Emil Heerbrugger's Grand Grecian Military March in Facsimile

Abstract

Ferguson discusses Emil Heerbrugger's Grand Grecian Military March. Grand Grecian Military March was composed for one or two guitars by Heerbrugger and published in the 1830s. It is parlor music for the amateur. It displays the traits of so much of that repertoire--foursquare phrasing, strict diatonicism, tonic-dominant harmony, and simple rhythm. The tambour technique was a staple of nineteenth-century martial music on guitar, typically used to evoke drums, and Heerbrugger marks it as such in his score. The composer recommends executing the effect percussively with the right-hand middle finger.