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They then marched from post to post
with the drummer beating his drum. Upon reaching the final post the
drummer would sound the Last Post. (This is why drummers carry a
bugle.) The Last Post was really the end of the day
(a hard day’s fighting and a hard night’s drinking).
This bugle call has been passed down through
the centuries in many countries of the world as an accompaniment to
the impressive rites of a soldier’s farewell - the closing bars wail
out their sad valediction to the departing warrior.
Reveille or The Rouse
The custom of waking
soldiers to a bugle call dates back to the Roman Legions when the rank and
file were raised by horns playing Diana’s Hymn. To this day the French
term for Reveille is ‘La Diana’.
When bugle calls were officially
introduced into the British System by George III, a special call was
written for the waking of troops. This was known as Reveille meaning ‘to
wake again’, from the old French. Joseph Hayden is generally regarded as
the composer of the calls which exist substantially unchanged today.
On ANZAC Day, Reveille or The
Rouse breaks the silence that follows the playing of the Last Post,
symbolising the awakening of the dead in the next and better world.
(The Rouse is the bugle call more commonly used in
conjunction with the Last Post and to the layman is often incorrectly
called Reveille. Although associated with the Last Post, Reveille is
rarely used because of its length.) |
