The March of the Preobrazhensky Life-Guard Regiment (russian: Марш Лейб-гвардии Преображенского полка) is one of the most famous Russian military marches.
[ The Preobrazhensky Life-Guard Regiment was one of the oldest and most elite guard regiments of the Imperial Russian Army.]
Usage history
Russian Empire
The march was used as an unofficial national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...
in early imperial times.
Modern Russia
March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment was often used in modern Russia, particularly in the annual Victory Day Parade
ukr, Парад Перемоги be, Парад Перамогі
, nickname = Victory Parades
, observedby = Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, some former Soviet countries
, duration = 1 day
, frequency = annual
, scheduling = same d ...
for the trooping of the colours (Flag of Russia
The national flag of Russia (russian: Флаг России, Flag Rossii), also known as the ''State Flag of the Russian Federation'' (russian: Государственный флаг Российской Федерации, Gosudarstvenny fla ...
and Banner of Victory
The Soviet Banner of Victory (russian: Знамя Победы, translit=Znamya Pobedy) was the banner raised by the Red Army soldiers on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 1 May 1945, the day after Adolf Hitler committed suicide. It was raise ...
), notably at the 2005 Victory Day Parade. However as of 2010 ''The Sacred War
"The Sacred War" ( rus, Свяще́нная война́, links=1, r=Svyashchénnaya voyná, p=svʲɪˈɕːenːəjə vɐjˈna), also known as "Arise, Great Country!" ( rus, Встава́й, страна́ огро́мная!, r=Vstaváy straná ...
'' has been played instead, both for the trooping of flags and the inspection of troops.
It is not believed to have been officially used in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
much, but it was played by Soviet military bands in concerts and, infrequently, during the inspection segment of parades.
Other uses
Before World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the work was used as the presentation march (german: Präsentiermarsch) in several military formations in Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
.[ Since 1964, it has been used as the slow march of the Royal Marines in the arrangement of Francis Vivian Dunn.][
It was used in 1969 to the opening credits of The Life and Times of Lord Mountbatten.
]
Origin
Neither composer nor date of its writing are known. Judging from an old title of the march, "March of the Peter the Great", some conjecture that it was written in the time of Peter the Great. Some European scholars suggested Swedish authorship, but there is no evidence to that. In German sources the name of Ferdinand Haase (1788—1851) is mentioned. Haase indeed worked in Russia in the 19th century, and he wrote the second ''Marsch des Leib-Garde Preobraschenski Regiments''.["История марша Лейб-Гвардии Преображенского полка"]
reprinted from the article Агафонов Н., Петров Ф. "Марш лейб-гвардии Преображенского полка", ''Оркестр'', 2007 Some English sources, when referring to the arrangement of the march for the Royal Marines, erroneously give the name of the composer as Donajowsky.[ Vivian Dunn, and early 20th Century British copies of the march, mistakenly attributed it to an Ernest Donajowski, who was in fact in the sheet music publishing business, and was not a composer.][Tony Dean]
"Mistaken Attributions: The Preobrajensky March"
''IMMS UK (Founder) Branch Journal'', No. 112, Summer 2017, p. 13 (retrieved January 31, 2020)
Several lyrics are known for the march.
References
{{reflist
Russian Imperial Guard
Russian military marches