Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture, Op. 49 Herbert Von Karajan & Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture, Op. 49 Herbert Von Karajan & Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (1966)
Video made by Maarten Kroon @ Hollandsk Gjestehus in Vinstra (Norway) / Our guesthouse website link: http://www.hollandskgjestehus.com / Tel.: +47 61290045.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1812 Overture, complete with cannon fire, performed at the 2005 Classical Spectacular in Melbourne, Australia
The 1812 Overture, complete with cannon fire, performed at the 2005 Classical Spectacular in Melbourne, Australia
The Year 1812, festival overture in E♭ major, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture,[1] is an overture written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to commemorate Russia’s defense of its motherland against Napoleon‘s invading Grande Armée in 1812. It has also become a common accompaniment to fireworks displays, including those in the United States during Fourth of July celebrations
The overture debuted in Moscow on 20 August 1882,[2] conducted by Ippolit Al’tani under a tent near the then unfinished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which also memorialized the 1812 defense of Russia.[3] The overture was conducted by Tchaikovsky himself in 1891 at the dedication of Carnegie Hall.[4] The overture is best known for its climactic volley of cannon fire, ringing chimes, and brass fanfare finale.
Instrumentation
The 1812 Overture is scored for an orchestra that consists of the following:[5]
Brass band1 (finale only)
Woodwinds: a piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 1 English horn, 2 clarinets in B♭ and 2 bassoons
Brass: 4 horns in F, 2 cornets in B♭, 2 trumpets in E♭, 3 trombones (2 tenor, 1 bass) and a tuba
Percussion: timpani, an orchestral bass drum, a snare drum, cymbals, a tambourine, a triangle, a carillon2 and a cannon3
Strings: first and second violins, violas, violoncellos and double basses
Notes:
1. “Open” instrumentation consisting of “any extra brass instruments” available. In some indoor performances, the part may be played on an organ. Military or marching bands also play this part.
2. Sometimes substituted with tubular bells or recordings of carillons.
3. In the sections that contain cannon shots, actual cannon are sometimes replaced by recorded cannon or played on a piece of staging, usually with a large wooden mallet or sledgehammer. The bass drum and tam-tam are also regularly used in indoor performances.
Musical structure
Beginning with the plaintive Russian melody of the Eastern Orthodox Troparion of the Holy Cross (also known as “O Lord, Save Thy People”) played by four cellos and two violas, the piece moves through a mixture of pastoral and martial themes portraying the increasing distress of the Russian people at the hands of the invading French. This passage includes a Russian folk dance, At the Gate, at my Gate (“U Vorot, Vorot”).[6] At the turning point of the invasion—the Battle of Borodino—the score calls for five Russian cannon shots to counter a fragment of La Marseillaise. A descending string passage represents the subsequent retreat of the French forces, followed by victory bells and a triumphant repetition of O Lord, Save Thy People as Moscow burns to deny winter quarters to the French. A musical chase scene appears, out of which emerges the anthem God Save the Tsar! thundering with eleven more precisely scored shots. The overture utilizes counterpoint to reinforce the appearance of the leitmotif that represents the Russian forces throughout the piece.[7] A total of sixteen cannon shots are written into the score of the Overture.
The music can be interpreted as a fairly literal depiction of the campaign: in June 1812, the previously undefeated French Allied Army of over half a million battle-hardened soldiers and almost 1,200 state-of-the-art guns (cannons, artillery pieces) crossed the Niemen River into Lithuania on its way to Moscow. The Holy Synod, aware that the Russian Imperial Army could field a force only a fraction of this size, inexperienced and poorly equipped, called on the people to pray for deliverance and peace. The Russian people responded en masse, gathering in churches all across the Empire and offering their heartfelt prayers for divine intervention (the opening hymn). Next we hear the ominous notes of approaching conflict and preparation for battle with a hint of desperation but great enthusiasm, followed by the distant strains of La Marseillaise, the French National Anthem, as the French approach. Skirmishes follow, and the battle goes back and forth, but the French continue to advance and La Marseillaise becomes more prominent and victorious – almost invincible. The Tsar desperately appeals to the spirit of the Russian people in an eloquent plea to come forward and defend the Rodina (Motherland). As the people in their villages consider his impassioned plea, we hear traditional Russian folk music. La Marseillaise returns in force with great sounds of battle as the French approach Moscow. The Russian people now begin to stream out of their villages and towns toward Moscow to the increasing strains of folk music and, as they gather together, there is even a hint of celebration. Now, La Marseillaise is heard in counterpoint to the folk music as the great armies clash on the plains west of Moscow, and Moscow burns. Just at the moment that Moscow is occupied and all seems hopeless, the hymn O Lord, Save Thy People that opens the piece is heard again as God intervenes, bringing an unprecedented deep freeze the French cannot bear (the winter winds blow in the music). The French attempt to retreat, but their guns, stuck in the freezing ground, are captured by the Russians and turned against them. Finally, the guns are fired in celebration and church bells all across the land peal in grateful honor of their deliverance from their treacherous and cruel enemies.[6][8][9]
In a transcription by American conductor Igor Buketoff[10] the following changes and additions were made:
The opening segment, O Lord, Save Thy People is sung a cappella by a choir instead of being played by cellos and violas.
A children’s or women’s choir is added to the flute and cor anglais duet rendition of At the Gate, at my Gate.
The orchestra and chorus unite in the climax with a triumphant version of O Lord, Save Thy People and God Save the Tsar.
Composition
Historical background: Napoleon’s invasion of Russia
On 7 September 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. The Battle of Borodino saw casualties estimated as high as 100,000 and resulted in a French tactical victory. It was, however, ultimately a pyrrhic victory for the French invasion.[8]
With resources depleted and supply lines overextended, Napoleon’s weakened forces moved into Moscow, which they occupied with little resistance. 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.
Deprived of winter stores, Napoleon had to retreat. Beginning on October 19 and lasting well into December, the French Army faced several overwhelming obstacles on its long retreat: famine, typhus, frigid temperatures, harassing cossacks and Russian forces barring the way out of the country. Abandoned by Napoleon in November, the Grande Armée was reduced to one-tenth of its original size by the time it reached Poland[9] and relative safety.
Anachronism of nationalist motifs
Although La Marseillaise was chosen as the French national anthem in 1795, it was banned by Napoleon in 1805 and would not have been played during the Russian campaign. 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.[11]
Although God Save the Tsar! was the Russian national anthem in Tchaikovsky’s time, it had not been written in 1812. There was no official Russian anthem until 1815, from which time until 1833 the anthem was Molitva russkikh, Prayer of the Russians, sung to the tune of God Save the King.[12]
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