The Last Post

 

Concert band enthusiasts are likely already familiar with Backnang’s Städtisches Blasorchester. One of Germany’s foremost amateur ensembles, the SBO has made several appearances with Chelmsford’s Caprice Wind Orchestra since their first meeting in 1992, and another collaboration is scheduled for this fall.  

For official town ceremonies, however, Backnang’s musical jewel shines alone. Such is the case every June at the end of our superlative street party when the SBO brings four days of technicolor revelry to an atmospheric close.  

            Starting at 9 pm beneath St. Michael’s tower, conductor Christian Wolf leads some 60 musicians in a closing concert featuring music selected for its nostalgic appeal. Medleys of 80’s hits wind their way around beloved marches, with jazz standards, Schlagers and Italian pop tunes sprinkled in. Every self-respecting German knows these songs by heart, and the crowd sways beneath the fairy lights festooning the old town.

            The musicians wrap up their set at the strike of 11, but the party is not over -- not just yet.  By now, thousands of revelers have piled in to the market square. Packed shoulder to shoulder, like rapturous sardines, we engulf the stage on all sides and stand with faces tilted skywards. A surreal hush descends as a lone trumpeter appears on the balustrade and plays the opening flourish of the Last Post, a military tattoo whose history, like so many of Backnang’s traditions, is centuries old.  In this civilian rendition, trumpeter and orchestra call and respond in solemn tandem, a ritual lovingly referred to in town parlance as the “goosebump moment.” In the final juncture, the orchestra plays the national anthem, the crowd sings, cheers and settles for one last call and response. Then, slowly and ceremoniously, the conductor lowers his baton. Our curfew has been called. It is time to head home.