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Scott Hoyland
2/25/15
Jeffery Bain-Conkin
Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric
A Battle in Song
In the early 19th century, the self-appointed French Emperor Napoleon went to
war against much of Europe. In 1812, he marched his forces into Russia on a
campaign to take Moscow. Later that year, when winter struck, Napoleon was forced
to leave Russian territory and lost much of his troops during the retreat. Russia
considers this to be a great military victory that lead to the destruction on
Napoleons holds in Europe. In 1880, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was commissioned by
Tsar Alexander I to write a piece in remembrance of this victory. Tchaikovsky wrote
The Year 1812, a festival overture in Eb major, to encapsulate the battle and
Russias eventual victory over Napoleons troops. He effectively shows this through
the use of 19th century songs from France and Russia, through the specific use of
percussion instruments that are associated with armies, through an integration of
cannon fire, and through the use of changing dynamics and tempo which conveys
the responses of the two countries.
Tchaikovsky identifies the two countries that will be present in his piece
through the use of songs related to each country. He uses La Marseillaise to
represent France because it became the French National Anthem in 1879, the year
before he wrote his overture. In order to represent Russia, Tchaikovsky inserted
pieces God save the Tsar!, into his work. He does this because this song became the
Russian national anthem in 1833. Neither of these pieces were the national anthems
during the 1812 battle, but each represented their respective countries at the time

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this piece was created. These two songs are played in a combative nature through
their placement in their piece. Along with playing back to back, these excerpts are
played with an increased dynamic and in a stagato fashions. These two musical
characteristics create an atmosphere of tension to the piece. This effectively pins
the French part of the overture against the Russian part which is Tchaikovskys first
reference to the 1812 battle in his piece.
Along with the part of the piece with an anthem associated with each
country, Tchaikovsky continues to reference the battle of 1812 through changing
dynamics and tempo. This change illustrates the beginning preparations for battle
between the two sides. Tchaikovsky begins the second section of his piece with a
piano dynamic and a lento tempo. As the piece progresses, it gradually crescendos
to a fortissimo and the tempo increases to presto. Tchaikovsky does this to
effectively illustrate the increased activity of the two armies going into battle. As
Napoleon enters Russia and marches towards Mosque, the Russian people are called
to arms and the Russian militia begins to assemble. As the two armies congregate
to the battle field, the sound of the armies grows louder. Eventually, the two armies
are fully equipped and the combined sound of the two armies marching with their
soldiers, horses, and cannons produces a dull roar on their way to battle. Suddenly,
Tchaikovsky writes a decrescendo into the music to change it to a piano dynamic in
order to demonstrate the eerie silence right before the two armies meet on the field
of battle. Just as sudden as the piano began, Tchaikovsky uses a crescendo to
change the dynamic to forte to show the battle taking place. After a short period
representing the fighting, Tchaikovsky increases the dynamic one final time to a
fortissimo to demonstrate the victory celebrations that the Russian people are
putting on. Tchaikovsky effectively uses tempo and dynamic changes to create the

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atmosphere that the Russian country and the battlefield had at the time of this
conflict.
In addition to the dynamic and tempo changes, Tchaikovsky uses heavy
percussion in his piece for many reasons. He uses drums to reference the way in
which 19th century armies would communicate over the field of battle. These drum
beats are a marching rhythm that would have been used to advance a division or
for other military communication. At one point, Tchaikovsky takes away the drum
and replaces it with the triangle and tambourine. He uses this instrumental
transition in order to emphasize the moment right before the two armies will begin
the fighting. He later brings back in the drums and also adds cymbals in order to
illustrate the intensity of the battle. At the end of the piece, Tchaikovsky uses church
bells to emphasize the celebration of the Russian people. Tchaikovskys effective
use of percussion instrumentation helps the audience to feel the adrenaline of the
soldiers in the battle and into the excitement of the Russian citizens after the battle.
In addition to the percussion, Tchaikovsky builds into his piece 16 instances of
cannon fire in order to illustrate the intensity of the battle itself and the pursuit of
the French during their retreat. When Tchaikovsky increases the tempo, dynamics,
and use of percussion to illustrate the battle, he also adds in cannon fire because
Napoleons tactics were based heavily on effective artillery. It is commonly known
that Napoleon would use artillery to soften the enemys front and he uses this in his
piece to reiterate that the piece is about the battle between France and Russia.
Also, at the end of the piece, during the fanfare of the Russian people, Tchaikovsky
puts in more cannon fire. He does this in order to illustrate how the Russians
captured artillery that the fleeing French left behind. It also shows how Russian
troops barred the French retreat out of Russia and initiated skirmishes with the

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French army as the Russian people were celebrating in the rest of the country. This
uses of cannon fire effectively pulls the audience into the Russians battle against
Napoleon because they hear what a soldier would be hearing during the battle. The
cannon, and other artillery used in the war were the loudest thing on the battlefield
and Tchaikovsky integrates this into his music.
In 1880, Tchaikovsky was commissioned by Tsar Alexander I to write a piece
commemorating the Russian Victory over Napoleon and his French troops in 1812.
Tchaikovsky does this by referencing known songs of both France and Russia in La
Marseillaise and God Save the Tsar!, respectively. Also, he specifically chooses
instruments with reference to armies in a heavy percussion section and cannon fire.
Finally, Tchaikovsky uses changing dynamics and tempo in order to produce a sound
similar to the roar of an impending battle. Tchaikovsky effectively immerses the
audience into the atmosphere of the battle and into the hearts of the people
present during that time. The battle against France in 1812 is a shining moment and
Russias history and Tchaikovsky was able to create a piece of music that
encapsulates every part of the event.