British military music and society, 1793–1815
I've recently published an article on British military music and society during the French Wars. Free to read here: https://doi.org/10.1093/hisres/htad027
Abstract
The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars were experienced by the ears as much as the eyes, yet the auditory dimensions of these conflicts have received limited attention from historians. This article interrogates the reach and reception of military music in wartime Britain and Ireland by drawing on a wealth of evidence from memoirs, diaries, press reports and regimental archives. It demonstrates that military bands provided sought-after entertainment at myriad public events and staged open-air concerts for socially diverse audiences. The article interprets martial music-making as an important civil-military interface and a potent form of cultural propaganda: a means of inculcating patriotism and asserting the sonic supremacy of the established order in a revolutionary age. But it also reveals that military music provoked irritation, controversy and distress, not least by generating noise complaints and exacerbating sectarianism in Ireland. The article concludes by considering the role of British regimental music-making in overseas colonies and foreign theatres of operations, arguing that it functioned as a form of soft power that underpinned imperial authority, aided diplomacy and eased relations with local inhabitants. An intrusive symptom of large-scale military mobilization, martial music shaped civilian attitudes and soundscapes while profoundly influencing broader musical culture.
Thank you for your comment, Daniel. Very good to encounter a well-informed reader!
Agreed with the Herbert and Barlow recommendation as the best available overview of the history of British military bands.
Yes, the plates of the 3rd Foot (later Scots) Guards musicians are clearly intended to represent the range of instruments used in the band rather than the actual numbers assigned to each part.
The circa 1805 letter described by Herbert and Barlow as pertaining to the 3rd Guards in fact refers to the instruments used by the Royal Artillery Band. See e.g. Farmer's 1954 History of the RA Band, p. 85 and this JSAHR article (https://www.jstor.org/stable/44228371), with my transcript of the letter below. Eisenherdt was the leader of the Royal Artillery band. Herbert and Barlow evidently saw the reference to the Third Guards' jingling johnny and thought the rest of the letter referred to the same ensemble.
I have occasionally seen written parts for bass drum and even cymbals but not Turkish crescents aka Jingling Johnny - as you suggest, the performer was evidently meant to shake in time with the music or otherwise ad lib.