1812 never fails to stir

Class two performing sword drill.

Class one on parade.

Musician Rouslan Babajanov, RMC band, gives a solo sax perfomance.

Senior Under Officer David Cave, BSM of the Corps of Staff Cadets.

By Pte Shannon Joyce

Beating Retreat
(MPEG video 9.55 MB)

THREE nights of outstanding musical mastery has left a 10,000 strong audience who attended RMC’s Beating Retreat concerts last month at Duntroon impressed and in awe.

In a performance of melodious-drill, two classes of cadets from the college, the combined bands of RMC, AAB-Kapooka, and The Sydney Youth Orchestra put on a performance that knocked the socks off the largely civilian audience.

To open the evening, first and second classes faced-off on the parade ground, the RMC Band preparing to beat their drums in a tradition that originated from the 16th century, to warn those outside the gates of a fortified city to return to safety before the gates were closed.

The parade and performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture has become an annual event for the College, with it first performed by the RMC Band in 1968.

MC of the night Maj Robert Morrison said that Beating Retreat had historical significance, being handed down from the British Army.

“Traditionally, following the band’s performance of Beat Retreat, many regiments would sing a hymn in honour of their fallen, while the evening watch would fire three musket volleys ‘to put to flight the evil spirits of the enemy dead’,” he said.

A sword-drill ceremony performed by second class marked the final of formalities before the concert begun.

A stirring rendition of The Music Of The Night by Opera singer Donald Cant, an ex-Army corporal of the Australian Army Band Corps, was the musical climax of the night; an inspiring event that even the most un-opera orientated audience member seemed to be caught up in.

The artillery cannons of Wallaby Troop and fireworks display closed the ceremony, marking the 93rdanniversary of the formation of RMC.

All funds raised were given to local charities that support the Defence community.