Aside from the actual fans and performers of classical music, most of us know these sounds only because of their wide use in pop culture. Some of these pieces of music have even found themselves inexplicably tied to our customs and traditions.
However, looking at the origins of these familiar tunes put a damper on the otherwise celebratory mood they bring. Here are four of the most famous pieces of classical music that mean quite the opposite.
Sir Edward Elgar's "The Pomp and Circumstance Military Marches"
Almost every student who had to receive his diploma has definitely heard of this song. Known to others as the "Graduation March," this song was first played at the 1905 Yale University graduation ceremony. Samuel Sanford, a music professor, was a friend of Elgar and invited him for an honorary doctorate in music.
The instantly-recognizable graduation march was a part of Elgar's series of orchestra marches, set from the poem "The March of Glory." In it, Elgar tackles that military pageantry, or "Pomp," has nothing to do with the actual terror of warfare, "Circumstance." A verse from the poem served as the preface to the marches.
The "Graduation March" isn't really about finishing your studies and walking proudly into the real world; it's more about young men unwittingly marched to the gritty realities of war.
Pyotr Illych Tchaikovsky's "The Year 1812"
Even without knowing its title, you're probably familiar with the loud, grandiose classical music that uses actual cannons heard almost everywhere in the country during the Fourth of July.
It turns out, not only is it written by the Russian Pyotr Illych Tchaikovsky, it was written to commemorate their victory over France. The title was actually the year Russia mounted a successful defense against Napoleon Bonaparte's Grande Armée.
Its prevalence in the US culture every July 4th can be traced to the Boston Pops, who, in search of a sound with an oomph, turned to Tchaikovsky, and the rest is history.
Richard Wagner's "Bridal Chorus"
Better known as "Here Comes The Bride," the near-universal theme song for brides walking down the aisle is also a staple in most movies and shows - almost every wedding scene had to be accompanied by Richard Wagner's classic.
While it is a wedding march, it was made in 1850 by Wagner for his opera "Lohengrin." In it, Elsa and her husband, Lohengrin, are ushered by the song after they are married, not before. Five men then attacked them, all killed by Lohengrin before leaving her newly-wedded wife, who dies of grief shortly after. It was less of a fairy tale ending and more of Game of Thrones' Red Wedding.
Also, the Roman Catholic church does not endorse Wagner's piece, with a diocese guideline saying that its popularity associated it with sentimentality instead of worship.
Carl Orff's "O Fortuna"
The apparent anti-thesis to Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" is "O Fortuna." The ubiquitous soundtrack for upcoming terror has been sampled and used in some of pop culture's most tense scenes - ranging from "American Horror Story: Apocalypse" to "Jackass: The Movie."
Carl Orff's "O Fortuna" is a part of a larger, scenic cantata by Carl Orff. He composed the music in 1935, but the lyrics are from a medieval compilation of mostly Latin poems called Carmina Burana. The verses talk about the impermanence of wealth and fortune, as well as the dangers of a hedonistic lifestyle.
Despite the largely suspenseful opera that accompanies "O Fortuna," its lyrics are far tamer than the scenes in which it was used. It is a poem about the fickleness of fate, how it overturns wealth, power, and health in a glance.
Learn more about music's coincidental "pomp and circumstance" with 7 Upbeat Songs With Surprisingly Dark Messages or 4 One-Hit Wonders From The Last Decade.
