This first-ever CD compilation presents the marches, anthems, tattoos and Vaterlandslieder that animated the mighty German Reich of the Hohenzollern Emperors in the years between 1871 and 1918, with period performances by the bands of the elite guard regiments of the German Army, German soldiers' choruses and leading classical musicians and singers of the Wilhelmian era.

Brandenburg Historica has scoured the world to locate and preserve the priceless 78rpm shellac records (featuring performances dating from 1903 to 1915) that we have assembled for this compilation. Though these extremely rare early discs date from the acoustic age of recording (that is, before the invention of electric microphones and pick-ups), they have been painstakingly restored and engineered to maximize the surprising degree of fidelity already inherent to them without altering the historical character of the material in any way. These ancient "imperial" recordings capture a unique energy and feel that are impossible to duplicate in modern performances. On this album you will hear the actual fifers, drummers, brass bands and vocalists of Imperial Germany, whose musical talents are brought to you exactly as they would have been experienced one hundred years ago in what is certain to be a valued addition to your music library!

Gott, Kaiser, Vaterland evokes powerful images of an age when the twentieth century was new; when the young and vigorous German Emperor was acclaimed by a loyal Volk as he rode in triumph through the Brandenburg Gate, resplendent in black Cuirass and gold Pickelhaube topped with the German eagle; when the kings and princes of the German Empire took the salute of an army that marched to the sounds of fifes and thundering drums and carried on its banners streamers from two centuries of military glory, won in battles from Fehrbellin to Sedan; when the peaceful and industrious German Reich stretched from Lithuania to Strassburg; when its three-stacked dreadnoughts and merchantmen, fired by Silesian coal, showed the black-white-red flag on every ocean of the world; when palm trees spread their broad fans over the remote tropical outposts of the Reich and the tallest mountain of the German Empire was not in Bavaria but in East Africa; and when the very phonograph records which preserve the sounds of this bygone world were themselves a novel and exotic innovation.

An addition to the CD repertoire that is sure to arouse great interest among enthusiasts of German history as well as military music aficionados, the updated 2007 Edition of Gott, Kaiser, Vaterland includes a twenty-four page illustrated booklet featuring a detailed discussion of German military music in the Wilhelmian era.

Features: Neujahrsreveille im Berliner Lustgarten (Golde-Trad.) / Heil Dir im Siegerkranz (Carey-Schumacher) / Der Kaiser lebe hoch! (Press) / Reichsadler-Marsch (Nieslony) / Hohenzollern-Marsch (Trad.) / Hipp, Hipp, Hurra! (Kunoth) / Kaiser Parole (Teike) / Kaiser Fanfaren-Marsch (Liebisch) / Unter Deutscher Kaiserkrone (Wilke) / Ich bin ein Deutsche (Golde-Thiersch) / Marsch der Hannoverschen Garde du Corps AM III, 92 (Trad.) / Parade auf dem Tempelhofer Feld bei Berlin (Sound Picture) / Preussens Gloria AM II, 240 (Piefke) / Parademarsch der 2. Garde-Infanterie Division (Trad.-Neithardt) / Auf des Adlers Schwingen (Gnauck) / Hurra unser Kronprinz! (Ruckenschuh) / Prinz Eitel Friedrich-Marsch (Blankenburg) / Kaiser Friedrich-Marsch (Friedemann) / O Strassburg, O Strassburg (Trad.) / Unter deutschem Schutze (Blankenburg) / Germania-Marsch (Keil) / Lobe den Herrn (Neander) / Kaisergeburtstagsfeier (Anon.) / Kaisermarsch (Wagner) / Gott, Kaiser, Vaterland (Blech-Hülsen).

Total Time: 70:26.

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