[Sheet music] Light cavalry: overture

Sheet music for the piece titled 'Light Cavalry: Overture'. Composed by Franz von Suppé, this is the overture to the operetta of the same name. Written in two acts, and set in a 19th century Austrian village, the operetta was first performed in Vienna on 21 March 1866. The overture has since become one of Suppe's most popular musical works.

This copy of the music is the pianoforte arrangment of the overture and the front cover attests that it was intended to be played as a piano solo. It was published by W Paxton & Co Ltd, of London, with this copy marked as Paxton's edition number 50559. Between the end of the printed music for 'Light Cavalry' and the back cover, are eleven advertising previews from pianoforte albums publised by Paxton music publishers including: 'The Arabian Nights' by Boris Levenson; 'The carnival of the elements' by Howard Carr; 'Yashmak-Land' by T W Thurban; 'Africana' by T W Thurban; 'Baisers d'amour' by Geoffrey Kaye; 'The Florida spiritual' by John Foulds; 'Moorish Dance' by Howard Carr; 'The singing stream' by Howard Carr; 'The shrine in the wood' by Howard Carr; 'The mouse and the maid' by T W Thurban; and 'Lavender Love' by Percy Elliott. Inside the back cover is a list of Beethoven sonatas written for the piano by Beethoven that were available from Paxton publishers. The back cover features three advertising previews including 'Lament' by Cyril Jenkins; 'The laughter of the breeze' by H E Gibson-Butler; and 'Berceuse' by J Stuart Archer.

Franz von Suppé was born Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo on 18 April 1819 in what is now Split, in the Dalmatia region of Croatia. At the time, it was known as Spalato and was part of the Austrian empire. Suppé changed his name while in Vienna and also appears on some programs with the name of Francesco Suppé-Demelli. Some of the musical works that he composed are linked with the Dalmatia region of Croatia, where he grew up. William Emmett found parallels between the start of the cello solo in Suppé's work Poet and Peasant overture, from an opera that was first performed in 1846, and the start of the American folk song 'I've been working on the railroad', that was published in 1894.

Towards the bottom of this page is a sound recording of this sheet music, or a parody, that was created as part of the Music and the First World War project. More information about this recording, including names of the performers, can be found on the catalogue record for the sound recording. A link to the catalogue record for the sound recording can be found at the bottom of this page, under the heading ‘Related objects’ where it can be identified with the prefix [sound recording].