Leroux, Charles (composer)

Born September 13, 1851 in Paris , in a family of furniture manufacturers. From childhood he studied music, in 1870 he entered the Paris Conservatory , to the piano class of Professor Marmontel . In 1872, he was called up for military service and sent to the 62nd Infantry Regiment. The following year he became a military musician . In 1875 he was transferred to the 78th Infantry Regiment as assistant bandmaster , and already in 1879 took his place. He was engaged in arranging for a brass band and piano.

In 1884, he arrived in Japan as part of the 3rd group of military advisers, changed Gustave Charles Desiree Dragon to the position of instructor in military military bands in the early years of the Imperial Army of Japan . In 1886 he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun of the 5th degree. In 1889 he returned to France, where he was appointed bandmaster of the 98th Infantry Regiment, with deployment in Lyon . In 1899 he received the rank of first-class bandmaster (equal to the rank of captain ). In 1900 he was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor. In 1906, he retired and settled in the mining town of Monceau-les-Minnes , where he directed the local brass band. In recent years, he lived in Versailles , where he died on July 4, 1926 at the age of 74.

• Order of the Rising Sun , 5th degree
• Legion of Honor

The most famous works of Leroux are the music for Toyama Masakazu’s song “Batto: Thai” ( 刀 刀 隊 “With a Blade with a Blade”) and “Fuso: ka” written in his own hand ( Japanese 館 館 “Song about the Land of the Rising Sun”). Subsequently, he combined these two motifs in the composition "Army March" which became the official anthem of the Imperial Army of Japan. In addition, Charles Leroux is the author of many works for piano.

In 1910, his work La Musique Classique Japonaise (Japanese Classical Music) was published - the first work published in the West about Japanese music.

Imperial Army Anthem of Japan

Compiled in 1886 on the motives of two works - “Fuso: ka” and “Batto: thai”. In addition to the army is also a march of Japanese police .

Batto: Thai is the second Western-style Japanese military song after Miya-san, Miya-san. It was a response to the 1877 war when former General Takamori Saigo became the head of the rebels. In a decisive fierce battle, the rebellious samurai were confronted by the troops of the "new model" of Emperor Meiji . In 1882, the first collection of poetry, “In Western Style,” was published, which included the song of the vice-rector for the literary department of the University of Tokyo Masakazu Toyama, “Song of the detachment with drawn swords.” He used American field songs as a model, as he studied at the University of Michigan in the 1870s. The French instructor of the army orchestra, Charles Leroux, wrote music to him, and in July 1885, at a large concert in the recently built Rokumeykani ( 鹿鳴 館 ), the work premiered in the presence of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan. The song has become extremely popular in all walks of life.

A fragment of the lyrics:

• David G. Hebert, “Wind Bands and Cultural Identity in Japanese Schools,” Springer, 2011. ISBN 9789400721777 . p. thirty
• Junko Oba “To Fight the Losing War, to Remember the Lost War: The Changing Role of Gunka, Japanese War Songs” in Richard King “Global Goes Local: Popular Culture in Asia”, 2002, ISBN 9780774808750 , p. 228
• 江 藤 淳 『南 洲 残影』 文藝 春秋 〈文 春 文庫〉 、 平 成 13 年 (2001 年） 、 ISBN 4-16-353840-2
• 阿 部 勘 一 一 細 細 子 子3192-8
• 村 理 理 平 『洋 楽 導入 者 の の 軌跡 - 日本 近代 洋 楽 史 序 説 -』 刀 水 書房 、 平 成 5 年 （1993 年） 、 ISBN 4-88708-146-4
• 三浦 俊 三郎 『本 邦 洋 樂 變遷 史』 日 東 書院 、 昭和 6 年 （1931 年） 10 月
• 山口 常 光 『陸軍軍 楽 隊 史』 三 青 社 、 昭和 43 年 （1968 年）
• 『音 楽 界』 148 号 、 音 楽 出版社 、 大 正 3 年 （1914 年） 2 月
• 『お 雇 い 外国人 の 見 た 日本 ～ 日本 洋 楽 事 始』 （CD）