Music: Classical Overtures
OK, a question for music historians:
When did an 'overture' start containing tunes from the opera[1] it preceded? As far as I know, overtures in the time of Bach and Handel were just pieces of music not particularly related to the larger work following, and indeed could be used with other dramatic works or on their own, or were merely the first instrumental part of the music. By the time of Beethoven it seems that many were written for specific operas, but still didn't particularly use the tune from the opera. Wagner, however, used a lot of tunes from his operas in the appropriate overtures, a kind of foreshadowing (almost like a 'teaser' on TV showing clips from the following show), which seems to be the common form in modern music (including film music, the instrumental start to "Star Wars" is almost completely made from tunes heard later in the film).
So I'm wondering, when did this change, and who started it? Did it come in with the idea of the leitmotif? Or possibly with the change in audience behaviour (it was common in Mozart's day, for instance, that people would chatter through not only the overture but also through the performance, but later this was seen as rude behaviour).
[1] Using 'opera' in the original sense, 'work' or 'piece', rather than necessarily a sung dramatic work. Oratorios and some instrumental pieces also often had overtures (the first movement of Bach's orchestral suites, for instance, is labelled 'Overture').
Just curious, I've been wondering about it for many years...
When did an 'overture' start containing tunes from the opera[1] it preceded? As far as I know, overtures in the time of Bach and Handel were just pieces of music not particularly related to the larger work following, and indeed could be used with other dramatic works or on their own, or were merely the first instrumental part of the music. By the time of Beethoven it seems that many were written for specific operas, but still didn't particularly use the tune from the opera. Wagner, however, used a lot of tunes from his operas in the appropriate overtures, a kind of foreshadowing (almost like a 'teaser' on TV showing clips from the following show), which seems to be the common form in modern music (including film music, the instrumental start to "Star Wars" is almost completely made from tunes heard later in the film).
So I'm wondering, when did this change, and who started it? Did it come in with the idea of the leitmotif? Or possibly with the change in audience behaviour (it was common in Mozart's day, for instance, that people would chatter through not only the overture but also through the performance, but later this was seen as rude behaviour).
[1] Using 'opera' in the original sense, 'work' or 'piece', rather than necessarily a sung dramatic work. Oratorios and some instrumental pieces also often had overtures (the first movement of Bach's orchestral suites, for instance, is labelled 'Overture').
Just curious, I've been wondering about it for many years...