Doubling the Double Bass

 

It's scary how some musicians
seem naturally created to play their instrument.
Their hands and physique have just the right form
to grapple with the many difficulties
of producing a musical sound.  

 

But occasionally an instrument of great size 

requires extra help
as no human is big enough
to meet its monstrous requirements.

Today I present one of the largest of musical instruments
the double bass 
and its very rare gigantic cousin
the Octobass. 
 

 

The name of this well-dressed gentleman standing with his double bass is unknown but his postcard has the marks of one printed in the United Kingdom so I think he is likely posed outside the stage door of some British theatre. I think his formal long black coat and bowtie date him to sometime between 1905 to 1915. His heavy dark eyes, long mustache, and large hands give him a rather menacing appearance only partly alleviated by the corsage in his lapel.

His instrument is a double bass, also called an upright bass, acoustic bass, bull or bass fiddle, contrabass, or usually just a bass. In an orchestra it is the largest and lowest-pitched of string instruments, played with a bow or plucked with the right hand. 

Double Bass C Extension
Source: The Internets

A standard full-size double bass is about 6 feet 3 inch (190 cm) not counting the end pin. but most players use a slightly smaller 3/4 size bass that is ½ inch less than 6 feet. The four strings of a bass are tuned to E1, A1, D2, and G2. However many players modify their instrument by adding an extension on the lower string which takes it down to C1, an octave below the lowest note on the cello. This allows a bass to easily double a cello part only pitched an octave lower.

In this closeup of a bass extension the top nut of the lower string is placed about 10-12 inches above its normal position just below the head.
It is made of wood with its own narrow finger board and has an auxiliary key mechanism for the player's left fingers which press down pads corresponding to the positions of the extra bass notes.

 

The sound of a double bass serves as the foundation of an orchestra string section. Its power is stronger than the other string instruments—violins, violas, cellos—so fewer players are needed to balance a section's dynamic range. A double bass is also regularly used in concert wind bands to add more sonic texture to woodwind and brass colors. To transport a bass, players may carry it on their back or attach a small wheel to the end pin. However that still does not make it a practical instrument for playing in a marching band.

Bass viola da gamba,
by Pieter Rombouts, 1726
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Source: Wikimedia

\

In the earlier Renaissance or Baroque eras a bass viol de gamba or violone, similar to the double bass but with more strings and usually a fretted fingerboard, managed the bass voice
in musical ensembles. 

But beginning in the Classical era performers, composers, and instrument makers began searching for better string sounds. Like the violin, the viola, and the violoncello (cello), the double bass offered improvements that fulfilled a need for bigger bass. This inspired more composers of the Romantic era to write music for larger ensembles which, of course, required a larger performing space. 

In the early 19th century music instrument makers were developing grandiose ideas of bigger, louder, higher, and lower instruments. In Berlin the Prussian instrument maker Johann Gottfried Moritz ((1777–1840) invented a brass instrument with valves that he called a chromatic bass tuba. It was granted a patent in 1835. The Belgian inventor, Adolphe Sax (1814–1894) had a successful career in Paris creating entirely new categories of wind instruments like the saxhorn and the saxophone, each available in different sizes to cover a complete range of voices from soprano to bass. 

In the 1800s string instrument makers were mainly refining the standards of string instruments crafted during the late 17th and early 18th centuries by Italian makers like Antonio Stradivari. But one of them got caught up in the excitement for MORE BASS. His name was Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (1798–1875) a French luthier working in Paris. In 1850 he built an instrument that measured 11 ft 5 in (3.48 m) in length, nearly twice the size of a double bass. It had only three strings but its enormous size required a special stand for the player to reach them and a key mechanism to change the pitches.

Vuillaume called it an Octobasse.

In this illustration captioned Fig. 117 — Octobasse de Vuillaume 
a forlorn player stands on a platform and saws away at an instrument so huge it dwarfs the man who is half its height. It is shaped like a member of the violin family but it looks absurdly oversized since there is a violinist and a cellist in the picture to provide a a sense of scale. A closer look shows how the player steps on foot pedals and controls levers with his left hand as he runs a bow over the three strings. 

As indicated in purple ink stramped on the back, this picture postcard was sold by Paul Frankenstein, Atelier for Photography and Photogravure at Mollardgasse 69 in Wien, Austria  There is also a message written in English but no date.

                            Dearest Dorthea.   Daddy really saw

                            this funny big violin in a library

                            in Vienna.
                            How are you — my cutey?   Are you a
                            good girl — and do you ever
                            practise the piano?
                            Love — hugs — squeezes — kisses
                                            Daddy & Mama 

The address for Paul Frankenstein, (I'm not making this up!) is a business location for the son of noted Viennese photographer Michael Frankenstein. This particular address seems to have begun in 1909 and continued until 1918.  It is just 1½ miles from the Kunsthistorisches Museum where one of the three Octobassi that Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume built is still extant. Only one other octobass by Vuillaume is preserved at the the Musée de la Musique in Paris. A third reproduction of his original Octobass is displayed at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Vuillaume initially tuned his octobass to be an octave below a cello, but the string length allows it to be tuned even lower to the pitches C0, G0, D1. This is two octaves below the cello range, and one octave below the modern double bass with low C extension. Its C0 string vibrates at a frequency of about 16.35 Hz, which is even lower than a tuba or contrabassoon and below the hearing of most people. It's equivalent to a 32-foot pipe on an organ. It makes a fluttering sound that is more felt than heard. Imagine a Harley-Davidson motorcycle on low idle. Of course now that C pitch can be replicated by a synthesizer in different wave forms but it not a pitch that has much practical musical use. Of course in its time, that low pitch from a handcrafted wooden instrument would have seemed wonderous to anyone who heard it in a performance.  

I think it fair to say that the Octobass never became a popular instrument and didn't make Vuillaume wealthy from its patent. Size matters when you have to carry your instrument on a bus. The only known work which specifically calls for an octobass is French composer Charles Gounod's Messe solennelle de Sainte-Cécile of 1855. And then it is only played in two movements, the "Benedictus" and the "Agnus Dei". A few modern instrument makers have taken the challenge to build their own version of an octobass and one of these new instruments is owned by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the only orchestra that uses the instrument. Wikipedia provides us with a photo of it.

 

Eric Chappell of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
playing the orchestra's octobass.
Source: Wikimedia

I can't provide a better explanation of the Octobass
than this YouTube video from
the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona
where Colin Pearson, a curator at the museum
demonstrates the Octobasse in its collection.

And this next video may be my favorite rendition
of a piper's tune familiar to everyone.
The double-bassist is Jonathan Camps
with Nicola Moneta on Octobass.
They performed this duet on 10 February 2018
at the Festival Mardi "Graves" in Saint Jean de Védas, France. 

And just for fun
here is short video from 

the YouTube channel - BEST MUSIC TOOLS
on how to tune the three strings of an Octobass.

Isn't YouTube amazing? 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where a rising tide lifts all boats
except those that weren't tied up
in a sailorly manner.

 

Chamber Music

 

Chamber music is a phrase usually associated with classical music. But it's a very broad term that really just means music for a small place. It can be a parlor room or a cafe lounge or any chamber where a small musical group can make music for themselves or entertain a few friends or patrons. It doesn't require many musicians. It doesn't even have to be played indoors. A solo busker on a street corner is still playing a kind of chamber music. (Unless they are using an amplified Karaoke accompaniment!) 

But two—a duo—makes a nice mix for listeners.

These two young women, a violinist and a guitarist, posed for a beautiful portrait in Emporia, Kansas. They look like sisters to me, around age 16 to 20 maybe? Their cabinet card photo has only the photographers name so we have to guess the era. I think their slightly puffy shoulder sleeves suggests sometime in the 1890s. 

Emporia KS Weekly Gazette
25 July 1895

The photographer was the Cottage Studio of L. G. [Lyston G.] Alvord. Mr. Alvord began advertising in the Emporia newspapers in 1895. His studio was at the very top of a full page business directory for the city. "Finest retouching, finish and expression, making in all the finest photos..." There were three other photographers listed as well and a music dealer who specialized in "pianos, organs, violins, mandolins, guitars, and banjos." Emporia was also home to the Western Musical Conservatory that offered instruction and certificates for "vocal and instrumental music, also elocution and dramatic arts." 

A trio of two violins and a guitar opens up a larger variety of chamber music, since a guitar has the ability to provide chords, rhythm, bass line, and melody too. These three young men were arranged in a photographer's studio into a neat triangle. They have the look of friends not brothers. 

This postcard photo was taken at the Fritz Studio, 852 Penn St., Reading, Pennsylvania but was never posted and has no message to provide clues to date it. Unfortunately men's fashions are less specific to determining a decade much less a year. When did striped socks and polka-dot bowties first become a fad? I guess mid-1900s is a fair timeframe.  

When another instrument is added to a trio we get a quartet, which invites the classic voicing of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. This quartet even thought their numbers were sufficient to call themselves the "Big 4 Orchestra" written on a label beneath their photo. Two violins are balanced on bass by a cello but the true soprano in the group is a piccolo. That musician with his ivory-head piccolo would stand out even in a band of 100 musicians.

The photographer of this cabinet card photo was C. A. Schnell of Troy, Ohio. Coincidently "Schnell" is the German musical term for fast. Unfortunately I could find no information on this group, but their name may have a subtle meaning that could be a clue. Back in the time before air travel when people used trains, one of the dominant railroads in the Midwest was the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, also known as "the Big Four". According to its Wikipedia entry: 

The railroad was formed on June 30, 1889, by the merger of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway, the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway and the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railway. The following year, the company gained control of the former Indiana, Bloomington and Western Railway (through the foreclosed Ohio, Indiana and Western Railway and through an operating agreement with the Peoria and Eastern Railway). 

Map of Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway
Source: Wikipedia (OpenStreetMap)

Perhaps this quartet took their name from the four men's association with the railroad company. Maybe they worked on the railroad or at a depot. Troy, Ohio is just north of Dayton and was once a station on the Big Four railway. Maybe they each came from Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis?

With five instruments a quartet becomes a quintet. This group is a true string quintet with two violins, a viola, a cello, and a double bass. The men wear formal style suits with long frock coats that i think marks them as professional musicians. They may be the principal string leaders of an orchestra. Four of the men appear to be in their 30s or 40s but the cellist on the right is a few decades older I think. He plays a cello without an endpin following the old traditional method.

This small carte de visite photo was produced by Aug. Röthig of Ebersbach and is typical of photos from 1870-1880. However this placename is hard to pin down as there are five historic towns called Ebersbach. My hunch is that it is the town now called Ebersbach-Neugersdorf in the district of Görlitz, in Saxony, Germany. It is on the border with the Czech Republic, just across from the Czech town of Jiříkov and in the 19th century would have been near the major music centers of the region like Dresden, Prague, and Berlin.

To finish this post on chamber music
here is the St. George Quintet

performing an arrangement
of The Beatles' hit song "Eleanor Rigby." 

Technically they seem to be
in a great hall or a nave in a church
but it's still music with class.

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where soothing sounds of music play all weekend.

Five Family Orchestras

An orchestra doesn't really need 100 musicians to call itself an orchestra. In past times five would do. In this case two violins, cello, double bass, and a pump organ make up a family orchestra of a husband and wife, and their two daughters and son. On the side is a caption in German:

Musikdirektor Edmund Link
mit seinem unübertreffbaren Künstler-Familien-Orchester
Inhaber des gesetzlichen Kunstscheines  
~
Music director Edmund Link
with his unsurpassed Family Artist Orchestra
Holder of the Official Artist's License 

The photo has a personal quality, almost like a Christmas family picture to send to friends and relations. Notice that the young violinist stands on a small box to balance her height in the grouping. But this photo was clearly designed to market the family as concert artists. To what degree they succeeded is unknown, but the parents seem duly proud of their talented offspring. 

The postcard was sent from Görlitz, Germany on 26 October 1913 to Herrn Hermann Raschig of Cottbus. It's odd how the message and address are arranged on the proper sides of the divided back but are flipped so the address is on the left. Perhaps the writer was a bit dyslexic?  
 

* * *

In this postcard a similar group of five pose in a photographer's studio set pretending to be a home salon. Here the mother is missing but father plays cello as two daughters play flute and piano, his son plays violin, and the youngest daughter, around age five, plays a triangle. The caption reads in German:

Capelle Wolf – Gasthof "Drei Königen", Herisau (Telephon 245) 
~
Wolf Band – "Three Kings" Inn, Herisau

Here the father leads not from the treble but from the bass line. His children are younger, the oldest girl on piano might be 14. The flutist sister and violinist brother are clearly not in their teens yet. And of course the littlest sister is assigned the easiest instrument which still requires strong confidence to ring it at just the right moment. 

Kapelle is a German word used confusingly for both a chapel and a band/orchestra. Here is it spelled with a C as this is a Swiss-German family band. Herisau is the capital of the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland, a very small country with four official languages: German (62%), French (23%), Italian (8%), Romansh (0.5%).   This postcard was sent on an unknown date from a Swiss army base to a young woman in Thusis, Switzerland, a small town 90 miles south of Herisau, deep into the Alps following the Rhine river to one of its tributaries.

* * *

In my third family orchestra we see another quintet with father and mother and three daughters, though one is much older than the other two and might be an aunt or cousin. In the card's caption they called themselves:

Familie Heinrich.  

The daughters play cello and violins and father, who sports an impressive beard, holds a blackwood flute. His wife sits center with her hands resting on a few books, presumably music. She doesn't hold an instrument but next to the cello is a large folk harp which may be her musical specialty. It's another charming family scene demonstrating music culture if not novelty entertainment. Their postcard is typical of thousands of other souvenir cards produced for small ensembles like this during the time of the German and Austrian empires. I expect they performed light music at cafes, restaurants, and hotels which appealed to a respectable clientele, the opposite of the boisterous patrons of music theaters and beer halls.

This card was never posted but the back has the printed name of the photographer, Arthur Eckerlein of  Lindau im Bodensee, a major town on the eastern side of Lake Constance (Bodensee in German) in Bavaria, Germany. It's actually not far from Herisau, Switzerland, just 38 miles around the southern bowl of the lake.

* * *

This next family orchestra is another string quintet with two violins, cello, contraguitar, and a German type of button accordion. They are identified by the caption on their postcard as:

Familie Röttig

Singspiel und Possen Ensemble und Schrammel Quintet

~

Musical and farce-ensemble and schrammel quintet 

Mother, seated center, holds a contraguitar, also known as a Schrammel guitar, which is a type of harp guitar with two necks and extra strings. It was developed in Vienna in the mid-19th century and is associated with the light music of Viennese cafes and wine gardens.  The squeezebox played by her husband, is, I believe, a Chemnitzer concertina. This instrument originated in Saxony and became popular in polka bands. The father and his son on violin, both wear dark but not-too-formal suits, while mother and her two daughters wear dresses and shawls embellished with colorful folk patterns. Their address under the caption was in Komotau, Bohemia which is now known as Chomutov, Czechia. So they probably had a few polkas in their repertoire. 

This card has a 5 heller Austrian stamp of Kaiser Franz Joseph and the postmark date looks to be 31 January 1911. It was sent to someone in Berlin.

* * *

My last family orchestra are certainly the largest with an octet of 8 family members and are perhaps the most colorful and exotic. They called themselves: 

Künster-Familien-Ensemble "de Espania Aida"
mit dem kleinsten Kappelmeister Carlos
~

The Artist Family Ensemble ""the Spanish Aida"
featuring the youngest conductor, Carlos.

Father and mother stand at the back with their eldest son who holds a violin. Two daughters, twins I think, sit in front of their father and play violin and mandolin. In the center is the youngest, a girl wearing a top hat and holding drum sticks, I think. Beside her is an older son on cello. And on the far left is young Carlos on violin. A Kappelmeister is a German word for the principal violinist or concertmaster of an orchestra.

Their outfits pass for a kind of flashy Spanish costumes with all the men wearing silly double-eared montera hats like a toreador would wear. The women wear heavy embroidered short-sleeved jackets. The printer has gone to extra expense to colorize the fabrics in yellow, red, and a faded blue. The lower caption claims this ensemble performed music, songs, dances, and farces, which I interpret as humorous skits. The "Spanish Aida" may not be their real name, since their contact address was in Cöln, now spelt as Köln or Cologne, Germany. 

This group resembles more of a music hall act, i.e. "vaudeville". Their costumes are clearly a theatrical dress which suggests they played Spanish or Italian music, maybe opera too, rather than Germanic folk tunes. There are dozens of other ensembles in my collection that claimed to have the world's youngest or smallest bandleader. It was a common showbiz embellishment.

This postcard was never mailed but "Prosit Neujahr" ~ "Cheers, New Year" is printed on the back. It included a year but someone scratched it out. Maybe 1908 which seems about right for this type of card.  

String instruments are not very loud compared to brass instruments. These "orchestras" played a different repertoire from brass bands. They did not march in parades or play ceremonial fanfares. Their music was quiet and refined, a cultured sound that charmed with the talent of the children. 

As I have noted in my previous stories on family bands, the shelf life for these ensembles was very short since inevitably children always grow up and eventually are no longer cute. However in the time before World War One musical families were once very common, especially in Central Europe. It offered enterprising parents a way to make some money as entertainers while training their children in a respectable trade. And they made a lot of grandparents smile.  

This my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where families are on the march for March.

Connect the Dots

 

Most people call them notes
or sometimes the dots.

It's a written language for musicians
that is universally understood
no matter a player's nationality.

The note shapes spell all
the musical pitches and rhythms

that anyone needs to make music.

Of course, the dots are just instructions.
Musicians still need to know

how to produce a musical sound
on their instrument too.

And to correctly prepare for a performance
sheet music must be carefully arranged in order
and secured to a sturdy music stand.

It's a universal exercise
that every musician from anywhere
learns to do before a concert starts.

This old double bass player 
sorts his music on a folding wire stand.
Leaning against a tree next to him 
is his instrument 
quietly watching the activity,
like a loyal companion.

It's a rare photo of a musician doing
simple routine preparation before a gig begins.
It's a beautiful image that invites us
to stick around and listen to the concert.

The place and time of this photo postcard is unknown.
But on the back is a printed stamp box symbol
for the CYKO paper manufacturer

which likely places this musician
somewhere in North America
at some time between 1906 to 1920.

I like his hat. 

Since we can't hear this bass player
let's listen to another one.
Here is Alexander Muravyev
playing one of his own pieces
aptly entitled "Cheshire Cat".

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where a blogger's virtual desk
is often messier than a real desk.

Portraits of Double Bassists

 

Every musician forms a lifelong partnership
with their instrument.
It's a bond not unlike that between
a craftsman and his tools,
but few hammers or saws
can inspire as much passion
as a musical instrument can. 

For a double bass player especially,
their instrument becomes a constant companion
whose voice, touch, and contours
become as familiar to them
as those of a spouse.

Some musicians take this love seriously
and would have no other.
Like a marriage, it's a commitment
that accepts all your partner's virtues and flaws
in return for a harmonious life.

You just have to learn to play the right strings.

Today I present
some vintage photos of double bass players
who demonstrated an affection for their instrument.

My first example of a double bassist comes from an unmarked cabinet card photograph. It shows a bearded man of modest height in his late twenties playing a bass in photographer's studio. A nice touch is including a folding metal music stand. There are dark marks at the bottom of the card that suggest a written caption but I've been unable to tease it out with digital tools. I can only guess that the studio was somewhere in North America but beyond that the photo remains a mystery. To my eye the man's striped wool suit and Prince Albert beard makes him look like a gentleman from the 1890s or 1900s.

* * *

My second bassist is more fortunate to be identified by a photographer and place even though his name is otherwise unknown. This gentleman is in his fifties and sports a very impressive full grey beard and mustache brush. He appears to be standing outdoors but I think the house window and garden fence in the background are a clever studio set lit by a skylight or large window as the low upholstered chair is resting on a patterned linoleum floor and not grass, gravel, or paver stone. The man wears a formal black suit, possibly a frock coat with satin collars, which fits the style of an professional orchestra musician in the 1890s and early 1900s. 

This cabinet photo was taken by W. Macfarlane of 339A High St. in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. In the 4 May 1900 edition of the British Journal of Photography it was reported that: "Mr. Walter Macfarlane has purchased the portrait business of Greenway Brothers of 339a, High-street, Cheltenham, and is conducting it under his own name." Macfarlane was still listed in the 1914 Cheltenham business directory so that likely dates this musician to the first decades of the 20th century.

* * *

The cabinet photo of my third bassist is on a plain mount from another unknown photographer. This musician is dressed in a military-style bandsman's uniform and holds a double bass that has only three strings, which is unusual to find in old photos. But more unusual is to find a whole family history written on the back.

William Dring, *
Great Grandfather of
Mary Chadburn .

                                

He was Base (sic) player in

Long Eaton, Notts., 
                                police band.

    APPROX 1900 - 1920
* From 1901 census:  age 40 born
 Collingham Notts in civil parish
                                of Spalford
 Occupation  Potato dealer
 Three-string Lamy French Bass                                 circa 1890

_ _ _

The information was written, I think, by two different people who knew the man's name and something about his family. The detail of the 1901 census made it easy to find a William Dring, age 40 living in Spalford, Nottinghamshire, England with his wife Francis Dring, age 54. His occupation was indeed a "Potato Dealer, Worker at home". But how likely is it that a potato dealer would also be a member of a police band with a large string bass? I was skeptical that this was correct.

Since Ancestry.com allows people to upload pictures of their ancestors to their family tree, I checked to see if there were any images of a William Dring. Surprisingly there were several photos but only one of a man with a big brushy mustache.

William Dring
1857–1935
Source: Ancestry.com

Courtesy of someone's family tree I learned that this William Dring was born in 1857 in Carlton, Nottingham and recorded in England's censuses for 1891, 1901, and 1911.  In the 1891 census for Radford, Nottingham, William was age 35 and listed his occupation as "Police Constable". He was married to Ann Dring, age 34, and at that time they had two sons and two daughters. I think someone, possibly the dealer I bought the photo from, did some research on William to add to the name written on the back by a family descendant. Considering the number of people in Nottinghamshire with the same name it's not surprising that a mistake was made. But it is amazing that his proper identification depended on his mustache.

1891 Radford, Nottingham West, England Census

I think this photo dates from around 1891 as William looks about age 35, though with that stern face he could be older. The purpose of the photo might be to commemorate a prize-winning performance of his police band, or maybe a new uniform or even new instrument. 

The presence of a string bass in a band was not unusual as many concert bands (non-marching bands) of the time preferred a double bass to play the bass line as it had a lighter bass sound than was possible on a tuba. The three strings on the instrument were also not unusual as in this era British musical fashion followed French styles which used an older form of the double bass which had only three instead of four strings. Notice that this instrument has classic curved violin corners instead of the simpler viola da gamba form of the other basses. A sign, I think, of a more expensive instrument.

* * *

I can't miss an opportunity to add a pretty face to complete this medley of double bassists and put a stop to comments about beards. This young lady's cabinet photo was  taken in Mansfield, Ohio. Her name is Nell Ricker and she was a member of the Boston Ladies' Symphony Orchestra in the season of 1898-99. Since she is part of a larger history about this women's orchestra I won't show the back of the photo as it will give away too much of the story. Stay tuned and we will meet her again soon. 

To demonstrate the beautiful voice of a double bass
here is a performance by Korean Doublebassist Minje Sung

playing the ever popular Czardas by V. Monti. 

Minje Sung was the 1st place winner
of the 2007 Serge Koussevitzky Double-Bass Competition in Russia 

and also the 2006 Johann Matthias Sperger Double-Bass Competition in Germany. 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where fancy footwork is on display.

Soldiers-at-Arms, the American Edition

 

Every soldier who ever served gets one.
(And sailor, marine, and airman, too.)
It's a record of their service,
a memento of their active duty,
a keepsake for the folks back home.

It's a photograph of themselves in uniform.

 

 Today I feature four photos
of unknown American soldiers
from the time of the First World War.
Each proudly showing off the service weapon
that they carried to preserve freedom
and defeat tyrants.

 

 

 

My first photo is portrait of a tall soldier
standing outdoors with his formidable double bass.
He wears the wool tunic and trousers typical
of the U.S. Army standard issue uniform in 1916-18
with a broad brimmed campaign hat pushed back on his head.
Unfortunately the photo print is too grainy to make out
the division patch on his shoulder sleeve or
the service insignia on the collar buttons.
However it was not unusual
for military bands to include a string bass.
It wasn't used for a marching band, of course,
but was performed in concert venues
where a tuba's sound would be too forceful. 

 

 

The second photo shows a U. S. Army clarinetist
striking a gallant pose in a woodland setting.
It's not a postcard but a cut-down card mounted photo,
so it may be earlier than the 1916-1918 era.
His campaign hat has a more pointy crown
favored by some infantry units
in the 1900-20 era.
 

His long overcoat, music satchel,
and the stripe on his trouser leg,
suggest he is in formal dress uniform
worn for an outdoor event.
His instrument is an E-flat clarinet,
the most deadly of musical weapons,
featured in my story from May 2021
The Well Dressed Clarinetist No. 4, the E-flat Edition.

 

The next soldier also carries a menacing instrument,
a little curved soprano saxophone
that despite its cuteness
is capable of inflicting dreadful firepower.

This bandsman wears a flat service cap
with a wreath badge that I've been unable to identify.
But his collar button has
the crossed muskets of an infantry regiment. 

More U. S. military saxophones can be found
in my story from October 2019,
Army Brass.

 

 

 

 

 

The last soldier is actually one of six U. S. Army bandsmen.
all dressed in the field uniforms
of General Pershing's American Expeditionary Force
with full equipment belts and classic British style helmets.

 

 

They are the trombone section
of an unknown battalion band,
but I think their collar buttons
have the crossed cannons insignia
of an artillery unit.
 

Why military tradition
would assign musicians
for either light or heavy artillery guns
is a question for which I have yet to find an answer.

 

 

Trombones generally hold the front line of any marching military band
since at the front of a parade
the bayonets on their slides won't bother other musicians, 

and a trombone's sound can always blast through any resistance.

These six young men served at a time
when the world's system of communication
was constrained by time and distance.
A simple postcard like this might be
the only means of sending a message home.
"I'm okay. Army life is not so bad."

What mother wouldn't treasure
such a valiant picture of her brave son?

 

 

 

 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where more soldiers await their marching orders.