This is something I found when I was searching for some 'family history' background.
It is the newsletter of Friends of Fort York and Garrison Common
It about a 1.81mb download, however it is an interesting segment of Canadian history.
A short quote from the Newsletter... Music at Fort York in the 19th Century
by Robin Elliott
It is a blustery late autumn day at Fort York in 1824; the
winds howl and the skies are dark, with the promise of a cold
rain later that day and an interminable winter stretching out
ahead. Spirits are low among the troops of the 76th Regiment,
who have been garrisoned at Fort York for two years and have
another two long years of duty ahead of them. Suddenly a fifer
strikes up Thomas Arne’s “Rule Britannia.” The skies do not
part, yet the troops’ spirits lift and they sing along lustily with
the tune that has stirred British souls for many decades.
This vignette is fictional, though inspired by the performance
of a fifer during a recent visit to Fort Henry. Nonetheless it is
clear that in addition to playing calls and signals that regulated
the daily life of his regiment, one of a military musician’s chief
duties was to lift his comrades’ spirits.
Now read on @ http://www.toronto.ca/culture/museum...e_and_drum.pdf
It is the newsletter of Friends of Fort York and Garrison Common
It about a 1.81mb download, however it is an interesting segment of Canadian history.
A short quote from the Newsletter... Music at Fort York in the 19th Century
by Robin Elliott
It is a blustery late autumn day at Fort York in 1824; the
winds howl and the skies are dark, with the promise of a cold
rain later that day and an interminable winter stretching out
ahead. Spirits are low among the troops of the 76th Regiment,
who have been garrisoned at Fort York for two years and have
another two long years of duty ahead of them. Suddenly a fifer
strikes up Thomas Arne’s “Rule Britannia.” The skies do not
part, yet the troops’ spirits lift and they sing along lustily with
the tune that has stirred British souls for many decades.
This vignette is fictional, though inspired by the performance
of a fifer during a recent visit to Fort Henry. Nonetheless it is
clear that in addition to playing calls and signals that regulated
the daily life of his regiment, one of a military musician’s chief
duties was to lift his comrades’ spirits.
Now read on @ http://www.toronto.ca/culture/museum...e_and_drum.pdf