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1812 Overture

1812 Overture:The 1812 overture complete with cannon fire was performed at the 2005 Classical Spectacular.
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The 1812 overture complete with cannon fire was performed at the 2005 Classical Spectacular.

The 1812 Overture (originally titled: Festival Overture: “1812”, op. 49) is an orchestral work by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky commemorating the unsuccessful French invasion into Russia, and the subsequent devastating withdrawal of Napoleon's Grande Armée, an event that marked 1812 as the major turning point of the Napoleonic Wars. The work is best known for the sequence of cannon fire, which is sometimes performed, especially at outside festivals, using actual cannons. When performed indoors, orchestras may use computer generated cannon sounds or huge barrel drums. Although the composition has no historical connection with the US-UK War of 1812, it is often performed in the US alongside other patriotic music.

The overture debuted in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow on August 20, 1882.

A theme representing marching armies follows, performed by the horns. The Russian folk dance theme commemorates the battle beating back Napoleon. The retreat from Moscow late in October 1812 is reflected by a diminuendo. The firing of cannon reflects the military advances toward the French borders. With the conflict over, we return to the chant, this time performed by the full orchestra with a peal of bells for the victory and the liberation of Russia from French occupation. Below the cannon and the marching theme, we hear the Russian national anthem, "God Save the Tsar!". The Russian anthem is a counterpart to the French anthem ("La Marseillaise") that was heard earlier. [1]

In Soviet times, Tchaikovsky's work had to be edited for performances: the God Save the Tsar anthem tune in the overture had to be replaced with choir Glory from Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar. In fact, any Soviet-published edition of 1812 Overture reflects this emendation.

The cannon blasts prescribed by Tchaikovsky (to fall on specific beats of the music as the work reaches its final climax) are usually rendered using a bass drum. Less frequently strongly accented snare drum diminuendos can be heard. Cannon fire has been used in some cases, however, and was first laid down on a recording by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in the 1950s. Subsequent similar recordings have been made by other groups, exploiting the advances in audio technology, the most notable being the two recordings done by the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Cannon fire is used annually on the Fourth of July by the Boston Pops during their annual concert on the shores of the Charles River, by the National Symphony Orchestra during their annual concert on the steps of the US Capitol Building, by the Ravinia Festival Orchestra at Ravinia Park in Highland Park, Illinois, and by the Oregon Symphony as the finale of its annual Summer concert in Tom McCall Waterfront Park, immediately followed by fireworks. In addition, cannons are used during the Australian Defence Force Academy's annual passing out parade in Canberra, Australia, at the annual "Symphony under the Stars" in Auckland, New Zealand, and at the Canadian Forces annual "Fortissimo" event on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada as well as in Regina, Saskatchewan's annual Mozart in the Meadow orchestral performance. Sydney's annual "Symphony in the Park" concerts use fireworks in addition to the cannons, with the bells of St Mary's Cathedral tolling in the background and is always the crowd favourite finale. Cannon fire is also used during the Wichita River Festival in Wichita, Kansas.

In the mid-1960s, Igor Buketoff wrote an arrangement of the 1812 Overture with chorus. The opening segment was sung by voices as a sung chant instead of being played by cellos and violas, the children's chorus was added to the flute and cor anglais parts, and the full chorus was mixed into the winds — the entire orchestra, in fact — in the closing segment. Recordings of this particular arrangement were done by the following orchestras and choruses:


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(These appearances mainly refer to the part of the composition in which cannons can be heard.)

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

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Notes

  1. ^ The composition reflects the French and Russian anthems of 1882, not 1812. From 1799 to 1815, France had no national anthem, and "La Marseillaise" was not restored until 1870. "God Save the Tsar!" was not adopted as Russia's official anthem until 1833. This is probably a case of artistic license, with Tchaikovsky using musical themes that would have been familiar to his audience.

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