Johann Heinrich Walch
Encyclopedia
Johann Heinrich Walch (1776–1855), was a German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

, chamber musician and choral master for both the Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was a duchy ruled by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in today's Thuringia, Germany.It was nominally created in 1672 when Frederick William III, the last duke of Saxe-Altenburg, died and Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha , inherited the major part of his possessions...

 as well as of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in Gotha
Gotha (town)
Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...

 in the current German state Thüringen
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....

. He was also the composer of many well-known marches
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...

.

Napoleon's war took on its final end, when the allies of Austria, Prussia and Russia marched into Paris on March 31, 1814 to the tune of the "Pariser Einzugsmarsch
Pariser Einzugsmarsch
"Pariser Einzugsmarsch" was a march composed by Johann Heinrich Walch and was probably already well known around 1800 in Frankfurt am Main...

". This tune was also used as the climax of 1940 Victory parade of the Germans through Paris. Although attributed initially to Beethoven, Walch is the composer.

Another march by Walch, is the famous "Beethoven Funeral March Number 1" played at the funeral of King Edward VII and also on Remembrance Sunday
Remembrance Sunday
In the United Kingdom, 'Remembrance Sunday' is held on the second Sunday in November, which is the Sunday nearest to 11 November Armistice Day. It is the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War at 11 a.m...

 Services in London each year on the Sunday nearest to November 11. It is played after the playing of the Last Post
Last Post
The "Last Post" can be either a B♭ bugle call within British Infantry regiments or an E♭ cavalry trumpet call in British Cavalry and Royal Regiment of Artillery used at Commonwealth military funerals and ceremonies commemorating those who have been killed in war.The two regimental traditions have...

, and during the Wreath
Wreath
A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs and/or various materials that is constructed to resemble a ring. They are used typically as Christmas decorations to symbolize the coming of Christ, also known as the Advent season in Christianity. They are also used as festive headdresses...

 Laying Ceremony. It is also announced as "Beethoven's Funeral March" on the BBC Television commentary. For a long time, the march was wrongly attribited to Beethoven, and catalogued as WoO= (work without opus number), Anh. 13.

Many marches supposedly written for several cavalry regiments by Queen Victoria's consort Prince Albert
Prince Albert
Prince Albert was the husband and consort of Queen Victoria.Prince Albert may also refer to:-Royalty:*Prince Albert Edward or Edward VII of the United Kingdom , son of Albert and Victoria...

, who was also the Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and the Duke of Saxony are actually by Walch, including the British regiment march, the Regimental quick march of the Somerset Light Infantry.

External links


Publications

  • Werner Probst: Johann Heinrich Walch komponierte den bekannten Trauermarsch von Beethoven. in: Mitteilungsblatt des "Arbeitskreises Militärmusik" der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Heereskunde , 21. Jahrgang, Nr. 2, Juni 1998, p. 98 - 105
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