Opening Fanfare, 2019 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

The theme of this year’s Royal Ediniburgh Military Tattoo in Scotland was “Kaleidoscope 2019—A Celebration of Glorious Symmetry.” This iconic tattoo is in its 69th season. More than 14 million people have attended the tattoo, and attendance has been a sell-out for 20 consecutive years. It’s spectacular. This year’s show was performed nightly from 2-24 August (~three weeks) on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle, and my wife and I attended for the fourth time. We went on opening night. The planning, skill, fitness, discipline, obedience, alertness, teamwork, intelligence, and willpower on display in this show are indicative of what makes an effective, victorious military. And the music is terrific!

The current show features more bands with brass instruments than the other three that we have attended, so it’s one of my favorites. I shot about 400 photos, with close attention on trumpet players. Wouldn’t it be a thrill to perform in this world-famous tattoo, “the Granddaddy of Them All?” Here are a few photos.

Pipe bands cross the Edinburgh Castle drawbridge onto the esplanade

Performers came from Scotland, England, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, France, China, Nepal, Tasmania, Nigeria, Trinidad, and Tabago. I love the pipes and drums, but I also love conventional wind bands comprised of brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. This year, there were more than the usual number of the latter (in order of appearance):

• Guards Brigade Band, Silent Drill Platoon and Nigerian Cultural Ensemble
• Heeresmusikkorps Kassel (Army Band Kassel, Germany)
• Music De L’Artillerie (Artillery Band of the French Army)
• Beijing Marching Wind Band and Cultural Display (China)
• New Zealand Army Band
• Band of the Scots Guards
• Band of the Irish Guards
• Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland
• Tattoo Stage Band

For me, the abundance of these bands made this year’s tattoo one of the top two which I’ve attended. And I’m always thrilled with anticipation when the herald trumpets sound the fanfare to open the show. This year two trumpet ensembles played “Pure Light” and “The Prism.”

The kaleidoscope was invented in 1816 by the Scotsman, Sir David Brewster. The instrument displays infinite combinations of patterns and colors. One hundred and twelve years earlier, in 1704, Sir Isaac Newton named seven hues of color in the visible spectrum of light: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet (ROYGBIV). Various mixtures of these hues form all colors, including white. Each group in the show was assigned one of Newton’s hues to use in its performance, thus creating a kaleidoscopic effect, representing the “fabulous and constantly changing human mosaic.”

More than 800 musicians created a human kaleidoscope image when they assembled together as the massed military bands and massed pipes and drums . Watching the many intricate, technically precise formations, maneuvers, and movements of the marchers and dancers, dressed in multi-colored uniforms and clothes, was like watching the ever-changing images inside a kaleidoscope.

Side-stepping by The French Artillery Band Lyon

If you can’t get to Edinburgh for the next tattoo, perhaps you could attend one of these:

• Avenches Tattoo in Avenches, Switzerland, 5-7 September 2019, http://www.avenchestattoo.ch.
• Internationales Militar Tattoo, Musikfest Der Bundeswehr in Bonn, Germany, 21 September 2019, http://www.musikfestbw.de.
• Virginia International Tattoo in Norfolk, VA, 30 April – 3 May, 2020, http://www.vafest.org.
• Nova Scotia International Royal Tattoo in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 27 June – 4 July 2020, http://www.nstattoo.ca.
• Basel Tattoo in Basel, Switzerland, 17-25 July 2020, http://www.baseltattoo.ch/english.

Anne, Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, is Patron of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. She writes in the tattoo program, “…the glorious symmetries of marching men and women, their disciplined approach—whatever the weather!—the music, the lighting, the projections [onto the castle wall], fireworks, special effects, the storyline and the appreciation of the audience are the very essence of ‘Tattoo.'”

The tattoo is a not-for-profit charity and has raised more than 11 million pounds for many good armed services beneficiaries and arts organizations over the years.

For my accounts of two of the past three tattoos we have attended, please see my blog posts of 6 September 2018 and 18 September 2014, using the Archives in the left column. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.

Tattoo Dance Company

Lochiel Marching Drill Team

Chinese audience member

Beijing Marching Wind Band and Cultural Display

The Shetland Fiddlers

Tattoo Dance Company

New Zealand Army Band

The Massed Military Bands and Massed Pipes and Drums

The Melville Junior Schools Choir

“Last Post”

Lone Piper

March Out to “Scotland the Brave,” “We’re No Awa’ to Bide Awa,'” and “The Black Bear”

“Doe Den Tap Toe”