Little is securely known about the life of Charles Bochsa, and the specialist literature offers few reliable dates. Some sources give his year of birth as around 1760. Where he received his training is unknown. He appears to have served first as an oboist in a military regiment before moving, again as an oboist, to the Grand Théâtre de Lyon. His son, Robert Nicolas Charles Bochsa, who later became a celebrated harp virtuoso, was born on 9 August 1789 in Montmédy.
After his post in Lyon, Charles Bochsa seems to have taken up a similar position in Bordeaux. In 1806 he came to Paris and settled there with a music shop and his own publishing house at 25 Rue Vivienne. He also published his own compositions here; to distinguish himself from his son, he styled himself "Charles Bochsa Père" on the prints. His works include quartets for clarinet and string trio, quartets for oboe and string trio, duos for two oboes, and two instrumental tutors: a Méthode de flûte avec des airs and a Méthode de clarinette. Bochsa died in Paris in 1821.
The present work was published after 1810 by Bochsa's own publishing house under the title:
Ouverture Militaire / pour / Deux Clarinettes, deux Hautbois ou Clarinettes, deux Flûtes, deux Cors en Fa, deux Bassons, Trompette, Serpent, Trombone et Grosse Caisse / Par / Ch.les Bochsa Père / Oeuvre 29
The scoring with serpent and the so-called "Bande" (trumpet, trombone and bass drum) is typical of the period and is frequently found in compositions from Italy, for example in the works for horn by Luigi Belloli.
The oboe parts can alternatively be played by two clarinets. The clarinet parts, originally in C, have been supplemented in this edition by an additional part in B-flat. Likewise, a further B-flat part is provided for the original trumpet part in F. The serpent is unlikely to be available today; its part can alternatively be played by double bass or tuba.
