Today, August 27, Red Square hosted another evening show of the Eleventh Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival. And we are going on telling you about performances of the Festival’s participants.
Among this year Festival’s foreign participants that for the first time ever have stepped onto the cobblestone of Red Square there is the Prince’s Band of Carabiniers of Monaco, formed in 2014 as the result of combining wind and percussion sections.
Musicians are true carabiniers whose main task is the guard of His Majesty Prince Albert II. All in all the carabiniers unit consists of 124 members and 25 of them make part of the band. Musicians like other carabiniers keep guard on Palace Square of Monaco besides providing music accompaniment during the change of guard ceremony and officials receptions at the palace of His Majesty Prince Albert II. Thus the time for rehearsals is quite limited. They gather together once in three weeks.
“Our technic probably is not perfect, but we play with all our hearts“, told Senior Warrant Officer Olivier Drean, Head of the band.
In course of their performance on Red Square the Carabiniers from Monaco use not only percussion and wind instruments, but a bass guitar, a cello and even an iPad. By means of a special app one of the members of the band dressed as a Franciscan monk referring to Francesco Grimaldi, the first Grimaldi to reign in Monaco, performs live on this gadget. According to the legend, back in 1297 Francesco Grimaldi with his troops disguised as monks maliciously seized Monaco’s castle which belonged to the Ghibellines and found a dwarf state of Monaco.
According to Mr. Drean, an iPad, a cello and a bass guitar are the instruments that allow them standing out among the others, being the highlight of their performance.
During the Carabiniers performance the audience can hear sound tracks from popular movies and watch various theatrical elements. Thus, the Franciscan monk enchants the conductor who falls asleep. While the conductor is sleeping the monk to the sound track from the Rogue Onemovie in the electronic arrangement begins leading the band. Then the conductor awakes and a cellist steps onto the paving and sounds from the popular Games of ThronesTV series start filling the air.
Among the debutants of this year’s Spasskaya Tower Festival there is also the Sri Lankan Military Band, the leading orchestra of the country and one of the most famous ensembles in South Asia. The group combines ceremonial and jazz bands of the Sri Lanka tri-services, being the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Musicians perform traditional Singhalese and national melodies as well as world popular hits in the original arrangement. One of them is ABBA’s Mamma Mia.
In the finale of the band’s performance the lance corporal remains standing still on the square. With the Sri Lankan national flag in his hands he sings in Russian lines from Katusha, the song that is so dear to the heart of every Russian. Thus, it’s not surprising that the stands burst with applause.
As in the previous days of the Spasskaya Tower Festival the grand finale of the main show is marked by the performance of the combined banduniting all the ensembles participating in the Festival. Conducted by Colonel Timofey Mayakin, Head of the Military Music Band Service of the Russian Armed Forces – Chief Military Conductor and Music Director of the Spasskaya Tower Festival musicians performed the Officers’ Ball potpourri of well-known Russian and foreign composers, including Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Dunaevsky, Sviridov, Frenkel, Nikitin, Strauss and others. The final accord adjourning the show was Tchaikovsky Overture “1812”.
As a matter of tradition the main show of the Spasskaya Tower Festival finished with grandiose fireworks.
Among this evening’s guests of honor there wereMr. Bjorn Hermann, Arts Director of the German Musikparade, Berlin and Bremen Military Tattoos, Mr. Mohammad Al Heidus, Senior Lieutenant of the music department of the Qatari Police, Colonel Dmitry Leonov, Deputy Commander of the Presidential Regiment of the Federal Guard Service of Russia.
