Guest Post: BG on The 1812 Overture

The following essay is a guest post from Operative BG. We remind our readers that you are welcome to submit your thoughts either as an email or as a complete essay.

A picture of the Declaration of Independence, signed by Pyotr Ilyich Hancock.

Every year, the weekend after Independence Day, the city of Alexandria, Virginia, has its annual birthday party on the banks of the Potomac River, an event my wife and I regularly attend. This year, as always, about an hour before the 9:30 scheduled time for the fireworks display, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra took the stage and treated us to a wide range of music. At 9:30, it was dark enough for the fireworks to begin, and the orchestra played the last ten minutes or so of Independence Day fireworks’ standard accompaniment, Tchaikovsky’s famous 1812 Overture, depicting the heroic defense of the Russian Motherland against Napoleon Bonaparte’s invading army.

It’s an overture full of Russian folk tunes, «La Marseillaise»—the French national anthem (which Napoleon had actually banned in 1805, but never mind)—and Russian hymns “God Save the Tsar!”, and “God Preserve Thy People.” What all this has to do with America’s or Alexandria’s birthday escapes my poor understanding. This is the celebration of the defeat of one European autocrat’s armies by the armies of another European autocrat (with a huge assist from the weather), neither of whom had any use for what happened here in 1776, and both of whom happily imprisoned or murdered any of their royal subjects who had any thought of trying to bring 1776 to Paris or Moscow.

But we have to have 1812 when we have fireworks, because, well, you know, cannons! Really? Is that the only justification for playing this musical affront to every American value on the anniversary celebration of the founding of our country? Where we not only believe that all men have the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but consider it to be as obvious a fact as 2 + 2 = 4?

If there is no other music out there that would be suitable for the occasion, can’t we find someone who can write uplifting, rousing, Independence-Day-fireworks-worthy music, to include cannons for people unwilling to give up the tradition, to replace this misbegotten celebration of dictators, death and destruction?

Is there anyone who thinks John Williams isn’t up to the job?

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.