Ernst Michael Mangel (1800, Karlsburg,

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

– 13 January 1887,

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

) was a Hungarian musician, composer, and

philhellene Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron and Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek i ...

, who became the director of the first

military band A military band is 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 tit ...

Revolutionary Greece The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

and the

Greek Kingdom The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label=Katharevousa, Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constant ...

Biography

Ernst Mangel was born in 1800 in the

n city of

Gyulafehérvár Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historical ...

(in German: Karlsburg, in Romanian: Alba Iulia). There is no information about his youth and early musical education in

. After the outbreak of the

Greek Revolution The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

in 1821, Mangel joined the movement of

Philhellenism Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron and Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek i ...

, and in 1823 he went to Greece to fight alongside the Greeks. In 1824, Mangel and his father arrived in

Missolonghi Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...

, where they entered the regular brigade which was under formation under the auspices of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

. After Byron's death, he followed the French philhellene, Colonel

Charles Nicolas Fabvier Charles Nicolas Fabvier ( el, Κάρολος Φαβιέρος, Karolos Favieros) (10 December 1782 – 15 September 1855) was an ambassador, general and French member of parliament who played a distinguished role in the Greek War of Independence. ...

, who was tasked with creating a regular army. From then on, Mangel's activity is known by the Greek fighter and writer Christos Vyzantios. According to Vyzantios, Mangel was a German from the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...

, who had served before as a lieutenant in the French Army. As part of the first regular regiment, Fabvier organized a military band, called the Musical Troupe (Μουσικός Θίασος), and entrusted its direction to Mangel. Under the command of Fabvier, Mangel and his band took part in the Athens campaign of 1825, and in expeditions the islands of

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...

and

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...

. In 1828, with the arrival of the first Governor of Greece, John Kapodistrias, Mangel and his orchestra settled in

Nafplion Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...

, the then capital of Greece. After the liberation of Greece and with the establishment of a monarchy under the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n prince

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

, the orchestra initially remained in Nafplion, but then, on the arrival of Bavarian military bands, was transferred to nearby

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses * ...

. In 1834 Mangel converted to

Greek Orthodoxy The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

, choosing the name "Michael", married a local woman, and left the army. Following the establishment in 1843 of a Music School in Athens, Mangel was recalled to active service and appointed the School's director. At the same time Mangel wrote military marches on the basis of Greek folk music and adapted European marches for local use. Later, Mangel was promoted to musical inspector and retired in 1870 with the rank of Major.

Works

Manuscripts of three triumphal marches dedicated to King Otto, are stored in the

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (german: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the bigg ...

in the city of

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

References

Sources

* Konstantin Soter Kotsowilis: ''Die Griechenbegeisterung der Bayern unter König Otto I''. München 2007 * Emanuel Turczynski: ''Sozial- und Kulturgeschichte Griechenlands im 19. Jahrhundert. Von der Hinwendung zu Europa bis zu den ersten Olympischen Spielen der Neuzeit''. Mannheim und Möhnesee 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mangel, Ernst 1800 births 1887 deaths Hungarian composers Hungarian male composers Greek musicians Philhellenes in the Greek War of Independence Hellenic Army officers People from Alba Iulia 19th-century composers Hungarian expatriates in Greece Military musicians 19th-century male musicians