Anon. Marche des Eclopés 'La Boiteuse' (1812) 《March of the crippled ‘The Lame’ (1812)》

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Anon. Marche des Eclopés 'La Boiteuse' (1812) | March of the crippled ‘The Lame’

Note: This March is said to have been composed at the order of Napoleon during the infamous retreat from Russia in 1812. It is a curious piece of music. The subtitle "La Boiteuse" means the Lame or Cripple March - the music most assuredly limps, its strange, swelling phrases cut off into unexpected silences to the tick of drumsticks on wood. Was it in fact a morale booster, under the frightful circumstances that marked the retreat?