![]() Indeed, both the Union and Confederate armies in all theaters of the war utilized these musical groups. Although brass bands and their style of music existed before the Civil War and had been imported from Europe into the new world over a century before, American military brass bands and music rose to a higher prominence than even during the American Revolution as a direct result of the Civil War itself. Military bands also played music that had very special and important roles, instructing soldiers when to eat, go to bed, and even charge into battle. It was played on the march before and after battle. Military bands and the music they played inspired patriotism and fighting spirit. The military, however, used music differently during this time period. They sang hymns and spirituals at church services and religious events. They attended concerts or minstrels shows as a source of entertainment. With all of these different musical genres, and many more in the years leading up to and during the Civil War, what role did they play in the everyday lives of civilians and those in the armies? People back then listened to and used music in much the same way as we do today. Once the armies were formed and in the field, the music of military fife and drum corps became popular again, both within the armies and the homefronts supporting them. Another popular genre that grew before the Civil War were brass bands or community bands. By the 1840s-1850s, white composers were writing music based on the African American traditions of music and performing traveling shows known as minstrels. In the 1820s, in New England, genteel English ballads were popularly heard. ![]() Slaves added their unique drumming and rhythms to these traditional hymns and created their own spiritual music. As religious fervor swept through the country in the 1830s and 1840s, spirituals and hymns became a common form of music heard all across the United States. In Louisiana, for example, African slaves brought with them a tradition of drumming and drum circles. In other regions of the country, different genres of music were popular. It was a style of music based on four notes. One such genre, shape note, began in New England but spread and took hold in the South. The diversification of these genres spread and took hold regionally. That does not mean that what they listened to was any less diverse. People living in large metropolitan areas with resident symphonic orchestras, or visiting orchestras, were exposed to these composers and their music, as well as the works of earlier prominent composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach.Ī period image of the regimental band of the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry taken near Petersburg, Virginia in August 1864.įor a larger portion of our country, an opportunity to hear this type of music was limited. Composers of this era included: Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Mahler, Verdi, Wagner, as well as many others. Symphonies became bigger and longer, piano playing reached a new level of virtuosity, music drew from art and literature, and operas were even more dramatic. Lasting from approximately 1830-1900, this musical style was defined by the exploration and expansion of expression and the inventiveness of techniques and instruments to achieve it. In the world of classical music, Western art music experienced what later became known as the Romantic Era.
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