Gossec - Marche lugubre (1790)
Out of curiosity, a friend wondered “what was the first Western orchestra piece to use a gong?”. We both guessed maybe something Russian, in an Orientalist tone poem. But I looked it up and discovered it was first used by François-Joseph Gossec for this funeral march written in honor of those who died in the Nancy Incident in the August of 1790. It was in the midst of the Revolution, and some of the king’s army and Swiss mercenaries rebelled for wanting more pay. Gossec’s marche, being for an outdoor funeral and burial service, is for a wind band (what the Austrians at the time would call harmoniemusik) with the inclusion of a large gong. Imagine the impact of that sound with the winds blasting this dramatic and proto-Romantic march with its languid falling motifs, thick chords, and pounding rhythm.
