A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
al flourish which is typically played by
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s, French horns or other
brass instruments, often accompanied by
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
. It is a "brief
improvised
Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...
introduction to an instrumental performance". A fanfare has also been defined in ''The Golden Encyclopedia of Music'' as "a musical announcement played on brass instruments before the arrival of an important person", such as heralding the entrance of a monarch; (The term
honors music for such announcements does not have the specific connotations of instrument or style that ''fanfare'' does.) Historically, fanfares were usually played by trumpet players, as the trumpet was associated with royalty. Bugles are also mentioned. The
melody
A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combina ...
notes of a fanfare are often based around the
major triad, often using "
roic
dotted rhythms".
By extension, the term may also designate a short, prominent passage for brass instruments in an orchestral composition. Fanfares are widely used in
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
orchestral parts, notably in
Wagner's
''Tannhäuser'' and
''Lohengrin'' and in
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
's ''
Fidelio
''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, ...
''. In ''Fidelio'', the dramatic use of the fanfare is heightened by having the trumpet player perform
offstage, which creates a muted effect.
Etymology
The word has been traced to a 15th-century Spanish root, ''fanfa'' ("vaunting"). Though the word may be onomatopoeic, it is also possible that it is derived from the Arabic word ''fanfáre'' ("trumpets"). The word is first found in 1546 in French, and in English in 1605, but it was not until the 19th century that it acquired its present meaning of a brief ceremonial flourish for brass. Indeed, an alternative term for the fanfare is "flourish", as in the "
Ruffles and Flourishes
Ruffles and flourishes are preceding fanfare for honors music, ceremonial music for distinguished people.
By country Israel
In the Israeli Defence Forces, ruffles and flourishes are sounded as a guard of honor presents arms to signify the honors ...
" played by military bands in the US to announce the arrival of the President, a general, or other high-ranking dignitary. "In the England of Shakespeare's time", fanfares "were often known as flourishes and sometimes as 'tuckets' " (a word related to
toccata).
History
In French usage, ''fanfare'' also may refer to a hunting signal (given either on "starting" a stag, or after the kill when the hounds are given their share of the animal). In both France and Italy, ''fanfare'' was the name given in the 19th century to a military or civilian
brass band. In French, this usage continues to the present, and distinguishes the all-brass band from bands of mixed brass and woodwind, which is called ''Harmonie''. Fanfares have been imitated in
art music as early as the 14th century. Examples in opera include a fanfare for the governor's arrival in
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
's ''
Fidelio
''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, ...
'', act 2. In the 20th century, well-known composed fanfares include
Aaron Copland's ''
Fanfare for the Common Man'' (1942), for brass and percussion, and
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
's ''
Fanfare for a New Theatre
''Fanfare for a New Theatre'' is a 1964 composition for two trumpets by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was premiered on April 19, 1964, and published by Boosey & Hawkes.
Composition and premiere
This composition was written for the openi ...
'' (1964), for two trumpets.
Copland's Fanfare is one of a series of 18 commissioned by
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conductor
Eugene Goossens in 1942–43, each to open a concert. Each was to salute an aspect of the war effort; the U.S. had entered
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
the previous year. The only one of these fanfares to become well known is Copland's; the others are rarely if ever performed or recorded. The set, with the date of the concert at which each was performed, is:
*1. ''A Fanfare for Airmen'',
Bernard Wagenaar
Bernard Wagenaar (July 18, 1894 – May 19, 1971) was a Dutch-American composer, conductor and violinist.
Wagenaar was born in Arnhem. He studied at Utrecht University before starting his career as a teacher and conductor in 1914. He moved to ...
, Oct. 9, 1942
*2. ''A Fanfare for Russia'',
Deems Taylor, Oct. 16, 1942.
*3. ''A Fanfare for the Fighting French'',
Walter Piston, Oct. 23, 1942.
*4. ''A Fanfare to the Forces of our Latin-American Allies'',
Henry Cowell, Oct. 30, 1942. (Recorded.)
*5. ''A Fanfare for Friends'',
Daniel Gregory Mason, Nov. 6, 1942.
*6. ''A Fanfare for Paratroopers'',
Paul Creston, Nov. 27, 1942.
*7. ''Fanfare de la Liberté'',
Darius Milhaud, Dec. 11, 1942.
*8. ''A Fanfare for American Heroes'',
William Grant Still, Dec. 18, 1942.
*9. ''Fanfare for France'',
Virgil Thomson, Jan. 15, 1943.
*10. ''Fanfare for Freedom'',
Morton Gould, Jan. 22, 1943. (Recorded.)
*11. ''Fanfare for Airmen'',
Leo Sowerby, Jan. 29, 1943. (Recorded.)
*12. ''Fanfare for Poland'',
Harl McDonald, Feb. 5, 1943.
*13. ''Fanfare for the Medical Corps'',
Anis Fuleihan
Anis Fuleihan (April 2, 1900 - October 11, 1970) was a Cypriot-born American composer, conductor and pianist.
A native of Kyrenia, Fuleihan belonged to a Christian Lebanese family; he attended the English School in that town before coming to t ...
, Feb. 26, 1943.
*14. ''Fanfare for the American Soldier'',
Felix Borowski, March 5, 1943.
*15. ''Fanfare for the Common Man'', Aaron Copland, March 12, 1943. (Many recordings. Incorporated into Copland’s
Symphony No. 3.)
*16. ''Fanfare for the Signal Corps'',
Howard Hanson, April 2, 1943.
*17. ''Fanfare for the Merchant Marine'', Eugene Goossens, April 16, 1943.
*18. ''Fanfare for Commandos'',
Bernard Rogers, Feb. 20, 1943.
Sources
Works cited
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{{Authority control
Musical terminology
Hunting