Meaning & Performance
The Reveille (Swiss: Die Tagwacht; French: La Diane) was beaten at daybreak as a signal for the soldiers to wake up and the NCOs to inspect quarters. If in garrison, the gates were opened. The soldiers of the guard would stop challenging.
When To Beat
All drummers beat the Reveille at the center of their respective battalion flag.
How to Beat
- Drummers beat Locken, as described before.
- All Drummers commence the Reveille together.
- Begin at the center of the battalion parade.
- March to the right down to the end of the parade.
- Turn around and march to the other end.
- Turn around and return to center.
- End back at the center, in front of the battalion flags.
Hessian Regulations, 1767, p. 272, 301, 496, 510-1
Drum Beatings
Winter’s drum manual includes a simple “Double Drag Style” beating that is found commonly across Europe for a Reveille beating.
One Dutch manual – Over het Tromslaar (1807) – used ‘De Reveille’ which is identical to that seen in Winter. A similar, simplified Double Drag style beating is used by the Spanish in Toques de Guerra (1769). The French adopt a simple Double Drag Beating for La Diane, their Reveille, beginning with their 1831 regulations under “Batteries et Sonneries de l’Infanterie Française”. The same Double Drag Beating appears as
the Swiss Tagwacht by the mid-1800s in several of their ordonnances.
Kastner shows a different Prussian Reveille (Kruger calls it Wecken). This beating is more similar to the Dutch Reveille found in Raucher’s (1815) manual, as well as the Dutch Reveilles played by the Americans in the 19th C.
Medley of Tunes?
There is support that Reveilles were commonly beaten as a medley of tunes.
18th C. Swiss manuals show a sequence of three Tagwachte that translate to a Single Drag beating, a Double Drag beating, and a “Dutch Style” Reveille, based on the 1728 and 1788 ordonnances.
Tradition suggests that Napoleonic era France beat a medley of a Single Drag and Double Drag.
The British beat a medley of the English and Scottish Reveilles (Potter, 1815). They beat the English, followed by the Scottish as many times as desired, then ended with the English. Buttrey’s fife MS lists a number of tunes in sequence around his English Reveille and Scottish Reveilles, many of the tunes overlapping with the American reveille.
The Americans were beating a medley of Reveille tunes at least by the early 1800s. Their sequence includes Single Drags, Double Drags, and the “Dutch style” beating, as well as the English and Scottish reveilles.
In Darmstadt MS 1225, the Chür Phäylzer (Palatinate) ordonnance section lists four “Rewel” tunes in a row, also implying a medley sequence like the Americans.
In MS 1225, the Prussian ordonnance lists multiple Reveilles, implying a medley or no specific ordonnance.
Interestingly, it includes “Revelle Leib Shen” (A Favorite Reveille) that includes a Trio. This musical style plays the main melody, then trio, then returns to the main melody – essentially a medley of 3 tunes.
Based on this evidence, I would suggest a medley of tunes provided in the Prussian ordonnance. The beating would start with the Prussian “Wecken”, which rolls naturally into Winter’s “Reveille”, and then return to the Wecken. This fits very well to “Revelle Leib Shen” and can be adapted to numerous Prussian reveilles in the Darmstadt MS.
Revelle Leib Shen
Medley #1 for Hessian Use
Part one (AB) is an unnamed 3/8 reveille from the Darmstadt MS paired with Kastner’s Wecken.
Part two (CD) is an unnamed 6/8 reveille from the Darmstadt MS paired with Winters’ Reveille.
Revelle Leib Shen
Medley #2 for Hessian Use
The first part of Revelle Leib Shen paired with Kastner’s Wecken.
The second part is the Trio to Revelle Leib Shen paired with Winters’ Reveille.
The third part is a repeat of the first part.
Learn more about other Reveilles:
- English Reveille – The Three Cheers
- Scottish Reveille
- American Reveille Sequence
- French La Diane – Single Drag
- French La Diane – Double Drag
- Dutch Reveille – American, German, Dutch, and Swiss beating
To learn how to play the other major Prussian duty calls, check out:
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