Old Comrades (arr Bourgeois)

Carl Teike

This work is also known by its German title, Alte Kameraden.

General Info

Year: 1889 / 1996
Duration: c. 3:45
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Wingert-Jones
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $55.00 | Score Only (print) - $8.00

For additional availability information, see Discussion tab, above.

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet Solo-I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III-IV
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion, including:

Bass Drum
Bells
Crash Cymbals
Snare Drum

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Old Comrades ("Alte Kameraden") was written around 1889 in Ulm, Germany by Carl Teike, a composer of military music. After presenting his superior with the musical score, Teike was allegedly told: "We have marches enough. Throw this one into the oven!"

The march was not burned but became one of most frequently played German military marches. It remains popular internationally and in Germany, where it was even played in the aftermath of World War II when such music was frowned upon.

- Program Note from Wikipedia

"Alte Kameraden" (German for Old Comrades) was written by Carl Teike in 1889, and has since become one of the most popular marches in the world. It was written to honor the loyalty among those comrades-at-arms who have served together in the military in their younger days, a loyalty that remained strong for the rest of their lives, long past their military experiences.

- Program Note from publisher

After an initial rebuff by an insensitive military bandmaster in 1889, Teike’s Old Comrades March has steadily gained international popularity -- it now ranks near the top of the world’s most popular marches. It has been performed by a single accordion, sung before World War II by a 200-voice soldiers’ choir, and whistled along with a band’s performance by 60,000 people at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland. The title was chosen during a discussion between the composer’s regimental friends after he had decided to leave the army -- in the Prussian military code “comrades” vowed to protect each other regardless of the danger. Teike sold the march to the Fritz Morilce Publishing Firm in Stettin for six dollars after he learned that bands throughout Germany were copying the parts from each other.

- Program Note from Program Notes for Band

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
Audio CD: U.S. Air Force Band of the West (John R. Bourgeois, conductor) - 2000

State Ratings

Kansas: IV

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Gold Coast Wind Ensemble (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) (Michael Doty, conductor) – 22 October 2017
State College (Penn.) Municipal Band (Ned Diehl, conductor) - 8 May 2016
Milton High School (Alpharetta, Ga.) Symphonic Band (Christopher Shumick, conductor) – 10 October 2013
Ball State University (Muncie, Ind.) Wind Ensemble (Gary Smith, conductor) – 29 February 2012 (ABA 2012 Annual Convention (Indianapolis. Indiana))

Works for Winds by This Composer

Deutsche Art
Emperor's Parole
For Throne and Empire
Graf Zeppelin (arr. Rundel) (1903/1986)
Hohenstaufen Marsch
In Treue fest! (arr. Wagner) (1993)
Loyal and True
Neue Kamaraden. See: New Comrades
New Comrades (ed. Fennell) (1979)
Old Comrades (arr. Richardson) (1899/1973)
Old Comrades (arr. Bourgeois) (1899/1996)
Old Comrades (arr. Laurendeau and Lake) (1899/1908/1938)
Steadfast and True (1909)

Resources

Alte Kameraden, Wikipedia Accessed 17 May 2016
Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Carl Teike." Accessed 13 March 2015.
Perusal score
Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications, pp. 585
Teike, C.; Bourgeois, J. (1996). Old Comrades = (Alte Kameraden) [score]. Wingert-Jones Music: Kansas City, Mo.