A skillful reconstruction of the very last public performance of the 'Grosser Zapfenstreich der NVA,' the solemn ceremonial tattoo of the East German armed forces, which took place on East Berlin's Unter den Linden on 4 October 1989.

Like its traditional Prussian counterpart, the ceremony was performed only at night by a band accompanied by fifers, drummers and torch-bearers, and only on special occasions. The fortieth-anniversary celebrations of the DDR (soon to be followed by the opening of the Berlin Wall and German reunification) provided the backdrop for the performance simulated in this recording.

This recreation, which with deft sound mixing combines actual audio from the fortieth-anniversary ceremony (incuding commands and parade step sounds) with a studio recording of the "Grosser Zapfenstreich der NVA,' features the Zentrales Orchester der NVA and Stabsmusikkorps und Spielmannszug der Stadtkommandantur Berlin, under the direction of Oberst GMD Heinz Häcker. Lending further flavor are descriptive remarks by DDR television commentator Klaus Feldmann of 'Aktuelle Kamera,' the nightly East German news program.

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