The Top Secret Drum Corps
-by Simone
Against the spectacular backdrop of Scotland's top tourist attraction,
over 1,000 international performers, 20 horses, 150 dancers, 20 motorcycles, and one or two surprises, provided
a wealth of peerless entertainment at this year's 54th Tattoo on the floodlit esplanade of Edinburgh Castle from
August 1-23.
The Edinburgh Tattoo is the biggest event of its kind, attracting more than 200,000 spectators
and 100 million television viewers around the world. It boasts a fairy tale setting on a vast esplanade, sandwiched
between Edinburgh's medieval fortress and the old town. Over 200 pipers advanced across the Castle Drawbridge playing
stirring renditions of Scottish tunes such as 'Mrs MacLeod of Raasay' and 'The Return of the Stone'.
They comprise the Pipes and Drums of The Scots Guards, The Royal Scots, The Black Watch, The Argyll and Sutherland
Highlanders, and The Royal Gurkha Rifles, who appeared in last year's record-breaking Tattoo. They are accompanied
by The Royal Artillery and representatives of Scotland's Universities Officers' Training Corps. While from overseas
making their second visit to Edinburgh, were New Zealand's Dunedin (one of the Scottish Capital's Southern Hemisphere
twin cities) Pipe Band, together with The Royal Army of Oman and South Australian pipers and drummers from Adelaide.
Opening the 2003 proceedings was a specially-commissioned fanfare written to commemorate
the 400th anniversary of when the English and Scottish Crowns became united - entitled 'Union of the Crowns' -
which was performed at the start of each show during the three-week spectacular. The piece, composed and directed
by Major Stephen Smith, Director of Music, The Royal Artillery and Principal Tattoo Director of Music, received
its premiere before traditional favourites, the Massed Pipes & Drums enter the Arena.
An impressive visual and musical display was then provided by The Bermuda Regiment Band
and Corps of Drums and Bermuda National Gombey Troupe, making their first appearance at the Tattoo, when some of
the Atlantic paradise's finest musicians with their unique dancers took the show by storm with a heady tropical
combination of calypso and frenzied dancing.
Said Brigadier Jameson: "Although the main pillars of the Tattoo are the Pipes & Drums and Military Bands
from the British Army, these days we are also presenting unique acts from across the globe which have never been
seen before in the UK." One of those groups came from Switzerland and was not a Military-trained group.
Basel,
the city on the Rhine's knee, directly neighboring both Germany and France, can rightly be called the drummers'
capital of Switzerland. The art of drumming in Basel reaches back as far as the close of the Middle Ages, when
Swiss mercenaries went into battle in the service of feudal lords, and later progressed on into the "Basler
Fasnacht". The Basler Fasnacht, unique in its very own way, has now reached very impressive dimensions (yearly
20,000 active participants) and has become world famous.
Eleven years ago, a group of the event's regular performers came
together to see if they could find a way of reinvigorating their act.
After experimenting with different techniques, they managed to create a new and distinctive
style by combining elements of Scottish and North American drumming. Founding member Erik Julliard says that when
they then looked for a name for the band, they decided that they needed something that would surprise people.
On Swiss National Day, August 1, 2003 this group of drummers
from Basel were flying the flag for Switzerland at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Top Secret is the first
band from Switzerland to participate in the five-decades-old musical spectacular.
This is marvellous for Top Secret and marvellous for Switzerland. The Tattoo is one of the
top musical events in the world, and the fact that invitations are usually reserved for Commonwealth countries
made Top Secret's participation a tremendous honour for Switzerland.
Top Secret's energetic
performances filled the Tattoo's 8,000-seat venue every evening, thanks also to enthusiastic reports on local television
and in the Canadian press.
Theirs is not a traditional
drum show. The music, so to speak, plays second fiddle to the acrobatics.
"It's
not at all a drum show - it's more of a visual effects show. The drumming, the music, the thing that you only hear
is not as interesting as the visuals that you can see," says Mr Julliard.
The
main ideas and impressions came from the Scottish and North American style of drumming. By mixing the various styles
a new style of its own was created which did not only concentrate on fast and very precise drumming but contained
visual effects such as the juggling and the cross throwing of drumsticks: the show moves along at break-neck pace
as the performers juggle their drumsticks, catch them behind their backs and play each other's drums.
The
finale is a kind of high-speed sword fight by drumming..
Rave reviews
The
guys are not a military trained group, only civilians united by the fun of beating the drums, but
they got invited to Edinburgh together with the best military music groups from all over the world.
For 4 weeks at the military caserne of Edinburgh, the Swiss group became best known in the first days
as people "without style and savoir vivre": their rooms would not be cleaned up, as military rules
demand and even worse they all strolled around in shorts outdoors. This was immediately forbidden for them;
they were also thrown out of the Officers bar.
NO
beer for the Swiss guys - 'till after the first show and their grand success on stage. Suddenly no one
forced them to wear long pants anymore and each day they were invited to the Officers bar to come in and drink
some beer with the officers and some Generals...
Some
of the most unusual performers in the event's 53-year history were seen by the 217,000 people who attended this
year's Tattoo. In their first UK appearance, The Traditional Band of the Army of the Republic of Korea entertained
9,000 visitors each night with a display of colour and ancient tradition from the Far East. This group commemorated
the 50th Anniversary of the Signing of the Armistice which ended hostilities in the Korean War (1950-53).
Another one of the highlights of this year's production was the unique precision marching and crisp rifle drill
of some of the US Army's finest soldiers. From Washington, with a series of breathtaking routines with bayonet-tipped
rifles, was The US Army Drill Team, a specialty unit of the 3rd U. S. infantry (The Old Guard). The team, not having
performed outside the United States since 1999, also enjoyed a rare opportunity to interact both professionally
and socially with foreign military regiments. Among them were units from Australia, Oman, Bermuda and South Korea,
with whom the drill team even played a friendly game of basketball.
The Regimental Band of The Royal Artillery - under the direction of Major Stephen Smith, Director of Music, The
Royal Artillery and 2003 Principal Tattoo Director of Music - then paraded along with The Royal Irish Regiment,
The Royal Logistic and The Adjutant General's Corps with a repertoire which included many well known musical favourites.
A
spectacular exhibition of horsemanship was then provided by The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery performing their
renowned Musical Drive, a precision mounted display.
They were joined by The Bands of The Bermuda Regiment and The Royal Army of Oman along with Edinburgh's 50-strong
Kevock Choir.
The show
in Scottland is over for this year and TOP SECRET is back in Basel. Now the curtain for this group shall
fall -- years of month-to-month of training and 4 weeks in Scottland -- they have to get back to their jobs
& wives.
Next
year in August the TATTOO 2004 in Edinburgh will take place again - if you want to visit this big show, start booking
now. It's always soon sold out.
http://www.topsecretbasel.ch/1024/emt03_1024_eng.htm
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2003
