The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent

So, why do they play the 1812 Overture on the 4th of July?

<< < (2/2)

delalluvia:

--- Quote from: Jeff  Wrangler on July 27, 2009, 06:36:57 pm ---Sure enough!

I'm not so sure. I wouldn't exactly describe "1812" as a "patriotic hymn." The old czarist natonal anthem that it quotes is a hymn--and in fact the music is used for the English language hymn "God the Omnipotent!" And anyway, what about John Phillip Sousa and all those patriotic marches?

"Stars and Stripes Forever," anybody?
--- End quote ---

Heh, I second this, being an ex-band geek.  What about all those dreary marches?

southendmd:

--- Quote from: Jeff  Wrangler on July 27, 2009, 06:36:57 pm ---"Stars and Stripes Forever," anybody?

--- End quote ---

I should add the Boston Pops always play "Stars and Stripes Forever" after  the 1812 Overture, to the unfurling of a huge American flag.  That's usually when the fireworks start.

Marge_Innavera:

--- Quote from: Jeff  Wrangler on July 27, 2009, 06:36:57 pm ---And anyway, what about John Phillip Sousa and all those patriotic marches?

"Stars and Stripes Forever," anybody?



--- End quote ---

I'd rather hear the 1812. It may have only the most tenuous connection to our own history at best but it fits. Besides, it's got those cannons at the end, and we Americans do dote on loud noises.   ;)  Sousa, his stuff always sounds to me like the "music" I used to play as a kid by clapping two pot lids together.


--- Quote ---Tchaikovsky's popularity in America also played a role. "Tchaikovsky had a foothold in the late 19th century in the broadening public taste for classical music," says Botstein.
--- End quote ---

Tchaikovsky's music has been loved in this country for a long time, even during the height of the "Cold War" when anything or anybody Russian was suspect. How many Americans are there who would never come within a city block of a ballet performance OTHER than the Nutcracker at Christmas?


If I had to choose an alternative to "1812", it would be Dvorak's "New World".

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[*] Previous page