A Narrenmarsch is a composition of
march music
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's ...
that is exclusively played at
Fastnacht. Especially in the traditional
Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht, nearly every town has its own Narrenmarsch. The marches are mostly played during parades and other public events of the
Narren. Many of these marches also got lyrics written for them that participants and audience can sing along.
History
The ''
Narrhallamarsch'' from Mainz from 1840 is regarded as the first specifically for the Fastnacht arranged march. It uses motives from a French opera.
The'' Narrenmarsch'' of
Rottweil
Rottweil (; Alemannic: ''Rautweil'') is a town in southwest Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Rottweil was a free imperial city for nearly 600 years.
Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps, Rottweil has over 25,000 ...
was presumably the first dedicated Narrenmarsch of the Swabian-Alemannic Fasnet and was composed by Heinrich von Basele in 1882. It premiered at a hall-event. It was rediscovered in 1911 by then musical director Sander, who arranged it for military music and played it at the parade with the town orchestra. A text for it was composed by Otto Wolf in 1919. In translation, the text describes the Rottweiler Fasnet as follows: "As long as blood flows through the veins of the city, we´ll celebrate Fasnet, Fasnet in all its glory. Holding up the tradition, never straying from it. To everyone´s joy and to nobody´s harm.").
Besides these marches that are composed for the occasion, existing marches can also become ''Narrenmärsche'' through being traditionally played at Fasnet parades. The "''Altjägermarsch''" for example is a widespread melody. It was originally composed as "''Marsch der Freiwilligen Jäger''" for the
German Campaign of 1813
The German campaign () was fought in 1813. Members of the Sixth Coalition, including the German states of Austria and Prussia, plus Russia and Sweden, fought a series of battles in Germany against the French Emperor Napoleon, his marshals, and th ...
between 1813 and 1815 but is still played at the Fasnet. In Rottweil, the youth orchestra usually plays it at the parade. In
Meersburg and
Kiebingen it is just known as the "''Narrenmarsch''" while it is called "''
Sechseläuten-Marsch''" in Zürich.
References
{{reflist
External links
Text of the Narrenmarsch from RottweilMusic of the Narrenmarsch from Rottweil
(MP3-file; 3,24 MB)
Alemanni
German folklore
Swiss folklore
Music of Germany
Winter traditions
Culture of Baden-Württemberg