Original scientific paper

Drummers, Timpanists, Trumpeters and Fifers: Musical Accompaniment in Venetian Overseas Army Units in the Eighteenth Century

Lovorka Čoralić orcid.org/0000-0002-9333-7221 ; Hrvatski institut za povijest, Zagreb, Croatia
Vjera Katalinić orcid.org/0000-0001-7230-7990 ; Odsjek za povijest hrvatske glazbe HAZU, Zagreb, Croatia
Maja Katušić orcid.org/0000-0003-2348-5226 ; Hrvatski institut za povijest, Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

Army units of the early modern period were frequently accompanied by musicians. An example is the army units of the Republic of Venice, and this article discusses members of its infantry (Fanti oltramarini) and cavalry units (Cavalleria Croati), recruited mainly along the east Adriatic coast. Sources regarding them are kept in the Archivio di Stato di Venezia (archival series Inquisitori sopra l’amministrazione dei pubblici ruoli), and they mostly consist of lists of the military complement of particular companies (operating within particular regiments) containing data on officers, non-commissioned offi cers, soldiers and holders of particular specialities, such as, for example, musicians. In the article, musicians belonging to the army are analysed in groups according to their instruments (drummers, trumpeters, fifers [pifari] and timpanists), as well as the meaning of the respective terminology used in the documentation. The proportions of those belonging to infantry (drummers and fifers) and cavalry (trumpeters and timpanists) units is discussed, as well as the chronological framework of their activity (within the eighteenth century), the duration of their service period in the army, and their age and appearance (height, hair colour). The data from these lists also provides information on the commanding cadre of these regiments (commanded usually by high officers from Dalmatia and Boka), and also on their mobility, that is, their agency in the area stretching from the Venetian Terraferma through Istria, Dalmatia and Boka to Greece. Through its interdisciplinary approach, the article sheds some light on both the military and music history of the East Adriatic in the last century of the early modern period. A complete list of hitherto discovered names of those who provided musical accompaniment to Venetian infantry and cavalry army units is presented as the Appendix to the article on pp. 44-75.

Keywords

military music; Republic of Venice; land forces; 18th century history; music history; military history

Hrčak ID:

173155

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/173155

Publication date:

27.1.2017.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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