The Band of the Paris Prefecture of Police (La Musique des Gardiens de la Paix) dates its creation from an order of the Prefect of Police (Préfet de Police) Jean Chiappe on March 31, 1929.
Earlier origins consist of outdoor groups during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
and later which performed as "Gardes Françaises" during civic occasions. Composers Charles Simon Catel (1773–1830) and
François-Joseph Gossec
François-Joseph Gossec (17 January 1734 – 16 February 1829) was a French composer of operas, string quartets, symphonies, and choral works.
Life and work
The son of a small farmer, Gossec was born at the village of Vergnies, then a French e ...
(1734–1829) are considered the godfathers of the band. The band can also take its origins back to 1800, the beginnings of the Préfecture de Police of Paris. The
Code Napoleon of the time called for a drum roll to announce the police commissioner’s warning that weapons might be necessary during disturbances. A predecessor band was the "7th Arrondissement Musical Union" formed in 1919 by a Sergeant Martin. This gathered musicians from two
Arrondissements of Paris
The Paris, City of Paris is divided into twenty ''Municipal arrondissements of France, arrondissements municipaux'', administrative districts, more simply referred to as ''arrondissements'' (). These are not to be confused with departmental arro ...
, the 18th and 19th.
La Musique des Gardiens de la Paix from 1929 was conducted by Jules Bleu and Denis Roussel.
The band was dissolved in 1942 during the occupation. A resistance network organized by the band was headed by Andre Houillier (bass clarinet). Three band members died in the resistance: George Provost (tuba), Philippe Chevrier (tuba) and Philippe Sitterlin (bugle). After the liberation of Paris, La Musique des Gardiens de la Paix performed the formerly banned national anthem
La Marseillaise
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...
at the main courtyard of the prefecture of police on August 24, 1944.
Conductors from 1945-1999 have included Felix Coulibeuf,
Désiré Dondeyne
Désiré Louis Corneille Dondeyne (21 July 1921 – 12 February 2015) was a French conductor, composer and teacher who was born in Laon in the Aisne département.
He studied music at the conservatory in Lille and beginning in 1936 at the Conserv ...
, Claude Pichaureau,
François Boulanger, Louis Tillet, and Philippe Ferro.
The 122 musicians, as of 2015, offer over 100 concerts annually in the Paris area and abroad. Members are recruited from the national academies, and must be both musicians and policemen. The conductor since July 2014 is Gildas Harnois.
The band has released a large repertoire of music from three centuries on the Calliope, Club Français du Disque, Erato, Music Guild, Nonesuch, Teldec, and Westminster labels. Recordings have received prizes from the Académie Charles Cros and Académie du disque français.
External links
La Musique des Gardiens de la Paix web site
{{Authority control
Wind bands
Police bands