This whole connection between The 1812 Overture and July 4 is an interesting one. I can't get it out of my mind that Arthur Fiedler might have been responsible, or at least guilty of greatly strengthening the connection, but with a few minutes of internet research I can't find any information pro or con.
The Wikipedia article on the overture (one of at least two) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overture_1812 says: The 1812 Overture (full title: Festival Overture "The Year 1812" in E flat major, Op. 49; French: Ouverture solennelle 1812) is an orchestral overture by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, commemorating the unsuccessful French invasion into Russia, and the subsequent withdrawal that devastated Napoleon's Grande Armée, an event that marked 1812 as the major turning point of the Napoleonic Wars. The work is best known for the sequence of cannon fire, which is sometimes performed, especially at outside festivals, using one or more real cannons. When performed indoors, orchestras may use computer generated cannon sounds or huge barrel drums. Although the composition has no historical connection with the US-UK War of 1812, it is often performed in the US alongside other patriotic music; it is a staple at Fourth of July celebrations. This denial of connection with the US-UK War of 1812 is curious, since elsewhere http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812 the wikipedia sayeth: The war was fought from 1812 to 1815 and involved both land and naval engagements. Britain was at war with France and, to impede American trade with France, imposed a series of restrictions that the U.S. contested as illegal under international law. The Americans declared war on Britain on June 18, 1812 for a combination of reasons: outrage at the impressment (seizure) of thousands of American sailors into the British navy, frustration at British restraints on neutral trade, and anger at British military support for Native Americans defending their tribal lands from encroaching American settlers. If I remember what my American History teacher lectured more than 40 years ago, these two wars are connected, although perhaps not in Tchaikovsky's mind. Regardless, it is easy to imagine that some 19th C conductor might have first appropriated the piece to celebrate the 4th. Or perhaps it was someone like Fiedler in the 20th C. As a former music professor, I think this would be a wonderful research project for a term paper, since the information is almost certainly out there somewhere but no one seems to have an handle on it. My personal 1812 story concerns the 1812_to_end_all_1812_performances, even though it apparently didn't: The performance by the Boston Pops with Arthur Fiedler the evening of July 4, 1976. This was nearly Fiedler's last 1812 before he dies in office. In addition to me, questionable reports claim that more than 125,000,000 people attended that performance. More reliable reports put the "attendance" in the range 1-2 million. I was there, and I can believe it. People were lined up 20 deep along the entire several mile circuit along that section of the lower Charles River, and snaking off into Boston and Back Bay. Only a small fraction could hear anything, but this was _the_ bicentennial event to attend. [Some days earlier Queen Elizabeth had visited Boston, and I had applauded her from nearly the same place as she drove on Memorial Drive with no less than 20 yards average separating the casual viewers. She was quite poised, being experienced at these kind of events, and nodded back.] The concert was amplifried, but most people -- myself included at a vantage point perhaps a mile from the stage -- heard none of it. However, at the end of 1812 (which closed the concert) the cannon and howitzers of the Mass National Guard were triggered. They were emplaced on the chain of islands defining the lagoons that separate the Hatch Shell from the river. The cordite smoke and smell spread over the river basin. Aside from the cannon, the people on my side of the river still couldn't hear the performance, but now we couldn't see it either. But soon we could smell it. _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
