Annotation:St. Valentine's Galop

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X:1 T:St. Valentine's Galop M:2/4 L:1/8 R:Galop B: Köhler’s Violin Repository, Book One (1881, p. 38) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:C |:gf|ezez|ez e>f|gz a>^f|g2-ez|{de}fed^c|d2-Gz| {d'e'}f'e'd'^c'|d'2-gz|ezez|ez e>f|gz a>^f|g2-ez| ed^fa|bg d2|d'c'ba|1 g2:|2 gggz||:fz{g}ez|{g}dz{g}cz| {g}Bz{g}Az|{g}G2 (A/B/c/d/)|ez{g}dz|{g}cz {g}Bz|{g}Az| {g}G>(A B/c/d/e/)|fz{g}ez|{g}dz{g}cz|{g}Bz{g}A| {g}G2 (A/B/c/d/)| ee(eg)|aa(ac')|bbbd'|c'zc'z!fine!:|| P:Trio K:F z4|z2c>B|AzAz|AzAz|AG F2|z2 c2|BzBz|BzBz|BA G2| z2c2 |f3c|(dc)BA|G3-G/d/|d2d2|c3d|cBAG|G>F F2| z2c2|B>A A2|z2f2|e>d d2|z2d2|c3B|A2G2|G>F F2|1z2 c>B:|2 z2 c'>c'| |:c'>d'c'>=b|c'2 g>^g|ag f2|z2 (a>d')|c'e (b2|b>)ab>d'| c'f a2|z2 c'>c'|c'>d'c/>=b|c'2 g>^g|ag f2-|f2 {gf}(ed)| cfad'|c'3-f|bzez|1 [A2f2] c>c:||2 f2!D.C.!||



ST. VALENTINE'S GALOP. AKA - "Valentine Galop." English, Galop (2/4). C Majaor ('A' and 'B' parts) & F Major ('C' part). "St. Valentine's Galop" was composed by a British army bandmaster and composer of popular and light classical music, Moritz Relle, and published in the late 1860's. It proved popular and was republished several times during the latter 19th century, sometimes with the title "Valentine Galop."

Information aboutRelle is contained in an essay by Neville Chipulina who researched two interconnected Gibraltar families[1]. Relle was born in 1834 in Prussia and as a young man he determined to join the British army, which he did in 1857, enlisting in the 1st Battalion of the 25th Regiment of the King's Own Borderers. Still only in his late 20's, he was appointed Bandmaster of the of the 1st Battalion. In 1858 his regiment was posted to Gibraltar, where he met a young Irish Catholic woman, Mary McDonald, whom he courted and wed in 1862 (when she was a month shy of her 15th birthday). Soon afterwards Moritz left with his regiment for a posting to Malta where he stayed two years before returning to England with the unit in 1864. His next stationing was to Canada. Mary apparently did not accompany him on either of these postings and remained in Gibraltar with her parents. In Canada, Relle had his major composing successes, and was involved in the Crystal Palace Concerts in Montreal. One composition was entitled "The Royal Mountain Waltzes" inspired by Mount Royal in Montreal, and his "St. Valentine's Waltz" was written during this period.

The regiment returned to Britain in 1867, and Moritz switched units to the 83rd Regiment of Foot, no doubt because they were to be stationed in Gibraltar later that year. When the 83rd left for India in 1870 Moritz resigned, having had enough of the military and wanting to remain with his wife, in-laws and growing family. He set himself up as a teacher of music, successful at that trade until his death of typhus fever in 1879, age 45.


Additional notes



Printed sources : - W.B. Laybourn (Köhler’s Violin Repository Book 1), 1881; p. 38.



See also listing at :
For more information see Neville Chipulina's blog on Relle and Gibraltar [1]



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  1. Neville Chipulina, "1867- The Relle and Wills Families - Gibraltar-Part 2" [2]