The William Tell Overture is the overture to the opera William Tell (original French title: Guillaume Tell), whose music was composed by Gioachino Rossini. William Tell premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, after which he went into semi-retirement (he continued to compose cantatas, sacred music and secular vocal music). The overture is in four parts, each following without pause.
It is the music that was used in "Super Fast!!" and "The Great Sky Race Rematch".
Summary[]
In Season 2[]
In Super Fast!!, William Tell Overture was used to sing Hurry Up, Get The Pigs after each of their planes flew to different locations, in varying speeds and tempos, in Peru, China, and Outer Space.
In The Great Sky Race Rematch, William Tell Overture was used to sing the Rocket Fly song to help win The Great Sky Race and beat Big Jet.
Structure[]
The overture contains four parts, each following without pause:
William Tell Overture[]
- Prelude (Dawn) (E major)
- William Tell Overture In E Major: Second Movement: Storm (E minor)
- Ranz des vaches (Call to the Cows) (G major)
- Finale: March of the Swiss Soldiers (E major)
Episodes Appearances[]
Songs adapted from the William Tell Overture[]
Super Fast!![]
The Great Sky Race Rematch[]
Trivia[]
- In Super Fast!! the music sounds like a violin; but in The Great Sky Race Rematch, the music sounds like a trumpet.
- Franz Liszt prepared a piano transcription of the overture in 1838 (S.552) which became a staple of his concert repertoire. There are also transcriptions by other composers, including versions by Louis Gottschalk for two and four pianos and a duet for piano and violin.
In popular culture[]
- There has been repeated use (and sometimes parody) of parts of this overture in both classical music and popular media.
- It was the theme music for The Lone Ranger in radio, television and film, and has become widely associated with horseback riding since then.
- One of the most frequently used pieces of classical music in American advertising, the overture (especially its finale) appears in numerous ads, with psychologist Joan Meyers-Levy suggesting that it is particularly suitable for those targeting male consumers. It was used in a hip-hop version by DJ Shadow to accompany the 2001 "Defy Convention" advertisement campaign for Reebok athletic shoes and in an electronic version for a 2008 Honda Civic campaign.
- The overture features prominently in Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon The Band Concert.
- It has also been used in cartoons parodying classical music (e.g. Bugs Bunny's Overtures to Disaster in which the overture's finale is performed by Daffy Duck and Porky Pig) or Westerns (e.g. Bugs Bunny Rides Again). The finale has also been sung with specially written lyrics by Daffy Duck in Yankee Doodle Daffy.
- It has been used as a chase theme in the fifth and sixth seasons of the iconic children's television show, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.
- The overture, especially its finale, also features in several sporting events.
- It has been used by the Hong Kong Jockey Club for many years.
- During the third television time-out of every second half at Indiana University basketball games, the Indiana pep band and cheerleading squad perform the overture with cheerleaders racing around the court carrying eighteen flags. Indiana public address announcer Chuck Crabb said the tradition began in about 1979 or 1980. Sportscaster Billy Packer called it "the greatest college timeout in the country".
Audio Gallery[]
