Cannons Included in Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture
The Best Moments
1812 Overture in E-flat major, Op. 49
I'm Tchaikovsky, and I'm delighted to share the best moments of my 1812 Overture with you. You'll hear how a quiet church hymn grows into a grand finale where bells ring out and the whole orchestra answers them, a build-up that is well worth a few minutes of your day. Here on this site my fellow composers and I also teach you to recognize our pieces when they play, so why not give the Trainer a try once you've listened?
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A Polite Knock Before the Racket
I begin with a church hymn, "O Lord, Save Thy People", played by the cellos and violas, so please don't expect fireworks in the first minute. The tempo is Largo, which means slow and serious, a bit like a polite knock on the door before I come in and rearrange all your furniture.
A Battle With Borrowed Tunes
Then I pick up the pace with an Allegro giusto, and the music turns into a battle in which Russian themes push against "La Marseillaise", the tune that stands for the French army. Why I invited that French tune is not documented, so nobody knows for sure, and I'm not saying a word.
Bells, Brass and Big Bangs
I close with "God Save the Tsar!" and large bells, which I asked to be all of the same pitch, so the whole finale rings like one enormous doorbell. Many people believe I wrote real cannon fire into the score, but the guns came much later as a performance tradition, and I privately called the piece noisy and written without much warmth, which hasn't stopped audiences from loving it.
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I hope you enjoyed learning about the best moments of my 1812 Overture, from the quiet hymn at the start to the bells and brass at the end. Looking back, it still amuses me that I wrote it without much warmth, and yet so many people have taken it to their hearts. I wrote it in the autumn of 1880, and by now it has found its way to fireworks concerts far from Moscow. There is still plenty more to discover about the 1812 Overture, from the story of its first performance in 1882 to the way conductors and recordings have treated those famous cannon over the years. If you're curious, I'd love for you to click on the links provided and keep exploring the 1812 Overture a little further. Next time you hear it, listen for the moment the hymn returns, and see whether it sounds a little different to you.
Recording: Skidmore College Orchestra, Public domain