Klarinet Archive - Posting 000056.txt from 1999/09

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Borrowing themes from other composers
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 23:04:35 -0400

At 11:44 AM 9/2/1999 +0000, Gary Truesdail wrote:
>On the radio yesterday evening I heard a piece attributed to Beethoven.
>The title had something to do with Battle Themes. It contained what
>seemed to be a lot of fanfares or antique bugle calls with some familiar
>themes that were later copied into popular songs after 1900. I
>recognized the first 2 themes, the 2nd one sounds like the original "For
>He's A Jolly Good Fellow". All done in the style of Beethoven.
>
>Does anyone know if Beethoven is the originator of these themes or did
>he steal them too?
>
The piece is Wellington's Victory, or "The Battle of Vitoria," Op. 91.
Originally a potboiler written to be played by the mechanical orchestral
machine called the Panharmonicon built by Johann Nepomik Maelzel (of
metronome fame). Due to obvious mechanical problems causing delays,
Beethoven rescored the piece for more conventional forces and it premiered
to great popular success. The battle is depicted in large measure by using
well-known themes for each force, "Rule, Britannia" for the British, and
"Malbrouck s'en va t'en guerre" (better known in America as "For He's a
Jolly Good Fellow" or "The Bear Went Over the Mountain") as the French
theme. "God Save the King" is quoted in the victorious finale.
Incidentally, each cannon and musket shot is individually SCORED by
Beethoven, with a black dot indicating English artillery and a hollow dot
for French artillery. The entry, direction, and DURATION of the musket
shots are precisely indicated, volleys represented by tied, trilled notes.

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

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