Overture to William Tell (1829)
Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868)
Prelude: ‘Dawn’; ‘Storm’; ‘Call to the cows’; Finale: ‘March of the Swiss soldiers’
It is difficult to place Gioacchino Rossini within the pantheon of great 19th century composers. He was born five years earlier than Franz Schubert, yet died six years after the birth of Claude Debussy. Compounding the conundrum are the fluctuations in his output. He had composed 38 operas prior to William Tell, yet was only 37 years of age. No-one at the time could have guessed that this was to be his last work for the stage, but that is how it turned out. In his remaining 39 years he composed barely another work of importance.
The overture comprises four linked scenes, well summarised by their titles (see above). Rossini’s orchestration is bold for its time. The Prelude highlights five solo cellos with minimal accompaniment; the ‘Storm’ features the piccolo and drums, bass drum in particular; the ‘Call to the cows’ paints a picture of the Alpine countryside, with the cor anglais setting the scene, joined later by horn, flute and triangle; the finale... Well, we all know about the finale because it served as the signature tune for ‘The Lone Ranger’, serialised Hollywood westerns. Other films have used it as well, notably Walt Disney’s 1935 animation, The Band Concert, starring Mickey Mouse, Raising the Wind in 1961, starring Kenneth Williams, and the 1996 film Brassed Off, directed by Mark Herman and starring Pete Postlethwaite.
In 2012 the late David Frost defined a cultivated person as ‘…one who can listen to the William Tell Overture without thinking of ‘The Lone Ranger’. Poor David Frost. As cruel luck would have it, Jack Guin, an American columnist, stole the remark from him in 1962, 50 years before he made it. But don’t let that strange nugget spoil your enjoyment of this exhilarating tour de force.
Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868)
Prelude: ‘Dawn’; ‘Storm’; ‘Call to the cows’; Finale: ‘March of the Swiss soldiers’
It is difficult to place Gioacchino Rossini within the pantheon of great 19th century composers. He was born five years earlier than Franz Schubert, yet died six years after the birth of Claude Debussy. Compounding the conundrum are the fluctuations in his output. He had composed 38 operas prior to William Tell, yet was only 37 years of age. No-one at the time could have guessed that this was to be his last work for the stage, but that is how it turned out. In his remaining 39 years he composed barely another work of importance.
The overture comprises four linked scenes, well summarised by their titles (see above). Rossini’s orchestration is bold for its time. The Prelude highlights five solo cellos with minimal accompaniment; the ‘Storm’ features the piccolo and drums, bass drum in particular; the ‘Call to the cows’ paints a picture of the Alpine countryside, with the cor anglais setting the scene, joined later by horn, flute and triangle; the finale... Well, we all know about the finale because it served as the signature tune for ‘The Lone Ranger’, serialised Hollywood westerns. Other films have used it as well, notably Walt Disney’s 1935 animation, The Band Concert, starring Mickey Mouse, Raising the Wind in 1961, starring Kenneth Williams, and the 1996 film Brassed Off, directed by Mark Herman and starring Pete Postlethwaite.
In 2012 the late David Frost defined a cultivated person as ‘…one who can listen to the William Tell Overture without thinking of ‘The Lone Ranger’. Poor David Frost. As cruel luck would have it, Jack Guin, an American columnist, stole the remark from him in 1962, 50 years before he made it. But don’t let that strange nugget spoil your enjoyment of this exhilarating tour de force.