Fife Music of the English March

Despite several surviving versions of the Foot March in English fife tutors, the fife music for the English March remains perhaps an even bigger mystery.

Theme and Variation in Historic Fife Music

In 1630, when Charles I’s Warrant was issued, fifes were in use throughout the British army. Undoubtedly, there was a recognizable melody that matched the drum part.

The fifes, however, were more encouraged to entertain their musical prowess by embellishing and altering a tune, so long as it matched the drum beating.

We see this discussed particularly by Arbeau, who suggests that

“Those who play [the fife] improvise to please themselves and it suffices for them to keep time with the sound of the drum”.

Arbeau (39)

Arbeau and his fictional music student suggest that

“Those who understand music can [perform these embellishments] easily”.

Arbeau (43)

As this tendency of 18^th century musicians to embellish written music is well-known, I will not add any more explanation or detail. Instead, for those who are interested in learning more, see Quanz’s On Playing the Flute for a contemporary discussion. Or, for a modern discussion, see Howard Brown’s Performance Practice: Music after 1600 (1989) and Bach Performance Practice, and Dorottya Fabian 1945-1975: A Comprehensive Review of Sound Recordings and Literature (2003).

The Fife and The English March

Unfortunately, based partly on the tendency to embellish music and the state of print publication, fife music from this era has not survived.

We are additionally limited by the interruption of the fife tradition from the mid-1600s until the mid-1700s. H. G. Farmer suggests that the popularity of the Hautboi in the French services, imported from the Turks, slowly displaced the use of fifes starting in the late-1680s (“The Martial Fife” 67).

Some historians suggest that, considering the continued popularity of the fife in Germany and France, the Hanoverian dynasty preferred the German Flute, or fife. Grose’s research indicates that the fife was first reintroduced in 1745, overtaking the oboe, and spurring numerous publications of fife tutors by the early 1750s.

See the works of Francis Grose Military Antiques (1786), H. G. Farmer, including “The Martial Fife,” and Ardal Powell The Flute for a more detailed explanation of the history of the fife’s use in the British military.

18th Century Fife Tutors

From 1755 through the rest of the 18th century, dozens of fife tutors were printed in England.

Although these tutors contain a complete set of duty calls for both the English and Scottish regiments, we can’t say whether this music is the original fife parts, fife parts imported from their Hautboy counterparts, or newly written fife parts.

It seems reasonable to assume that, had these fife parts been new, there would be some evidence of a Royal charter or some discussion in earlier manuals about the composition of these pieces. This leaves us with the probable assumption that the music in these manuals represents older material, possibly reaching back to the original fife music.

Surviving Fife Parts for the English March

Four distinct versions of the English March appear in mid-18^th century Fife tutors.

The earliest of all these tutors, Rutherfoord, includes three versions: One is several lines of unbarred music without a time signature. The other two are approximately as long, barred in 3/4.

The second version in Rutherfoord was also published in Thompson, Longman & Broderip, and Skillern. The third version in Rutherfoord only appears in his manual.

A fourth version, printed in Thompson and Longman & Broderip, is also roughly the same length and barred in 3/4.

Confusing 3/4 Notation

Luckily, the three barred versions are in 3/4, which matches the likely 3/4 rhythm of the drum translation.

However, all three barred versions are vastly different from one another.

While there is an underlying similarity between these three versions, the rhythms can vary significantly. In many cases, the versions either diminish or extend the division. This makes each division contain a different number of measures from one version to the other, which seems completely confusing and unhelpful.

Additionally, the divisions are not predictable or an even number of measures.

The confusing division structure makes the drum beating impossible to match to these surviving fife parts.

Overall, it is impossible to make a coherent attempt to pair the translated drum part to any of the three barred fife versions. Instead, we turned our attention to the unbarred fife part.

The Fife Music as a Cadenza

Let’s first take a moment to consider the unbarred version found in Rutherfoord.

The unbarred version readily reveals itself to be a cadenza.

A cadenza is a relatively free rhythmic form in which a soloist has the freedom to perform something virtuosic.

Here, it appears that the composer is writing partially out of time in order to explain his specific intentions for the fifer’s ornamental display.

Based on this concept, we were able to uncover a core melody.

The Core Melody for the Fife Music to the English March

To produce the outline of a melody, we cut the half notes into quarter notes.

Of the remaining notes, we kept some key harmonic notes. We cut these passing tones and arpeggios from quarter notes to eighth notes.

Based on general practices of the time, we understood the remainder of the notes as embellishments.

More Evidence for the Cadenza Theory

We feel quite confident in our theory that the unbarred music represents a cadenza. For further support, we found two variations of the Scottish Foot March included in Thompson (1759).

In his Scottish duty call section, Thompson includes the same Foot March seen in the other fife tutors for the Scottish Foot March.

Later, he includes a tune simply called “The Foot March” as an unbarred piece. This version of the Foot March is very clearly an embellishment on the Scottish Foot March. It also bears the same structure and appearance as the unbarred English March in Rutherfoord.

A Translation of the English March

Here is the fife music from Rutherfoord, augmented into 3/4.

Rutherfoord’s unbarred notation appears to use a typical method of explaining embellishments by bringing them “out of time” to fully show the desired effects. This allowed us to find a basic melody and an embellished variation.

The top bar indicates the basic melody; the bottom bar indicates a modern method of writing the embellishments indicated in Rutherfoord’s unbarred music.

SSG Tatiana Brewer, now in the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and formerly Old Fort Niagara’s Fife Major, wrote this interpretation of the English Foot March.

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With the fife part understood, we can see a better picture of how to perform the English March.

Continue to learn how to perform the English March and see a complete interpretation.

If needed, refer back to the discussion on:

• Surviving Versions of the English March
• Rhythm of the English March
• Rudiments of the English March

Have your own thoughts on the Fife music for the English March? Contact me with resources on the English March or comment below.