Ouverture 1812

The 'Overture 1812' by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was composed to commemorate the victory of the Russian army over Napoleon’s army that year. The composition starts with a religious hymn played by the lower woodwinds; then there is a confrontation between the 'Marseillaise’ and the then Russian national anthem. The work is also famous because of the use of church bells and canons accompanying the Tsar’s hymn in the finale.