Ernst Michael Mangel

Ernst Michael Mangel (1800, Karlsburg, Transylvania - January 13, 1887, Athens, Greece), Hungarian musician, composer, and philhellen, director of the first military band of Revolutionary Greece and Greek Kingdom.

Biography

Ernst Mangel was born in 1800 in the Transylvanian city of Gyulafehérvár (in German: Karlsburg, in Romanian: Alba Iulia). There are no information about his youth and musical education there. After beginnining of Greek Revolution in 1821, Mangel joined the movement of Philhellenism.. In 1823 he went to Greece to take part on the side of the rebellious Greeks in the war against the Turks. In 1824, Mangel and his father arrived in the city of Missolonghi, where father and son entered the regular brigade which was under formation by Lord Byron .

After Byron's death, he follow French Philhellen Colonel Charles Nicolas Fabvier, which was asked to create again the regiment of the regular army. Since then, information on military and musical activities of Mangel gives a war veteran Christos Vizantios . According to Vizantios Mangel was a German from the Kingdom of Württemberg, who served before as a lieutenant in the French army. Taking command of a regular regiment, Favier organized his military band, called the Musical Troupe (gr. «Μουσικός Θίασος»), entrusted the direction of band to Mangel. Under the command of Favier, Mangel and his band took part in expeditions to Athens in 1825, on the islands of Euboea and Chios. In 1828 with the arrival of the governor of Greece John Kapodistria, Mangel and orchestra settled in Navplion, the former capital of Greece. After the liberation of Greece and with the establishment of the monarchy of Bavarian Otto, the orchestra was originally remained in Navplion, and then, on arrival of Bavarian military bands, has been transferred to the nearby Argos. In May 1834 Mangel left army. By the same year, Mangel married Orthodox Greek woman, converted to Orthodoxy and took the name Michael. Following the establishment in 1843 of Music School in Athens, Mangel was recalled into the army and led directorate of School. At the same time Mangel wrote military marches on the basis of Greek folk music. Later, Mangel was promoted to musical inspector and retired in 1870 with the rank of Major.

Works

Music manuscripts of three triumphal marches of King Otto, are stored in the Bavarian State Library in the city of Munich

Sources

• Konstantin Soter Kotsowilis: Die Griechenbegeisterung der Bayern unter König Otto I. München 2007
• Emanuel Turczynski: Sozial- und Kulturgeschichte Griechenlands im 19. Jahrhundert. Von der Hinwendung zu Europa bis zu den ersten Olympischen Spielen der Neuzeit. Mannheim und Möhnesee 2003