For the eighth time, the Spasskaya Tower Festival was held in Moscow. From the very first show, which happened in 2006, this review of military bands, or Military Tattoo, was timed to coincide with the Day of the City of Moscow. It is held, of course (and it has become a tradition), in early September.
Musical and theatrical performances
Despite the fact that Russia was the last to join this global movement, the Spasskaya Tower festival stands out from similar musical and theatrical shows: the project is unique and has no equal in scale and program.
Reviews of military bands have always aroused great interest among the public, because they are not only musical concerts - these spectacles contribute to the development of a sense of patriotism and pride in the army of their country. Accompanied by music demonstration of military training,beautiful army ceremonials and paraphernalia made the Spasskaya Tower Festival an expected and beloved holiday.
Founders of the Military Tattoo movement
The first of these events was held in 1880 in London. This Royal Tournament brought together almost all the military bands of the great British Empire. It began to be held annually. The tradition was interrupted only for the period when the shadow of war hung over Europe. Reviews ended in 1999. In the middle of the last century, namely in 1950, the first famous Edinburgh parade of military bands took place. It is very representative, is held annually and gathers up to 200,000 spectators. Canada joined the Military Tattoo movement in 1979, Birmingham in 1989, then there were Norfolk (USA), Sydney and others. Most of the oldest shows were held under the patronage of the British royal family. The London tournament was renamed the British tournament in 2010.
Military band competitions in Europe
Continental Europe also did not stand aside. In Paris, at the time of the World Exhibition of 1867, not even a review was held, but a Congress of military bands, which was attended by musicians of the Life Guards of the cavalry guard regiment, which won first place that year. In France, reviews of military musicians have been held on the Champ de Mars since 1840. But these were qualifying competitions at which the best military bands were determined, and since 1867 reviews have acquired international significance, although they were not permanent at the beginning, but were timed to coincide with solemn events.
Poklonnaya Gorabecame the beginning of the annual reviews
Against the background of such a rich and beautiful history, the young festival "Spasskaya Tower", announced as international, could not lose face. The venue of the festival, Red Square, immediately determined its status. True, the festival that marked the beginning of this wonderful tradition and took place in 2006 was held on Poklonnaya Hill, and it was called "Performances by the honorary guards of the heads of state." All theatrical performances of the review were accompanied by well-known and beloved military bands in our country. There were also sensations.
Thus, the Kazakh company of a special guard demonstrated the methods of handling weapons, and not a single army in the world is able to repeat them. Representatives of this former Soviet republic have been performing excellently all the years, the high level of their numbers is remembered and discussed on the Web.
Great organization
The colorful show of 2006 turned out to be so impressive that it was decided to hold it on a regular basis, but Red Square was already chosen as the venue, and the name of the new show was Spasskaya Tower. It is necessary to indicate the organizers of the first review.
It was the agency “Mikhailov and Partners. Strategic communications management. This organization systematically and effectively worked on creating an attractive image of the capital in order to attract more tourists. The review received the title of the festival in 2009year. Now Spasskaya Tower has very serious sponsors. The festival is being held with the full support of the government of the capital and under the patronage of the Public Council.
A wonderful gift for a beautiful city
It was noted above what event the Spasskaya Tower festival is dedicated to - the City Day of the capital of the Russian Federation. This is a worthy gift to Moscow. This colorful show combines military, classical, folk and pop music.
Colorful costumes of band members at the parade defile, special effects and dance performances, performances of first-rate stars, receptions and unformatted, one-of-a-kind concerts, horseback riding school horse riding from the Kremlin - all this can be seen here.
Multi-day holiday
The Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival is gaining momentum every year. If the presence of 70,000 spectators was declared on Poklonnaya Hill, then the last event held in September 2015, from the 5th to the 13th, was attended by about 200,000 people. Demonstration performances began daily at 20.00, but the life of the festival did not stop during the day: master classes and fairs, performances, events called "Spasskaya Tower" for children, flash mobs and show performances on military topics and much more. Each of the 9 days of the festival was a celebration ending with light shows and special effects.
Having a specific theme
It should be noted this trend that has emerged in recentyears: each music festival "Spasskaya Tower" has its own general theme dedicated to some historical date. For example, in 2011, the holiday was dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the emergence of full-time military bands of the Russian army. 2012 marked the 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812. And the musical theatrical performance was, of course, dedicated to this date.
The theme of the 2013 review was “Reviving traditions, preserving history!”. In the same year, fighting monks from the Chinese Shaolin performed under the leadership of their mentor Shi Yongxing as part of the festival. The review of 2014, which took place from August 30 to September 7, was marked by a boycott of a number of countries - they refused to send their musicians to Moscow. Most importantly, the script was rewritten in a short time. But the festival of military bands "Spasskaya Tower" still took place and was held at a high level. The theme of this worthy show was the First World War. And needless to say, this year, 2015, the theme of the Spasskaya Tower was the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory over the Nazis. Spasskaya Tower, the festival of military bands, in 2015 closed with a series of solemn events dedicated to the Victory, and was held at an unprecedented high level.
Festival Mascot
Mireille Mathieu, a famous vocalist from France, who became a knight of the main order of the country (Legion of Honor) twice, became a kind of mascot of the festival. This is how her work was appreciated. The great singer in 2015 visited our capital for the seventh time in theseholidays. She did not miss the festival in 2014, when she was strongly advised not to go.
Government project
The scope of this holiday is evidenced by the fact that over the years of the festival's existence, about 100 army bands from various countries of the world (about 40) took part in it. Russia once again demonstrates its openness and willingness to cooperate to the world.
The music director of the festival is Lieutenant-General M. F. Khalilov. Over the years, the largest cultural international project in Russia has been invariably hosted by Red Square. The Spasskaya Tower festival arose and is held on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin. Every year more and more interesting and titled bands come to the festival.
Year by year everything is more representative
So, in 2015, riders of the Andalusian school performed as part of the holiday, their show is by far the best in Europe. The holiday begins with the passage of the combined orchestra of all the military musicians who arrived along Tverskaya Street. Later, during the daytime, they perform at various venues in Moscow, where they give free concerts. Until 2015, China and Mexico sent only individual folklore groups to the Spasskaya Tower, in the same year these countries were represented by the main military bands. On the final day of the grandiose show performance, according to the already established tradition, a combined orchestra of all participants, consisting of 1500 musicians, enters Red Square.
It is difficult to overestimate the significance of this festival. Therefore, active preparations for the musical and theatrical performance of 2016 began immediately after the closing of the current show.
