Prussian Drum Sources
In this section, I have relied on three major drum sources to provide these interpretations.
When possible, I have used George Winter’s Kurze-Unweisung das Trommel-Spielen (c1777).
Georges Kastner’s Manuel Général de Musique Militaire a l’Usage des Armées Françaises (1848) includes Prussian duties c. 1846. In many cases, these beatings align with those found in Winter. Kastner also includes several additional beatings.
Franz Kruger’s Pauken und Kleine Trommel Schule (1951) is a modern German drum manual that also depicts many of the older Prussian music. This resource was used to validate some of the Winter and Kastner interpretations.
Prussian fife Sources
Throughout this section, I used the Darmstadt Manuscripts to provide 18th century fife music.
These manuscripts were written by Erbprinz Ludwig (IX) of Hesse-Darmstadt throughout the mid- to late-1700s.
Learn more about the Darmstadt MS and purchase a copy of the music organized and transcribed.
Or, you can find a link to originals in the German References & Resources.
The second manuscript, known as Mus MS 1225, opens with the Prussian ordonnance duty music, which was the main inspiration for the fife music choices.
Hessians In North America Impression
This research was heavily inspired by a movement to create strong Hessian impressions for the up-coming 250th anniversary cycle of the American Revolution.
Since there is no existing Hessian music for fife and drum, our best choice is to imitate the Prussian ordonnance. The Hessian army during this time was heavily influenced by Prussian drill and fashion, and so it’s not a stretch to assume they either copied or were influenced by Prussian music.
The music scored are suggestions for standardize duty music to be used by Hessian re-enactors during the up-coming events.
If you’re interested in participating in Hessian re-enacting, check out these Facebook groups:
Hessian Reenacting (250th Planning) – serious inquiries only
18th Century Germanic Feldmusik – all musicians and historians welcome
To download a copy of the suggested duty music, click below.
To get started learning the Prussian / Hessian duties, check out the major duty calls:
Have more information about Hessian or Prussian music, contact me or comment below.