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{{Short description|Relatively short piece of music that is typically played by brass instruments}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=November 2020}}
{{Listen|type= music|filename= Fanfares of President of the Czech Republic.ogg|title= "Fanfares of the President" by Bedřich Smetana}}
{{wikt | fanfare}}

A '''fanfare''' (or '''fanfarade''' or '''flourish''') is a short [[music]]al flourish which is typically played by [[trumpet]]s (including [[fanfare trumpet]]s), [[French horns]] or other [[brass instrument]]s, often accompanied by [[percussion]].{{sfn|Tarr|2001}} It is a "brief [[improvisation |improvised]][[introduction (music)| introduction]] to an instrumental performance".{{sfn|Griffiths|2004}}<!--unpaginated--> A fanfare has also been defined in ''The Golden Encyclopedia of Music'' as "a musical announcement played on brass instruments before the arrival of an important person", such as heralding the entrance of a monarch{{sfn|Lloyd|1968|loc=172: "FANFARE: a musical announcement played on brass instruments before the arrival of an important person. Originally a fanfare heralded the entrance of a king into his great hall or into the royal box at the theater. Fanfares were also played on state occasions, such as coronations."}} (the term [[honors music]] for such announcements does not have the specific connotations of instrument or style that ''fanfare'' does). Historically, fanfares were usually played by trumpet players, as the trumpet was associated with royalty.{{sfn|Lloyd|1968|loc=172}} [[Bugles]] are also mentioned.{{sfn|Davidson|1907}} The [[melody]] notes of fanfare are often based around the [[major triad]], often using "heroic [[dotted rhythm]]s".{{sfn|Lloyd|1968|loc=172}}

By extension, the term may also designate a short, prominent passage for brass instruments in an orchestral composition. Fanfares are widely used in [[opera]] orchestral parts, notably in [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''{{Lang|de|[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]}}'' and [[Lohengrin (opera)|''Lohengrin'']] and [[Beethoven]]'s ''[[Fidelio]]''. In ''Fidelio'', the dramatic use of the fanfare is heightened by having the trumpet player perform [[Offstage trumpet|offstage]], which creates a muted effect.

==Etymology==
The word has been traced to a 15th-century Spanish root, ''{{Lang|es|fanfa}}'' ("vaunting"). Though the word may be [[onomatopoeic]], it is also possible that it is derived from the Arabic word ''{{Lang|ar-latn|fanfáre}}'' ("trumpets"). The word is first found in 1546 in French, and in English in 1605, but it was not until the 19th century that it acquired its present meaning of a brief ceremonial flourish for brass.{{sfn|Tarr|2001}} Indeed, an alternative term for the fanfare is "flourish", as in the [[Ruffles and Flourishes|ruffles and flourishes]] played by military bands in the US to announce the arrival of the president, a general, or other high-ranking dignitary.{{sfn|Randel|2003}} "In the England of Shakespeare's time", fanfares "were often known as flourishes and sometimes as 'tuckets' " (a word related to [[toccata]]).{{sfn|Lloyd|1968|loc=172}}

==History==
In French usage, ''{{Lang|fr|fanfare}}'' also may refer to a hunting signal (given either on "starting" a stag, or after the kill when the hounds are given their share of the animal). In both France and Italy, ''fanfare'' was the name given in the 19th century to a military or civilian [[brass band]].{{sfn|Tarr|2001}} In French, this usage continues to the present, and distinguishes the all-brass band from bands of mixed brass and woodwind, which is called ''[[Harmonie]]''.{{sfn|Kennedy|2006}} The same applies in Belgium and the Netherlands, where competitions for fanfares are held to this day, well separate from other wind ensembles such as [[brass band]]s and ''harmonies''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/03/11/fanfare-uit-achel-wint-fanfarekampioenschap/ | title=Fanfare Kempenbloei uit Achel wint fanfarekampioenschap: "Ik ben heel fier" | date=11 March 2024 }}</ref>  Fanfares have been imitated in [[art music]] as early as the 14th century. Examples in opera include a fanfare for the governor's arrival in [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s ''[[Fidelio]]'', act 2. In the 20th century, well-known composed fanfares include [[Aaron Copland]]'s ''[[Fanfare for the Common Man]]'' (1942), for brass and percussion, and [[Igor Stravinsky]]'s ''[[Fanfare for a New Theatre]]'' (1964), for two trumpets.{{sfn|Baines|Bellingham|2002}}{{sfn|Randel|2003}}

Copland's Fanfare is one of a series of 18 commissioned by [[Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra]] conductor [[Eugene Aynsley Goossens|Eugene Goossens]] in 1942–43, each to open a concert. Each was to salute an aspect of the war effort; the U.S. had entered [[World War II]] the previous year. The only one of these fanfares to become well known is Copland's; the others are rarely if ever performed or recorded. The set, with the date of the concert at which each was performed, is:{{sfn|Anon.|n.d.}}

*1. ''A Fanfare for Airmen'', [[Bernard Wagenaar]], Oct. 9, 1942
*2. ''A Fanfare for Russia'', [[Deems Taylor]], Oct. 16, 1942.
*3. ''A Fanfare for the Fighting French'', [[Walter Piston]], Oct. 23, 1942.
*4. ''A Fanfare to the Forces of our Latin-American Allies'', [[Henry Cowell]], Oct. 30, 1942. (Recorded.){{Vague|date=August 2018|reason=When? Where? By whom?}}
*5. ''A Fanfare for Friends'', [[Daniel Gregory Mason]], Nov. 6, 1942.
*6. ''A Fanfare for Paratroopers'', [[Paul Creston]], Nov. 27, 1942.
*7. ''Fanfare de la Liberté'', [[Darius Milhaud]], Dec. 11, 1942.
*8. ''A Fanfare for American Heroes'', [[William Grant Still]], Dec. 18, 1942.
*9. ''Fanfare for France'', [[Virgil Thomson]], Jan. 15, 1943.
*10. ''Fanfare for Freedom'', [[Morton Gould]], Jan. 22, 1943. (Recorded.){{Vague|date=August 2018|reason=When? Where? By whom?}}
*11. ''Fanfare for Airmen'', [[Leo Sowerby]], Jan. 29, 1943. (Recorded.){{Vague|date=August 2018|reason=When? Where? By whom?}}
*12. ''Fanfare for Poland'', [[Harl McDonald]], Feb. 5, 1943.
*13. ''Fanfare for the Medical Corps'', [[Anis Fuleihan]], Feb. 26, 1943.
*14. ''Fanfare for the American Soldier'', [[Felix Borowski]], March 5, 1943.
*15. ''Fanfare for the Common Man'', Aaron Copland, March 12, 1943. (Many recordings. Incorporated into Copland's [[Symphony No. 3 (Copland)|Symphony No. 3]].)
*16. ''Fanfare for the Signal Corps'', [[Howard Hanson]], April 2, 1943.
*17. ''Fanfare for the Merchant Marine'', Eugene Goossens, April 16, 1943.
*18. ''Fanfare for Commandos'', [[Bernard Rogers]], Feb. 20, 1943.

==Sources==
{{Reflist}}

===Works cited===
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Anon.|n.d.}}|reference="[https://web.archive.org/web/20180925164906/http://cincinnatisymphony.org/about-us/history/goossens-fanfares/ Goosens Fanfares]". Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (accessed July 30, 2018).}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Baines|Bellingham|2002}}|reference=Baines, Anthony, and Jane Bellingham. 2002. "Fanfare". ''[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780198662129 The Oxford Companion to Music]'', edited by Alison Latham. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-866212-9}}.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Davidson|1907}}|reference=Davidson, Thomas. 1907. "Fanfare". ''Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language''. London and Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers, Limited.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Griffiths|2004}}|reference=Griffiths, Paul. 2004. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=04vDuG_pElwC The Penguin Companion to Classical Music]''. London and New York: Penguin Books. {{ISBN|9780141909769}} (electronic book).}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Kennedy|2006}}|reference=Kennedy, Michael. 2006. "Fanfare". ''[https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary00kenn The Oxford Dictionary of Music]'', second edition, revised. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-861459-3}}.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Lloyd|1968}}|reference=Lloyd, Norman. 1968. "Fanfare". ''The Golden Encyclopedia of Music''. New York: Golden Press. Library of Congress Number 68-17169.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Randel|2003}}|reference=Randel, Don Michael. 2003. "Fanfare". ''[https://archive.org/details/harvardconcisedi00rand The Harvard Dictionary of Music]'', fourth edition. Harvard University Press Reference Library 16. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-674-01163-2}}.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Tarr|2001}}|reference=Tarr, Edward H. 2001. "Fanfare". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by [[Stanley Sadie]] and [[John Tyrrell (musicologist)|John Tyrrell]]. London: Macmillan Publishers.}}

{{Commons category|Fanfare (music)}}
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[[Category:Musical terminology]]
[[Category:Hunting]]
[[Category:Fanfares| ]]