The longest known work for band … and you’ve probably never heard of it.
In 1842, Danish composer Andreas Hallager gifted King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia an almost 900-page score: a monumental, 2-hour programmatic work for band portraying the entire life of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Titled Reminiscences of the Last Days on St Helena, this is the largest-scale wind band composition ever written — a forgotten titan of musical ambition.
893-page manuscript | 312-page score | 3546 bars | 2 hours duration
Instrumentation: 2 Fl, 2 Ob, 4 Cl, 2 Bsn, 4 Hn, 2 Cnt, 2 Tpt, 3 Tbn, Timp, Perc (SD, BD, Cym, Tri)
Part One
1. The Emperor’s childhood
2. The Military Academy at Brienne
3. First love
4. Capture of Toulon
5. Marriage to Josephine
6. Landing in Egypt
7. Battle of the Pyramids
8. Appointment as First Consul
9. Crossing over St. Bernhard
10. Battle of Marengo
11. The Coronation
12. Coronation as King of Italy
13. Finale
Part Two
1. Battle of Austerlitz
2. Battle of Jena
3. Peace of Tilsit
4. Battle of Eckmühl
5. Crossing the Pyrenees
6. Entry into Madrid
7. Marriage to the Archduchess Marie Louise
8. Birth of the King of Rome
Part Three
1. Capture of Smolensk
2. Entry into Moscow
3. Retreat from Russia
4. Crossing the Berezina
5. Battle of Dresden
6. Battle of Leipzig
7. Farewell at Fontainebleau
8. Stay on the island of Elba
9. Landing at Cannes
10. Battle of Waterloo
11. Crossing to St. Helena
12. Stay on the island
13. The Emperor’s death
14. Return of the entourage