Civil War Band Music: About the Instruments

About the Instruments Used in the Recordings

Set of over-the-shoulder saxhorns from the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, Division of Musical Instruments.
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The instrumentation of the New Hampshire band, with the standard federally authorized size of twenty-four men (the number may have varied in practice though not in principle) is basically that advocated by Allen Dodworth for a balanced ensemble of cornets and saxhorns, with the exception of the additional D-flat piccolo and clarinet. The evidence in the form of extant music, photographs, and rosters is that by the 1860s the use of the piccolo and clarinet to double the difficult cornet or saxhorn parts in the brass bands was common. Following this practice, one D-flat piccolo has been added to the band of fifteen brasswinds and two percussion, for a total of eighteen.

In this recording, each musician used the same instrument throughout the concert with one exception: to adjust for the slightly varying demands of the music dating from the early 1850s to about 1870, David Flowers used, on different pieces, three instruments, including a trumpet crooked in F and E-flat. The following list of musicians and instruments represents a typical brass band of the period.

All the brasswinds have American-style, string-action rotary valves, except the trumpet and the mechanical rotary valve cornet marked "Klemm." Instruments bearing the name "J. Howard Foote" may have been made by John Stratton of New York. Foote and Stratton were partners for two years (1864-65) and Foote appears to have been a dealer rather than a maker.

Instrument	Musician	Comments
D-flat piccolo	Thomas Perazzoli	A Boehm-system, wood, conical-bore flute that, by its construction, produces the same sound as that of the instruments used earlier, though it is modern.
E-flat soprano saxhorn (solo)	Adel Sanchez	Bell-front, nickle-plated brass; J. Howard Foote, New York City, ca. 1880. From the Smithsonian Institution.
E-flat soprano saxhorn	Lawrence J. Ferris	Over-the-shoulder nickle-silver; Christian R. Stark, New York City, ca. 1855-65. From Glenn Ferris, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
E-flat cornet	George Recker	Over-the-shoulder, brass; Klemm, Philadelphia (possibly a European import). It was used in the Clifton Springs Cornet Band during the Civil War. From Robert E. Sheldon.
E-flat soprano saxhorn	David M. Flowers	Bell-front, nickle-silver; E.G. Wright, Boston, ca. 1865-70. Inscribed "5th Mass. Cavalry." From the Smithsonian Institution.
B-flat cornet	David M. Flowers	Bell-front, nickle-plated brass; J. Howard Foote, New York City, ca. 1880. From the Smithsonian Institution.
Trumpet	David M. Flowers	Brass, 2 Stölzel (piston) valves, crooked in F ("General Taylor Storming Monterey") and E-flat ("Lilly Bell Quickstep"); probably English, unsigned, ca. 1835. From the Smithsonian Institution.
B-flat cornet	G. Harrison Bowling	Bell-front, nickle-silver; D.C. Hall, Boston, ca. 1865-70. From Robert E. Sheldon.
B-flat contralto saxhorn	Robert Brackman	Over-the-shoulder, nickle-silver; J. Howard Foote, New York City, ca. 1880. From the Smithsonian Institution.
E-flat tenorhorn	Robert E. Sheldon	Bell-upright, nickle-silver; John Stratton, New York City, ca. 1870. From Robert E. Sheldon.
E-flat tenorhorn	Thomas W. Murray	Bell-upright, brass; J. Howard Foote, New York City, ca. 1880. From the Smithsonian Institution.
E-flat tenorhorn	Richard Butler	Over-the-shoulder, nickle-plated brass; J. Howard Foote, New York City, ca. 1880. From the Smithsonian Institution.
B-flat tenorhorn	Robert Isele	Bell-upright, brass; J. Howard Foote, New York City, ca. 1880. From the Smithsonian Institution.
B-flat bass (baritone)	John Marcellus	Over-the-shoulder, nickle-silver; J. Howard Foote, New York City, ca. 1880. From the Smithsonian Institution.
B-flat bass	Robert H. Kraft	Over-the-shoulder, nickle-silver; J. Howard Foote, New York City, ca. 1880. From the Smithsonian Institution.
B-flat bass (baritone)	Dallas Parker	Bell-upright, brass; J. Howard Foote, New York City, ca. 1880. From the Smithsonian Institution.
E-flat bass (tuba)	David Bragunier	Over-the-shoulder, nickle-silver; J. Howard Foote, New York City, ca. 1880. From the Smithsonian Institution.
E-flat bass (tuba)	Robert Eliason	Bell-upright, brass; J. Howard Foote, New York City, ca. 1880. From the Smithsonian Institution.
Snare drum	James Stutsman	Civil War era, rope-tension drum.
Bass drum	Nancy E. Stutsman	Unmarked, rope tension; ca. 1870. From the Smithsonian Institution.

Band Music from the Civil War Era