The Military Music Service of the National People's Army (Militärischer Musikdienst der Nationale Volksarmee in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

) was made up of the Military Bands of the ''

Nationale Volksarmee The National People's Army (, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (DDR) from 1956 until 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) and the (Border Troops). Th ...

'' and the

Corps of Drums A corps of drums, sometimes known as a fife and drum corps or simply field music, is a traditional European military music formation. Historically, a Corps of Drums' primary role was communication. Today, the primary role of a Corps of Dru ...

of the Military Music Service.

Constituent bands

Central Band of the NPA Land Forces

The Central Band of the NVA Land Forces (also known as the Central Band of the NPA, ''Zentralorchester der NVA'') was no reorganization such as the Stabsmusikkorps of the Bundeswehr, but it was taken over in 1956 by the KVP and at this time could look back on a seven -year history as a symphony orchestra or symphonic wind band. Of all the active bands, it was the most senior band of the entire NPA. The development of the Band ran until 1959 in normal tracks and without special features. Then Major Gerhard Baumann, former director of the Schwerin People's Police Band, came to Berlin via Leipzig and took over the leadership of the ZO from the hands of Major Hans-Helmut Hunger. In the "era Baumann", which lasted until 1983, the Central Band of the NVA became a term for solid military music and an extraordinary ensemble of sound. However, the uniqueness of the orchestra was not based solely on its position as the largest and most important music corps of military music of the NVA, because the official music - up to extraordinary representative performances - was, as with all top brass corps of a state, integrated into predetermined framework conditions, albeit Here, of course, his style and the treatment of the profession not only make the connoisseur sit up. In 1983, Colonel Gerhard Baumann handed over the baton to Heinz Häcker, who led the ZO until the time of reunification. The fate of the ZO was ultimately no different than that of the NVA as a whole. As a full blown Bundeswehr band in its final months the central band was disbanded under its last director, Major Bernd Zivny, who performed the band's final Berlin concert on 2 November 1990, the only time it performed wearing Bundeswehr uniforms as part of the unification of the band services of the former two Germanies, it was rebadged briefly as the local band for the now reunified Berlin city garrison.

Band of the National People's Navy

The Band of the National People's Navy (''Musikkorps der Volksmarine'') was the only band supporting the ceremonial activities of the

Volksmarine The (VM, ; ) was the Navy, naval force of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The was one of the service branches of the National People's Army and primarily performed a Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence ...

Central Band of the National People's Army Air Forces

The Central Band of the National People's Army Air Forces (''Orchester der Luftstreitkräfte der Nationalen Volksarmee'') supported the ceremonial activities of the

Air Forces of the National People's Army The Air Forces of the National People's Army ( [], ) was the air force of East Germany. As with the , the , and the Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic, Border Troops, it was a military branch of the National People's Army (NVA). A ...

, and reported thus to the Kommando LSK/LV in East Berlin.

Band of the Border Troops

The Band of the Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic (''Orchester der Grenztruppen der DDR'') was the official band supporting the ceremonial activities of the

Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic The Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic () was the border guard of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1946 to 1990. The were the primary force guarding the Berlin Wall and the Inner German border, the GDR's international bo ...

, a directly reporting agency of the Ministry of National Defense. It was affiliated to the MMS-NPA owing to its status as a former service branch of the NVA itself from 1961 to 1973.

Regimental Band and Corps of Drums of the Friedrich Engels Guard Regiment

The Regimental Band and Corps of Drums of the Friedrich Engels Guard Regiment (''Musikkorps und Spielmannszug der Wachregiment Friedrich Engels'') also known in an official capacity as the Stabsmusikkorps Kommandantur Berlin (''Staff Band of the Commandant of Berlin'') was the official regimental band of the

Friedrich Engels Guard Regiment The Friedrich Engels Guards Regiment (also known as NVA Guard Regiment 1) was a Honor guard, special guard unit of the Land Forces of the National People's Army. The regiment was named after Friedrich Engels, the German socialist that collaborated ...

, the official

guard of honour A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

regiment of the NVA, which served during ceremonial occasions like state visits, guard mountings at the

Neue Wache The Neue Wache () is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic centre of Berlin, Germany. Erected from 1816 to 1818 according to plans by Karl Friedrich Schinkel as a guardhouse for the Royal Palace and a memorial to the Li ...

, military parades, oath taking ceremonies of new conscripts, the

Großer Zapfenstreich The ("Grand Tattoo", "Beating Retreat") is a military ceremony performed in Germany and Austria. It is similar to the military tattoo ceremony performed in English-speaking countries, and is the most important ceremonial act executed by the Ger ...

and wreath laying ceremonies. It also supported the activities of the

Guard Regiment Hugo Eberlein The Guard Regiment Hugo Eberlein, officially ''Wachregiment "Hugo Eberlein"'' and also known as ''NVA Wachregiment 2'', was a military unit which provided security to the East German Ministry of National Defence. It was formed in 1956 as the ''W ...

, the non-public duties guard unit of the Ministry of National Defence.

Central Band of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

The Central Band of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (''Zentrales Orchester des Ministeriums des Innern'') supported the ceremonial activities of the Ministry of the Interior of the GDR.

Regimental Band and Corps of Drums of the Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment

The Band and Corps of Drums of the

Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment The Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment ( German: ''Wachregiment "Feliks E. Dzierzynski"'') was the paramilitary wing of the Ministry for State Security (''Stasi''), the security service of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The Felix Dzerzhi ...

(''Musikkorps und Spielmannszug des Wachregiments "Feliks Dzierzynski"'') was the official regimental band of the Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment, the armed internal security regiment within the Ministry for State Security.

Erich-Weinert-Ensemble

The

Erich-Weinert-Ensemble The Erich-Weinert-Ensemble was a professional army ensemble of the National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic. The ensemble consisted of a male choir, a ballet, an orchestra, a cabaret, soloists, dramaturges, conductors, directors, ...

, named after communist writer

Erich Weinert Erich Bernhard Gustav Weinert (4 August 1890 – 20 April 1953) was a Germans, German Communist writer and a member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Early life Weinert was born in 1890 in Magdeburg to a family supporting the Social ...

, was a professional army ensemble of in the NVA that was the equivalent to the

Alexandrov Ensemble The Alexandrov Ensemble (), commonly known as the Red Army Choir in the West, is an official army choir of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Russian armed forces. Founded during the History of the Soviet Union, Soviet era, the ense ...

in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and the Representative Ensemble of the

Bulgarian People's Army The Bulgarian People's Army (, BNA) was the army of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. It comprised the Bulgarian Land Forces, Air Force and Air Defence, Navy and supporting arms. Bulgaria was one of the signatories of the Warsaw Pact. Along with ...

. Originally a unit of the

Kasernierte Volkspolizei The Kasernierte Volkspolizei () (KVP) was the precursor to the National People's Army (NVA) in East Germany. Their original headquarters was in Adlershof Boroughs and neighborhoods of Berlin, locality in East Berlin, and from 1954 in Strausber ...

in 1950, it was transferred to the NVA 6 years later and was transferred to the

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

in 1989, defunct by 1994. It consisted of a male choir, a ballet, an orchestra, and a theatre troupe, all of which were based in

Berlin-Biesdorf Biesdorf () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') within the Berlin borough (''Bezirk'') of Marzahn-Hellersdorf. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Marzahn. History Biesdorf was mentioned for the first time in a document of 1375, the "''Land ...

Common repertoire

*''Präsentiermarsch der Nationale Volksarmee'' (Inspection March) *''Parademarsch № 1 der Nationalen Volksarmee'' (Parade March) *''Präsentiermarsch des Wachregiment "Feliks Dzierzynski"'' (Inspection March) *''Präsentiermarsch der Volksmarine'' (Inspection March) *''Unsere Volksmarine'' *''Paradefanfare'' *''Parademarsch "7 Oktober"'' *''Marsch "Oktoberparade"''

Generalmusikdirektors

The band has been led by 3

Generalmusikdirektor A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

s (General Music Directors) over its more than 30-year history. * Major Hans-Helmut Hunger (1949 - 4 October 1973) * Colonel (4 October 1973 - 18 November 1983) * Colonel Heinz Häcker (18 November 1983 - 2 November 1990)

Notable commanders

*Major Bernd Zivny (Central Band of the NPA Land Forces) *Captain Ludwig Schmidt (Band of the National People's Navy) *Helmut Sommer (Central Band of the Ministry of Internal Affairs)

Gallery

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-N1007-0314, Berlin, 25. Jahrestag DDR-Gründung, Parade.jpg, File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-48465-0043, Leipzig, Turn- und Sporttreffen, Musikkorps der NVA.jpg, The band in sports uniforms. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-N1007-0311, Berlin, 25. Jahrestag DDR-Gründung, Parade.jpg, File:Schwalbennest 2.jpg, The

Epaulette Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''shoulder scale ...

of the band. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L1006-0042, Berlin, 23. Jahrestag DDR-Gründung, Zapfenstreich.jpg, A fanfarist of the Regimental Band of the Friedrich Engels Guard Regiment.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Military music of the German Democratic Republic
Zwischen Probe und Parade (1975) - Dokumentarfilm der Zentrales Orchester der NVA

Von Polka bis Parademarsch

Zentrales Orchester der NVA in Schweden (September 1988)

Militärkonzert - 1987 Berlin - Konzert der NVA

Radetzky-Marsch - Musikkorps der NVA und der Grenztruppen der DDR (22 08 1987)
German military bands National People's Army Military units and formations established in 1956 Musical groups established in 1956 East German musical groups 1956 establishments in East Germany