MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

Among the variety of musical traditions in New York City during the first half of the 20th century there thrived a devoted amateur adult fife and drum community. This community was comprised largely of distinct bands drawn from public and parochial school programs, whose individual ethos might vacillate from strict military-like discipline to beer-drinking camaraderie. What these groups all had in common was that they performed music with American military and folk roots, and one band also performed newly-composed music with modern art-music elements as well. This paper will discuss the musical repertoire of those amateur fife and drum bands in post-World War II New York City and the way that repertoire fit into the musical context of both the tradition and the time and place. The origins of some of the early 20th century fife and drum standards will be explored with roots tracing back to the American Revolution or Civil War in some cases, and Celtic music in others. Fife and drum music written in the 20th century that was performed by New York City bands will be discussed in the two categories those works primarily fall into; that which is evocative of American military music, and that written to emulate the musical paradigms of contemporary art music. Also discussed will be the effect technological advances in instrument-making had on both new compositions and performance expectations of all repertoire. Attitudes towards the post-war fife and drum repertoire by those who performed it, as well as the popularity of the music in the wider popular culture will be discussed. The repertoire will be discussed critically, analytically, and comparatively. Archival interviews with key post-war fife and drum band leaders and performers, as well as recordings have been consulted for this study.