Since February 19, 2024 the Museum–Panorama “Borodino Battle” has opened the exhibition “And Their Brass Trumpets Sing Glory”, dedicated to military music and military musicians of the first half of the 19th century.
In the Era of 1812 each regiment or artillery unit included field musicians. Drummers, horn players, flautists and trumpeters signalled to the troops, which was the main method of conveying orders in combat and during drills. In addition to field musicians, most military units had a “chorus of military music” or, in modern terms, a military band that performed music during parades and ceremonies.
The core of the exhibition is made up of various musical instruments from the early 19th century: signal and ceremonial trumpets, a French infantry drum and the kettledrum of a Russian cuirassier regiment, flutes and horns. Two hundred years ago these instruments sounded on marches and battlefields, where they were used to play bright, recognizable melodies for commands such as “Alarm”, “To the Colours”, “Fix Bayonets” and others.
The uniforms of musicians of the Russian, French, Prussian and English armies of the 1810s are presented alongside paintings and prints that capture the appearance of military musicians of the Napoleonic era. The uniforms, often brightly coloured and trimmed with decorative braid, allowed commanders to easily distinguish musicians and pass orders to the troops through them.
Among the reliable sources of information on the military costume of the Russian army in the early 19th century are a series of engravings by the military artist L.I. Kil from 1815–1819 and lithographs produced in 1851 for the multi-volume work “Historical Description of the Clothing and Armament of the Russian Troops” edited by A.V. Viskovatov.
