fanfares

Fanfares are short, ceremonial musical pieces designed to announce or celebrate an event, person, or occasion. They are typically bright, forceful, and explicitly theatrical, often performed by brass instruments with percussion. The term originates from military signals, where trumpets and drums proclaimed arrivals or proclamations; over time it broadened to describe any brisk, declarative trumpet flourish used to signal importance.

In practice, a fanfare is usually brief—often only a few measures long—built around a bold motif that is stated, restated, and varied before a final, emphatic cadence. Common instrumentation centers on brass (trumpets, bugles, trombones) with percussion such as timpani or snare drums; organ or choir may add color in concert settings. The texture tends to be bright and expansive, emphasizing sonority and gesture rather than lyrical development.

Fanfare usage spans ceremonial occasions, military parades, and public inaugurations, as well as film, television, and video game branding. In ceremonial contexts, a fanfare announces dignitaries, openings, or the start of a procession. In media, short fanfares and branding cues accompany opening credits, logos, or transitions, functioning as recognizably associated signatures for a person, place, or organization.

Notable examples include Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man (1942), a concert work that popularized the brass-led fanfare gesture; John Williams's Olympic Fanfare and Theme (1984), widely heard at the Olympic Games; and the Warner Bros. Pictures fanfare, a concise brass motif that has become one of the best-known film-brand cues. Fanfare conventions vary by culture and era, but the core function remains to proclaim significance with concise, martial energy.