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Overture

September 27, 2023

For other uses, see Overture (disambiguation).
"Ouverture" redirects here. For other uses, see Ouverture (disambiguation).

Overture (from French ouverture, lit. "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century.[1] During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which were independent, self-existing instrumental, programmatic works that foreshadowed genres such as the symphonic poem. These were "at first undoubtedly intended to be played at the head of a programme".[2]

The idea of an instrumental opening to opera existed during the 17th century. Peri's Euridice opens with a brief instrumental ritornello, and Monteverdi's L'Orfeo (1607) opens with a toccata, in this case a fanfare for muted trumpets. More important, however, was the prologue, which comprised sung dialogue between allegorical characters which introduced the overarching themes of the stories depicted.[3]

French overture Edit

Main article: French overture

As a musical form, however, the French overture first appears in the court ballet and operatic overtures of Jean-Baptiste Lully,[4] which he elaborated from a similar, two-section form called Ouverture, found in the French ballets de cour as early as 1640.[1] This French overture consists of a slow introduction in a marked "dotted rhythm" (i.e., exaggerated iambic, if the first chord is disregarded), followed by a lively movement in fugato style. The overture was frequently followed by a series of dance tunes before the curtain rose, and would often return following the Prologue to introduce the action proper. This ouverture style was also used in English opera, most notably in Henry Purcell's Dido and Æneas. Its distinctive rhythmic profile and function thus led to the French overture style as found in the works of late Baroque composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel, and Georg Philipp Telemann. The style is most often used in preludes to suites, and can be found in non-staged vocal works such as cantatas, for example in the opening chorus of Bach's cantata Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61. Handel also uses the French overture form in some of his Italian operas such as Giulio Cesare.[5]

Italian overture Edit

Main article: Italian overture

In Italy, a distinct form called "overture" arose in the 1680s, and became established particularly through the operas of Alessandro Scarlatti, and spread throughout Europe, supplanting the French form as the standard operatic overture by the mid-18th century.[6] Its stereotypical form is in three generally homophonic movements: fast–slow–fast. The opening movement was normally in duple metre and in a major key; the slow movement in earlier examples was usually quite short, and could be in a contrasting key; the concluding movement was dance-like, most often with rhythms of the gigue or minuet, and returned to the key of the opening section. As the form evolved, the first movement often incorporated fanfare-like elements and took on the pattern of so-called "sonatina form" (sonata form without a development section), and the slow section became more extended and lyrical.[6] Italian overtures were often detached from their operas and played as independent concert pieces.[by whom?] In this context, they became important in the early history of the symphony.[7]

18th century Edit

Prior to the 18th century, the symphony and the overture were almost interchangeable, with overtures being extracted from operas to serve as stand-alone instrumental works, and symphonies being tagged to the front of operas as overtures.[8] With the reform of opera seria, the overture began to distinguish itself from the symphony, and composers began to link the content of overtures to their operas dramatically and emotionally. Elements from the opera are foreshadowed in the overture, following the reform ideology that the music and every other element on stages serves to enhance the plot. One such overture was that of La Magnifique by André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry, in which several of the arias are quoted.[9] This "medley form" persists in the overtures to many works of musical theatre written in the 20th and 21st centuries.

19th-century opera Edit

In 19th-century opera the overture, Vorspiel, Einleitung, Introduction, or whatever else it may be called, is generally nothing more definite than that portion of the music which takes place before the curtain rises. Richard Wagner's Vorspiel to Lohengrin is a short self-contained movement founded on the music of the Grail.

In Italian opera after about 1800, the "overture" became known as the sinfonia.[10] Fisher also notes the term Sinfonia avanti l'opera (literally, the "symphony before the opera") was "an early term for a sinfonia used to begin an opera, that is, as an overture as opposed to one serving to begin a later section of the work".[10]

Concert overture Edit

Early 19th century Edit

Although by the end of the eighteenth century opera overtures were already beginning to be performed as separate items in the concert hall, the "concert overture", intended specifically as an individual concert piece without reference to stage performance and generally based on some literary theme, began to appear early in the Romantic era. Carl Maria von Weber wrote two concert overtures, Der Beherrscher der Geister ('The Ruler of the Spirits', 1811, a revision of the overture to his unfinished opera Rübezahl of 1805), and Jubel-Ouvertüre ('Jubilee Overture', 1818, incorporating God Save the King at its climax).

However, the overture A Midsummer Night's Dream (1826) by Felix Mendelssohn is generally regarded as the first concert overture.[1] Mendelssohn's other contributions to this genre include his Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage overture (1828), his overture The Hebrides (1830; also known as Fingal's Cave) and the overtures Die schöne Melusine (The Fair Melusine, 1834) and Ruy Blas (1839). Other notable early concert overtures were written by Hector Berlioz (e.g., Les Francs juges (1826), and Le corsaire (1828)).

Later 19th century Edit

In the 1850s the concert overture began to be supplanted by the symphonic poem, a form devised by Franz Liszt in several works that began as dramatic overtures. The distinction between the two genres was the freedom to mould the musical form according to external programmatic requirements.[1] The symphonic poem became the preferred form for the more "progressive" composers, such as César Franck, Camille Saint-Saëns, Richard Strauss, Alexander Scriabin, and Arnold Schoenberg, while more conservative composers like Anton Rubinstein, Tchaikovsky, Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann and Arthur Sullivan remained faithful to the overture.[1]

Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture

In the age when the symphonic poem had already become popular, Brahms wrote his Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80, as well as his Tragic Overture, Op. 81. An example clearly influenced by the symphonic poem is Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. His equally well-known Romeo and Juliet is also labelled a 'fantasy-overture'.

20th century Edit

In European music after 1900, an example of an overture displaying a connection with the traditional form is Dmitri Shostakovich's Festive Overture, Op. 96 (1954), which is in two linked sections, "Allegretto" and "Presto" (Temperley 2001). Malcolm Arnold's A Grand, Grand Overture, Op. 57 (1956), is a 20th-century parody of the late 19th century concert overture, scored for an enormous orchestra with organ, additional brass instruments, and obbligato parts for four rifles, three Hoover vacuum cleaners (two uprights in B♭, one horizontal with detachable sucker in C), and an electric floor polisher in E♭; it is dedicated "to President Hoover"[11] |-

One song of the Who's rock opera Tommy is designated as "Underture".[12][13]

Film Edit

In motion pictures, an overture is a piece of music setting the mood for the film before the opening credits start. Famous examples include Gone with the Wind (1939) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962). For a comprehensive list, see the list of films with overtures.

List of standard repertoire Edit

Some well-known or commonly played overtures:

Notes Edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Temperley 2001
  2. ^ Blom 1954
  3. ^ Carter n.d.
  4. ^ Waterman and Anthony 2001
  5. ^ Burrows 2012,[page needed]
  6. ^ a b Fisher 2001
  7. ^ Larue 2001
  8. ^ Taruskin n.d.,[page needed]
  9. ^ Charlton and Bartlet n.d.
  10. ^ a b Fisher 1998
  11. ^ Anon. 1957; Maycock 2009; Burton-Page n.d.
  12. ^ "If You Have An Overture, Do You Also Need An Underture?". www.ratherrarerecords.com. October 3, 2018.
  13. ^ Atkins 2000, pp. 121–122.

References Edit

  • Anon. 1957. "" Time (April 22).
  • Atkins, John (2000). The Who on Record: A Critical History, 1963–1998. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-0609-8.
  • Blom, Eric. 1954. "Overture". Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, fifth edition, edited by Eric Blom. London: Macmillan Publishers; Toronto, Canada: Macmillan Publishers.
  • Burrows, Donald. 2012. Handel, second edition. Master Musicians Series. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Burton-Page, Piers. n.d. "Malcolm Arnold: A Grand, Grand Overture, Programme Note". Chester-Novello publisher's website (accessed 6 November 2009).
  • Carter, Tim (2001). "Prologue". In Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5.‎.
  • Charlton, David and M. Elizabeth C. Bartlet. n.d. "Grétry, André-Ernest-Modeste." Grove Music Online.Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed March 29, 2016,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/43361.
  • Fisher, Stephen C. 1998. "Sinfonia". The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, four volumes, edited by Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-333-73432-7.
  • Fisher, Stephen C. 2001. "Italian Overture." The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
  • Larue, Jan. 2001. "Sinfonia 2: After 1700". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
  • Maycock, Robert. 2009. "What's On/Programme Notes, Malcolm Arnold (1921–2006), A Grand, Grand Overture, Op. 57 (1956)" BBC Proms programme, Prom 76: Last Night of the Proms (Saturday 12 September).
  • Taruskin, Richard. n.d. Chapter 10: "Instrumental Music Lifts Off." In his Music In The Seventeenth And Eighteenth Centuries (Oxford History of Western Music). New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  • Temperley, Nicholas. 2001. "Overture". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
  • Waterman, George Gow, and James R. Anthony. 2001. "French Overture". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
 
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September 27, 2023
overture, other, uses, disambiguation, ouverture, redirects, here, other, uses, ouverture, disambiguation, from, french, ouverture, opening, music, instrumental, introduction, ballet, opera, oratorio, 17th, century, during, early, romantic, composers, such, be. For other uses see Overture disambiguation Ouverture redirects here For other uses see Ouverture disambiguation Overture from French ouverture lit opening is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet opera or oratorio in the 17th century 1 During the early Romantic era composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which were independent self existing instrumental programmatic works that foreshadowed genres such as the symphonic poem These were at first undoubtedly intended to be played at the head of a programme 2 The idea of an instrumental opening to opera existed during the 17th century Peri s Euridice opens with a brief instrumental ritornello and Monteverdi s L Orfeo 1607 opens with a toccata in this case a fanfare for muted trumpets More important however was the prologue which comprised sung dialogue between allegorical characters which introduced the overarching themes of the stories depicted 3 Contents 1 French overture 2 Italian overture 3 18th century 4 19th century opera 5 Concert overture 5 1 Early 19th century 5 2 Later 19th century 5 3 20th century 6 Film 7 List of standard repertoire 8 Notes 9 ReferencesFrench overture EditMain article French overture As a musical form however the French overture first appears in the court ballet and operatic overtures of Jean Baptiste Lully 4 which he elaborated from a similar two section form called Ouverture found in the French ballets de cour as early as 1640 1 This French overture consists of a slow introduction in a marked dotted rhythm i e exaggerated iambic if the first chord is disregarded followed by a lively movement in fugato style The overture was frequently followed by a series of dance tunes before the curtain rose and would often return following the Prologue to introduce the action proper This ouverture style was also used in English opera most notably in Henry Purcell s Dido and AEneas Its distinctive rhythmic profile and function thus led to the French overture style as found in the works of late Baroque composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach Georg Friedrich Handel and Georg Philipp Telemann The style is most often used in preludes to suites and can be found in non staged vocal works such as cantatas for example in the opening chorus of Bach s cantata Nun komm der Heiden Heiland BWV 61 Handel also uses the French overture form in some of his Italian operas such as Giulio Cesare 5 Italian overture EditMain article Italian overture In Italy a distinct form called overture arose in the 1680s and became established particularly through the operas of Alessandro Scarlatti and spread throughout Europe supplanting the French form as the standard operatic overture by the mid 18th century 6 Its stereotypical form is in three generally homophonic movements fast slow fast The opening movement was normally in duple metre and in a major key the slow movement in earlier examples was usually quite short and could be in a contrasting key the concluding movement was dance like most often with rhythms of the gigue or minuet and returned to the key of the opening section As the form evolved the first movement often incorporated fanfare like elements and took on the pattern of so called sonatina form sonata form without a development section and the slow section became more extended and lyrical 6 Italian overtures were often detached from their operas and played as independent concert pieces by whom In this context they became important in the early history of the symphony 7 18th century EditPrior to the 18th century the symphony and the overture were almost interchangeable with overtures being extracted from operas to serve as stand alone instrumental works and symphonies being tagged to the front of operas as overtures 8 With the reform of opera seria the overture began to distinguish itself from the symphony and composers began to link the content of overtures to their operas dramatically and emotionally Elements from the opera are foreshadowed in the overture following the reform ideology that the music and every other element on stages serves to enhance the plot One such overture was that of La Magnifique by Andre Ernest Modeste Gretry in which several of the arias are quoted 9 This medley form persists in the overtures to many works of musical theatre written in the 20th and 21st centuries 19th century opera EditIn 19th century opera the overture Vorspiel Einleitung Introduction or whatever else it may be called is generally nothing more definite than that portion of the music which takes place before the curtain rises Richard Wagner s Vorspiel to Lohengrin is a short self contained movement founded on the music of the Grail In Italian opera after about 1800 the overture became known as the sinfonia 10 Fisher also notes the term Sinfonia avanti l opera literally the symphony before the opera was an early term for a sinfonia used to begin an opera that is as an overture as opposed to one serving to begin a later section of the work 10 Concert overture EditEarly 19th century Edit Although by the end of the eighteenth century opera overtures were already beginning to be performed as separate items in the concert hall the concert overture intended specifically as an individual concert piece without reference to stage performance and generally based on some literary theme began to appear early in the Romantic era Carl Maria von Weber wrote two concert overtures Der Beherrscher der Geister The Ruler of the Spirits 1811 a revision of the overture to his unfinished opera Rubezahl of 1805 and Jubel Ouverture Jubilee Overture 1818 incorporating God Save the King at its climax However the overture A Midsummer Night s Dream 1826 by Felix Mendelssohn is generally regarded as the first concert overture 1 Mendelssohn s other contributions to this genre include his Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage overture 1828 his overture The Hebrides 1830 also known as Fingal s Cave and the overtures Die schone Melusine The Fair Melusine 1834 and Ruy Blas 1839 Other notable early concert overtures were written by Hector Berlioz e g Les Francs juges 1826 and Le corsaire 1828 Later 19th century Edit In the 1850s the concert overture began to be supplanted by the symphonic poem a form devised by Franz Liszt in several works that began as dramatic overtures The distinction between the two genres was the freedom to mould the musical form according to external programmatic requirements 1 The symphonic poem became the preferred form for the more progressive composers such as Cesar Franck Camille Saint Saens Richard Strauss Alexander Scriabin and Arnold Schoenberg while more conservative composers like Anton Rubinstein Tchaikovsky Johannes Brahms Robert Schumann and Arthur Sullivan remained faithful to the overture 1 source source Tchaikovsky s 1812 OvertureIn the age when the symphonic poem had already become popular Brahms wrote his Academic Festival Overture Op 80 as well as his Tragic Overture Op 81 An example clearly influenced by the symphonic poem is Tchaikovsky s 1812 Overture His equally well known Romeo and Juliet is also labelled a fantasy overture 20th century Edit In European music after 1900 an example of an overture displaying a connection with the traditional form is Dmitri Shostakovich s Festive Overture Op 96 1954 which is in two linked sections Allegretto and Presto Temperley 2001 Malcolm Arnold s A Grand Grand Overture Op 57 1956 is a 20th century parody of the late 19th century concert overture scored for an enormous orchestra with organ additional brass instruments and obbligato parts for four rifles three Hoover vacuum cleaners two uprights in B one horizontal with detachable sucker in C and an electric floor polisher in E it is dedicated to President Hoover 11 One song of the Who s rock opera Tommy is designated as Underture 12 13 Film EditIn motion pictures an overture is a piece of music setting the mood for the film before the opening credits start Famous examples include Gone with the Wind 1939 and Lawrence of Arabia 1962 For a comprehensive list see the list of films with overtures List of standard repertoire EditSome well known or commonly played overtures Anton Arensky A Dream on the Volga Malcolm Arnold Beckus the Dandipratt A Grand Grand Overture Peterloo Tam O Shanter Daniel Auber Fra Diavolo Samuel Barber Overture to The School for Scandal Arnold Bax Overture to a Picaresque Comedy Ludwig van Beethoven Leonora Nr 1 Leonora Nr 2 Leonora Nr 3 Fidelio Coriolan Overture Creatures of Prometheus Egmont The Ruins of Athens Arthur Benjamin Overture to an Italian Comedy Hector Berlioz Benvenuto Cellini Le carnaval romain Le corsair Les Francs Juges King Lear Waverley Leonard Bernstein Candide Georges Bizet Carmen Alexander Borodin Prince Igor Johannes Brahms Academic Festival Overture Tragic Overture Anton Bruckner Overture in G minor WAB 98 Aaron Copland An Outdoor Overture Antonin Dvorak Carnival Overture Edward Elgar In the South Alassio Cockaigne Froissart George Gershwin Cuban Overture Overture to Strike Up the Band Philip Glass Overture 2012 King Lear Overture Mikhail Glinka Ruslan and Lyudmila Antonio Carlos Gomes Il Guarany Edvard Grieg In Autumn George Frideric Handel Overture to the Music for the Royal Fireworks Overture to the Water Music Overture to Messiah and other Oratorios Joseph Haydn Armida Ferdinand Herold Zampa John Ireland A London Overture Satyricon Overture Edouard Lalo Le roi d Ys Franz Lehar The Merry Widow Andrew Lloyd Webber Overture from Phantom of the Opera Hamish MacCunn The Land of the Mountain and the Flood Felix Mendelssohn The Hebrides or Fingal s Cave Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage A Midsummer Night s Dream Ruy Blas Die schone Melusine The Fair Melusine Nikolai Myaskovsky Pathetic Overture Salutation Overture Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The Marriage of Figaro La clemenza di Tito Cosi fan tutte Don Giovanni Idomeneo Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail The Magic Flute Otto Nicolai The Merry Wives of Windsor Carl Nielsen Maskarade Helios Overture Jacques Offenbach Orpheus in the Underworld Sergei Prokofiev Overture on Hebrew Themes Emil von Reznicek Donna Diana Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov Russian Easter Festival Overture Gioachino Rossini La cambiale di matrimonio Tancredi Il signor Bruschino Il turco in Italia La Cenerentola Semiramide Il viaggio a Reims The Barber of Seville La gazza ladra L italiana in Algeri La scala di seta William Tell Franz Schubert Overture in Italian Style D590 Rosamunde Robert Schumann Overture Scherzo and Finale Op 52 Manfred Genoveva Faust Julius Caesar Hermann und Dorothea The Bride of Messina Dmitri Shostakovich Festive Overture Bedrich Smetana The Bartered Bride Johann Strauss Die Fledermaus Jean Sibelius Overture to The Tempest Arthur Sullivan The Mikado The Gondoliers The Yeomen of the Guard Franz von Suppe Light Cavalry Overture The Beautiful Galatea Poet and Peasant Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture Hamlet Overture Fantasy Romeo and Juliet Overture Fantasy The Nutcracker Miniature Overture Giuseppe Verdi La forza del destino Nabucco I vespri siciliani Richard Wagner Faust Overture The Flying Dutchman Lohengrin both Act and Act III Preludes Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg Rienzi Tannhauser Ralph Vaughan Williams The Wasps William Walton Johannesburg Festival Overture Scapino Overture Portsmouth Point Overture Carl Maria von Weber Euryanthe Der Freischutz OberonNotes Edit a b c d e Temperley 2001 Blom 1954 Carter n d Waterman and Anthony 2001 Burrows 2012 page needed a b Fisher 2001 Larue 2001 Taruskin n d page needed Charlton and Bartlet n d a b Fisher 1998 Anon 1957 Maycock 2009 Burton Page n d If You Have An Overture Do You Also Need An Underture www ratherrarerecords com October 3 2018 Atkins 2000 pp 121 122 References EditAnon 1957 Music Op I for Vacuum Cleaners Time April 22 Atkins John 2000 The Who on Record A Critical History 1963 1998 McFarland ISBN 978 0 7864 0609 8 Blom Eric 1954 Overture Grove s Dictionary of Music and Musicians fifth edition edited by Eric Blom London Macmillan Publishers Toronto Canada Macmillan Publishers Burrows Donald 2012 Handel second edition Master Musicians Series Oxford and New York Oxford University Press Burton Page Piers n d Malcolm Arnold A Grand Grand Overture Programme Note Chester Novello publisher s website accessed 6 November 2009 Carter Tim 2001 Prologue In Sadie Stanley Tyrrell John eds The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 2nd ed London Macmillan Publishers ISBN 978 1 56159 239 5 Charlton David and M Elizabeth C Bartlet n d Gretry Andre Ernest Modeste Grove Music Online Oxford Music Online Oxford University Press accessed March 29 2016 http www oxfordmusiconline com subscriber article grove music 43361 Fisher Stephen C 1998 Sinfonia The New Grove Dictionary of Opera four volumes edited by Stanley Sadie London Macmillan Publishers Inc ISBN 0 333 73432 7 Fisher Stephen C 2001 Italian Overture The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians second edition edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell London Macmillan Publishers Larue Jan 2001 Sinfonia 2 After 1700 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians second edition edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell London Macmillan Publishers Maycock Robert 2009 What s On Programme Notes Malcolm Arnold 1921 2006 A Grand Grand Overture Op 57 1956 BBC Proms programme Prom 76 Last Night of the Proms Saturday 12 September Taruskin Richard n d Chapter 10 Instrumental Music Lifts Off In his Music In The Seventeenth And Eighteenth Centuries Oxford History of Western Music New York Oxford University Press Retrieved 29 March 2016 Temperley Nicholas 2001 Overture The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians second edition edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell London Macmillan Publishers Waterman George Gow and James R Anthony 2001 French Overture The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians second edition edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell London Macmillan Publishers nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Overtures music Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Overture amp oldid 1176935822, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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