History Main / DramaticTimpani

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* The opening chorus of Music/JohannSebastianBach's ''Christmas Oratorio'', "Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage",[[note]] "Shout for joy, rejoice, rise up, praise these days"[[/note]] begins with an emphatic passage for solo timpani, occasionally punctuated by the ''basso continuo'' instruments. (The chorus was originally written as the opening chorus of the secular cantata ''Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten!'', or "Resound, ye drums! Ring out, ye trumpets!" - so the drums, and shortly thereafter the trumpets, do as they are told.)

* Featured in the "Baccanele" from Saint-Saëns' ''Samson and Delilah''.

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* ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum]]'': [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6z_1cCvVjA The battle theme of Arceus]] is composed mostly out of Timpani and snare sounds, with trumpets and base backing up at certain parts. The song itself, though, is a MissingSecret due to the fact that it only plays when you battle a wild Arceus, for which the item required to do encounter one was never distributed during the games' lifetime. The song itself, however, can still be heard in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver]]'' via a event Arceus that really was distributed, but in those games, it invokes LongSongShortScene.

* ''AmericanTop40'': Used before Casey Kasem announced the No. 1 song of the week.
* ''AmericanCountryCountdown'': To a lesser extent than sister program ''[=AT40=]'', as host Bob Kingsley would use it only on the year-end countdown programs before naming the No. 1 country song of the year. Kingsley has carried the timpani roll over to year-end ''BobKingsleysCountryTop40'' programs.

* Most notably during the FinalBoss battle with the BigBad, [[spoiler: [[http://starmen.net/mother3/music/Mother%203%20-%20242%20Master%20Porky%27s%20Theme.ogg Master Porky's Theme]]]], ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER 3}}'' makes the timpani the accompanying background instrument, making his theme all the more bombastic.

* In the first movement of Music/LudwigVanBeethoven's Symphony No. 9, when the main subject returns after the development, it comes as a massive storm in the orchestra, with the timpani in particular hammering away long after the point when you think they could have stopped. The musicologist Susan [=McClary=] famously described this passage as having "the throttling murderous rage of a rapist incapable of attaining release", although she toned it down when she published the same paper in her book ''Feminine Endings'', by which time she'd received a shit-storm of criticism from people who were under the impression that she was comparing Beethoven to a rapist.

* In the first movement of Music/LudwigVanBeethoven's Symphony No. 9, when the main subject returns after the development, it comes as a massive storm in the orchestra, with the timpani in particular hammering away long after the point when you think they could have stopped. The musicologist Susan McClary famously described this passage as having "the throttling murderous rage of a rapist incapable of attaining release", although she toned it down when she published the same paper in her book ''Feminine Endings'', by which time she'd received a shit-storm of criticism from people who were under the impression that she was comparing Beethoven to a rapist.

** In the Scherzo of Music/LudwigVanBeethoven's Symphony No. 9, the timpani are tuned an octave apart from each other (an unconventional tuning, but also used in the finale of Symphony No. 8). The Scherzo's main theme begins with a descending octave, which the timpanist gets to play loud and unaccompanied several times.

* In the Scherzo of Music/LudwigVanBeethoven's Symphony No. 9, the timpani are tuned an octave apart from each other (an unconventional tuning, but also used in the finale of Symphony No. 8). The Scherzo's main theme begins with a descending octave, which the timpanist gets to play loud and unaccompanied several times.

* AFunnyThingHappenedOnTheWayToTheForum: Miles Gloriosus enters the scene to dramatic timpani flourishes; in most showings, his entourage reflects this by having several drummers.

* [[http://youtu.be/IizWc4cJwbw Bugler's Dream]], the most famous theme of the OlympicGames.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'': The battle between Reshiram and Zekrom has music that heavily features timpani.

*** Same holds true for Pokemon Black 2 and White 2

* In Music/PeterAndTheWolf, when the hunters enter, there are intermittent menacing timpani outbursts.

*** Bongo drums on the daytime show; timpani on the 1974-75 syndicated nighttime edition.

*** That was bongo drums, not a timpani.

* Music/GustavMahler was well-known for writing spectacular timpani flourishes into his symphonies; his Symphonies Nos. 1, 5 and 6 all provide dramatic timpani at one climactic moment. The finale of Symphony No. 7 begins with a bravura flourish played on four timpani. A minimalistic but attention-getting timpani volley opens the third movement of Symphony No. 2.

* The "Tuba mirum" in Creator/HectorBerlioz's Grande Messe des morts (the French title for the Requiem mass) and BenjaminBritten's War Requiem has loud fanfares accompanied by overpowering drum rolls. "Be slowly lifted up" in the War Requiem is accompanied by timpani volleys played on three drums.

* In Creator/EdwardElgar's Enigma Variations, Variation VII (Troyte) begins with a dramatic timpani crescendo played on three drums.
* The opening chorus of Creator/JohannSebastianBach's ''Christmas Oratorio'', "Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage",[[note]] "Shout for joy, rejoice, rise up, praise these days"[[/note]] begins with an emphatic passage for solo timpani, occasionally punctuated by the ''basso continuo'' instruments. (The chorus was originally written as the opening chorus of the secular cantata ''Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten!'', or "Resound, ye drums! Ring out, ye trumpets!" - so the drums, and shortly thereafter the trumpets, do as they are told.)
* In Creator/AaronCopland's Symphony for Organ and Orchestra, the timpani pounding out the work's motto theme in the final movement would be more impressive were they not overshadowed by the organ playing at full power.

* In the Scherzo of Creator/LudwigVanBeethoven's Symphony No. 9, the timpani are tuned an octave apart from each other (an unconventional tuning, but also used in the finale of Symphony No. 8). The Scherzo's main theme begins with a descending octave, which the timpanist gets to play loud and unaccompanied several times.

* Played with in ''FinalFantasyVI'': The battle in the opera house against Ultros features a dramatic timpani...because the music is being provided by the orchestra.

* ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum]]'': [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6z_1cCvVjA The battle theme of Arceus]] is composed mostly out of Timpani and snare sounds, with trumpets and base backing up at certain parts. The song itself, though, is a MissingSecret due to the fact that it only plays when you battle a wild Arceus, for which the item required to do encounter one was never distributed during the games' lifetime. The song itself, however, can still be heard in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver]]'' via a event Arceus that really was distributed, but in those games, it invokes LongSongShortScene.
* All the battle themes in VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire (and, by extension, almost all the battle themes in Emerald) have a timpani accompanying the melody of the respective songs.

* ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum]]'': [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6z_1cCvVjA Vs. Arceus]].

* "One Foot, Other Foot" from ''Allegro'' averts what would otherwise be a classic example only because the orchestration doesn't include a timpani part.