Patrick Gilmore
Encyclopedia
Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (December 25, 1829 – September 24, 1892) was an Irish
-born composer
and bandmaster
who lived and worked in the United States
after 1848. Whilst serving in the Union Army
during the Civil War
, Gilmore wrote the lyrics to the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home
", the tune he took from an old Irish antiwar folk song, "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye
". This was published under the name Louis Lambert.
, County Galway
. He started his music
career at age fifteen, and spent time in Canada
with an English
band. Already a fine cornet
player, he settled in Boston
, Massachusetts
in 1848, becoming leader of the Suffolk, Boston Brigade, and Salem bands in swift succession. He also worked in the Boston music store of John P. Ordway
and founed Ordway's Aeolians, a group of blackface minstrels. With the Salem Band, Gilmore performed at the 1857 inauguration of President James Buchanan
.
In 1858 he founded "Gilmore's Band", and at the outset of war the band enlisted with the 24th Massachusetts Volunteers, accompanying General Burnside
to North Carolina
. After the temporary discharge of bands from the field, Governor Andrew
of Massachusetts entrusted Gilmore with the task of re-organizing military music-making, and General Banks
created him bandmaster general.
When peace resumed, Gilmore was asked to organize a celebration, which took place at New Orleans. That success emboldened him to undertake two major music festivals at Boston, the National Peace Jubilee
in 1869 and the World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival
in 1872. These featured the finest singers and instrumentalists (including the only American appearance by waltz
king Johann Strauss II
) and cemented Gilmore's reputation as the leading musical figure of the age. Coliseums were erected for the occasions, holding sixty and one hundred and twenty thousand persons. Grateful Bostonians presented Gilmore with medals and cash, but in 1873 he moved to New York
, as bandmaster of the 22nd Regiment. Gilmore took this band on acclaimed tours of Europe.
It was back on home soil, preparing an 1892 musical celebration of the quarter centenary of Christopher Columbus
' voyage of discovery, that Gilmore collapsed and died at St. Louis
. Gilmore is buried with his wife and daughter in Old Calvary Cemetery, Queens
, New York
.
. He was the Musical Director of the Nation in effect, leading the festivities for the 1876 Centennial celebrations in Philadelphia and the dedication of the Statue of Liberty
in 1886. In 1888 he started the tradition of seeing in the New Year
in Times Square
.
In 1891, he played for some of Thomas Edison
's first commercial recordings. Musically, he was the first arranger to set brass instruments against the reeds, which remains the basis for big band
orchestration. His arrangements of contemporary classics did a great deal to familiarise the American people with the work of the great European musical masters.
Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
in 1970.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
-born composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and bandmaster
Military band
A military band originally was a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Director of Music...
who lived and worked in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
after 1848. Whilst serving in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Gilmore wrote the lyrics to the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is a popular song of the American Civil War that expressed people's longing for the return of their friends and relatives who were fighting in the war.-Origins:...
", the tune he took from an old Irish antiwar folk song, "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye
Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye
"Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" is a popular traditional Irish anti-war and anti-recruiting song. It is generally dated to the early 19th century, when Irish troops served the British East India Company...
". This was published under the name Louis Lambert.
Life and career
Gilmore was born in BallygarBallygar
Ballygar is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It is 11.7 km from Roscommon town.- Ballygar - A timeline :The name Ballygar, historically Beallagarr, comes from...
, County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
. He started his music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
career at age fifteen, and spent time in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
band. Already a fine cornet
Cornet
The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
player, he settled in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in 1848, becoming leader of the Suffolk, Boston Brigade, and Salem bands in swift succession. He also worked in the Boston music store of John P. Ordway
John P. Ordway
John Pond Ordway ) was a doctor, composer, music entrepreneur, and politician.Ordway was born at Salem, Massachusetts. Graduating from Harvard Medical College in 1859, Ordway was one of the first surgeons to volunteer at the start of the Civil War, serving in the 6th Regiment, Massachusetts...
and founed Ordway's Aeolians, a group of blackface minstrels. With the Salem Band, Gilmore performed at the 1857 inauguration of President James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
.
In 1858 he founded "Gilmore's Band", and at the outset of war the band enlisted with the 24th Massachusetts Volunteers, accompanying General Burnside
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator...
to North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. After the temporary discharge of bands from the field, Governor Andrew
John Albion Andrew
John Albion Andrew was a U.S. political figure. He served as the 25th Governor of Massachusetts between 1861 and 1866 during the American Civil War. He was a guiding force behind the creation of some of the first U.S. Army units of black men—including the famed 54th Massachusetts Infantry.-Early...
of Massachusetts entrusted Gilmore with the task of re-organizing military music-making, and General Banks
Nathaniel Prentice Banks
Nathaniel Prentice Banks was an American politician and soldier, served as the 24th Governor of Massachusetts, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and as a Union general during the American Civil War....
created him bandmaster general.
When peace resumed, Gilmore was asked to organize a celebration, which took place at New Orleans. That success emboldened him to undertake two major music festivals at Boston, the National Peace Jubilee
National Peace Jubilee
The National Peace Jubilee was a celebration, organized by Patrick Gilmore in Boston on June 15, 1869. It featured an orchestra and a chorus, as well as numerous soloists. In total, more than 11,000 performers participated, including the famous violinist Ole Bull as the orchestra's concertmaster,...
in 1869 and the World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival
World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival
The World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival of 1872 took place in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts. Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore directed the festival, which lasted some 18 days. The jubilee honored the ending of the Franco-Prussian War.- Brief history :For this...
in 1872. These featured the finest singers and instrumentalists (including the only American appearance by waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
king Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
) and cemented Gilmore's reputation as the leading musical figure of the age. Coliseums were erected for the occasions, holding sixty and one hundred and twenty thousand persons. Grateful Bostonians presented Gilmore with medals and cash, but in 1873 he moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, as bandmaster of the 22nd Regiment. Gilmore took this band on acclaimed tours of Europe.
It was back on home soil, preparing an 1892 musical celebration of the quarter centenary of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
' voyage of discovery, that Gilmore collapsed and died at St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Gilmore is buried with his wife and daughter in Old Calvary Cemetery, Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Legacy
In many ways Gilmore can be seen as the principal figure in nineteenth-century American music. He was a composer, the "Famous 22nd Regiment March" from 1874 is just one example. He held the first "Promenade Concert in America" in 1855, the forerunner to today's Boston Pops. He set up "Gilmore's Concert Garden", which became Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden (1879)
Madison Square Garden was an arena in New York City located at East 26th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan. The first venue to use that name, it had a seating capacity of 10,000 spectators...
. He was the Musical Director of the Nation in effect, leading the festivities for the 1876 Centennial celebrations in Philadelphia and the dedication of the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
in 1886. In 1888 he started the tradition of seeing in the New Year
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
.
In 1891, he played for some of Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
's first commercial recordings. Musically, he was the first arranger to set brass instruments against the reeds, which remains the basis for big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
orchestration. His arrangements of contemporary classics did a great deal to familiarise the American people with the work of the great European musical masters.
Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
in 1970.
External links
- Patrick Gilmore's entry in the Catholic Encyclopaedia
- Lyrics & Music: When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again
- Patrick Gilmore Collection, Special Collections in Performing Arts at the University of Maryland
- For the Record
- Patrick S. Gilmore Society, Boston Irish Tourism Association
- Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, 1829-1892: Father of the American Concert Band. Highlights of 2004 exhibition, Boston College website