The abandonment in the early nineteenth century of the Ottoman military bands (mehterhâne and tabl-khāne) that had provided ceremonial music for the Romanian princes, and the establishment of Western-style military bands in the newly formed army, brought about a radical shift in the cultural paradigm that was to have an effect upon the entire spectrum of musical life in the capitals of the Romanian provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia. This change occurred at two levels: on the one hand, musicians and the repertory current in noble salons were imported from the West, and, on the other, a native ethnic element was activated in a series of works and orchestrations based on folk themes. The present study examines the emergence, development and organization of the modern military bands in the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia in the context of native musical practices and the transition of Romanian society from an oriental mentality to an outlook and behaviour specific to Western Europe, in the period from the nineteenth century to the War of Independence (1877).