What is the creative background of "1812 Overture"?

first, the creation background of the overture of 1812

The overture of 1812 written by Tchaikovsky in 188 is entitled "The Solemn Overture of 1812 for Big Band for the Inauguration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow". Long enough! If you can recite every word when you go to a record store to buy a disc, then I really admire you.

This song was written by Tchaikovsky at the request of his teacher Nikolai Rubinstein, in order to celebrate the reconstruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, which was burnt down by the war between France and Russia in 1812 (in other words, this song was written for the Moscow Art and Industry Fair).

The overture of "1812" should be classified as the most shallow and easy to understand among all Lao Chai's works. In the eyes of music critics, the overture of "1812" is not Tchaikovsky's best work. Even in a letter to Nadezhda von Meek (Tchaikovsky's main patron), Chai himself said, "This overture will be very noisy, and I didn't have much enthusiasm when I wrote it, so it may not have any artistic value. Ironically, the overture of "1812" was very popular at its premiere and won Tchaikovsky a high reputation. Later, it was performed in many cities in Russia and in Germany, Czech Republic and Belgium. Since then, it has been one of the most vivid, easy-to-understand and popular works of Tchaikovsky's symphony, which is probably beyond Tchaikovsky's expectation.

Second, the content of "1812" overture

In 1812, Napoleon led 6, troops to invade Russia in an attempt to annihilate the Russian army in a short time, occupy Moscow and force Russia to surrender. At the beginning of the war, when Napoleon's army was in a dominant position, the Russian army had to retreat gradually, and France approached Moscow. Russian commander Kutuzov adopted the strategy of clearing the field and burning grain and grass, and retreated residents and led the army to evacuate Moscow temporarily. After occupying Moscow for a month, Napoleon still couldn't force Russia to surrender, but left himself alone in a tight encirclement, so he ordered to leave Moscow. On the way back, Napoleon's army couldn't adapt to the harsh winter in Russia, coupled with hunger and Russian counterattacks, and eventually collapsed. When Napoleon invaded Russia, as many as 6, troops were mostly annihilated, and in the end, less than 1, people fled the Russian border.

The overture to 1812 is an orchestral work based on the above historical facts. In this overture, Tchaikovsky described the event in 1812 clearly, including the peaceful life of the Russian people, the subsequent unrest and riots, the battle between the Russian and French armies, and the carnival scene in which Russia defeated the French army and the Russian people celebrated their victory.

3. Why is the overture of "1812" used as test equipment by audiophiles

As I mentioned above, this overture is not one of Tchaikovsky's best works, but why is it widely used as test equipment by audiophiles? The reason is very simple. In addition to the normal orchestral instruments (including three timpani, triangle, tambourine, drum, cymbals, etc.), this overture also uses snare drum, cannon, bell and other extraordinary instruments, and a military band is added at the end of the overture, with a view to receiving lively and vivid effects.

When this overture was first performed, the bells, drums and cannons roared in unison, which greatly excited the public attending the ceremony in cooperation with the performance of the orchestra. After the modern dual-channel era, recording technology has made great strides. Several companies have added real guns to their records, which has fascinated audio enthusiasts. They often use the recorded version of real guns to test the strength, transient and low frequency of the equipment.

If you are not a "cannon party", please listen carefully to the whole song and pay attention! The volume of this overture fluctuates greatly, and many instruments are used. Listen carefully to the strings, woodwinds, brass pipes and percussion instruments, which can test the timbre, image positioning, strength and dynamic contrast of your equipment ...

If you can't distinguish the sounds of different instruments, you can buy a "Peter and the Wolf" music disc first. Any beginner of classical music and parents with children, I recommend you to buy a "Peter and the Wolf". In the story of this song, every role is played by one of the instruments of the orchestra, which is very helpful for your sound discrimination, and the children must be very happy to listen (you should accompany him to listen! ）。

IV. Analysis of the Overture of 1812

The version I chose for analysis is the version of Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mercury Antal Dorati, which is my favorite version. Of course, I also like the version of RCA Eugene Ormandy conducting The Philadelphia Orchestra. Why didn't I choose the Telarc version that many netizens bought recently? Quite simply, I don't think this version is ideal. The analysis part is based on Yang Minwang's Appreciation of World Famous Songs (published by Shanghai Music Publishing House), which is an authoritative version, and many comments in China and Taiwan Province are written (stolen) on this basis (except in Hong Kong, our record critics have a very rich imagination, they will create and talk nonsense at random, and they are ignorant and inaccurate enough, so that Hong Kong people have enough materials to be teased). If you are used to reading books as thick as dictionaries, you can buy them (two dictionaries). If you are afraid of big books, Yang Minwang has an Introduction to Symphony Appreciation (published by Shanghai Translation Publishing House), which is an abridged version of the previous book.

This article is mainly aimed at beginners of classical music, so I try not to use audio terms as much as possible. If I really have to, please forgive me. These terms are not difficult to understand. I hope that friends who don't know classical music at all can look up books, or use their imagination. Please forgive me if the writing is not professional and accurate enough. (alas! Free lunch, don't scold me for not writing well! )

The music begins with a vast slow intro: this is the melody of an ancient hymn "Lord, Save Your People" (translated by Taiwan Province as "God Save the People") played by the viola and cello in six parts, and its peaceful pace symbolizes the peaceful and tranquil life of the Russian people. At about (1: 18), woodwind instruments were added to this theme, and the sound was solemn, grand and powerful.

The tense atmosphere is growing. With the sound of a timpani around (1: 53), you will hear a rhythm of panic in the low voice, which brings riots and excitement, symbolizing that the invasion of the French army has broken the peaceful life of the Russian people. At this time, you can hear a soft and moving theme, which is like crying, passing through the oboe, flute, clarinet and bassoon (2: 46) in turn. Around (2: 53) and (3: 1), you will hear the beating of drums and cymbals, and the speed of music will start to accelerate, and the sound will be enhanced, and the music will enter a small climax.

At around (3: 12), the original anxiety was replaced by an interlude depicting the recruitment of Russian troops, and you will hear the rapid drums (3: 26). Against the background of George W. snare drum, woodwind instruments and French horn played a calling ensemble theme, which was repeated several times, followed by a short pause (4: 25).

At this time, the music is in sharp contrast with the previous music. At this time, the music is extremely fast, and it begins to describe the scene of the decisive battle between the two armies. From the specially emphasized stress and syncopation of this theme, it seems that you can hear the sound of swords and hooves. When this theme gradually spread to the whole band and reached its climax, you will hear drums at around (5: 2), and at around (5: 8), the French horn and cornet successively played "La Marseillaise", which was repeatedly presented as a symbol of the French army invading Russia.

The two melodies gradually eased after colliding with each other (6: 4), followed by two Russian-style themes different from the theme of La Marseillaise. (6: 2) A fluent and vast Russian folk song appeared, telling the Russian people's love for their motherland and their determination to be prepared to give a head-on attack to the invading enemy without fear of violence. Pay attention to the sound of the orchestra playing triangle iron at this moment. You should hear enough overtones. If you can only hear dull timbre, either your record recording is poor or your equipment is poor.

Another theme that appeared at (7: 35) was the Russian wedding song "By the Gate", which was first played by flute and clarinet. It has a warm characteristic. You will hear the tambourine around (7: 53), and it should be clear. This song fully shows that the Russian people will not lose their vigorous vitality and confidence in affirming their own strength even in times of crisis. Like the Russian melody above, it soothes the tense fighting mood.

The next paragraph (8: 36) is a depiction of the battle scene. The music shows a new round of fighting, with brass instruments and stringed instruments intertwined, and percussion instruments symbolizing the fighting of swords and shadows. At 9: 8, you will hear the sound of beating drums and cymbals many times, but the La Marseillaise will gradually weaken and disappear in the later period, and its fragments will only be accelerated.

(1: 6) There are two Russian-style themes that we are familiar with. Pay attention to the sound of triangle. This passage once again emphasizes the victory of the Russian people against the invading enemy. (1: 52) You will hear the familiar Russian folk songs again. Immediately after the theme of "La Marseillaise" (11: 13), the speed of the music was accelerated and strengthened. At (11: 47), the first gun shot appeared, followed by five guns. The music turned into a stormy downward phrase and stopped at (12: 36), depicting the final struggle and the enemy's flight, with a vivid and vivid image.

(12: 37), enter the end of the music, and start with the theme of the hymn of the introduction. At this time, the added wind band plays solemnly and grandly with thunderous momentum, and you will hear the bell, which, combined with the particularly novel color of the pipe bell, is even more majestic and magnificent, becoming a brilliant victory ode, symbolizing the glorious ending of the struggle. However, the powerful statement of this hymn is repeatedly interrupted by some rapid phrases on the theme of the battle (13: 4). The reappearance of these musical phrases reminds people of the past struggle with the enemy.

At last, a solemn and powerful theme sounded, which is the theme of the final chorus "Ode to Glory" of glinka's opera "Ivan Susanin". At about (13: 52), with the eleven guns and the church bells ringing, it was the announcement of the Russian people's final victory, and the whole music ended with this triumphant ode to joy.

5. Introduce ten overture versions of 1812.

(1), mercury 434 36o-2

Antal dorati conducted the "1812" overture of Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (now renamed Minnesota Orchestra), which was my first choice. This record has been in the TAS list for many years, and it was also given the highest evaluation of 3 stars with flowers by Penguin CD Guide (Yearbook 97/98), and it was listed as the preferred version of the overture of 1812. Hong Kong Chen Yingguang's CD Bible also recommends this version (unfortunately, his introduction cannot be separated from the sound of guns). There is no denying that the sound of guns on this disc is one of its selling points, and the reason for MERCURY's great success lies in its pioneering use of recording technology, adding real sound of guns and church bells to the band's performance. This record was recorded twice by MERCURY Company, both by the same conductor and orchestra. The first recording was made in 1954, still in the mono era. The sound of guns was recorded at the West Point Military Academy from the ancient guns made during the Napoleonic period, and the bell was recorded from the big clock on the campus of Yale University. The second recording was made in 1958, when it entered the stereo era. The guns were changed to cannons made in 1775, and the bells were changed to the bells of the church on the new york River.

MERCURY and TELARC record guns, bells and orchestra performances respectively, and then mix them. Because of its excellent recording and vivid effect, and the real sound of guns has a shocking effect, this record has become an audition disc for enthusiasts and audio manufacturers. In 1958, three microphones and a three-channel tape recorder were used for recording, and the recording effect was very advanced at that time. In the vinyl era, this record sold more than 2 million copies, which can be described as MERCURY's treasure.

The current CD version is transcribed from the recording master in 1958. According to today's recording technology, the background noise of this CD is a little loud (don't worry, I am picky, maybe you will disagree).