Haydn wrote these marches during his second trip to London in 1794-95. The original autograph is titled “Two Marches Composed by J. Haydn for Sir Henry Harpur… to the Volunteer Cavalry of Derbyshire, embodied in the year 1794”. Scored for the typical military band of the time, the instrumentation included a trumpet, two horns, two clarinet, two bassoons and a serpent (a curved bass instrument played with a cupped mouthpiece). Percussion parts would have been added by the regimental drum major and played by soldiers, not regular musicians. Due to a lack of printed marching books at the time, selection had to be short to facilitate easier memorisation. In this arrangement for modern concert band, the marches have been transposed from the original keys to Bb and F Major. Percussion parts have also been added by the arrangers and can be used at the director’s discretion. Though these marches have been scored with the intermediate level band in mind, the integrity of the originals have been maintained, making them of interest to musicians and music students alike, at all levels.
