Anvil Chorus
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
top
The Coro di Zingari (Italian for "Gypsy chorus"),cite-ref-1[1] known in English as the "Anvil Chorus", is a chorus from act 2, scene 1 of Giuseppe Verdi's 1853 opera Il trovatore. It depicts Spanish Gypsies striking their anvils at dawn – hence its English name – and singing the praises of hard work, good wine, and Gypsy women. The piece is also commonly known by its opening words, "Vedi! Le fosche".
Contents
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Italian libretto and poetic English adaptation
Other uses
Thomas Baker wrote Il Trovatore Quadrille (1855) for piano, which includes a movement based on this chorus.cite-ref-3[3] Similarly, pianist/composer Charles Grobe wrote variations on the Anvil Chorus for piano in 1857.cite-ref-4[4]
A swing jazz arrangement by Jerry Gray for the Glenn Miller Orchestra released on RCA Bluebird in 1941 reached #3 on the U.S. Billboard charts.cite-ref-5[5]cite-ref-6[6]
The melodic theme also served as the inspiration for "Rockin' the Anvil" for swing jazz ensemble and accordion on John Serry Sr.'s 1956 album Squeeze Play. cite-ref-7[7]cite-ref-8[8]
The tune of the chorus was closely parodied in "The Burglar's Chorus" ("With cat-like tread") in Gilbert and Sullivan's 1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance, and soon after became a popular song with the lyrics Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here.cite-ref-taruskin2006-9-0[9]
References
cite-note-21. Italian and English text
cite-note-33. ↑ Il Trovatore Quadrille by Thomas Baker: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
cite-note-44. ↑ Anvil Chorus, Op. 910, by Charles Grobe: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
cite-note-55. ↑ "Billboard Magazine (USA) Weekly Single Charts For 1941". Hits of All Decades. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
cite-note-66. ↑ "Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #4". 1972.
cite-note-77. ↑ "Rockin the Anvil" as described on the album Squeeze Play (DLP-3024) in 1956 performed by John Serry on Archive.org
cite-note-88. ↑ Squeeze Play Featuring the Dynamic Accordion of John Serry album listing includes the song Rockin the Anvil on discogs.com
cite-note-taruskin2006-99. ↑ citerefrichard-taruskin2006Richard Taruskin (14 August 2006). "12". Music in the Nineteenth Century: The Oxford History of Western Music. Oxford University Press. pp. 596–597. ISBN 978-0-19-979602-1. Retrieved 23 October 2018.