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The Prairie Lawyer and the Clarinet Player

The United States Marine Band! Since the days of John Adams, “The President’s Own” is celebrated for representing the nation’s finest musical heritage and traditions to the world. Founded in 1798 by an Act of Congress, the Marine Band is America’s oldest continuously active professional musical organization that predates even our nation’s capitol.

There was a time when this was not the case; American historian Dr. Alan Guelzo put it simply:

“Before there was Sousa, there was FRANCIS MARIA SCALA. It is safe to say that without him, we might not have a Marine Band today; and without him we probably would not have had John Philip Sousa or “The Stars and Stripes Forever”.

Francis Scala was the Italian immigrant who took an insignificant group of musicians that no one was particularly interested in, and raised it to the highest standards in musical content and musicianship! He would personally raise the band of his adopted land, to lofty heights that would transform it into the official representation of the Nation and the Chief Executive. Key to this was Scala’s relationship with President Abraham Lincoln. Together they would forever solidify the title:

“The Presidents Own”.

Our story of Francis Scala begins in far off Naples Italy in 1841 at performance of “Tu Che a Dio Spiegasti I’ Ali” (La-Lee) from Gaetano Donizetti’s 1835 opera “Lucia Di Lammermoor”.

BAND PLAYS “Tu Che a Dio Spiegasti I’ Ali”"(it was in 1841) when I was about twenty years old, when Captain David Greisinger of the U. S. S. Brandywine first

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approached me after a performance. He told me he was seeking musicians for his ship. I enlisted, and was rated as a third-class musician and I was soon playing the clarinet on the quarterdeck. I had been only one month on the vessel when the Captain placed me in charge of the ships band through the end of the voyage. We cruised about the Mediterranean for several months, finally sailing for Norfolk, which we reached in the spring of the year." Throughout the voyage, I suffered continuously from sea-sickness, and the determined never to serve another ship.”

The Navy discharged it’s most promising musician. He wandered briefly through Virginia, picking up odd playing jobs as he went, until he arrived in Washington D.C. Recalling that he enjoyed the opportunities that a musical life in the military offered, he enlisted in the United States Marines as a musician for their Washington band. There seemed little chance for sea sickness here! With his first look at the "United States Marine Band" he quickly realized that there was great opportunity to build something wonderful! He also knew it would take a Herculean effort to carry out his vision of a great ensemble!

At the time, The United States Marines carried no provision for a "band" per se. Musicians were carried on the rolls officially as "fifers and drummers". In point of fact, when called upon, the band had players for the following instrumentation;

1 flute1 French Horn

1 Clarinet2 Trombones1 Snare Drum1 Bass Drum1 Cymbal set

HAIL COLUMBIA (5 winds, Eb Cor. Bb Cor, Alto, Tenor, Snare, Bass Drum, Cymb.)The musicianship and instrumentation was uneven, the arrangements were very simple and the sound was unremarkable! While most were ready to write off this

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minor ensemble, Scala recognized the opportunities that were all around him, and he could foresee the creation of a fine military band that could be at the forefront of every social and political event in the nations capitol. He rolled up his musical sleeves and went to work!

He was quickly promoted to "Fife Major": essentially the group's musical director for all concert work while the band's "Drum Major", a separate position, took charge for parades. Next Scala recruited better trained musicians. Food, shelter and pay were powerful inducements for musicians in the Washington area. Scala improved the music library with his sprightly arrangements of American folk songs, patriotic airs, dance music of all kinds, ceremonial music and of course, melodies from his beloved Italian Operas! Marine Band concerts appealed to the public; his compositions matched the dignity and pomp required for official government functions and soon all Washington danced to his music.

Scala also had the ability of a good used car salesman to persuade and lobby anyone within earshot that what was good for the Marine Band was good for the country. He was able to attract money for improvements to the band. It's reputation quickly soared!

After eight years, with lots of hard work, the band had grown to 35 musicians.

That demand began in 1849 when after hearing the band at his inauguration, President Zachary Taylor made an unprecedented expansion of the band. In 1854 President Franklin Pierce authorized additional funds for an enlarged series of public concerts at the Capitol and the White House. Structural changes were afoot as well. In 1855, the positions of "fife major" and "drum major" were combined into one and Francis Scala assumed his new role as "Principal Musician".

At a White House concert for President James Buchannan, Scala chose to premier one of his new pieces, “The Ladies Polka”. He shrewdly dedicated it to the wife of one of the Presidents guests, who was a U. S. Congressman!

The Ladies Polka

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By 1860, the White House duties had become permanent. From the Buchanan Administration, the Marine Corps Commandant relayed the following instructions:

"You will be pleased to direct the leader of the Marine Band to report every morning during the week at the executive mansion for such directions with regards to the band as the President may wish to give. The band will be at the disposal of the President as long as he may want its services.”

1861, a new President Elect would come to Washington.

"I always recall President Lincoln in affection. He was so plain and homely in his way. He was fond of music and was a great

friend of the band. The night he arrived in Washington the band serenaded him. I can see him now as he stood in the window of

Willard's Hotel as my Marines played “Hail to the Chief”.

Hail To The Chief

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On July 25th, 1861, Abraham Lincoln signed official legislation where by the official position of Director of The United States Marine Band was created! Scala now officially had the authority he desired to be in complete control of the band. No longer would the band be a step child of the Marine Corps!

The man who signed that legislation truly enjoyed the band and it's music.

Francis prepared one of his special compositions for the Inauguration.

On March 4th, 1861, his "Union March" proved to be an unqualified success. Composed in the style of an operatic "grand March", it featured a moment where all of the musicians sprang to their feet and shouted “HURRAH FOR THE UNION". It was the perfect underscore for the newly elected Presidents first message to the nation.

The Union March

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The effect was not lost on the President. To Lincoln, Scala was paying attention to events and clearly expressing his support through his music. The next few months would be the busiest of Scala's Marine Band career.

The burgeoning schedule included special war relief performances such as the Soldiers Aid Society as well as public concerts at the public park west of the capitol.

The First Couple took in as much of the arts as their already over burdened and stressful schedule would permit. If there was an opera in town, the Lincolns would try to attend. The First Couple enjoyed their sophistication and quality. The emotional world of European Grand Opera appealed to Lincoln's Shakespearian sense of drama and melancholy.

In June of 1861, Mrs. Lincoln issued invitations to a "grand entertainment" featuring an East Room performance of "the superb Marine Band directed by Francis Scala". Here his operatic background could not have better served Mrs. Lincoln.

With a program that began with another round of "The Union March" the evening program spiraled into high sophistication with operatic melodies that included Donizetti's "Lucia De Lammermoor", and Verdi's "Un Ballo un Marschera” .Lincoln took particular delight in this last choice as he was able to attend it’s New York premier in 1861 while on his way to Washington.

Un Ballo un Marschera

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The evening was an unqualified success. The following February, the First Lady wished a repeat success. Lincoln sent a note to Scala:

"Will the leader of the Marine Band please call and see Mrs. L today".

Mrs. Lincoln was very sensitive about the First Families standing in Washington society. She was keenly aware that most felt that the Lincoln’s were simple hicks from the Western Plains and did not conform to the elite society of the nation’s Capitol. Mary Lincoln was determined to “stare down” these Washington social dragons with a “Grand Evening Musical”, far more elaborate than the last one. Francis Scala skillfully wove together an evening the highest level of sophistication filled with operatic and dance music the likes of which social Washington had never witnessed. He added to his repertoire with another one of his new "special compositions" dedicated to the First Lady. "The Mary Lincoln Polka" would be premiered at this great event.

THE MARY POLKA

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On the eve of what was supposed to be the defining social event of the season, Lincoln's son Willie came down with typhoid fever. It was too late to cancel and the First Family put on a brave public face and went ahead with the evening.

ROCK ME TO SLEEP MOTHER

Voice Over

Throughout the night, the First couple took turns constantly coming and going from Willie's sick room, as the music of the Marine Band echoed from the East Room. The gaiety downstairs and the unimaginable suffering in the upper room must have made a macabre contrast indeed.

Two weeks later, Willie Lincoln died and Mrs. Lincoln was “inconsolable”. Elizabeth Keckley. Mrs. Lincoln’s seamstress, recorded. “The pale face of her dead boy threw her into convulsions. She took to her bed with no way to sleep or ease her grief.” Of the President, she further noted: “….he buried his head in his hands, and his tall frame was convulsed with emotion..I did not dream that his rugged nature could be so moved…”

Music ends

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Mrs. Lincoln's emotional grief included the misplaced anger at Mr. Scala and his band.

She associated the sound of the music with the horrible pain Willie endured. An emotionally distraught Mary Todd wanted Francis Scala and the Marine Band dismissed! To ease his wife's pain, the President consented to this ending for a time the bands participation in all further White House events!

It was an exile that would last nearly a year. In the blink of an eye they had gone from being the darlings of the Capitol to wandering outcasts. Whatever anger Scala may have harbored towards the First Lady for her unjust action to the band, he kept it to himself and simply soldiered on. There were plenty of other things to do with his talented musicians.

Scala found employment with Salmon P. Chase, Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury. Chase's daughter Kate was to be married to Rhode Island Governor William Sprague and it promised to be far more grand in scale than anything that had been held at the White House.

Not only did he prepare one of special compositions for the event, Scala would feature himself as soloist! "Mrs. Sprague's Bridal Polka and Waltz" proved to be a dual triumph of composition and performance. It was just the kind of rebound that Scala and his band badly needed.

Mrs. Sprague's Bridal Polka and Waltz"

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Now even the White House inner circle thought things had gone too far. It was time to bring the Marine Band back into the fold. Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Wells wrote to Lincoln:

"...the public will not sympathize with sorrows that are obtrusive and are assigned as a reason for depriving (the public) ... of their enjoyments.....and it is a mistake to persist in it...".

It was not a tough sell to the President. He pounced on the proposal with alacrity. The schedule of White House duties were fully restored. Any lingering issues with Mrs. Lincoln were solved by moving the concerts to Lafayette Park. The following Saturday, Gideon Wells wrote in his diary;

"We had music from the Marine Band today. The people are pleased!"The President's attendance at such concerts did not always go smoothly. Often his mere presence would excite the audience and take attention away from the music and clamor instead for a speech. The President would politely bow and retreat indoors to finish listening to the band.

"I wish they would let me sit out there quietly" a discouraged Lincoln remarked, "and simply enjoy the music".

OFT IN THE STILY NIGHT

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Sentimental ballads and operatic melodies were not, however, the stuff of flag waving times. There were, however, many who grew impatient with such musical fare. One member of Lincoln’s cabinet who was not happy about this was Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Wells. He felt that the programs should reflect of the patriotic struggle at hand. In the summer of 1863, Wells sent an ultimatum to the Commandant of the Marine Corps;

“When the band is performing on public days, give us more martial and national music! Scala’s refined music entertained the few effeminate and the refined! It is insipid to most of our fighting men.”

And so Francis Scala turned his creative musical talents directly into the musical winds of war.

MEDLEY OF PATRIOTIC AIRS

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Abraham Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg Pennsylvania on Nov. 18th , 1863. He boarded that train with William Seward, John Usher and Montgomery Blair as well as his secretaries John Hay and John Nicolay. He also brought with him Francis Scala and his 35 musicians. Lincoln could count on them to bring dignity and quality required by the occasion. It was the first time the Marine Band would ever travel with the President of the United States!

This would be a trying journey for Lincoln. He left Washington with his son Tad down with fever. His wife did not want him to leave fearing another potential loss like that of Willie. The war was at a standstill. A new cemetery lay ahead filled with thousands of dead soldiers. Awaiting him was a ceremony with untold numbers wanting to see him. On top of all this, he himself was not feeling well. He was, however, unswerving in his determination to carry out his duties.

The next day, the Marine Band took pride of place leading a great procession through Gettysburg to the awaiting cemetery.

Scala’s part in the ceremony was to have his band lead the assembly in the massed singing of the old hymn, ”Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow”. The assembly of 10,000 had no trouble in following their skilled musicianship.

OLD HUNDRED

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The words spoken by Lincoln would never be forgotten. The haunting strains of that ancient hymn played by the United States Marine Band would remain in the hearts and minds of all those present.

Scala and his musicians continued to make music and Lincoln pressed forward with the national struggle. While continuing to expand his repertoire of patriotic music, he remained committed to peppering his programs with his latest operatic arrangements. In Scala’s time, bands did not use singers at concerts. The common practice was to arrange melodies from operas into the highly stylized brass band form known as “Quickstep Melody”. This meant taking virtually any lyrical melody and converting it into marching form for band. Here is one such melody from Giuseppe Verdi’s 1841 opera “Nabucco”, the story of King Nebucodonosor .

NABUCCO QUICKSTEP

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It is the morning of April 15th, 1865. Members of the Government and Lincoln’s family are gathered at the Peterson House, opposite Ford’s Theater. On a bed that was far too short for his frame lay the bullet stricken 16th President. At 7:22 a.m. he breathed his last. With quivering voice, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton made a statement that would put Abraham Lincoln into an American Valhalla;

“Now He Belongs to the Ages”!

Francis Scala's final duty for President Lincoln was to lead the band in the funeral procession in Washington as Abraham Lincoln made his final journey back to his home.

FUNERAL MARCH

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Marine Band until 1871.

Scala took his retirement in Charleston South Carolina and remained there until his death on April 18th, 1903. The Marine Band journeyed to Charleston to play a final time for their beloved leader. As the casket was carried from his home to the awaiting hearse, they played "Ne'er My God To Thee", and at St. Peters Catholic Church in Charleston, they performed the funeral dirge from one of Scala's favorite Italian operas, "Ill Trovatore".

Francis Maria Scala lies at rest in the Congressional Cemetery, in Washington D. C. Not far away lies the son of one of his Marine Band trombone players: Antoine Sousa.

Lincoln once said, "..while I often walk slow, I never walk backwards.."

The same could be applied to the relationship between the President of the United States and the United States Marine Band. It would never revert to its insignificant former status because of the work of Francis Maria Scala and in particular, his relationship with the 16th President! The keen mind that was trained on the plains of Illinois combined with the musical talents that crossed an ocean were fully prepared to meet the challenge of their times. The clarinet player and the prairie lawyer had performed in perfect concert!

One final observation; you have heard today how Francis Scala enriched the nation’s foremost band with the music of Italian opera. He also was the first to add a certain melody from a French opera: one that would leave a far more lasting impression on the United States Marines, than any from his native Italy: It was from Jacques Offenbach’s opera “Genevieve de Brabant.“ It remains to this day, the final selection at EVERY United States Marine Band concert!

Genevieve de Brabant