Going Rococo

Velvet coats with fancy embroidery.
Frilly shirts with lace on the collars.
And curly mops of hair. 

They're not
John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
But they were the first
to use hair for an artistic statement.

Some groups went for an extra long coiffure
with tresses heaped onto shoulders. 

Others took a more conservative approach
 with a restrained style suitable for all occasions.

And others wanted to appeal to the youths
by choosing matching curls
that would do any mother proud.

Today I present four musical groups
that copied fashion styles from centuries past
in order to set themselves apart.

Bad hair was good.

My first example was evidently the very first ensemble of its kind to affect a return to the olden days. These five men called themselves the Original Elite Orchester „Roccoco”, directed by Herr P. Schmeida. They were from Germany, or maybe Austria. and chose costumes imitating the apparel of gentlemen of the 18th century. Each one is slightly different but they all wear velvet knee breeches, justacorps coats embroidered with silks and gold sequins, contrasting long waistcoats, and white shirts with frilled collars and cuffs. All topped off by a curly white wig that to a modern eye resembles a mop head. Today I found a very similar outfit for sale on Etsy for $1,349.25. But that's without the wig.

The group is pictured without instruments but I suspect they played string instruments and perhaps included a piano. The term Rococo refers to a style of architecture, art, and decoration that dates roughly from the death of the French King Louis XIV in 1715 to the French Revolution of 1789. According to its Wikipedia entry, "It is characterized by extensive ornamentation, fluid curves, asymmetry, and a smaller scale designed to foster intimacy. .... Rococo fashion was based on extravagance, elegance, refinement and decoration. ... These fashions spread beyond the royal court into the salons and cafés of the ascendant bourgeoisie. The exuberant, playful, elegant style of decoration and design that we now call 'Rococo' was then known as le style rocaille, le style moderne, le gout."

The Rococo era was very influential in art and architecture, but other terms, were used for the music of this period. In France it was called Style Galant, described by Voltaire as music which “aims to please." French composers Jean Philippe Rameau, Louis-Claude Daquin and François Couperin were popular in this era. In Germany it was called Empfindsamer Stil (sensitive style) which inspired German composers like Johann Christian Bach and Carl Philip Emanuel Bach, both sons of the great titan of Baroque Music – Johann Sebastian Bach. 

This postcard of the Original Elite Orchester „Roccoco” has a stamp and postmark from Denmark on 23 January 1904.    

* * *

This next ensemble is considerably larger with twenty musicians posted outdoors in a garden or park setting. According to the postcard's caption they are: 

Madame H. E. Angless's Pompadour Ladies' Orchestra
permanent address:  78, Norwood Road, London, S. E.

The players in this all-women group are dressed in long, wide gowns, possibly with interior structural support, and heavy white wigs, most appearing to be identical in shape. They have the usual string instruments as well as a flute, two clarinets, trombone, tuba, and drums in the back row and two cornetists sitting on the grass in front. Though not identified as pretending to be from the Rococo era, their attire is pretty close.

The woman standing center, left of the harp, holding a baton is the conductor, Madame Harry Edward Angless, also known as Emily Angless (nee Leer). She had previously organized a Anglo-Swiss Ladies' Orchestra in the 1890s which performed in quasi-Swiss costumes. Though the Pompadour ladies are all beautifully matched in fancy French costume, I can't help but observe that several players have noticeably masculine faces. Maybe it's the light or the half-tone print, but the tuba player on the right, the double bassist on the left, and a few other musicians sure look like they could use a shave.   

This postcard was sent from London on 30 March 1905 to Mrs Beales of Horley, familiar to people of 2026 as being next to Gatwick airport.

"Oh, listen to the Band"
That is what we were
doing last Saturday.
Sorry you were not
there.  Hope you are
 quite well.                
AF.    HP.

I found only a few British newspaper references to the Pompadour Ladies Orchestra. The group seems to have started around 1904 and ended in 1908, mostly playing variety shows that included other acts like comedians, acrobats, and magicians. One of the places where they performed over a few seasons was at the Britannia Pier in Great Yarmouth on the North Sea coast. This next postcard shows a long pier that projects over a very sandy beach and an impressive palace at the end. It certainly looks suitable for a Rococo style ensemble. The garden in the foreground might well have been the location for the postcard photo of the Pompadour Ladies Orchestra.

Britannia Pier, Great Yarmouth, UK, circa 1911
Source: Wikipedia

The Britannia Pier is still in operation today but it has endured a difficult history. It first opened in July 1858 and was originally 700 feet long. However in 1859 the pier was reduced by about 80 feet when during a terrible storm two ships crashed into the structure. In 1868 another storm again reduced the length. The remains of the old pier were demolished in 1899 and replaced by a new 810 foot pier in 1901. The Grand Pavilion, seen above, opened on 21 June 1902. 

Britannia Pier Pavilion, Great Yarmouth
by destroyed by fire on 17 April 1914
Source: Wikipedia

Sadly this new Grand Pavilion was destroyed in a fire on 22 December 1909. A replacement pavilion was quickly constructed and completed in 1910, but this too was ravaged by an arson fire on 17 April 1914. The arsonists were two militant suffragettes, Hilda Burkitt and Florence Tunks, both of whom received prison sentences for their incendiary protest. Once again a third pavilion was hastily constructed and opened on 27 July 1914, just one day before the start of World War One.

The pier's Floral Hall Ballroom opened in May 1928 but was destroyed by fire in August 1932. The pier was closed during World War II to prevent enemy troops using the pier as a landing station and did not reopen until 1947. A new Grand Ballroom had opened in 1933, but it too was destroyed by fire in April 1954, along with the third pavilion. 

The current Britannia Pier pavilion opened on 27 June 1958 and became home to the Pavilion Theatre, now called the Britannia Pier Theatre. However the ballroom (called the Ocean Ballroom from 1947) was never replaced.

* * *

My third time-traveling musical group are seven men known as the:

Rokoko Salon-Orchester
Direktion: Fried. Bauer

The men wear clothing similar to the costumes worn by the Elite Orchester Roccoco but less flashy and with white stockings. Their wigs are also similar but with less curl. They have four string instruments, including a cello and double bass, a flute, and a piano hidden behind the two men on the right. The instrument we know today as a piano was created by Bartolomeo Cristofori in Italy in 1700. He called it a pianoforte (soft loud) later known as the fortepiano (loud soft). These first pianos were constructed of wood much like a harpsichord. But a pianoforte keyboard triggered small hammers to strike the strings with dynamics unlike the way a harpsichord keyboard flips wooden jacks which pluck the strings for a softer uniform sound. In any case I don't think this group is using a historically correct instrument but instead has a kind of upright piano of a later 19th century design.

The postcard was sent from Hannover, Germany on 8 November 1913 to someone in Bordeaux, France.    

* * *

My final costumed group is five men who called themselves the:

Farinelli-Ensemble
Sächsische Konzert un Volkssänger. 
Vielseitigstes Instrumental-, Vokal-
und Schauspiel-Ensemble der Welt
~

Farinelli Ensemble

Saxon concert and folk singers.

The world's most versatile instrumental, vocal,

and theatrical ensemble. 

The men are wearing matching long gowns, which to my eye look like women's nightgowns, and curly feminine wigs. One man holds a girl's doll which the others seem focused on.   

The group's name refers to Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (1705–1782), a celebrated Italian vocalist of the 18th century who performed under the stage name Farinelli. He was a singer and composer whose castrato soprano voice had an incredible range of over three octaves. Farinelli is considered one of the greatest and most influential singers in the history of opera. 

Presumably some of the men in the Farinelli Ensemble were countertenors who specialized in a high treble style which with a standard men's voices of tenor, baritone, and bass would give their group the same quality as if they had women or boys singing. I can't explain the feminine nature of their costumes since I have no idea what kind of music or comic skits they performed. But I think it's fair to say that their era was filled with lots of rude humor and racist characterizations that we would find vulgar and hateful today.

Their postcard was sent from Bischofswerda, a small town in eastern Germany at the western edge of Upper Lusatia in Saxony, on 6 April 1903.

These ensembles were more about making music fun. Their costumes served to give them a hook for an audience that they hoped would stay longer for the music. 

It still works today and I found a great video to illustrate this story. If you went to Wien/Vienna in 2026 you might hear a concert by the Wiener Mozart Konzert which performs in beautiful period costumes. (Though their instruments are modern and not historically accurate for the music.) Technically Mozart's music is of the Classical era rather than the Rococo but he is reputed to enjoy fine clothing which was inspired by the Rococo fashions. This band sounds good even in wigs.

 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where it's costume day for everyone.