The Definition of Sampling

It’s not unusual for composers to quote part of another person’s composition in their own work to elicit a mood or image.  Two works which exemplify this practice are quotes of the Star Spangled Banner, depicting the American Lt. Pinkerton, in Puccini’s opera, Madame Butterfly, and Tchaikovsky’s use of the Russian and French national anthems in his 1812 Overture.