Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture

Many pieces of music come along once in a lifetime and cause us to stop and think of many reminders and also celebrate great times in history. The freedom of the Russians from the French during the war against them during the rule of Napoleon was quite an accomplishment for them. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the 1812 overture of Russian composer Tchaikovsky.

Musical Expression

Tchaikovsky was known as a regional romantic because he would break new ground by taking traditional folk music and merge it with mainstream romanticism. He was considered a regional composer because he disagreed on the proper balance between what were mainstream driven elements and native focused elements when he came to creating pieces of music. This particular element was very noticeable in his ballets such as Swan Lake, the Nutcracker, and also Sleeping Beauty (Romantic Music ).

What makes musical expression so vital is that it leaves behind a trail that words cannot express it can also go and be left behind in places that will remain even after people are not the Napoleonic wars are over and yet the story lives on in the composition Tchaikovsky created many people probably had not heard of these wars that they occur the overture many times and thought that is really neat music wonder what it means or where did it come from? All it takes is questions like these to start the research that leads down the treasure trove of discovery and learning and is not that what the piece was about in the first place telling the story of the French and Russian battle?

History

During the time of the French dictator Napoleon Bonaparte there was a war between the countries of France and Russia and out of its ending brings one of the greatest pieces of music of all time. It would arise from Russian composer Tchaikovsky based upon an idea from his friend Nikolai Rubinstein. It was first premiered at the Moscow Arts and Industry Exhibition in the 1882 and while it did not have the cannons that we have come to know as it will later it was still considered quite the spectacle and marked the celebration of Russia’s victory over France and Napoleon himself (Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture Triumphant Festival Music).

Tchaikovsky found the overture to be way too loud and it was one of his most loathed pieces. He was constantly looking for ways to soften it is a sad part was the public loved it loud the cannons and all of the things that he hated. The greatness that the overture achieved was telling the story of the battle between the French and Russian armies during the war. It was used to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory and consecrate the church that had just been built there (Lampson).

Representation of Each Piece

What most people do not understand about the overture is that it was deliberately designed to be a literal account of every event that transpired in the war as it took place? How amazing is this? To have a musical score that documents an entire battle is on the same level as an instant replay for a football game or SportsCenter. Even though there are no pictures just the beauty of being able to listen to the dynamics of something that powerful going on is astounding.

When we go out onto the battlefield one can envision over 500,000 with them is 1000+ cannons and artillery following up in the rear and they are all marching towards the Russian capital of Moscow. The Russian holy priests have called their people to the church to pray for safety, provide blessings upon them and also to pray for peace and deliverance. All this time they know in the back of their minds that there Imperial Army is only a fraction of the size of the French Army and very poorly equipped for battle (Green).

It is during this time that the Russian people began to enter the churches across the country to offer prayers and the overture begins with a short stanza of the hymn God preserve thy people (Staff). Everyone’s heart was heavy because no one knew what was going to happen husbands and fathers saying goodbye to their wives and children for what they hoped would not be the last time how is anyone to ever really know Tchaikovsky doing his very best to incorporate this very solemn time for each family with the choices is beginning piece. The dividing cellos and strings that were used to play this solemn piece created the very effect that is so very difficult to express in words after all how many times do we think about it when we tell our respective parent or spouse “going to work later.”

The next part of the overture which is probably the more famous of the piece is designed to show how the tensions and stresses are mounting because fighting is getting ready to begin between France and Russia. We began to hear soft themes in then louder sequences showing battles beginning to take place. We even hear part of the French national anthem La Marseillaise which was designed to signify the French entering the city (Staff).

In true Russian style however the Tsar calls upon the Russian people to come and help the soldiers to defend the homeland and we began to hear Russian folk music and then the magical duel begins between the French and Russian themes signifying the battle of Borodino which tells us about the turning point of the Napoleonic wars and here is where the famous cannon shots are placed. We are given pleasant descending melodies which tell us about the French retreat and then a grand celebration of the hymn in the beginning with lots of bells ringing as if the day were going to end and more cannon blasts (Green).

Other Uses for the 1812 Overture

While it is known for its patriotic value it has also served in many other capacities as well such as movies, and also commercials. The following are some other places that it has been:

• 1962 it can be found in a Quaker puffed wheat and puffed rice commercial with the slogan, ‘This is the cereal that is shot from guns.’

• In 1967 orchestral musician who was then a conductor Charlie Drake performed the overture single-handedly while he was dressed in a poorly fitting tuxedo.

• In 1971 Woody Allen used in the soundtrack for his comedy bananas for a love scene.

• In 1974 the Boston Pops made it a part of American folklore after televised performance.

• It has recently been used in 2005 for the movie V for Vendetta giving it 1812 Overture a sinister feel especially when placing it along such music with artists like The Velvet Underground and The Rolling Stones to suggest that society has become totally dysfunctional (The 1812 Overture: the hit that Tchaikovsky hated).

Tradition of 1812 Being Played on July 4th in America

One of the biggest reasons for this particular overture being played in the big concert halls dates back to the 70s and the Boston Pops Symphony Orchestra. The conductor noticed that the audience was not enjoying the performance very much because there was not a lot of music that was very dramatic and quite frankly American patriotic music does not have much pomp and circumstance. So he decided to start looking at other music and one of the pieces that he found was the 1812 overture so he decided to take a chance and see if it would in fact be a piece of the audience would enjoy better because it is very loud and noisy (Druckenbrod).

It turned out to be the perfect piece because the audience loved it one because everyone loves a good fireworks display and musical, and the places in the score that call for cannon fire make it possible for eyes to put fireworks would still give the same boom affects and have something beautiful to display at the same time killing two birds with one stone. What makes it the most special is the fact that families of all ages can go together and enjoy especially if it is an outdoor display because those the likes the music can go enjoy that and the little kids that just want to see the fireworks can go and see the pretty lights.

Some would say that it is just yet another piece of another country’s history that we have chosen to incorporate into our own and that could be thought of this very true. It certainly would not be the first time after all there are many great minds such as Albert Einstein; many German scientists that helps develop our nuclear programs that would later create the atomic bomb that would help us defeat the axis powers in World War II. There are also many other technologies that we have claimed as our own possibly and if we have not claim the technologies we have certainly claimed the minds to help develop the technologies that after all we are small fish in the pond compared to all of the other countries that have been doing this for years so we need all the head start that we can get right. The next time one is sitting on the grass at a July 4th rendition of the 1812 overture trying to picture the battle that is being portrayed in the music and listen for the cannons that are being fired as a fireworks go off the French and Russian armies are fighting each other.

Conclusion

The 1812 overture was created by Russian composer Tchaikovsky to tell the story of the French and Russian battle during the Napoleonic wars. He never expected the reception that it would receive not only in his own country at the Expo Festival commemorating the 70th anniversary of the battle and blessing the church that was built there or the love and association that it would have in this country. We have come to associate it as a part of our Independence Day celebration because of its pomp and circumstance and grand noisiness which allow us to use our fireworks as cannons which were originally scored into the piece. Tchaikovsky himself hated the piece he thought it was way too loud but due to the fact that the general public loved it after several attempts to soften it much to his despair he chose to leave it alone much to our gratitude.

Who would have ever thought such a big piece could have so much meaning and tell such a great historic story and yet as we listen to it unless one is a historian who has never really thought about it? To the general person is just a piece of music that is associated with fireworks that is played each year around July 4th and is very entertaining because there are places for the fireworks in it. There may be some people that remember it from movies and commercials but all in all who ever would have thought and reality that it would have such a hidden meaning in hidden gem inside of it? It is interesting to think of all of the traditions that we as a nation have built without even thinking about all of the hidden in deeper meanings within them such as the music. It also brings forth a very important adage never stop learning the information that may seem trivial could be a key that unlocks the door to many new horizons in all depends on which pathway we choose.

Works Cited

Druckenbrod, Andrew. How a rousing Russian tune took over our July 4th. 4 July 2003. Web. 23 July 2016. <http://old.post-gazette.com/ae/20030704overtureae3.asp>.

Green, Aaron. Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. 18 January 2016. Web. 23 July 2016. <http://classicalmusic.about.com/od/romanticperiod/qt/Tchaikovskys-1812-Overture.htm>.

Lampson, Dave. "1812" Overture in E Flat Major Op. 49 (1880). 1996. Web. 23 July 2016. <http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/works/tchaikovsky/1812.php>.

“Romantic Music.” Essential Humanities. n.p. n.d. Web. 23 July 2013. <http://www.essential-humanities.net/western-art/music/romantic/#romantic-composer-types>.

Staff, findingDulcinea. On This Day: Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” Debuts in Moscow. 20 August 2011. Web. 23 July 2016. <http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/July-August-08/On-this-Day--Tchaikovsky-s--1812-Overture--Debuts-in-Moscow.html>.

Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture Triumphant Festival Music. 2010. Web. 23 July 2016. <http://www.favorite-classical-composers.com/tchaikovsky-1812-overture.html>.

The 1812 Overture: the hit that Tchaikovsky hated. 2016. Web. Global Limited . 23 July 2016. <http://www.classicfm.com/composers/tchaikovsky/guides/1812-hated-hit/#701mquJuweKStWUC.97>.