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A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other
brass instrument A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin a ...
s, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised 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 language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
notes of a fanfare are often based around the major triad, often using " roic
dotted rhythm In Western musical notation, a dotted note is a note with a small dot written after it. In modern practice, the first dot increases the duration of the basic note by half (the original note with an extra beam) of its original value. This means ...
s". By extension, the term may also designate a short, prominent passage for brass instruments in an orchestral composition. Fanfares are widely used in opera orchestral parts, notably in Wagner's ''Tannhäuser'' and ''Lohengrin'' and in Beethoven's '' Fidelio''. 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" 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's '' Fidelio'', 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 composers of the ...
's '' Fanfare for a New Theatre'' (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 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 Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University. Life Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter Ha ...
, Oct. 23, 1942. *4. ''A Fanfare to the Forces of our Latin-American Allies'',
Henry Cowell Henry Dixon Cowell (; March 11, 1897 – December 10, 1965) was an American composer, writer, pianist, publisher and teacher. Marchioni, Tonimarie (2012)"Henry Cowell: A Life Stranger Than Fiction" ''The Juilliard Journal''. Retrieved 19 June 202 ...
, Oct. 30, 1942. (Recorded.) *5. ''A Fanfare for Friends'', Daniel Gregory Mason, Nov. 6, 1942. *6. ''A Fanfare for Paratroopers'',
Paul Creston Paul Creston (born Giuseppe Guttoveggio; October 10, 1906 – August 24, 1985) was an Italian American composer of classical music. Biography Born in New York City to Sicilian immigrants, Creston was self-taught as a composer. His work ten ...
, Nov. 27, 1942. *7. ''Fanfare de la Liberté'', Darius Milhaud, Dec. 11, 1942. *8. ''A Fanfare for American Heroes'',
William Grant Still William Grant Still Jr. (May 11, 1895 – December 3, 1978) was an American composer of nearly two hundred works, including five symphonies, four ballets, nine operas, over thirty choral works, plus art songs, chamber music and works fo ...
, 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 Leo Salkeld Sowerby (1 May 1895 – 7 July 1968) was an American composer and church musician. He won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1946 and was often called the “Dean of American church music” in the early to mid 20th century. Biography L ...
, 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 the ...
, 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.


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