| Military march | |
| Composer: | Anton Bruckner |
| Key: | E-flat major |
| Catalogue: | WAB 116 |
| Dedication: | Militär-Kapelle der Jäger-Truppe |
| Instrumental: | Military band |
| Published: | 1922 |
| First Recording: | 1976 |
The Marsch in E-flat major, WAB 116, is a military march composed by Anton Bruckner in 1865.
Bruckner composed this for him unique work on 12 August 1865 during his stay in Linz, at the time when he was composing his first symphony,[1]
He composed this occasional work for the German: Militär-Kapelle der Jäger-Truppe (Military band of the hunting troop) in Linz, as a gesture of appreciation for its participation in performances of two of his works, the festive cantata Preiset den Herrn and Germanenzug.[2] However, it is not known whether it ever was performed by this military band. In the Bruckner-Handbuch is only noted that the march was presumably performed in Linz in 1865.[1]
Bruckner's manuscript is stored in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. It was first edited in Band III/2, pp. 226–233 of the Göllerich/Auer biography.[1] The work is put in Band XII/8 of the German: Gesamtausgabe.[3]
The work, a march of 32-bar and a trio of 32 bars too, is scored in E-flat major for military band (piccolo, 5 clarinets, 2 flugelhorns, 7 trumpets, 3 horns, 2 trombones, 3 euphoniums, 2 tubas, drums and bass drum).[4]
In the hunting scherzo [of [[Symphony No. 4 (Bruckner)|Symphony No. 4]]], where the dense and brilliant brass scoring recalls Bruckner's 1865 infantry march in E flat, WAB 116 ...[5]
Another military march, the Apollo-Marsch, was for many years attributed to Bruckner and put as WAB 115 by Grasberger. This march was even performed on 14 September 1924, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Bruckner's birth.[6]
It is now definite that the Apollo-Marsch was composed in 1857 as Mazzuchelli-Marsch for the Austria-Hungary Infantry-regiment No. 10 by Béla Kéler, another Kitzler's student,[7] while Bruckner copied the instrumentation and form exactly, but not the music, for his own Marsch in E-flat major.[1]
The Apollo-Marsch is put in an addendum to Band XII/8 of the German: Gesamtausgabe.[3]
There are four recordings of Bruckner's Military march:
Another performance by the Tokyo Wind Sinfonica can be heard on YouTube: Marsch in Es-Dur (WAB 116), January 2015