band began using valved brass instruments and had them manufactured so that the bell was directed over the shoulder, facing behind the musician. These instruments were created so the sound would be directed at the military marching behind the band. This idea caught on with brass bands throughout the American Civil War era.

As brass bands rose in popularity, a higher standard of musicianship became established, which transferred to higher standards in wind bands. Military bands were vital in the United States during the 19^th century. In 1798 President John Adams signed an Act of Congress to establish the United States Marine Band. The band had its first concert on August 21, 1800, with an ensemble of two oboes, two clarinets, two horns, a bassoon, and a drum.^[9] By 1861 the ensemble reached 30 members and doubled to 60 musicians in 1899.^[10]

Another significant 19^th-century ensemble, the Boston Brigade Band, was formed in 1806 with an instrumentation of five clarinets, two bassoons, one trumpet, a triangle, and a bass drum. Under the direction of Patrick Gilmore in subsequent years, the Boston Brigade Band would eventually be known as Gilmore’s Band. Although it did not start as a military ensemble, the band eventually enlisted to motivate troops.^[11]

Patrick Gilmore was born in County Galway, Ireland, on December 25, 1829. At 18, he joined a military band stationed in Canada to play corne. One year later, he moved to Boston where he established his career as “the greatest cornet virtuoso yet heard on the shores.”^[12] The Boston Brass Band requested Gilmore to lead their ensemble in 1852, and then three years later, the Salem Brass Band requested the same. Already in high demand as a bandmaster, Gilmore was invited to lead the Boston Brigade Band in 1859. He agreed to take the position, but only if he had artistic freedom to make the band his own. The Brigade agreed and was renamed Gilmore’s Band.

In 1861, Gilmore enlisted his group with the 24^th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment to travel and serve in the Civil War. After serving for a year, the members returned to Boston and gave concerts to encourage and sustain the morale of everyone at home. March 4, 1864, marked the inauguration of Governor Michael Hahn for the Union-controlled parishes in the state of Louisiana, and Gilmore was asked to assemble a band of mammoth proportions for the event. This “Grand National Band” consisted of 500 Army bandsmen. In addition to this epic ensemble, Gilmore organized a chorus of 5000 school children.^[13] Gilmore later became famous for gigantic concerts like the one in Louisiana. In 1869 he assembled an even larger group of over 11,000 musicians for the National Peace Jubilee and Music Festival. The World Peace Jubilee and International Music Festival in 1872 saw his largest gathering of over 20,000 musicians.

In 1873, Gilmore left his band in Boston and became the leader of the 22nd Regiment Band of New York. He again changed the ensemble’s name to Gilmore’s Band and shifted the emphasis from brass to woodwinds, specifically the clarinet. After five years of taking over the group in New York, his band totaled 66 players: