[43], The riff of The Move's 1966 hit single "Night of Fear" was adapted from 1812 Overture. Once again, the sounds of a battle, but this time Napoleon is screwed because the peasants burn everything to the ground. […]. A part of this hymn translates to "Grant victory to all Orthodox Christians over their enemies. Required fields are marked *. Can you help? (9) [11:10–11:31]: “U vorot” is reprised, completing the cycle of repeated sections. By the fifth and a half minute, this device is used again when La Marseillaise is played. The five blasts ring out as the powerful Russian army fights back against their enemies. The festival was televised for the first time in USA on March 9, 1991. How audiences, performers and the composer himself have responded to this iconic and surprisingly controversial work, by Geoffrey Norris. We found a recording of the overture and I claimed I could narrate it just like my professor had done for the class. This is an example of nationalism being introduced by the composer, a popular trend during the romantic period. The section starting at 12:55 seems to be based off of Spasi, Gospodi, Iyudi Tvoya as well, cool! After the first minute and a half the mood begins to change. [original research? The level of detail in what the music intended to tell us was impressive; the piece was not about nationalism or war in general, but described in detail this specific conflict’s individual participants, their actions, and the conclusion of the fighting. [37], In 1990, during a worldwide celebration of the 150th anniversary of Tchaikovsky's birth, the Overture was recorded in the city of his youth by the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra using 16 muzzleloading cannons fired live as written in the 1880 score. Your email address will not be published. Tchaikovsky wrote the overture to celebrate Russia’s defeat of Napoleon’s army in 1812. When over 400,000 French soldiers with their 1,000-plus cannons and artillery began marching toward Moscow, Russia’s Holy Synod called its people to pray for safety, peace, and deliverance, knowing full well that Russia’s Imperial Army was only a fraction of the size of … Only the best and most fine-tuned allowed the cannon shots to be played properly (an accompanying warning for users not to destroy their audio equipment was included with the record).
Real military howitzers and huge church bells that are allowed to ring after the last note. [27], The earliest traceable orchestral recording, which does not include the shots and features no percussion apart from bells, was by the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra conducted by Landon Ronald, was issued by His Master’s Voice on three 12-inch 78-rpm sides in 1916. Edit them in the Widget section of the. [citation needed], The Black Dyke Band has recorded a brass band arrangement of the piece. "[24][better source needed] By including this hymn in the piece, Tchaikovsky is suggesting that God granted the Orthodox Russians victory over the French imperial troops.
The 1812 Overture, a program piece, is a perfect example of Tchaikovsky’s nationalist influence. To reference Grove Music Online once more, apparently Tchaikovsky originally wanted to use “all the churchbells in Moscow,” but “had to be content with the massive bells at Uspensky Cathedral where it was first performed.” I guess sometimes we just have to make do with what we’ve got. Change ). ‘The Year 1812‘ festival overture commonly known as the ‘1812 Overture‘ is an overture written in 1880 during the romantic period by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky(1840-1893).
I had a History Teacher in ninth grade back in 1973 that played this album for us and gave the narrative of the war as the music was playing. Robert Sharples and the London Festival Orchestra released a recording in 1963, later remastered in quadrophony by Decca. The overture depicts the invasion of Russia by Napoleon in 1812. This is a text widget, which allows you to add text or HTML to your sidebar. Expecting capitulation from the displaced Tsar Alexander I, the French instead found themselves in a barren and desolate city, parts of which the retreating Russian Army had burned to the ground. Pretty, but lacking in action. [28] A Royal Opera Orchestra recording of about the same time similarly contains no shots at all. not forgetting a battery of canons!
Perhaps Tchaikovsky’s borrowing of several different Russian tunes while providing only one musical stand-in for France says something important about the way the piece characterizes the two warring countries: one is more complex, with a great depth of culture and slant toward the serene, while the other is a single-minded aggressor.
(11) [12:04–12:11]: THE CANNON. (6) [8:10–8:54]: The traditional, dance-like Russian folk-tune “U vorot” (“At the gate”) enters the work. We then essentially hear reprisals of the tense, leitmotiv and folk sections. The first digital recording occurred in 1979 by Telarc of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. As the eighth minute begins we hear an example of a Russian folk song (“U Vorot, Vorot”). The melody suddenly collapses with a boom from the timpani and a very suspenseful, tense pedal of the staccato strings accompanies an oboe solo. I hope you’ll join me in celebrating the anniversary of the 1812’s premiere (and in apologizing to my friend) by listening to this recording and reading along with my second attempt at narrating the piece. Paul, […] I was pleased and interested when this post about Programme Music landed in my inbox this morning, with the story of the 1812 Overture. He is regarded as a nationalist composer having drawn on Russian folk music and taking influence from Russian history. Perhaps it’s just here to give us a respite from the battle scenes. Napoleon has nothing to do but retreat. As a favoured festival spectacle, the 1812 Overture has long been ranked among the most adored, and also the most abhorred, works in the entire orchestral repertoire. The orchestra consisting of brass, woodwind, percussion and strings included modern instruments elemental to the romantic period such as tuba, piccolo and cor anglais……. Their bada-bumbum-BUMbumbumbum-BUM-bum-bummmmm theme is played quickly as they retreat. Later in the piece when La Marseillaise is played, it seems as though the Russians will lose the battle. On September 7, 1812, at Borodino, 120 km (75 mi) west of Moscow, Napoleon's forces met those of General Mikhail Kutuzov in a concerted stand made by Russia against the seemingly invincible French Army. They’ve lured Napoleon into Russia so far, the French army is trapped. [45], In "The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim" (Episode 5, Series 2, of the British drama series, Agatha Christie's Poirot), the title character plays a record of the 1812 Overture in order that the cannon fire will mask the sound of him breaking into his own safe.[46]. [3] The cathedral was completed on May 26, 1883.
Hoo boy, I’m not sure. (2) [2:12– 3:45]: The suspenseful, storm’s-a-comin’ sort of music (notice any narrative water-treading already? In the final analysis, however, this 1812 lacks the thrill, frisson and excitement of 'Dorati's Minneapolis recording on Mercury or even Neeme Järvi's DG Gothenberg rendition.
The 1812 Overture is popularly known[15] in the United States as a symbol of the United States Independence Day, a tradition that dates to a 1974 choice made by Arthur Fiedler for a performance of July 4 of the Boston Pops. My favorite version of this is the Eugene Ormandy Philadelphia Orchestra with real howitzers and large church bells.. and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the hymn at the beginning. That was 44 years ago and I remeber it like it was yesterday. [5], The 15-minute overture is best known for its climactic volley of cannon fire, ringing chimes, and a brass fanfare finale. Yeah, me too.) It is this work that would make the Tchaikovsky estate exceptionally wealthy, as it is one of the most performed and recorded works from his catalog. The ringing chimes are written to represent the bells of Moscow.
Eventually transitioning into a minor key, it segues gradually into the next section. Thank you so much for your informative and funny explanation of this piece of music. The 1812 Overtureis highlyprogrammatic– it tells the story of the battle by painting a vivid picture of the. [11][12][13], In Russia during the Communist era, the Tsar's anthem melody was replaced with the chorus "Glory, Glory to you, holy Rus'!" This, by the way, is how a cannon blast was notated in the score I looked at: Notice the dynamic marking, ffff, or fortissississimo. Or subscribe to articles in the subject area by email or RSS, Appreciated your analysis of the 1812 overture. Oh.. might I suggest on the 4th of July, you give Charles Ives “Holidays” a try. It was reinstated as the French Anthem in 1879—the year before the commission of the overture—which can explain its use by Tchaikovsky in the overture. I’ve been looking for a phonetic translation of the Russian text…..with NO luck. Remember to play out, you guys! The armies pull apart.. we’re now back in the Russian countryside… the theme is troubled… here comes Napoleon again.. the people must band together. It turned out that this piece of music I’d been enjoying every 4th of July for the past 18 years was trying to tell me a very specific story. Geoffrey Norris. At this point, five cannon shots are heard, representing the Battle of Borodino. Rumors that Napoleon’s Army is on the march, and this time they intend to push through to Moscow. After the 1812 overture comes the Moscow Cantata, a work that's new to me and rarely, if ever, recorded.
Be forewarned that there are still some moments in the overture whose meanings elude me. After this, a long descending run represents the French army retreating out of Moscow as the freezing winter rages on. The level of detail in what the music intended to tell us was impressive; the piece was not about nationalism or war in general, but described in detail this specific …
Time lag alone precludes implementation of cues for the shots for fewer than sixteen 1812-era field pieces. [20] Then, the melody of "La Marseillaise" is heard competing against Russian folk music, representing the two armies fighting each other as the French got closer and closer to Moscow. British rock drummer Cozy Powell sampled the overture at the end of the track "Over The Top" in his eponymous 1979 studio album. That recording was done within earshot of the composer's grave. ( Log Out / Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. [34][35][36] In 1989, the Swingle Singers recorded an a cappella version of the overture as part of an album whose title is 1812. The Battle of Borodino saw casualties estimated as high as 100,000 and the French were masters of the field. High-definition cannon shots using full-sized 19th century military cannons were also recorded. Despite its traditional performance by US orchestras on Independence Day, the work is unrelated to any British-American conflict. Regardless, the assassination of Alexander II that March deflated much of the impetus for the project. emerges out of the peaceful hymn, and we know that trouble is approaching Russia. [32], In 1971, CBS released a recording[33] with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy, also featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Valley Forge Military Academy band and real artillery shots. On the first edition of the recording, one side played the Overture and the other side played a narrative by Deems Taylor about how the cannon and bell effects were accomplished. The crops, the farms, everything. Tchaikovs… The Year 1812 Solemn Overture, Op. My professor went on to play a recording of 1812 and eloquently narrated the entire thing, never pausing, like a foreign-language interpreter.