The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-06-04
CIRCUS MUSICIANS.
TIL: DIFFICULTIES OF SELECTING
MUSIC FOR THE PERFORMANCE.

Time and Tune Must lie Suitable to the
Character of the work in the Ring
Men and Horses That Can Not Stand
Amy Change.
"Once a man gets into the lie Of circus
band,n said the leader, "ani accustomed to
its hard work, he likes it, and very few care
to leave it again for the casual and chance
| engagements Of unattached musicians Even
| if they Were So fortunate as to get places
| i'll regular theatre orchestras they would
have their dull season each year, and, when
at work under union rat $, would only get
81. 10 a performance, out of which they would
have to pay their personal expenses, so that
| they would be no better off than in cir
Gus Then, there is no small attraction in
the travel, excitement, open-air life and va
riety OF Il circus Some of our circus band
men 80 ON playing until they are quite
old
lit is the duty of the leader to select and
arrange the music for his band in circus
just the same as any other band, but the cir
Gus leader has much the hardest ork to DO
In the first place he must have such an i'm
mense quantity of musi., as you will read
hi,c, II lie does not thoroughly understand
the circus business, is the selection of the
particular aims that will lit to the various
performances i'll the ring. That would not
lie so hard to do if there was only one ring
anu ons performance in it at time but
when you have from three to five various
performances going on simultaneously you
don find it SO easy to pick out music that
TIME AND MUSIC To SUIT,
ali there are two or three riding acts
simultaneously, it will be comparatively
iasy to fit them, but when you have things
going ON upon the ground and in
careful or you will throw your
horses or your people out Then you have
: to know which one of the lot is most impor-
tant, TO which you will have to play, max
ins the others secondary, but serving them
as well as possible at the same time. For
instance, when the stars are doing then
really wonderful triple trapeze act, though
there are three other acts going at the same
time, | have to play for the stars and must
control the time and force of the music to
- suit then Whom he sounds his bell the
ban HIS to play pianissimo, for that is The
budt nc - IL sbedh Hpiu VI
direction or warning to the girls, and hi!
voice must be heard And when one Of
their astounding feats has been performed
the band must break out with a fortissimC
crash, blending with the roar of applaus,
from the audience. No matter where the
writer of the music may have put his di
!. minuendos OF crescenaos, | have to play i
that way, whether the piece becomes un
2
i other performers or not and whether peop
say how badly the baud paya that air o
not, fer it may be a question of limb, if no
of hfe to have 1t done in Just that way
lone thing that gives necessarily a GER
tain sameness to much circus music is In
compulsory emphasis of notes in regular re
current order, not demanded at all for mu
seal expression, but very requisite 70
marking the time for the horses in a maneg
act, or some other riding II YOU do no
thus sharply accent the time, the hes
trained horse is liable TO be all broken III
and make failure of his performance
When l was with Hengler | many tim
had to go with my violin to the ring at
o cloca III the morning to play by the hou
near u horse that was undergoing training
so As to fanliliarile the animal with the al
10 Nuicn No Wulu DE FetHltou 10 lbeTiOFu
in the ring Hengler would have Il horse i
training, III that way, as much as thre
months steadily before trusting him in tn
ring, and he was very careful never to a
low the time to 10 made slower or NOR
rapid, to suit the hor,e, but kept regular
until the beast fell naturally into the ste
tot
PLAYING THE SAME OLD TUNE"
| L.. l., oh Il t,,;,,,
and we have to adapt the time to the horse
@ to certain degree, but still the marked a
cent must be kept, and that is enough
make very strong family resemblance b
tween times, enough 10 make many poop
lie say same old tune The elephants and tn
., trained stations require to have always IL
y same music, or ii hot exactly the same the
nj 50 very near to it that the animals can NJ
n recognize any difference OF course we d
~ work III some changes on them, but not a
st rupt ones, for the American public will NJ
is stand tine same thing all the time. no matt,
., what the preferences of the animals may b
: When | was in England, seven years ag
!. Hen glei's band was paying the same mi
sic for manege and trick acts that they ha
played for seven years before, and | hay
no doubt they are playing the same piec
III this country, think
Many trapeze and other speciality pc
formances have music of their own, al
when we can accommodate them by playir
it we always do so. Generally, hoHeve
their music is arranged for string bands
be used in theatres and variety shows al
we could not play it without rearrang
ment, which would be too much trouble
long as we can supply other music quite
good. The lady who does fine trapeze a
and the long slide on the inclined wire, b
some beautiful Spanish mus ic, ami as it sui
very well for the triple trapeze act, viii h
on ut the same time, we play it. Now al
, then we work in new piece on her, and $
y is very good natured about it, always 81
ing, ALI right; but after two or three da
she is sure to come and say, please, NJ
Robinson let me have my own music agaii
She can work better with the music to WIFI
she is accustomed The trapeze performe
also have their own music Tor their spec
work. Nine Dockri.l was very particul
about her music, and used always to sill
with the band but of course in tone tn
the audience could not hear, when riding
the ring Sbe no doubt got into the hal
while tanning her horses in winter, accl
toming them to the measure of music
their movements Jim Robinson the gre
har, back rider, had certain set of qua
rifles that he always insisted upon havi
played Tor him, aud hs would not ride
ANY thing else. Fish on the other han
I. though he had quite "a fondness for mu
and used to practice the violin in
r. dressing room good deal, did not seem
,l,x,kx al, Fo,n L., .