Viribus Unitis - March by Vincent Bach
Vincent Bach’s publication of Viribus Unitis was written and arranged by Vincent Bach with a copyright of 1918. It is believed that Vincent arranged this piece for a concert band after the sinking of the SMS Viribus Unitis.
Vincent was stationed at the port of Pula (Pola) during his service in the Austro-Hungarian navy, where the SMS Viribus Unitis was stationed.
The SMS Viribus Unitis was an Austro-Hungarian dreadnought battleship stationed in the Pula (Pola) harbor after May 1915 for the remainder of World War I. By October 1918, it had become clear that Austria-Hungary was on the verge of defeat in the war. The Austrian government gave Viribus Unitis and much of the fleet to the newly formed State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs.
The mines exploded at 6:44, sinking Jugoslavija (formerly known as SMS Viribus Unitis) in 15 minutes, killing more than 300–400 of her crew in the sinking.
Following this sinking, it is believed that Vincent wrote and arranged this march to commemorate the loss of the battleship and its crew.
East 41st Street
circa 1924 – 1928
Based on the published location, this version of Viribus Unitis would have been published between 1924 and 1928, based upon the mention of both mouthpieces (1918) and instruments (1924). Additionally, the original board members of Vincent Bach Corporation (1922) were mentioned. They included:
- Vincent Bach, President
- Nic Meyer, Vice President
- Hans Bach, Secretary
” We are sending you a copy of the stirring march “Viribus Unitis,” which is the music of today. It is played by every band in the country and has been so popular that every child in the street is whistling it. “
The back of every sheet of sheet music included an advertisement for a Bach Mouthpiece that a student or director would have read. Additionally, the letter outlines the benefit for a Band Director to profit from ‘recommending and selling’ Bach mouthpieces.
This was a very innovative approach to selling brass instrument mouthpieces in the 1920s.
Viribus Unitis Arrangement Performance
BachLoyalist could not find any performances of Viribus Unitis, so we arranged to have a local community concert band sightread/perform this arrangement published by Vincent Bach in 1918.
Enjoy this performance of Viribus Unitis by the Gwinnett Community Band of greater Atlanta, Georgia, USA. A copy of this concert band arrangement is available in the Library for anyone to download and perform.
source: from the BachLoyalist collection
