''The Parade of the Tin Soldiers'' (''Die Parade der Zinnsoldaten''), also known as ''The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers'', is an instrumental musical

character piece A character piece is a musical composition which is expressive of a specific mood or non-musical idea. History The term "character piece" was coined by Marin Marais in the ''avertissement'' to his fifth book of viola da gamba music published in 1 ...

, in the form of a popular jaunty

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

, written by German composer

Leon Jessel Leon Jessel, or Léon Jessel (22 January 1871 – 4 January 1942) was a German composer of operettas and light classical music pieces. Today he is best known internationally as the composer of the popular jaunty march '' The Parade of the Tin So ...

, in 1897. ''The Parade of the Tin Soldiers'' was originally composed for solo

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

. Jessel later published it for

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

in 1905, as Opus 123. Today it is also a popular tune for

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

s, and small orchestras, and for extremely diverse alternate

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

s as well. Since the early 1920s, the piece has been very popular in the U.S., and has also been frequently performed and recorded worldwide. A song, "The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers", was also created from the piece in 1922, with English lyrics by

Ballard MacDonald Ballard MacDonald (October 15, 1882 – November 17, 1935) was an American lyricist, who was one of the writers of Tin Pan Alley. Born in Portland, Oregon, he was a charter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ...

Rise to international popularity

1922 program cover for US tour of La Chauve Souris

Recordings of ''The Parade of the Tin Soldiers'' were made in late 1910 and in 1911 and distributed internationally, and Jessel republished the sheet music internationally as well in 1911. In 1912,

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dist ...

and his band played it at the Hippodrome Theatre in New York City. In 1911, Russian impresario

Nikita Balieff Nikita F. Balieff (c.1873– 3 September 1936), was a Russian Armenian born vaudevillian, stage performer, writer, impresario, and director. He is best known as the creator and master of ceremonies of ''La Chauve-Souris'' theater group. Theatric ...

chose Jessel's whimsically rakish ''Parade of the Tin Soldiers'' for a choreography routine in his ''The Bat'' vaudeville

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

, changing the title to "The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers". Balieff's wooden-soldier choreography referenced a legend regarding

Tsar Paul I Paul I (russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич ; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III of Russia, Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he w ...

: that he left his parade grounds without issuing a "halt" order to the marching soldiers, so they marched to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

before being remembered and ordered back. In December 1920 Nikita Balieff's ''

La Chauve-Souris ''La Chauve-Souris'' (French: ''The Bat'') was the name of a touring revue during the early 1900s. Originating in Moscow and then Paris, and directed by Nikita Balieff, the revue toured the United States, Europe, and South Africa. The show consist ...

'' (''The Bat'') revue reached Paris, to great acclaim, and in 1922 it was brought to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. Balieff's entertainingly choreographed wooden-soldiers showpiece, with Jessel's popular tune, was a sensation, and a by-demand mainstay of his extremely long-running U.S. production. Balieff's ''Chauve-Souris'' routine greatly popularized Jessel's music, and in 1922 multiple editions of the sheet music were published in the U.S. — in

fox-trot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a tim ...

, march, and concert arrangements, and for numerous instrumentations: voice and piano, with lyrics by

; male quartet; small orchestra; full orchestra; violin, piano, and cello; military band; mandolin solo; mandolin and guitar; mandolin and piano; and mandolin, guitar, and piano. In 1923,

Lee DeForest Lee de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor and a fundamentally important early pioneer in electronics. He invented the first electronic device for controlling current flow; the three-element "Audion" triode va ...

filmed ''The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers'', performed by Balieff's company, in the DeForest

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, ...

sound-on-film process. The film premiered on April 15, 1923 at the Rivoli Theater in New York City, and is now in the Maurice Zouary collection at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. In 1922, the instrumental version of ''The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers'' was a

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

performed by

Carl Fenton Carl Fenton was a pseudonym of Walter G. Haenschen, American bandleader, composer, and radio musician. Name origin The Carl Fenton Orchestra (AKA "Carl Fenton’s Orchestra") was a title given to Brunswick Records studio bands through the 1920 ...

's Orchestra. Hit versions were also recorded by the

Vincent Lopez Vincent Lopez (December 30, 1895 – September 20, 1975) was an American bandleader, actor, and pianist. Early life and career Vincent Lopez was born of Portuguese immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, Distinguished Am ...

Orchestra in 1922 and by

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, ...

and his Orchestra in 1923. A

Betty Boop Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick.Pointer (2017) She originally appeared in the ''Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer ...

cartoon, ''

Parade of the Wooden Soldiers ''The Parade of the Tin Soldiers'' (''Die Parade der Zinnsoldaten''), also known as ''The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers'', is an instrumental musical character piece, in the form of a popular jaunty march, written by German composer Leon Jessel ...

'', was created with the music in 1933. Also in 1933,

The Rockettes The Rockettes are an American precision dance company. Founded 1925 in St. Louis, they have, since , performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Until 2015, they also had a touring company. They are best known for starring in the Rad ...

began annually performing their own choreographed version of the piece, based on Balieff's original, in their

Radio City Christmas Spectacular The ''Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes'' is an annual musical holiday stage show presented at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The 90-minute show features more than 140 performers and an original musical score, an ...

. The melody was also used in the Disney cartoon '' Polar Trappers'' (1938) to accompany a scene where penguins march behind

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

as he tries to lure them to a trap.

Song

Though far less often heard than Jessel's original instrumental piece,

wrote English song lyrics for the tune, in 1922. The song is often used as a Christmas piece. A version sung by

The Crystals The Crystals are an American vocal group that originated in New York City. Considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era in the first half of the 1960s, their 1961–1964 chart hits – including " There's No Other (Like My Baby)", ...

is on the 1963 album ''

A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector ''A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector'' (originally released as ''A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records'') is an LP album, album of Christmas songs, produced by Phil Spector, and originally released as Philles Records, Philles 4005 ...

''.

Harry Connick, Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and television host. He has sold over 28million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling male artists in the Uni ...

sings it on his 1993 album, ''

When My Heart Finds Christmas ''When My Heart Finds Christmas'' is American artist Harry Connick Jr.'s first Christmas album. Released in 1993, it is among the most popular holiday collections of the past three decades in the United States. Connick Jr composed four songs ...

''. It is also on

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's '' Very Merry Christmas Songs'' DVD.

Notable later uses of the instrumental piece

have been performing their own choreographed version of the piece, based on Balieff's ''La Chauve-Souris'' original, since 1933 in their annual

. The work is a staple of the

Boston Pops The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symp ...

orchestra. They have recorded it at least 10 times.Amazon list of Boston Pops albums containing Jessel's piece
/ref> In

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, ''The Parade of the Tin Soldiers'' was used for many years in

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

radio's ''

Children's Hour ''Children's Hour'', initially ''The Children's Hour'', was the BBC's principal recreational service for children (as distinct from "Broadcasts to Schools") which began during the period when radio was the only medium of broadcasting. ''Childre ...

'' to introduce the series ''

Toytown ''Toytown'' was a BBC radio series for children, broadcast for '' Children's Hour'' on the Home Service. The plays were based on a set of puppets created by S. G. Hulme Beaman, who also wrote the stories for the series. The first ''Toytown' ...

'', based on stories by S. G. Hulme Beaman. The recording used was by the New Light Symphony Orchestra.

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...

Dave Swarbrick David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. His style has been copied or developed by almost every British and many world folk violin players who have followed him. He was ...

used the main melody as one part of the medley "Royal Seleccion No 13" on their album ''

The Bonny Bunch of Roses "The Bonny Bunch of Roses" (Roud 664, Laws J5) is a folk song written in the 1830s by an unknown balladeer from the British Isles, perhaps with Irish sympathies. The earliest known version of the tune is in William Christie's ''Tradition Ballad ...

'', where it is titled "Toytown March". The band used the medley as their set opener on more than one tour.

Notes

External links

1911 Berlin recording of ''The Parade of the Tin Soldiers''
(audio) at Russian-Records.com

at Hymns and Carols of Christmas. The song's history and complete lyrics.

by Jeff Matthews at ''Around Naples Encyclopedia'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Parade Of The Tin Soldiers, The Songs about soldiers Compositions by Leon Jessel 1897 compositions 1897 songs 1923 singles Compositions for solo piano Concert band pieces March music Light music compositions Piano compositions by German composers Compositions for chamber orchestra Compositions for symphony orchestra Chamber music compositions Christmas songs Songs with lyrics by Ballard MacDonald Sentient toys in fiction The Crystals songs Song recordings produced by Phil Spector Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements

Rise to international popularity

Song

Notable later uses of the instrumental piece

See also

Notes

External links