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General Discussion / Re: 1812 Overture
It commemorates Napoleon's attempted invasion of Russia in 1812, resulting in decisive Russian victory and decimating the French Army, widely considered to be the decisive turning point in the Napoleonic Wars and one of the great high points in Russian military history.
The music can be interpreted as a fairly literal depiction of the campaign: in June of 1812, the previously undefeated French Allied Army of over half a million battle-hardened soldiers and almost 1200 state-of-the-art guns (cannons, artillery pieces) crossed the Niemen river into Lithuania on its way to Moscow. The Russian Orthodox Patriarch of All the Russias, aware that the Russian Imperial Army could field a force only a fraction of this size, inexperienced and poorly equipped, called on the people to pray for deliverance and peace. The Russian people responded en masse, gathering in churches all across Russia and offering their heartfelt prayers for divine intervention (the opening hymn). Next we hear the ominous notes of approaching conflict and preparation for battle with a hint of desperation but great enthusiasm, followed by the distant strains of La Marseillaise (the French National Anthem) as the French approach. Skirmishes follow, as the battle goes back and forth, but the French continue to advance and La Marseillaise becomes more prominent and victorious - almost invincible. The Tzar now appeals to the spirit of the Russian people in an eloquent plea to come forward and defend the Rodina (Motherland). As the people in their villages consider his impassioned plea, we hear traditional Russian folk music. La Marseillaise returns in force with great sounds of battle as the French approach Moscow. The Russian people begin to stream out of their villages and towns toward Moscow to the increasing strains of folk music and, as they gather together, there is even a hint of celebration. Now La Marseillaise is heard in counterpoint to the folk music as the great armies clash on the plains west of Moscow, and Moscow burns. As all seems hopeless, God intervenes, bringing an unprecedented deep freeze with which the French cannot contend. The French attempt to retreat, but their guns, stuck in the freezing ground, are captured by the Russians and turned against them. Finally, the guns are fired in celebration and church bells all across the land peal in grateful honor of their deliverance from their "treacherous and cruel enemies."