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Topic: 1812 Overture (Read 272790 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #50 –
I count slow

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #51 –
And I too, on the search for the words to the prayer, have come across this web site and postings.  I have read all your postings and I feel you are all on the right track however there are still some words that allude the ear.
the closest posting I can agree with is from DL Robinson
I have only one correction to make that my ears hear

Mighty Lord, preserve us from jeopardy.
Take Thee now our faith and loud cry in penitence.
Grant victory o'er our treacherous and cruel enemies
And to our land bring peace.
O mighty Lord hear our lowly prayer,
And by Thy shining holy light.
Grant us, O Lord, peace again.
O mighty Lord hear our prayer
and save our people
Forever, forever!

May this string go on for ever till the truth be known.! its out there somewhere :)

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #52 –
hmm over the exact translation from Russian into English over the text you can discuss a long time as Russian is lot more variated in use of words for emotions then English is.

Anyhow I have to agree that the Ouverture 1812 is very nice, though a bit bombastic at the end..can imagine Tchaikovsky did not like it in the beginning... he was asked it to compose it for the 70 year Birthday of the defeat of the French army and the retreat from Moscow. This was then used on the opening of the exhibition of Moscow in 1882. That is why both the Russian imperial national anthem and the French anthem are used.
The Tsar then (1812) was Alexander I and was still very young ( end of his teens - start 20's) and came over somewhat unexperienced to Napoleon ...

The Imperial Anthem lasted till - as you can imagine - till 1917....

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #53 –
Heyy -  I also would love to find the russian text to the 1812 opening - it's great that there's so many of us that are so interested.  What a peice!

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #54 –
I've been trying to find this text for a while, to no avail, but it's nice to know that I'm not the only one!  The Russian Orthodox Church tries to maintain their old slavic language, so finding a modern Russian translation of their old texts is impossible.  I lived in Russia for two years as a missionary, so I know modern Russian fairly well, but the old slavic language is very different.  I don't know how much this helps, but here is my amateur modern translation of the same text Escontidu listed above(which is in old slavic):

Save, Lord, thy people and bless thy property (or inheritance or even kingdom?)
Give victory to our Christian army and by thy cross bless this land.

My favorite recording was a tape I had while I was in Russia.  All I remember is that it was with the Mormon Tabernacle choir (I don't remember which orchestra played on it).  Anyway, at the end, the bells and cannons were absolutely overwhelming.  I left the tape when I came home and now I regret it.  I can't find a comparable recording anywhere.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #55 –
Here's my take:

I checked out a version of the 1812 on CD from my public library with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing at the beginning: It's the Sony Essential Classics version, the Valley Forge Military Academy Band performing, Col. D. Keith Feltham Conducting.  It shares the CD with Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, and Marche slave, Op. 31, both by the Philadelphia Orchestra with Eugene Ormandy conducting.

I started searching for the lyrics again because I performed this piece with the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts in Greenville, SC, for the 4th of July celebration.  However, we did not sing the "pre-overture" portion as the MTC did, we sang at the very end, in Slavic.  While all of the lyrics seem to escape me at the moment, I remember a lot were in the prepositional case (I study Russian now, did not then).  I too will search for these specific lyrics and post if I can find.

By the way, if anyone attended SCGSA that summer (small chance) or saw the July 4th performance (again, small chance) maybe you can jog my memory, produce a program, a copy of the SATB, etc.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #56 –
Sorry, should have mentioned that the performance was on the Fourth of July, 1993!  So quite a while ago.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #57 –
Wow, I live in Minneapolis and I'm playing this piece for wind ensemble, found some recordings of it, and really wanted the lyrics for the beginning.  I can't believe you guys had it all, you rock!

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #58 –
ALAS! I have been searching high and low for the words too. But not so fast. I do not have them but I have some very valuable info on them. I contacted the Library of Congress through their web-site and received this answer to: the words to 1812.    Written by V A Zhukovsky in 1814. Titled; Prayer of The Russian People. Now the rub. Can be found in    The Complete Works of V A Zhukovsky  Edited by A S Arkhangelsky    vol 2 p77  vol 4 p23    I am told that any university or larger metropolitan library should have these works. I have read several different interpretations on this site but only one can be correct. i will continue to seek these works and when i do i will post the correct words for all.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #59 –
I happened on this thread when I was looking for the words to the 1812 Overture.

Last week we sang the Choral version of the 1812 Overture in an outdoor concert in front of about 35,000 people, many of them school children.  This was the last item and started in a darkened stadium, with the Tsar's prayer for peace.  It is is a very mature prayer for a boy who was 13 in 1815.

The harmony was incredible, the words very moving and the music just great for those of us who sing bass.  The words were different to those on some recordings:

(Key Eb major - The Tsar Alexander I is praying)
"Holy Father, I implore thee, hear my prayer.
From the lies of evil men, Lord deliver me.
O hear me; in my distress I cry unto thee, Lord, that thou might answer me.
I have dwelt among my enemies.
And have ever made my plea for peace with those who would peace destroy. (bar 23 - woodwind)
My earnest desire is peace. But when I speak, my foes all call for war (43 bars orch)

Alleluia, praise unto the God of hosts.
Praise, O praise the Lord in his mighty firmament (bells)
O praise him: for God takes pleasure in his people and adorns the meek with victory (bells)
This then is the glory for all his faithful people, Praise, O praise the Lord. (Key change to C major)

Father omnipotent, (Guns) God of all ages, Let all creation praise his holy name, (Hymn tune: Russia)
Praise, O praise the Lord, Praise the Lord (x 7)" (Band, orch, bells, canons, lasers, rockets, fireworks!!)

I have the SSAATTBB choral score, but not the full score.  It was recorded, but I don't think it will be issued.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #60 –
iclassics.com has many chorus clips of 1812, including Karajan

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #61 –
Well, lemme throw my 2-cents' worth in... My kid and I have been listening to the opener over and over and OVER. I think the "penitence" sounds more like "inheritance" prefaced maybe with "mine" or "thine". But still the missing syllables that would give it a complete, sensible  thought really CAN drive one bonkers. Feedback?

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #62 –
Here is what my ears hear based on several listenings....

Mighty Lord, preserve us from jeopardy.
Take Thee now our faith and loud crying in penitence.
Grant victory o'er our treacherous and cruel enemies
And to our land bring peace.
O mighty Lord hear our lowly prayer,
And by Thy shining holy light.
Grant us, O Lord, peace again.
O mighty Lord hear our prayer
and save our people
Forever, forgive us

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #63 –
I just love that choral opening.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #64 –
The (Chicago) Grant Park Symphony and Chorus are performing the 1812 Overture next week. I am the Russian coach. We are singing in Russian . . . does anyone still want any questions answered about this work's text?

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #65 –
The 1812 thread has been living for a long time, and I am sure it has many readers. Feel free to put in your ten cents' worth!

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #66 –
"....does anyone still want any questions answered about this work's text?"

Yes please - the lyrics in English would be very useful. I could add them (with your permission) to my nwc file (in the Scriptorium).

Tina

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #67 –
The Mormon Tabernacle Choie sang it this evening with the Boston Pops at the esplanade...you won't get any more current than this.
Charlestown, NH

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #68 –
I don't know if anyone is still checking back here, but I happened on the
forum also searching for the Russian words. I performed the 1812
Overture about two years ago with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
and the May Festival Chorus. It was own of those last minute things, so I
unfortunately can't remember the lyrics as I do for almost every other
song I've ever done. Bummer. 'Spa- si Gaspodye na Russkiyay' or
something to that effect I think was the beginning of the song, but other
than that I can't remember.

I do however still have access to the score, so I will try to get a copy
(unfortunately I'll have to transliterate from the Cyrillic I think). Please let
me know if this would be helpful for anyone, or rather if anyone still
reads this.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #69 –
*ONE* of those last minute things. (not own.. ugh)

Sorry, little things like that really bother me sometimes, especially when
there isn't the capacity for editing.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #70 –
Yes Please Paul :-)

I'd only be able to add the Lyrics using Choir Aahs but as long as the words can be made to fit the notes.....

I don't know how to include URLs and stuff here, but my mail address is with the file in the Scriptorium.

Tina

P.S. You can edit messages by using the Preview button before submitting.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #71 –
It is fairly simple to add a URL to a post, simply put an exclamation point before http: whatever.

This is the file you see when you click on the Hints link while creating a reply.  Until I got used to it, I found it helpful to keep a hard copy of it handy.
Since 1998

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #72 –
Thanks Warren. I'll try to remember that next time. (Can't figure out the scripto thing though)

Tina

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #73 –
I am so glad I was directed to this site.  All so very interesting and helpful.  I did hear it on July 4th 2003  broadcast from DC.  "Grabbed " me and wouldn't let go...now I can rest.  Thanks everyone.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #74 –
Hello all,

This is a great thread.  I was astonished to see how long it has been going.  Going back to the English lyrics, do any of you have a copy that says at the end, "And save our people forevermore"?

If so, any idea what it is off of?  My mp3 tag doesn't have any info.

-----
Rom. 8:28-30

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #75 –
Can anyone suggest  the name ofa recording that has  a mixed voice choral of the 1812 overture that includes "Bozhe Tsaria Khrany"?I'm an ex chorusboy trying to produce my own show to go into Las Vegas and put 30 of us back to work.I am completing by myself, the last of 700 costumes from archive fotos worn to the Imperial Ball OF 1903,and need a vocalguide to teach the cast with to sing in the finale of the production number.I have been computerless looking for 3 years trying to  find a copy.Thanks/SPACIBO!.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #76 –
This is great!!  Thanks for all the info.  I ended up here also looking for a translation! I just bought another CD of the 1812 based on a description that it had the singing of the hymn.  I have only yet listened with headphones on a PC and can't wait to get home and hear on my home system.  Even so, it nearly brought tears to my eyes.  DG CD with the Gothenburg Sympohny Orchestra, Chorus, Artillery Division and church bells!!  CD also contains Marche slave and some other well-known pieces by Alexander Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov.  Highly recommend!

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #77 –
this is amazing...three and a half years or not..
I am a university student studying music, and This is one of our exam pieces.  We got bonous marks for interpreting the lyrics and this site got me an A. Thanks for being such keeners.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #78 –
Wow - the power of the internet.

I was googling for the lyrics to the 1812 Overture, also, and when I found this thread and saw that it was dated in 1999 I figured it was a dead thread.  Cool to see posts as recent as yesterday.

I, too, remember back around 1988 or so having a tape with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir doing, in english, the intro to the 1812 Overture.  I just downloaded a version of the Overture from itunes.com, but it is intrumental only, no choral nor cannons! :(

Does anyone have a URL to Amazon.com or something where the CD with the MTC singing and cannon fire version can be found?

Steve
steve@forth-armoury.com

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #79 –
I found it on Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000DS28/qid%3D1070479380/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/102-4897072-2197736#product-details

Product Details
Composer: Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Conductor: Richard P. Condie, Col D. Keith Feltham
Label: Sony - #39784
Audio CD (May 17, 1990)
ASIN: B00000DS28

On this CD:

1. 1812 -- Festival Overture, for orchestra in E flat major, Op. 49
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Conducted by Richard P. Condie, Col D. Keith Feltham

2. Slavonic March, for orchestra, Op. 31
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Conducted by Richard P. Condie, Col D. Keith Feltham

3. Romeo and Juliet, fantasy-overture for orchestra in B minor (3 versions)
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Conducted by Richard P. Condie, Col D. Keith Feltham

4. Eugene Onegin, opera, Op. 24 Waltz
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Conducted by Richard P. Condie, Col D. Keith Feltham

Hope this is helpful to all you 1812 fans!

Steve

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #80 –
Back in 1985 I bootlegged a copy of an LP.  I think it was the Mormon Tabernacle choir one in question.  There was a liner with printed lyrics which I remember (reinforced by frequent listening) to be as follows:

Mighty Lord, preserve us from jeopardy.
Take Thee now our faith and love, thine inheritance.
Grant thee victory o'er our treacherous and cruel enemies
And to our land bring peace.
O mighty Lord hear our lowly prayer,
And by Thy shining holy light.
Grant us, O Lord, peace again.
O mighty Lord hear our prayer
and save our people
Forever, forever!

The only main difference from Reply 62 is "thine inheritance" in line two.  This reference seems to be almost directly from Psalm 28:11, and occurs in several catholic liturgies.

I have another recording (unfortunately with no reference to the text in the notes) in Russian that has the full chorus singing on the recapitulation of the opening chant near the end (talk about powerful!).

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #81 –
It's amazing to see a thread going on four years now, and I'd just like to add my input.  Upon "borrowing" the song, using a file-sharing program, I heard the voices at the beginning, and was quite bewildered.  Being a musician, it was a strange turn to hear this piece with voices, and therefore, I sought to find what exactly it was that they were singing.  I moved the song to my sound equipment, and turned off all voices except for the basses.  Once that was done, I could hear the (Anglish) words quite clearly, being that the bass voices are most often the most crisp, it seems.  I'm quite sure of these lyrics, which I do believe double those of many of you out there:

Mighty Lord, Preserve us from Jeopardy
Take Thee now our Faith, and Love Thine Inheritance
(Grant Thee Victory) o'er our treacherous and cruel enemies
And to our Land bring Peace
Oh Mighty Lord, Hear our lowly Prayer
And by light shining holy light
Grant us, O' Lord, Peace Again

O' Mighty Lord Hear, Our Prayer
And Save our People
Forever, Forever.

You'll see that I've put (Grant Thee Victory) in parentheses.  This is simply because the bass voices sustain a note here, that I can't seem to decipher.  I placed 'Grant Thee Victory' there because other people had heard it clearly.  Howevermuch it fits, though, with the prayer, I can't hear that strongly in the music, and so I am unsure as to that line.

Another version that I found was a different version of the Choral opening, and at first, I couldn't understand what the words were saying, until I turned down the voices except for the tenors, and heard quite clearly something in Latin.  After listening a few more times, I recognized it as "Te Deum Laudamus", or at least, the first few lines of it, which I've re-written here (please excuse mistakes!)

Te deum laudamus te dominum confitemur
Te aeternum patrem omnis terra veneratur
Tibi omnes angeli Tibi caeli et universae potestates
Tibi cherubim et seraphim incessabili voce
proclamant
Sanctus sanctus sanctus dominus deus sabaoth
Pleni sunt celi et terra maiestatis gloriae tuae

That's what I've found.  Long live the thread!

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #82 –
The "Te Deum" is widely used for such occasions. So, although I haven't heard the music in question, I would say that you are most likely correct about that.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #83 –
I came upon this site looking for a literal translation (not the English paraphrase we've all heard and seem to remember bits of).  Having picked up a phrase or two from earlier replies, I did a search which resulted in my ordering a CD of Russian Church Music by the Slavyanka Men's Chorus (through Amazon.com).  The recording had side-by-side texts in Russian, phonetic transliteration, and English (and French & German).

O LORD, SAVE THY PEOPLE
Spasi, Gospodi, lyudi
Tvoya i blagoslovi
dostoyaniye Tvoye.
pobyedy pravoslavnym
khristianom
na soprovitivnyya daruya,
i Tvoye sokhranyaya
kryestom Tvoyim
zhityel' stvo.

O Lord, save Thy people
and bless Thine inheritance,
grant victories to the
Orthodox Christians
over their adversaries,
and preserve Thy dwelling
through Thy cross.

I listened to the Russian on the recording (the Gothenburg Symphony one Dave mentioned in an earlier reply) and could make out everything but the phrase "pobyedy pravoslavnym khristianom" pretty well. Here, there were extra words in the music that didn't fit.  But I think I have what I was looking for. The next person who does a search will have a much easier time than we did.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #84 –
I'm an Orthodox church musician who uses NoteWorthy (note: oblig NW comment!), and I just discovered this venerable thread.  :-)

In addition to the English and Slavonic texts just volunteered, here are some links with more information, for those who might be interested in that text:

  • http://www.justin.zamora.com/slavonic/analyses/tropar-cross.html gives the Church Slavonic text and a direct (literal) translation, aimed at people who want to learn Church Slavonic.

  • http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/orthodox-faith/worship/elevation-of-the-cross.html describes the background of the feast most commonly associated with the troparion. Among other things, it says:

    "The day of the Elevation of the Cross became, as it were, the national holiday of the Eastern Christian Empire similar to the Fourth of July in the United States. ... The troparion of the feast, which was, one might say, the 'national anthem' sung on all public occasions in the Christian Empires of Byzantium and Russia, originally petitioned God to save the people, to grant victory in war and to preserve the empire 'by the virtue of the Cross.'"

  • http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/publications/music/september/index.html gives links to PDF files containing Western-notation music for the troparion, in several different musical styles used by the (Russian-background) Orthodox Church in America. (Scroll down to Sept 14, Elevation of the Life-giving Cross.)

  • Finally, since I happen to belong to a Greek Orthodox church, here's a link to the traditional Greek music (Byzantine chant) for the troparion.  :-) On this page, http://sgpm.goarch.org/ematins/Music-Special.htm , if you look at the links under "Vespers Text and Music for the Elevation of the Precious Cross, Sep 14" and click on the one named "Western Notation", you'll be linked to a 36-page PDF file. The last two pages have the Greek (Byzantine chant) melody, with an English translation.

    (The PDF file in Byz notation stops just before that troparion should appear ... not sure why.)

    BTW, the monk who set this music also uses NoteWorthy ... )

Hope folks find this interesting. :-)

Dana Netherton
-------
I don't belong to any organized religion.
I'm an Eastern Orthodox Christian.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #85 –
Dana, we keep running into each other on line, don't we!  I hope everyone following this thread has been able to keep the two tunes straight; one is the pre-revolutionary Russian national anthem, ‘Bozhe tsaria khrani,’ composed by Aleksei L'vov, who was the director of the chapel choir of the imperial court.  This is the one adapted to Protestant hymnody with the text ‘God the Omnipotent.’

The other, usually done by the orchestra, was originally intended to be sung, and is in some performances.  This is ‘O Lord, save thy people and bless thine inheritance’--the troparion.  The melody is not specific to this text, but is the generic melody for troparia of Mode 1 (or Tone 1) in Russian usage, based on the Obikhod choir book of the imperial court chapel, which was edited and published in the 1840s by, guess who, Aleksei L'vov!  Every Russian choir sings it frequently.

You can hear this also, with totally different words, in Sergei Eisenstein's film ‘Ivan the Terrible,’ in the scene where the people are going in procession to beg Ivan to come out of retirement and tyrannize them again (Stalin was in power when the film was made).  This is a gross anachronism.  The Russians did not have this melody until a century after Ivan.

Stephen

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #86 –
I found out what this song was in a general musicology class. I've heard excerpts and pieces done here an there, but never knew what it really was till fall semester in my musicology class. Now that I have taken that class, and learned the history of this song. I now appreciate this song much more than I would have otherwise...

And last but not least, wow, this is a long thread.  Keep it going if you must.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #87 –
Google search for '1812 overture lyrics' brings up your forum in 3rd spot...pretty impressive IMO and I found what I needed to know back in 2002 somewhere, but the chat seem to be cycling, so it's also in 2003 and 2004..hehe

But hey...LONG LIVE THE THREAD!

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #88 –
Wow.  I'm a 20 year old guy with a passion for music that, just to listen to it, lets you know you are alive.  When I listen to a piece like the 1812 Overture, though I have no clue what they are saying, it stirs my soul.  My blood pumps, my mood greatens, I feel like I could run around the block a few times.  The arrangement, and others like it and greater, brings my heart alive and a tear to my eye.  To see so many people that are interested in something like this really gives me a hope that things aren't all that bad.  I just want to thank everyone that posts on here for the glimpse of what humanily SHOULD be.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #89 –
When I was in the 8th grade, our symphonic band played the 1812 Overture for a local competition. Our band instructor made us practice this piece over and over and over until it literally became second nature to us. Low and behold, this piece has psychologically embedded itself within my mind even 21 YEARS LATER!! I downloaded an mp3 of it this evening and remembered each and every bit of it, note for note. Brought back a lot of memories for me =)

Anyway, the version I happened to have downloaded contained the intro with the choir. I had absolutely no idea what they were saying, and had no idea that they were even speaking it in English? Out of curiosity, I ran a quick search on Google.com and came across this messege board. What a trip it is to see that this topic thread was started about 5 years ago!!

That's all I wanted to say, really. Long live the 1812 Overture!! =)

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #90 –
Why is it called an 'overture' when it is not the prelude to something?

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #91 –
Because, in the 19th century, the "concert-overture" was invented.  This is a independent composition in the same form as an opera overture, but played by itself, or as a "real" overture to a play or some such event.  These go back at least to Beethoven ("Coriolan", "Consecration of the House", etc.), and include Mendelssohn's "Hebrides Overture" and Brahms's "Academic Festival Overture".

Reference, Harvard Dictionary of Music.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #92 –
What does the 1812 Overture commemorate?  Thanks.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #93 –
I'd like to say it represented the War of 1812 between Britain and the US -=-  Canadians (Brits?) burnt the White House and we are certain we won the war -=- but it wasn't written for that purpose.

Tchaikovsky was commissioned to write it to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Russia's victory over Napoleon in 1812.

Tchaikovsky wrote it in 1880. The commission was to mark the 1882 Moscow Exhibition, and specifically the consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior which was built there to give thanks for the Russian victory during the Napoleonic Wars.

Source:
http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/works/tchaikov/1812.html

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #94 –
Thanks so much!  My high school choirs are performing the 1812 Overture with our school's Concert Ensemble, and it is my task to find the Russian text & translation, and then arrange the vocal parts.  Thank goodness for you people -- you just made my job a lot easier!!

And of course...  Wowza -- what a thread!!

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #95 –
I just invested in new car audio equipment and one of the lines from the literature said something like "...you need a good amp because say you're listening to the 1812 Overture, when those canons go off, you need all 500 watts and you need them immediately..."  Well, I just had to try it, and now I'm hooked.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #96 –
Does anyone remember the Telarc vinyl recording, with real cannon, and a groove that visibly wiggled? Not every record player could keep its needle in the groove!

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #97 –
I had to add my two cents worth. I ran across this thread while looking for the English version of the 1812 opening prayer. I used to know it by heart, but have since forgotten the words. When I used to live in Virginia (I was a seasonal ranger at Shenandoah National Park) my wife taught at a straight-laced quasi-religious private school near Front Royal. One day I was attending one of the school events and was asked by the headmaster to lead them in prayer. Seeing as how I'm an atheist, I don't KNOW many prayers, but I DID know the opening to the 1812. I recited the lines as best I could remember (no, I didnt sing them) and duly impressed the headmaster. Thus, the 1812 saved my butt.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #98 –
I believe that's what's known as cannon law.

Re: 1812 Overture

Reply #99 –
Ah-ha!  If you want a copy of the vocal parts, you can only get them through Schirmer's Hal Leonard Music Dispatch:  1-800-637-2852, item # 50323210.  It contains the original Russian lyrics, and the English lyrics, for the ENTIRE piece (including the children's chorus).  Copies are only $1.60 each, but you must order a minimum of 5.

Lrics:  (Russian & English)
Spasi Gospodi liudi Tvoia i blagoslovi
Grant salvation to Thy people, Lord, and we pray Thee bless

dostoianiie Tvoie.
Thine inheritance, O God.

Pobedy boriushchimsia za veru pravuiu i za sviatuiu rus,
Grant vict'ry to those who fight to save our righteous faith and our dear sacred land,

nasoprotivnyia daruia.
and from all evil deliver them.

I Tvoie sokhraniaia
Then the guardian of Thy grace

krestom Tvoim zhitelstvo.
the Cross will forever be.

Krestom Tvoi, zhitelstvo,
The Cross will forever be,

krestom Tvoim, krestom Tvoim, krestom.
The Cross will be, the Cross will be, the Cross.
---------------
U vorot, vorot, vorot,
At the gate, the gate, the gate,

vorot batiushkinykh,
gate to father's dear house,

ai, dunai, moi dunai, ai, veselyi dunai,
ai, dunai, my dunai, ai, sing we all dunai,

U vorot, vorot, vorot,
At the gate, the gate, the gate,

novykh matushkinykh,
gate to mother's dear house,

ai, dunai, moi dunai, ai, veselyi dunai,
ai, dunai, my dunai, ai, sing we all dunai,
---------------
Bozhe tsaria khrani, silny derzhavny,
God save our gracious Tsar, valiant and righteous,

tsarstvui na slavu, tsarstvui na strakh vragam.
reigning in glory, reigning against his foes.