1812 Overtureby Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Overture Background•1880•Czar Alexander II celebrating his

25th anniversary on throne•Opening of the Moscow Arts and

Industry Exposition •Consecrating of the Cathedral

of Christ the Savior, being built to commemorate the Russian liberation from Napoleon's armies in 1812

Tchaikovsky’s Attitude•Not enthusiastic •He wrote,

–"Neither the jubilee of the eminent personage (for whom I have always had quite an antipathy) nor the church (which I don't like at all) offers anything that could inspire me."

The Movements

I. God Preserve Thy People

• Somber tones of a Russian church chant– Recalling declaration of war

announced at Russian church • Followed by solemn

chant for Russian success

• Orchestral version has violas and cellos

II. Strings

•Russians flee invaders • Increasing tempo

III. God Preserve the Czar

•Russian people have purpose in fleeing

•Don’t fight

Alexander I

III. God Preserve the Czar (cont’d)

•Use scorched-earth policy–Destroyed crops –Burned buildings –Dumped dead animals into wells to poison them

–Destroyed bridges, signs, and roads to delay French

•Drew French deeper into Russian interior

IV. Strings with cannons

•More frantic•Russians flee•Sounds of battle in

background–Drums

–Cymbals

V. La Marseillaise

•Symbolized French, although not French anthem in 1812

•Fleeing heard behind it

V. La Marseillaise (cont’d)

•On June 12, 1812 Napoleon’s forces invaded Russia

•“Russia has been carried off by fate,” he said.

VI. Russian folk dances

• Slowed down• Russian people

would have recognized the melodies

• Russians in Smolensk Napoleon had not yet reached

VII.Strings with cannons

•Russians flee•Battle sounds in

background are louder•French captured well-

provisioned city of Smolensk in August

VIII. La Marseillaise

•Starts louder •Variations included in

flight

IX. Russian folk dances

•Russians in Borodino–Village on Dnieper River, less than 100 miles from Moscow

X. La Marseillaise

•Battle of Borodino–September 7, 1812–French forced Russians to retreat after fierce struggle

•Skip Moscow–Russian general

Kutusov reluctantly abandoned Moscow

to French–Pyrrhic victory

X. La Marseillaise (cont’d)

•Skip Moscow–Napoleon took a deserted Moscow•Waited in vain for

Czar to surrender•Ignored warnings about severity of Russian winter

•Lingered too long in illusion that surrender was imminent

X. La Marseillaise (cont’d)

XI. Strings•French fled•Snow slowed them •422,000 left

France in summer•40,000 left Russia in mid-Dec.

–Many of those then died of typhus

–10,000 returned to France•Napoleon fled to Paris to control

political “spin” on his “victory”

XII. God Preserve Thy People

•Swirling snow sound•God helped them win with

early, hard winter•God preserved His people

XIII. God Preserve the Czar

•God preserved His czar

Alexander I

•Marshal Ney of the French forces summed it up: –"General Famine and General Winter, rather than the Russian bullets, have conquered the Grand Army."