"A masterpiece... the musical portrait of an era."

Mit klingendem Spiel: Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Militärmusik e. V., January, 2006

INCLUDES TWENTY-FIVE TRACKS! OVER SEVENTY MINUTES PLAYING TIME!

This first-ever CD compilation presents the marches, anthems, tattoos and Vaterlandslieder that animated the mighty German Reich of the Hohenzollern Emperors from 1871 to 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 over one hundred years ago!

Gott, Kaiser, Vaterland evokes powerful images of an age when the twentieth century was new; when the youthful and vigorous German Emperor was acclaimed by his 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 everywhere, Gott, Kaiser, Vaterland includes a twenty-four page illustrated booklet featuring a detailed discussion of German military music in the Wilhelmian era, the development of the German Empire and the background of the featured musical selections.

Gott, Kaiser, Vaterland features the following marches, songs, anthems and ceremonies:

 

Neujahrsreveille im Berliner Lustgarten (Golde-Trad.) 2:44

Band of the Kaiser Franz Garde-Grenadier Regiment Nr. 2, Berlin

Obermusikmeister Adolf Becker, Conductor / Recording Date: 1903

 

Heil Dir im Siegerkranz - Deutsche Kaiserhymne (Carey-Schumacher) 2:50

Browier-Hamann-Nebe Quartet with Orchestra

Unnamed Conductor / Recording Date: 1907

 

Der Kaiser lebe hoch - Marschlied (Press) 2:39

Band of the Garde-Pionier Corps with Chorus, Berlin

Obermusikmeister Robert Kühle, Conductor / Recording Date: 1909

 

Reichsadler-Marsch (Nieslony) 2:45

Wind Orchestra

Bruno Seidler-Winkler, Conductor / Recording Date: 1904

 

Hohenzollern-Marsch (Unknown) 2:40

Wind Orchestra

Bruno Seidler-Winkler, Conductor / Recording Date: 1904

 

Hipp, Hipp, Hurra - Marschlied (Kunoth) 3:04

Male Chorus with Military Band

Unnamed Conductor / Recording Date: 1914

 

Kaiser Parole - Marsch (Teike) 3:00

Wind Orchestra

Bruno Seidler-Winkler, Conductor / Recording Date: 1905

 

Kaiser Fanfaren-Marsch (Liebisch) 2:40

Wind Orchestra

Bruno Seidler-Winkler, Conductor / Recording Date: 1905

 

Unter Deutscher Kaiserkrone - Marsch (Wilke) 3:46

Band of the Kaiser Alexander Garde-Grenadier Regiment Nr. 1, Berlin

Obermusikmeister Fritz Brase, Conductor / Recording Date. 1915

 

Ich bin ein Deutscher, kennt Ihr meine Farben? - Marschlied (Golde-Thiersch) 2:30

Male Chorus with Military Band

Unnamed Conductor / Recording Date: 1914

 

Regimentsmarsch der Hannoverschen Garde du Corps 1866 AM III, 92 (Anon.) 2:41

Trumpet Corps of the Königs-Ulanen Regiment (1. Hannoversches) Nr. 13, Hannover

Unnamed Conductor / Recording Date: c. 1910

 

Grosse Parade auf dem Tempelhofer Feld bei Berlin - Sound Picture (Various) 3:31

Military Band with Drill Commands

Unnamed Conductor / Recording Date: 1911

 

Preussens Gloria AM II, 240 - Marsch  (Piefke) 2:55

Band of the Kaiser Alexander Garde-Grenadier Regiment Nr. 1, Berlin

Obermusikmeister Fritz Brase, Conductor / Recording Date. 1914

 

Parademarsch der 2. Garde-Infanterie Division AM II, 62 u. AM II, 73 (Trad.-Anon.) 2:18

Band of the Kaiser Alexander Garde-Grenadier Regiment Nr. 1, Berlin

Obermusikmeister Fritz Brase, Conductor / Recording Date. 1915

 

Auf des Adlers Schwingen - Marschlied (Gnauck) 2:58

Proto-Orchester with Male Chorus, Berlin

Carl Woitschach, Conductor / Recording Date: c. 1905

 

Hurra unser Kronprinz! - Marsch (Ruckenschuh) 2:24

Wind Orchestra

Bruno Seidler-Winkler, Conductor / Recording Date: 1904

 

Prinz Eitel Friedrich-Marsch (Blankenburg) 2:50

Wind Orchestra

Anonymous Conductor / Recording Date: c. 1910

 

Kaiser Friedrich-Marsch (Friedemann) 3:06

Wind Orchestra

Anonymous Conductor / Recording Date: c. 1910

 

O Strassburg, O Strassburg, du wunderschöne Stadt - Marschlied (Trad.) 2:29

Male Chorus with Military Orchestra

Friedrich Kark, Conductor / Recording Date: 1912

 

Unter deutschem Schutze - Marsch (Blankenburg) 2:30

Wind Orchestra

Unnamed Conductor / Recording Date: c. 1915

 

Germania-Marsch (Keil) 3:18

Wind Orchestra

Friedrich Kark, Conductor / Recording Date: c. 1914

 

Lobe den Herrn - Hymne  (Neander) 1:20

Band of the Königin-Augusta Garde-Grenadier Regiment Nr. 4, Berlin

Obermusikmeister Mikolai Przywarski, Conductor / Recording Date: 1904

 

Kaisergeburtstagsfeier - Rezitation und Hymne (Anon.-Carey) 2:32

Unnamed Male Speaker with Wind Orchestra

Unnamed Conductor / Recording Date: 1912

 

Kaisermarsch (Wagner) 4:01

Band of the Königin-Augusta Garde-Grenadier Regiment Nr. 4, Berlin

Obermusikmeister Mikolai Przywarski, Conductor / Recording Date: 1912

 

Gott, Kaiser, Vaterland - Hymne (Blech-Hülsen) 2:29

Paul Knüpfer with Symphony Orchestra

Bruno Seidler-Winkler, Conductor / Recording Date: 1915

 

Total Time: 70:26

“The technical quality of the CD is wonderfully good, given the antiquity of the original recordings… Many of the works are real unknowns, and that also makes this CD something special…. In summary: an attractive production of historical value that can certainly be recommended.”

Defilé: Official Publication of the International Military Music Society, Netherlands Branch, December 2005

 

"[This] CD contains some true delicacies, such as the last track that was composed by Leo Blech. He was of Jewish descent, and this is just another example that still makes it incredibly hard for people like [us] to understand what was able to go on [from] 1933 to 1945.”

Band International: Journal of the International Military Music Society, April 2006

 

"[We] wholeheartedly recommend this excellent CD for its music, history, booklet and powerful sound of a long gone era."

RVS: Official Publication of the Robert Hoe Branch of the International Military Music Society, March 2006