Download File - Festive Overture

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Festive Overture
Dmitri Shostakovich arr. Hunsberger
MCA Music
Broad Description
This piece is an overture written for the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra to open their concert
celebrating the 37th anniversary of the October Revolution. [1] The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic
building in Moscow, Russia. The theatre is the home to the Bolshoi Opera and the Bolshoi Ballet
which are two of the most world-renowned ballet and opera companies.
Type/Genre Label
This piece is an overture, but doesn’t coincide with any specific opera like in past eras. More
specifically, this piece is classified as a concert overture. The original term “overture” comes
from the French word “oeverture” which originally was characterized by a musical composition
that contained two or more sections. They were typically introductions to a ballet, opera or
oratorio. After the Romantic period, the concert overture came to the forefront of this style. This
type of overture was no longer attached to programmatic works and could be performed as a
concert piece on their own.
Background Information
“Festive Overture” was written by Dmitri Shostakovich. The exact date of the composition is
unknown because it is believed that the composer withheld some of his compositions for a
number of years before releasing them to the public. Shostakovich was one of the most wellknown Russian composers in history, more specifically in the 20th century. His most well-known
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composition is his Symphony No. 5 which was praised by the Soviet government. “Festive
Overture” was composed in the Romantic style with limited use of atonality and chromaticism.
Shostakovich grew up in and composed for the Soviet government. The government at
this point in history was very unstable and followed a system of government known as
Communism. Communism made Shostakovich’s life very difficult as an artist because
everything that hinted at free expression could be punishable by death or imprisonment.
Shostakovich was actually denounced by a Russian newspaper twice for being “formalist” and
composing music that was not favored by the Soviet government. He was forced to respond to
the accusations with his most famous compositions, Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 10,
which quickly restored him as Russia’s most preferred composer.
This piece was composed for the Bolshoi Orchestra specifically to open their concert.
The piece was premiered on the thirty-seventh anniversary of the October Revolution.
Elements of Music
Form
This piece is a concert overture that contains several sections. The beginning of the work opens
with a grand fanfare. The bulk of the work is written in sonata form that follows the structure of
PT1-ST1-Development-PT1-ST1. PT and ST correspond to ‘primary theme’ and ‘secondary
theme’ respectively. The sonata is contained within the two fanfare sections and is finished by a
climactic ending that is the coda.
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Rhythm
Rhythm in “Festive Overture” is very important. The triplet rhythms define the both fanfare
sections and give them a sense of grandeur and class. The presto section, which is the majority of
the piece, is characterized by long eighth note runs in the upper woodwinds and occasionally in
the brass instruments. The contrasting rhythms in the presto section are typically “oom-pah”
figures. At certain high points of the piece, there will be long, sustained notes in the low brass
melodies.
Melody
The beginning triumphant fanfare is played by the brass section of the band. The presto section
begins with a B-flat clarinet solo that has the initial statement of the melody (mm. 30) which is
passed off to the flutes, piccolo and clarinet sections (rehearsal #5). The basses then have a
vartiation of the initial melody—sans eighth note runs (rehearsal #11). At rehearsal #13, the
principal French horn and the English horn come in with the secondary theme. The melody
develops in the upper woodwinds and recapitulates at rehearsal #21. At rehearsal #23, the
composer incorporates the secondary theme in the brass and primary theme in the woodwinds are
interconnected using counterpoint. At rehearsal #30, the fanfare section recapitulates with the
entire brass section and finally moves into the coda where the entire ensemble finishes off the
piece.
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Harmony
“Festive Overture” begins in the key of A-flat and remains in this key until the secondary theme
at rehearsal #13. As with all sonatas, the secondary theme marks the transition to a different tonal
center and this is exactly the case, where it changes to the key of E-flat. In a sonata, the original
key will return at the recapitulation and in this case that occurs at rehearsal #21. From here to the
end, the key remains in A-flat major.
Timbre
The fanfare sections are very full and dark sounding with the low brass taking control. The
trumpets are very bright with their triplet calls and the woodwind flourishes over all of it. The
presto section is very light staccato in the accompanying patterns but very long, smooth phrases
in the melody. The presto sections are very light-hearted and the loud, boisterous sections are
very heavy-handed.
Texture
The fanfare section at the beginning is largely homophonic with a few exceptions as more layers
are added. The presto section is entirely polyphonic with the melody being passed between
instruments and several instrument groups being designated with accompanying patterns.
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Expression
Many of the dynamics are either very extravagant and loud, or very introverted and soft. The
fanfare is entirely accented and typically marked with either a forte or fortissimo. The primary
theme and secondary themes are marked with piano or mezzo-piano. The high point of the piece
at rehearsal #23 is marked fortissimo and is prefaced by a giant crescendo. The coda from
rehearsal #33 until the end is a giant crescendo where it ends with a fortississimo. The
accompanying patterns are normally very short, staccato figures. The tempo ranges from
Allegretto (quarter = 108) to Presto (Half=152).
The Heart of the Music
The grand fanfare combined with the beautiful melodies, energetic tempo and technical demands
make this piece very exciting to listen to and perform.
Concepts that can be taught
“Festive Overture” offers a lot of interesting and applicable teaching points. Some of the basic
points that are apparent just from perusing the score are articulation, technicality, how to
accompany a melody, identifying a melody, tuning chords and how to understand and identify
contrasting styles. This piece is also very rich in terms of the composer’s history and the
historical perspective that can be taken when looking at the background of Soviet Russia and the
factors that it may have played on the composition of this piece. Another valid teaching concept
is teaching music history and about the style and composers of this time period.