Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating to 17th-century England and was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle.
Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating to 17th-century England and was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle.
Originally it was known as watch setting and was initiated at sunset by the firing of a single round from the evening gun.
An order from the army of James II of England, otherwise known as James VII of Scotland, dated to 18 June 1690 had his drums beating an order for his troops to retreat and a later order, from William III in 1694 read "The Drum Major and Drummers of the Regiment which gives a Captain of the Main Guard are to beat the Retreat through the large street, or as may be ordered. They are to be answered by all the Drummers of the guards, and by four Drummers of each Regiment in their respective Quarters". However, either or both orders may refer to the ceremonial tattoo.
For the first time ever in England, a foreign band was allowed to play at the Beating Retreat on 5 June 2008. [1] This band was that of the first Battalion Royal Malay Regiment, who had been helping to guard London, by mounting guards at the palaces. [1] Amongst their performance pieces were arrangements of a number of well known pieces from Film.
The 2nd time this happened was during the June 2014 edition honouring the 70th year since D-Day, with two bands from the French Armed Forces and including the Royal Yeomanry and the Honourable Artillery Company.
The 3rd time this occurred was in June 2015, when the BR that year honoured the bicentennial jubilee of the Battle of Waterloo, with the Staff Band of the Bundeswehr taking part.
These days, most armed forces in the Commonwealth perform some ceremonial form of the retreat and it is often used as a proving test for new band members as well as a practice for difficult drill moves such as the Spin Wheel. The ceremonies generally involve the marching of a band, the firing of cannon and other decorative presentations. In many cases a castle is used as a prop or a backdrop for the parade (as in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo).
The London version takes place on Horse Guards Parade. Each year, on the Wednesday and Thursday evenings preceding Trooping the Colour, the Massed Bands, Pipes and Drums and Corps of Drums of the Household Division, supported by The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and visiting military bands from other services around the world perform a sunset concert involving precision drill, horses, cannons and fireworks in time with the music. Historically, on at least one evening, a senior member of the British Royal Family has attended and taken the salute.
The concert raises money for the Army Benevolent Fund the Household Division Charitable Funds, which provide improved welfare and opportunities to Household Division serving soldiers and veterans.
The Massed Bands of His Majesty's Royal Marines, numbering some two hundred, perform their beating retreat ceremony every two years (formerly three years) at London's Horse Guards Parade in celebration of the birthday of their Captain General, Charles III (as of 2022). Because of its popularity, it is generally over three nights.
The most recent events were in June 2012 in honour of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, in June 2014 in honour of the RM's 350 years of service to the nation and also the first to feature a guard of honour company from 40 Commando Brigade and bands from the United States Marine Corps and the Netherlands Marine Corps, and in June 2016, also marking the 90th birthday of Elizabeth II and the first to be streamed live on Facebook. An event was held in May 2018, marking the Sapphire Jubilee of Elizabeth II, and was followed by another in 2022, marking two milestones: the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II (due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 event was cancelled) and the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War, thus also including a guard of honour from the Royal Navy.
The salute is usually taken by the Captain General, the First Sea Lord or the Commandant General. Until 2016, the ceremony was often attended by all three. Sometimes a senior member of the royal family (such as Prince William in 2018) or other dignitaries take the salute instead.
The Royal Marines' ceremony should not be confused with that of the Army which takes place every year, also in June. Four to five bands belonging to the Royal Marines Band Service comprise the massed bands for the ceremony. The ceremony's charity partner is the RNRMC.
Sounding Retreat is the variant form of the ceremony done by the Band of The Rifles, and formerly of the bands of the Light Division. The reason is that bugles are used in the ceremony in sounding Sunset (known as Retreat in the Army), given the origins of the British light infantry branch.
The Bands of the Rifles and the Brigade of Gurkhas, together with the buglers from the former and the Light Division Buglers Association, mounted on 31 May and 1 June 2016 the first-ever Sounding Retreat on Horse Guards Parade since 1993 and the creation of the Band of the Rifles (formerly Light Division) on the basis of the battalion bands of both The Light Infantry and the Royal Green Jackets, themselves descendants of the predecessor light infantry and rifle regimental bands of the British Army before the 1968 creation of the LD.
The Australian Defence Force traditional ceremony of Beating Retreat was handed down from the British Army. The first ceremony including performance of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" was held at the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1968. Although this inaugural performance was a relatively low-key affair, the ceremony has since become an annual event at RMC and is well supported by the service community and the general public. The modern ceremony is thought to have its origins in the 16th century and combines three customs.
The first custom was originally performed by drummers only, marching on the ramparts to warn the soldiers that evening guard duties would soon commence. It also signalled soldiers outside the fortifications and labourers in the fields that the gates were about to be closed and they should retire within the walls for the night.
The second custom was practised on battlefields in past times when the fighting ceased at sunset. Following the Beating Retreat, many of the old regiments would say a prayer or sing a hymn in honour of their fallen, and the evening guard would fire three musket volleys "to put flight to the evil spirits of the enemy dead".
The final custom derives from the practice of lodging the Regimental Colour in the Colour Ensign's quarter when the evening guard was mounted. In modern times, that custom was replaced by the lowering of the national flag.
The 2007 ceremony was conducted on the nights of 27 & 28 September. It was attended by Chief of the Defence Force ACM Angus Houston and Chief of the Army LTGEN Peter Leahy.
The ceremony included parade ground marching, changing of the sentries, trooping of the Regimental Colour, inspection of the guards, firing of the evening gun, guards advance and volley firing (with the service issue Steyr AUG), evening hymn, retreat and lowering of the Australian flag, the pipers lament and marching off of the Regimental Colour.
Music was performed by an ensemble of the Royal Military College Band and the Australian Army Band Tasmania, and included "All That Jazz" from the musical Chicago, Michael Bublé's "Spider-Man Theme", Christina Aguilera's "Candyman", the Celtic instrumental "Toss the Feathers" and instrumental versions of Phil Collins' "Against All Odds" and two Elvis Presley songs (in a "Tribute to the King").
The ceremony culminated with the "1812 Overture" accompanied by a battery of 105 mm Hamel light field guns, and a 5-minute fireworks display.
The annual Fortissimo Sunset Ceremony in of the Canadian Forces is the Canadian equivalent to the beating retreat ceremony. It usually held on a July evening on the grounds of Parliament Hill in the capital of Ottawa and is organized by the Ceremonial Guard and its combined bands. The ceremony is unique in that it combines the Beating Retreat ceremonies with that of military tattoos and the lowering of the Canadian flag. [2] This ceremony is also the main event at the festival. Like its name implies, the guard serves ceremonial public duties inside the Canadian capital. In previous years, foreign drill units have also taken part in the tattoo, including units such as the German Navy Silent Drill Team, the Bermuda Regiment Band, the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band. [3] [4] [5]
Beating retreat in India officially denotes the end of Republic Day festivities. It is conducted on the evening of 29 January, the third day after the Republic Day and is organized by Section D of the Ministry of Defence. [6] It is performed by the bands of the three wings of the military, the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force, and pipe bands from the Army, plus from 2016 a massed formation of bands of the Central Armed Police Forces and the Delhi Police. The venue is Raisina Hills and an adjacent square, Vijay Chowk, flanked by the North and South blocks of the Central Secretariat and the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's Palace) towards the end of Kartavya Path.
The ceremony was started in 1955 and has been a hallmark of Republic Day celebrations ever since. Brig Bewoor and Maj Roberts of Ceremonial and Welfare Directorate of Indian Army conceived the first Beating Retreat in India. Army, Air Force and Navy bands consisting of pipes, drums, buglers and trumpeters from various regiments took part. It has become an official ceremony to have a Head of State of a country as the chief guest and that year the Beating Retreat was in their honour.
The chief guest of the function is the President of India who arrives escorted by the President's Bodyguard (PBG). When the President arrives, a fanfare is sounded by the trumpeters of the Brigade of the Guards on their fanfare trumpets, and then the PBG commander asks the unit to give the national salute, which is followed by the playing of the Indian national anthem, Jana Gana Mana , by the massed bands, and at the same time by the unfurling of the flag of India on the flagpole right at the Vijay Chowk.
The ceremony starts by the massed bands of the three services marching in unison, playing popular marching tunes like Colonel Bogey March , Sons of the Brave and Qadam Qadam Badhaye Ja . The fanfare by the buglers is then followed by the bands of the Navy and the Air Force. This part of the ceremony ends with their compound marches involving movements to form intricate and beautiful patterns and concert pieces. Then the pipes and drums of the Indian Army play traditional Scottish tunes and Indian tunes like Gurkha Brigade, Neer's Sagar Samraat and Chaandni. The pipe bands also does a compound march and formation numbers. The massed military bands of the Indian Army perform last, marching forward in quick time, then breaking into slow time, then by the "compound marches". The massed military bands, again, breaks into quick time and goes back to the farthest end of Raisina Hills to reunite with the other bands. One such beating retreat ceremony by the Armed Forces bands was during the 1982 Asian Games closing ceremony in New Delhi, for which the credit went to the Indian Army's retired music director Harold Joseph, and the Indian Navy's Jerome Rodrigues and M.S. Neer, some of the greatest musicians, conductors, composers and instrumentalists of the Indian Armed Forces bands, who had led the massed bands at the ceremony.
Aside from these, the 2016 retreat saw the first appearance of marching bands from Central Armed Police Forces and the Delhi Police, plus performances by the Army Symphony Orchestra and Traditional Ensemble, the latter using a mix of traditional European and Indian instruments. The use of certain Indian instruments which require the musician to sit down while playing are a departure from the concept of the ceremony being one that is usually executed by musicians while marching. The appearance of Police Forces was a recognition of their role being as vital as that of the Indian Armed Forces. The massed bands of the CAPFs, in recent events, perform before the military bands.
All five to six band contingents march forward and take position close to the President's seat. The drummers, mostly from the Army's pipe bands, give a solo performance, known as the Drummer's Call. A regular feature of this pageant is the last tune played before the Retreat, when the national flag is lowered. It is the famous hymn written by Henry Francis Lyte, Abide With Me set to music by William Henry Monk and one of Mahatma Gandhi's personal favorite hymns, and has remained part of the ceremony over the years when many other foreign tunes were phased out to make way for Indian tunes, especially during the 2011 ceremony. [7] The chimes made by the tubular bells, placed quite at a distance, creates a mesmerising ambiance.
This is followed by the bugle call for sunset by the buglers, and all the flags are slowly brought down. The band master then marches to the President and requests permission to take the bands away, and informs that the closing ceremony is now complete. The bands march back playing a popular martial tune and the official march of the Armed Forces, Sare Jahan se Accha . As soon as the bands cross Raisina Hills a spectacular illumination and Son et lumière display is set up on the North and South Blocks of the Parliament building with music and narration as the buildings' lightings are lit in front of the audience. As the President's Bodyguard (PBG) horse-mounted troops arrive back in after the bands leave, the band stops as another band from the Army is stationed to play the national anthem again as the President receives the final salute for the day by the PBG, before the President and the PBG depart with the bands leading the way, dispersed on the Rajpath leading to the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Secretariat Buildings. [7] [8]
In the past, this finale was also followed up by a short fireworks display.
The Wagah border closing 'lowering of the flags' ceremony is a daily military practice that the security forces of India (Border Security Force) and Pakistan (Pakistan Rangers) have jointly followed since 1959. [9]
The ceremony has been filmed and broadcast by Michael Palin for one of his television around-the-world travel programs; he described it as a display of "carefully choreographed contempt." [10]
The Beating Retreat of the massed pipe and brass bands of the Royal Jordanian Army is held in the national capital of Amman. In attendance is usually the King and Queen of Jordan, as well as many other senior members of the House of Hashim, the Government, and the military establishment. The ceremony is held in connection with the celebrations of Independence Day, Army Day and the Great Arab Revolt (held in May, June and September respectively). The ceremony has taken place annually since the early 1950s, when it was introduced by King Hussein of Jordan. [11] Organized by the Royal Guard, the tattoo features the Jordanian Armed Forces Band, the Al Hussein Musical Pipe Band, the armed forces drill team, and a camel mounted equestrian drill team.
The New Zealand Defence Force traditionally displays a Beating Retreat ceremony every year around Anzac Day. [12] Most ceremonies see musicians of the New Zealand Army Band, and troops of the New Zealand Army and the Royal New Zealand Air Force on parade forming a guard of honour for the reviewing officer, usually the Governor-General of New Zealand or the Mayor of Wellington. [13]
The "Ceremony of Beating retreat" takes place annually at the United States Merchant Marine Academy and usually includes the USMMA Band and selected midshipmen. The ceremony takes place on a parent weekend, in order to give parents of midshipmen an opportunity to attend. [14] Besides this, the United States Marine Corps Friday Evening Parade and Sunset Parade are the closest military equivalent to the Household Division Beating Retreat. Both parades are military tattoos that are performed by the troops of Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., who are personnel of the USMC, thus they are more modeled on the biannual Royal Marines ceremony.
List of Foot Guards Bands:
A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of bandmaster or music director. Ottoman military bands are thought to be the oldest variety of military marching bands in the world, dating from the 13th century.
The Ceremonial Guard is an ad hoc military unit in the Canadian Armed Forces that performs the changing the guard ceremony on Parliament Hill and posts sentries at Rideau Hall, with the National War Memorial being sentried by the National Sentry Program (NSP), which is carried out by different regiments and other units in order of precedence throughout the summer until mid-November.
A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase doe den tap toe, a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeepers near military garrisons to stop serving beer and for soldiers to return to their barracks and is unrelated to the ink tattoo that was borrowed from Tahitian.
The Royal Marines Band Service is the musical wing of the Royal Navy and an independent element of the Royal Marines. It currently consists of five bands plus a training wing – the Royal Marines School of Music at HMS Nelson – and its headquarters is at HMS Excellent, Whale Island, Portsmouth.
The Großer Zapfenstreich is a military ceremony performed in Germany and Austria. It is similar to the military tattoo ceremony performed in English-speaking countries, and is the most important ceremonial act executed by the German federal armed forces, the Bundeswehr, and by the Austrian federal armed forces Bundesheer. The Zapfenstreich is performed only during national celebrations and solemn public commemorations, to honour distinguished persons present at such special events. Examples are the farewell ceremony for a German federal president, or at the conclusion of large military exercises. It takes place in the evening hours and consists of a military formation of at least one military band, two platoons of armed infantrymen, and two lines of soldiers carrying torches, in total about 400 men.
A corps of drums, sometimes known as a fife and drum corps or simply field music, is a traditional European military music formation. Historically, a Corps of Drums' primary role was communication. Today, the primary role of a Corps of Drums is ceremonial, performing in parades and military ceremonies. Besides drums, this formation may contain a variety of instruments, including trumpets, bugles, and fifes.
A drum major in the military is the individual leading a military band or a field unit. It is an appointment, not a military rank. Military drum majors utilize a ceremonial mace for giving commands while marching. Many drum majors, particularly American- or British-influenced ones, wear a sash that can carry embroidered badges of their home unit and battle honors; a pair of ceremonial drum sticks are often attached.
The Thai Royal Guards parade, also known as Trooping the Colour, occurs every December 2 since 1953, in celebration of the birthday of the King of Thailand, during which the King's Guard of the Royal Thai Armed Forces perform a military parade and pledge loyalty to the monarch. The venue is the Royal Plaza at Bangkok, Thailand, in front of the Dusit Palace and its Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall.
Canadian military bands are a group of personnel in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) that performs musical duties for military functions. Military bands form a part of the Music Branch of the CAF, composed of six full-time professional Regular Force bands, 15 Regular Force voluntary bands, and 53 part-time reserve force bands. Bands of the Music Branch are often badged with the unit or Canadian Forces base insignia that they support.
The Delhi Republic Day parade is the largest and most important of the parades marking the Republic Day celebrations in India. The parade takes place every year on 26 January at Kartavya Path, New Delhi. It is the main attraction of India's Republic Day celebrations, which last for three days. The first parade was held in 1950, and it has been held every year since. The cultural pageant is a symbol of a diverse but united India.
The Governor General's Foot Guards Band is an authorized Canadian Forces 35-piece brass and reed band. It consists of serving members of the CAF who parade on a part-time basis. It serves as the regimental band of the Governor General's Foot Guards (GGFG) and is the most senior band of the Canadian Army Primary Reserve.
The Indian military bands consists of musicians from the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. Indian military bands regularly participate in international festivals and take part in celebrations dedicated to various national events. These bands are permanent participants in the Delhi Republic Day parade on the Kartavya Path. Today, the Indian Armed Forces have more than 50 military brass bands and 400 pipe bands and corps of drums. A Tri-Services Band refers to a joint Indian Armed Forces military band that performs together as a unit. At the Spasskaya Tower Military Music Festival and Tattoo in Moscow, the band consisted of 7 officers and 55 musicians. The Military Music Wing of the Army Education Corps is the principal educational institution of the armed forces that provides instruction to musicians of all ranks. Instruction is also provided by the Military Music Training Center and the Indian Navy School of Music.
The Sunset Parade is a military parade performed by the United States Marine Corps at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It is very loosely based on the Landing Party Manual and is executed on Tuesday evenings in the summer, involving approximately 200 personnel drawn from the garrison of Marine Barracks Washington.
The Fortissimo Sunset Ceremony is an annual Canadian military music event held on the grounds of Parliament Hill in the Canadian capital of Ottawa.
The Band of the Ceremonial Guard is an ad hoc military band that is attached to the Canadian Forces Ceremonial Guard in Ottawa. All members of the band are fully trained members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and consists of personnel principally from the two Foot Guards regiments and has even since 2007 been manned by a pan–Canadian Forces approach that is inclusive to musicians from the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force. The band forms a separate company within the CG and rely on the Headquarters Company for administration and support personnel. In full composition, the band is active from April to August.
The Band and Bugles of the Rifles is a military band serving as the regimental band for The Rifles, the sole rifle regiment and the largest in the British Army. It is the senior most of three bands in the regiment and is the only one that is part of the regular army. Uniquely, it employs bugles at its front, a tradition that goes back to the conflicts of the 18th century. Major Séan O’Neill is currently serving as the Director of Music (DOM) of the band and bugles. It is part of the Royal Corps of Army Music.
The Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas is a British military band based at Shorncliffe. It supports the British Army and the Brigade of Gurkhas in ceremonial settings, pass off parades, concerts and many other musical support tasks. It is a directly reporting unit of Regional Bands HQ (RBANDS) under London District, which sponsors the promotion of British military music. It is one of two 'Light Pace' regular wind bands in the British Army.. The band has travelled extensively since its inception, travelling more recently to The Falkland Islands, Australia, Brunei, Canada, France, Germany, Nepal, Belgium. Today, musicians from Nepal are chosen during their Gurkha military training. Their musical instruction commences first under Director of Music (DOM) and then under supervision of the Royal Military School of Music.
The Jordanian Armed Forces Band is the main musical unit of the Royal Jordanian Army made up of musicians who perform in official settings usually in the presence of the Jordanian royal family. When performing, all band members wear red and white checked Keffiyehs alongside their full dress uniform. The band was established in 1921, with a core of 10 musicians who served with the Arab Army. In 1929, bagpipes from the area that is now Egypt and Syria were first introduced to the band. In 1982, Hussein of Jordan approved the use of the band for purely ceremonial purposes. Today, the full band is composed of over 500 musicians who are arranged in a similar fashion to the Bands of the Household Division.
The Ceremony of the Flags is a Canadian military music event usually held by unit of the Royal Canadian Navy. Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, had started it in 1965. The display originated from the Sunset Ceremony that was held after the introduction of the Canadian Flag on Parliament Hill in 1965. The ceremony is also derived from the historical Beating Retreat that originated in the United Kingdom and a military tattoo. The first ceremony was held in 1967 in honor of Canada's centennial year celebrations. On Feb 15 1967, local cadet units and the HMCS Carleton Band performed during the first ceremony on Parliament Hill. It was the first ever flag day. For the most part, the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets perform the ceremony annually, with the most prominent one being held at CSTC HMCS Quadra. In years past, naval youth cadet organizations from Hong Kong, Australia, Sweden, South Korea, and the United Kingdom have been participants. The minimum requirement to perform the ceremony is 30 by 60 metres. This ceremony is performed once each year to honor the canadian flags.
Navy bands in Canada are part of the Royal Canadian Navy's command structure and overseen by the Music Branch of the Canadian Forces and the Directorate of History and Heritage of the Department of National Defence.