overture
Sign in to saveOverture (from French ouverture, "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which were independent, self-existing, instrumental, programmatic works that foreshadowed genres such as the symphonic poem. These were "at first undoubtedly intended to be played at the head of a programme".
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An overture is an instrumental musical introduction that originally opened ballets, operas, and oratorios starting in the 17th century. By the Romantic era, composers like Beethoven and Mendelssohn began writing overtures as standalone pieces that told a musical story, helping establish new instrumental forms like the symphonic poem.
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13 sectionsContents
- French overture
- Italian overture
- 18th century
- 19th-century opera
- Concert overture
- Early 19th century
- Later 19th century
- 20th century
- Film
- List of standard repertoire
- Citations
- General and cited references
- External links
Overture (from French ouverture, "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which were independent, self-existing, instrumental, programmatic works that foreshadowed genres such as the symphonic poem. These were "at first undoubtedly intended to be played at the head of a programme".
The idea of an instrumental opening to opera existed during the 17th century. Peri's Euridice opens with a brief instrumental ritornello, and Monteverdi's ''L'Orfeo (1607) opens with a toccata, in this case a fanfare for muted trumpets. More important was the prologue, consisting of sung dialogue between allegorical characters which introduced the overarching themes of the stories depicted.