Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1915-02-05
TROOPS AND MUSIC
Military Bands Are a Big Fea-
ture In the Russian Army.
Guido ALL OTHER NATIONS.

Besides a Brass Band Each Regiment
Has a String and Wood Orchestra
and q Drum Corps-EVen Posts With
Only a Battalion Have Full Bands.
One feature Of the Russian army
which from time to time has beer
brought to he attention Of the world
outside of Russia, chiefly by publlca-
lions concerning themselves with mat
ters appertaining to music. is the I'M
usual size and number Of bands In the
military forces of the car. The Rus
sian soldier has more martial music
than my other soldier In the world.
There Is no regiment in the russian
service without Its own hand. and at
posts where not a regiment but only a
battalion is quartered that battalion
has its band. And these Russian mill
tary bands are big and impressive mu-
steal organizations. Within each is n
brass band and an orchestra Of string
and wood instruments with. OF course,
the necessary touch OF brass and Sheep
skin. The result Is that, while these
military bands play primarily military
music, they also adapt themselves to
the performance Of such music as the
American hears at n symphony concert.
The regimental band In the United
States army consists of thirty-six
pieces. md bands on fagships of the
navy Ore smaller. The average Rus
sian army band, or orchestra, has from
forty to fifty musicians. and the or
chestras of certain guard regiments
contain sixty. There are more than
1000 Russian regiments, and there are
In the army about $4,000 bandsmen.
Then In the naval and military schools
and In the navy there are bands, and
II to these are added the twenty to
forty musical pupils Of q regimental
orchestral school and the musical com.
pnnies Of bnttleshlps and various ca
Diet schools the number of military mu-
siclnns in the armed service of Russia
mounts to the surprising total of ap-
proXimntely 100000 men. a number
greater than the whole enlisted and
commissioned personnel in the Ameri-
Gun army.
Russia takes u commendable pride
In its military bands. and the musI-
ciHns are MI competent. The bands
men are trained In the regimentnl band
schools or IN one Of the numerous mu-
sicnl c~onservutories maintained by the
government, and each musical com
pany has II conductor and his assist
ant. both being graduates of one OF
the national Conservatives of music.
The Russian designation of these
military and naval bands is musykal-
maya knmmunda. and they constitute
an important factor in the life of the
civil population. the government using
them for the entertainment Of the pub
lie us well as for the musical educa-
ton of the masses very much as the
United Stntes uses its military bands
ut WnshinGtOn-thNt is. in providing
free concerts for the people. Open air
concerts are common in the parks of
the larger towns and smaller cities
throughout Russia during the summer.
and I'm winter free recitals are given in
the barracks and public halls. On
Sundays, fete days and national holt
days band concerts and orchestral per-
formnnces IRE usual in the well set
tied regions of vast Russia.
The Russian military band is cOn
siderably more than an army institu-
ton. The cost of maintaining so
many binds is considerable even for
so rich n country as Russia, but the
government considers them rs a prof
table investment The Russian sol
der has come to require music and he
demands 1t. and these bands entertain
the masses and the classes. These
bands cater to the highest musical
taste. and the average Russian in the
cities knows when music is good and
he will have no other. The bands play
the new and popular music by COM
pOsers like I%vnnOff. but on all the band
programs you will see such names as
Liszt. Schumann. Chopin. Tscbaikow-
sky, Gllnka, Strauss and Debussy.
The army band spreads its musical
influence over Russia in another way.
After passing through the regimental
band school the bandsman serves three
years. Then he passes out of the army,
usually returning to his native village.
The custom Is for him to carry back
into civil life with him the instrument
he played I'm the government band. His
musical trimming and accomplishment
make Of him In his home town n more
prominent and important man than he
otherwise would be. He often takes
Up the teaching of music and almost
invariably keeps up the practice of his
art. Very likely he organizes n vii
lage band or orchestra. and into this
come amateur musicians and other
military bandsmen whose army serv-
Ice has expired. About $4,000 Russian
nrmy musicians annually leave the
army and return home to their faml-
lies.-Washington Star.