1812 Overture | Tchaikovsky arr. Gary Kettel

The 1812 is an overture written in 1880 to commemorate Russia’s defense of its motherland against Napoleon‘s invading Grande Armée in 1812. Its debut was in Moscow on 20 August 1882 near the unfinished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which also memorialized the 1812 defense of Russia.
The overture is best known for its climactic volley of cannon fire, ringing chimes, and brass fanfare finale.
This arrangement by Gary Kettel retains the spirit of the original while orchestrating for percussion ensemble and is a challenging piece even for highly accomplished percussionists.

Instrumentation:
Percussion 1: Tubular Bells, Bass Drum, Cymbal, Tam-tam
Percussion 2: Xylophone
Percussion 3: Vibraphone
Percussion 4: Marimba
Percussion 5: Marimba
Percussion 6: (Optional) Side Drum, Cymbal
Timpani