# Understanding Wellington's Victory



## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Understanding Wellington's Victory

*Overview*

In 1813, taking a break from lighter fare such as the 7th and 8th Symphonies and the 10th Violin Sonata, Beethoven composed an orchestral piece commemorating the victory of the Duke of Wellington over Joseph Bonaparte. This "Battle Symphony" was intended as a sequel and musical "brother" to the groundbreaking "Eroica" Symphony of almost a decade prior. Filled with new effects, such as gunfire, and quotations of authentic songs representing the sides in the conflict, Beethoven's new masterpiece paved the way for many to come. The piece was a rousing success at its premiere, in spite of a few critics who failed to understand the work, and it remains beloved to this day.

*Form*

The Battle

0:00~1:35 British army approaches, theme (E-flat major)
1:35~2:58 French army approaches, theme (C major)
2:58~3:20 Trumpet calls of both sides (C->E-flat)

3:20~5:08 Battle (B->E-flat->C major/minor)
5:08~7:44 "Storm march" (A-flat->A->B-flat->B->E-flat->B minor)

Victory Symphony

7:44~9:18 Intro and Theme (D major)
9:18~10:00 Rule Britannia (B-flat major)
10:00~11:17 Theme repeated (D major)
11:17~12:20 Rule Britannia (D major)
12:20~13:03 Fugato (D major)
13:03~14:16 Triumphal coda (D major)

Several elements here merit attention. Beethoven presents his themes starkly, usually without any counterpoint, making full use of his enlarged wind and percussion section at every possible juncture. The stark juxtaposition of tonalities representing the English and French armies at the beginning and the chromatically ascending route of the march section anticipate later developments, as does the second half being in the key of D major. Beethoven's use of progressive tonality predates Mahler and Nielsen by decades.

*Themes*

First, the authentic English song "Rule Britannia" is used by Beethoven to represent their army. (E-flat major)









Then the tune of the also authentic French song _Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre_ represents their respective army. (C major)









Scale runs in the violins and explosive bursts from the winds and artillary vividly portray the battle.









Lastly, a triumphant theme celebrating the English victory.









*Analysis*

The drums of the English side approach, then their trumpets. A march in E-flat on the theme Rule Britannia follows, first with just winds and percussion, then with the full orchestra. Then the French side approaches, with its own drums, its own trumpets. Their march, in C major, is the tune of _Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre_, and it too is played by winds before the strings join in.

As anticipation builds, the trumpets of each side resound, first the French, and then the English. The battle immediately commences, _fortissimo_, with gunfire and ratchets augmenting the orchestra for a realistic musical picture of the conflict. The bass line moves stepwise, and the rest of the orchestra follows it into the heat of battle. The trumpets of the English side sound amidst the conflict on C, and then those of the French, on E-flat, amidst the chaos of falling string scales.

A change in texture accompanies the fleeing French army, and the English pursue. Now the strings rise and fall, instead of simply falling, and although the meter has changed to 3/8, the rhythm of the wind chords is much the same as before. The trumpets from the English side now having completely overwhemed those of the French, the "storm march" ensues. Backed by a drum tattoo, the strings play repeated A-flats. A basic pattern in winds and then strings establishes the key as A major, but the pursuit continues, and the strings jump up to A natural. The music from before is repeated, but the strings again press on, moving up to B-flat. The march continues as before, and once again moves on to B major, now nearly breathless, before a sudden jump to E-flat rallies the orchestra for a final assault. The guns and trumpets of the English side continue their attack, as the orchestra reaches _fortissimo_ once again.

The music fragments, and the defeated French army limps back to the tune of _Marlbrough_, now in the key of B minor, which Beethoven reserved for important works such as the Hammerklavier sonata. The English continue to fire on the disheartened French, and the orchestra trails off on the dominant of B.

The finale begins on an octave D from strings and trumpets, and a short fanfare leads into the celebratory theme, harmonized with big bold tonic and dominant chords set in sharp relief against each other, like the opposing sides in the recently decided conflict. After this jubilation, a pedal on horns leads to a restatement of the Rule Britannia theme from earlier in winds with pizzicato string accompaniment, now in the key of B-flat major. A movement away leads to a joyous repeat of the earlier song of triumph, which Beethoven repeats wholesale, as it could not possibly have been made any more triumphant than before. This time, the horns lead to a rousing rendition of Rule Britannia punctuated at every turn by _fortissimo_ interjections from the full orchestra.

The trills of these interjections are taken up hesitantly by the strings and repeated, echoed by the winds. A hush falls across the orchestra, and the first violins repeat a new figure derived from the Rule Britannia theme, which then becomes the subject for a fugato passage which keeps the number of independent voices to a minimum at all times, to show the communal spirit of the celebration at hand. A crescendo leads to a full orchestra tutti on this theme, which closes the work in a grand fashion presaging the glorious ending of the 9th Symphony.

[Posted in celebration of something or other...what's today again?]

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