music of russia
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Music of Russia. USAD 2012-2013. Folk Music. Folk songs varied locally from region to region Different villages sang different songs ¨ They also sang different variations of the same song Urban assimilation of villages transformed folk songs - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Music of RussiaUSAD 2012-2013
Folk Music Folk songs varied locally from region to region
Different villages sang different songs ¨ They also sang different variations of the same song
Urban assimilation of villages transformed folk songs ¨ In some cases, urban popular music obliterated folk
tradition The late 18th century gave rise to folk song
transcription Educated urban gentlemen spearheaded the notation
of folk music Many of these men were amateur musicians Their work introduced folk songs into the world of art
music
Transcription Scotland pioneered transcription, but
Germany performed most important legwork Achim von Arnim (1781-1831) and
Clemens Brentano (1778-1842) compiled Des Knaben Wunderhorn (1805-1808) ¨ This folk song collection only included song
lyrics ¨ However, ensuing anthologies often featured
melodies as well
Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803)
linked folk songs and nationalism This German philosopher traveled through
Europe and Russia He believed national divisions existed based on
language Herder considered folk song part of the
national, not just local, culture He was one of the first to note the national
importance of folk music Herder wrote that folk music channeled national
spirit Folk songs became part of national heritage
Transcription methods and their flaws
Before audio recording, transcribers relied solely on their memories Circumstances did not always allow the transcriber
to hear the song multiple times Even if he did, the same singer might still vary the
song Folk tradition did not stress rigid adherence to pitch and
rhythm Peasants only performed certain songs on certain
occasions Many folk songs were tied to ritual or work-related
events Thus, the transcriber only had one chance to listen These events, like weddings, often came with
distractions as well
Problems cont’d The extensive lyrics took a long time to perform
Many publishers only printed excerpts from songs A nonsensical verse about nature might have led to a
profound tale of love Worse yet, publishers rarely indicated these omissions
to the reader Some scholarly works generally included full texts
However, the general public could not easily access these publications
Even with the help of audio recording, transcribers must still make choices Transcribers must decide which irregularities to
preserve and which to exclude
Problems cont’d Early transcribers did not bother themselves with
issues of authenticity Above all, these transcribers viewed folk songs as
market goods Transcriptions needed to appeal to domestic consumers Most arrangements involved solo voice and piano
Arrangers ignored or rewrote polyphony and heterophony These textures greatly differed from Western art music
Arrangers feared buyers would not approve Sometimes arrangers replaced Western-like idioms to
increase “folk” appeal Notated folk songs reflected urban expectation more
than rural tradition
More Problems with transcriptions Despite their claims, arrangers always
invented their own harmonies for folk melodies The original songs most often involved
only solo voice However, arrangers still claimed to use
“authentic” harmonies 20th-century arrangers became more
conscious of authenticity and accuracy
Track 1: “The Day was Breaking” This folk song derives from the Smolensk
region “The Day was Breaking” exemplifies the
protyazhnaya genre It features a long, winding melody
The melody is melismatic Each syllable stretches out over an entire musical
phrase Thus, the lyrics unfold incredibly slowly
The lyrics refer to army recruitment Russian conscripts served in the Tsarist army
for 25 years
“The Day was Breaking” cont’d - excerpt
Each verse begins with a zapev, or solo introduction The zapev centers on the interval of the fifth
Protyazhnayas often focus on this interval Mikhail Glinka described the fifth as “the soul of
Russian music” Podgoloski (“undervoices”) overwhelm the
zapev, thickening the texture Each ensuing verse becomes more dissonant At the end of each verse, the texture reverts to
unison
“The Day was Breaking” cont’d - excerpt
The song takes liberties with intervals At the outset, a minor third featuring the modal
center and the third scale degree appears However, at the end of each verse, a major
third appears This interval sounds widely tuned compared to
Western music 19th century collectors would dismiss the sound However, 20th century collectors indicated the
wider tuning in their notation The singers use “open” sounds, just as real
folk singers do
Overview Various types of “Russian folk songs” pervade the musical
world Examples include “Dark Eyes,” “Those Were the Days, My
Friend,” and “Coachman, Spare Your Horses” A few songs originated in the countryside 19th-century Russian restaurants often featured gypsy
singers and choirs Their repertoire included both true folk songs and urban-
created “folk” songs Most 18th- and 19th-century collectors focused on
notating legitimately rural folk songs These songs reflected local village traditions and rituals However, collections did include the occasional popular song
Scholars classify folk songs into genres They base these decisions based on the song’s function They also consider the lyrics and character of the song
Protyazhnaya A solo performer may sing a lyrical song without a
special occasion These songs often focus on a tale of unhappy love The best-known subgenre of lyrical songs is the
protyazhnaya Protyazhnaya literally means “prolonged”
A protyazhnaya typically features a long, winding melodic line
The melismatic aspect of the songs further increases their length Melismatic songs stretch each syllable over a musical
phrase Even native Russian speakers struggle to piece together
the slowly unfolding lyrics
The protyazhnaya took on great symbolic status in the 19th century Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) established the
protyazhnaya as a symbol for Russia as a whole His novel Dead Souls (1842) includes a memorable
image Three horses lead a coach across an unending stretch of
Russian land The coachman sings a melancholic, interminable
protyazhnaya Thus, Gogol implies that both Russia and the
protyazhnaya are endless and tragic Many people came to believe all Russian folk songs
sounded melancholy City dwellers encountered the protyazhnaya more
frequently than other folk genres
Calendar Songs Rural peasants only performed calendar songs for
certain seasonal rituals These occasions include Advent, Christmas, Shrovetide,
and the summer solstice The lyrics of these songs often combine pagan and
Christian symbols Many Christian festivals replaced earlier pagan holidays
Calendar songs differ significantly from protyazhnaya songs Scholars believe calendar songs are much older than
lyrical ones Calendar songs use shorter, more syllabic melodic phrases
Each pitch corresponds to a single syllable of text
Other folk genres Wedding songs included joyous hymns and more depressing
tunes Tradition required the bride to sing a song lamenting leaving her
parental home Funeral laments featured naturalistic sobbing sounds The North of Russia favored byliny, or epic songs
These solo tunes recounted ancient legends and historical events Byliny were syllabic and imitated human speech
Labor songs helped coordinate group labor projects Barge workers sang the “Song of the Volga Boatmen” The rhythm allowed the many workers to pull ropes
simultaneously Plyasovye refers to energetic dance songs
These repetitive melodies featured strong rhythms Other genres included lullabies, game songs, and military
marches
“Akh ty step” V. Sokolov arranged this Russian folk song The song reflects popular (urban) elements
rather than true rural roots Three aspects of the song reveal its
classification as a protyazhnaya Many songs of this genre feature the same
opening line: “O, ye steppes…” The melody features wide intervals
The opening starts with an ascending sixth Later, we hear an ascending octave
Like other protyazhnayas, the song sounds lyrical and sorrowful
“Akh ty step” cont’d “Akh ty step” clearly displays urban influence
This arrangement is much less melismatic than traditional folk songs
Urban styles override folk-like variants and irregular harmonies
The modern choral arrangement adds a hummed introduction and a lengthy conclusion
However, the arranger does attempt to imitate folk devices Some of the four verses begin with expressive vocal
solos Middle voices actively participate in the harmony The ends of phrases often converge to a unison or
octave
Folk Songs Collections & Arrangements Lvov-Pratsch (1790)
The Lvov-Pratsch collection was the most influential early folk song anthology It included both text and music
Nikolai Lvov transcribed the text Johann (Ivan) Pratsch arranged the music
City dwellers used the collection for domestic music playing
Composers included the arranged melodies in their own works
Lvov-Pratsch cont’d Accusations of Westernization contributed to the
collection’s fall from grace Critics charged Pratsch with rewriting melodies to match
urban expectation Pratsch supposedly placed accents on the wrong syllables to
match Western meter Later musicians found Pratsch’s harmonizations insensitive
and Western67 Lvov did not keep records of his sources
The sources may already have been altered from the rural originals
Thus, scholars cannot know the extent of Pratsch’s changes In the 19th century, collectors became more conscious of
accuracy and authenticity
Balakirev (1866) The Balakirev collection stressed the distinctive
sound of Russian folk music Unlike Pratsch, Mily Balakirev did not try to
urbanize folk melodies Rather, he attempted to exaggerate the differences
between folk and art music This choice reveals the abrupt shift in consumer taste in
the 19th century Balakirev favored non-Western musical ideas and
simple harmonies He often used flattened seventh degrees instead of
Western leading tones Sometimes he misrepresented sources to emphasize non-
Western sounds
Balakirev cont’d Balakirev mostly employed diatonic harmonies
In other words, he only used the pitches of a single scale Other than hymns, Western art music did not typically do this These harmonies created a modal sound
He used triads rather than four-note chords From 1600 onward, seventh chords frequently appeared in
Western art music Balakirev believed folk music should sound more ancient
Balakirev also meticulously adhered to the natural stress pattern of words He varied meter rather than sacrifice the stress pattern
Despite his scrupulous methodology, Balakirev still produced arrangements In other words, the transcriptions did not accurately reflect folk
practice However, they were more accurate than Pratsch’s approach
Melgunov and Palchikov Before the late 19th century, collectors did not transcribe
polyphony or heterophony Heterophony involves unsynchronized singers performing the same
melody It can also refer to a single melody with simultaneous variations
Polyphony refers to simultaneous melodies Russian folk collectors were not very aware of these textures in
folk song Few early transcribers made serious attempts to notate them Composers imitated the effect vaguely, but few understood the
texture well They began folk-like choruses with a soloist They then incorporated the rest of the choir The section ended in unison
Composers only became aware of these two textures after recording technology appeared
Yuli Melgunov & Nikolai Palchikov cont’d Yuli Melgunov and Nikolai Palchikov each attempted to
notate folk heterophony and polyphony before recording technology
Melgunov published his collection of folk songs in 1879 He succeeded in notating heterophony
To do so, he listened to the music in melodic, not harmonic, terms He listened to several singers in the same village performing one at
a time Then he combined these variations on a single melody into one
score His attempts did not truly transcribe a choral folk song
However, they served as good approximations of heterophony Composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov dismissed the collection
as “barbaric” He could not bear the heterophonic texture The idea contradicted his own method of harmonizing folk songs
Yuli Melgunov & Nikolai Palchikov cont’d Nikolai Palchikov produced the best notation of
folk polyphony Palchikov lived in a village
Thus, he could observe the same songs and singers multiple times
Unfortunately, he also remained in relative obscurity Palchikov stood next to each singer and notated
each part He then combined these separate lines into a score The result proved better than Melgunov’s compilation
Unfortunately, Melgunov’s collection received greater attention Melgunov’s arrangements introduced Russian folk
texture to the art world
Linyova (1904) Yevgeniya Linyova released her first folk
song collection in 1904 She spearheaded the use of audio recording
technology Now, composers could not deny the textures in
Russian folk music Composer Igor Stravinsky was the first to
embrace these folk textures Other 20th century composers eagerly followed
his lead At the time, composers longed to break
established composition rules
Folk Songs in Classical Music Composers’ uses for folk song
Composers used folk themes to characterize lower-class characters in operas For instance, Mikhail Glinka used folk songs to designate
peasants in A Life for the Tsar Other composers believed folk melodies made music sound
more “national” Philosophers like Herder reinforced this belief Glinka chose Russian folk songs to differentiate his work from
Italian operas The use of familiar folk melodies also garnered sympathy and
acclaim from audiences Folk music also contained new techniques
Glinka and other composers drew inspiration for technical innovations
Composers often included folk melodies for several of the above reasons
Folk Songs in Classical Music cont’d Myths and exaggerations
Many “national” composers exaggerated their knowledge of folk traditions Often, their biographers published gross
overstatements In truth, most 19th-century composers came from
privileged backgrounds They did not grow up listening to folk music Most composers consciously studied folk music in their
adult years Rimsky-Korsakov himself denied rumors of his
familiarity with folk songs He did not experience folk music until his twenties Rimsky-Korsakov studied Balakirev’s collection of
transcriptions
Contemporary critics often exaggerated the authenticity of quoted folk songs Composers rewrote folk melodies to suit their own
works The songs themselves transformed en route from the
village to the city Rimsky-Korsakov presented a folk song melody simply
He often used a solo woodwind instrument The accompaniment consisted of subtle string pizzicato Rimsky-Korsakov kept harmony to a minimum, using long
pedal notes A pedal note refers to a long sustained note, often found in
the bass line. Usually, a pedal note contains the root of the harmony.
Audiences frequently believed all folk songs sounded like this However, the style was all Rimsky-Korsakov’s creation
Most importantly, scholars overplayed the national spirit imparted by folk songs Only peasants from a certain region would
recognize a folk song Yet composers came to associate folk song
with the entire population of Russia In other words, a tiny little-known part
represents the vast whole Folk music does not possess noticeable
“Russianness” A foreign audience unfamiliar with Russian
music would not recognize it as such
Russian Music of the 19th century
Westernization and Russian National Identity Westernization under Peter the Great
In the early modern period, Russians set themselves apart from “The West” Ivan the Terrible (r. 1547-1584) allegedly sent several
dozens of scholars abroad Unfortunately, none of these students ever returned to
share their learning Before Peter the Great, Russia rarely contacted
Europe Russia occasionally sent diplomats overseas But, the country did not engage in extended
interaction with the West
Peter the Great (r. 1682-1725) began a large-scale Westernization program During his reign, the educated elite increasingly
realized Russia’s isolation from the West This epiphany also spread throughout the general
population European civilization fascinated Peter
He traveled throughout Europe in disguise At one point, the tsar worked as a shipbuilder on a
Dutch wharf Peter the Great aimed to recreate Russia as a
major European power He intended to establish an irreversible, large-scale
program of Westernization
St. Petersburg
• St. Petersburg became the thriving center of Peter’s “new and improved” Russia• Engineers and laborers
drained a strategically located marsh to build the city
• The tsar based the city on Venice and Amsterdam• St. Petersburg featured
its own harbor and canals• It contained towering
modern buildings• The Europeanized city
did not look like any other Russian town
Peter Westernized every aspect of city life The well-organized grid of streets and identical
houses emphasized his power He renamed and remodeled all state institutions to
fit Western models He forced the aristocracy to adopt European dress
and shave their beards Nobles discarded their long robes in favor of European
breeches and coats Those who refused to shave were forcibly coerced
Peter also hosted assamblei (fashionable balls) and introduced the minuet (slow and graceful ballroom dance for two, the minuet first appeared in the French royal court during the 17th century. Its name derives from the small (menu means “small”) steps required to perform the dance. 18th-century composers often included a minuet-style piece in triple time as a movement in a larger composition.)
Despite heavy resistance, Peter the Great successfully implemented his reforms In part, he triumphed due to sheer
ruthlessness His alterations, however, did benefit some
segments of the population Still, controversies over Westernization
remained for two centuries Communism later declared itself the supreme
Westernizing force However, the Soviet Communist movement
still diverged from Western ideals
The emergence of Russian nationalism : Nationalism only gained major momentum in the late 18th century German nationalist philosophers
influenced the educated Russian elite Both nations worked to collect folk songs
Russians also began to take interest in their native Slavic language At the time, the urbanized nobility mostly
spoke French The Russian elite viewed nationalism in
completely cultural terms at this time
Napoleon Invades
Napoleon’s invasion in 1812 truly launched Russian nationalistic fervor Authorities realized that the army required
the support of the entire population Political nationalism first appeared in mass
produced patriotic posters and leaflets These advertisements urged all Russians to unite
as a single nation They asked individuals to pledge their main
loyalty to their nation
• The pamphlets succeeded in uniting the Russian population• Russian peasants fought
French invaders with axes and sticks
• Citizens set fire to Moscow rather than relinquish it to French forces
• The defeat of Napoleon gave rise to Russian national awareness
Outcomes of the Napoleonic Wars Though their victory united Russian citizens, the
1812 Patriotic War also fostered dissent Russian military officers and soldiers realized their
country’s backwardness These men fought Napoleon back to Paris En route, they noticed the superior infrastructure and
greater equality in Europe They also realized that serfdom was incredibly
outdated (Serfdom refers to exploitation of rural peasants by the landowning nobility. The peasants, called serfs, worked for the wealthy landowners in exchange for legal protection and certain other rights. In essence, serfs lived in a condition of modified slavery, as they received no pay and depended on their landlords for all manner of legal, economic, and social welfare.) Most European nations had outlawed serfdom centuries
prior
Another Outcome: The Decembrist Uprising, 1825• Dissatisfied soldiers
revolted against the new tsar Nicholas I in December 1825• The “Decembrists”
aimed to incite social reform
• Unfortunately, their revolution failed
• The tsar hanged five of the rebel leaders
• He also exiled many other participants to Siberia
• Thus, Napoleon’s invasion also revealed growing frustration within Tsarist Russia
Establishment of Russian Nationalism In 1833, the Russian government established
Official Nationalism All Russian schools would teach students this new
state ideology Minister of Education Sergei Uvarov introduced the
doctrine He described it with a slogan: “Orthodoxy, Autocracy,
and Nationality” Orthodoxy referred to the dominant Russian religion, the
Orthodox Church Autocracy embodied the unquestionable absolute sovereignty
of the tsar However, even Uvarov did not truly understand “Nationality”
(narodnost’) At this point, dissatisfied intellectuals developed the
concept of nationalism The Russian government did not yet see nationalism as a
weapon they could employ
Pyotr Chaadayev Chaadayev’s concerns
Pyotr Chaadayev (1794-1856) expressed concern about Russia’s cultural backwardness His “Philosophical Letter” of 1829
addressed this issue Chaadayev noted that European
nations shared common history and traditions Their societies held similar views on
justice, law, order, and duty By contrast, Russia never participated
in this community Thus, Russia lacked these basic
European principles
The authorities refused to publish Chaadayev’s “Philosophical Letter” They thought his ideas too controversial Instead, they declared him insane and treated
him as such Regardless, manuscript copies spread throughout
the nation (USAD made this corrections in June.)
‘‘In his land, Peter the Great found only a blank sheet of paper, and he wrote on it: ‘Europe and the West’; since then we have belonged to Europe and the West”
Chaadayev’s work inspired two different ideological groups in the mid-19th century Westernizers believed Russians was part of Europe
They supported continued imitation of Western traditions Slavophiles focused on Russia’s “blind, superficial and
awkward imitation” of the West This group advocated the reversal of Peter the Great’s
Westernizing reforms They called to reinstate communal law and other abolished
practices Slavophiles also wanted to firmly distinguish Russian
Orthodoxy (Eastern Christianity) from Western Christianity (especially Catholicism) They claimed Eastern Christians favored authority and faith over
logic and reason Slavophiles also spoke of a new world order led by Russia,
not Europe
Like Chaadayev, many other 19th-century intellectuals compared Russians to Westerners Most comparisons were to the French and Germans
The French were old enemies from 1812 Meanwhile, the Germans made up a large part of St.
Petersburg’s high society Comparison and contrast formed the basis for
defining Russian “national character” However, this method of analysis also resulted in
national stereotypes The French were brilliant but the Russians were profound The Germans were industrious but the Russians were
humane and empathetic “Russian character” proved nothing but a
philosophical construct
Philosophical Influence on Music 19th-century Russian composers sought to
differentiate themselves from the West Glinka attempted to create a new style of opera
He believed Russia displayed greater melancholy than sunny Italy
Thus, Russian opera should be more sorrowful than widespread Italian opera
The Mighty Handful would adopt similar ideas in the 1860s
National stereotypes played a major role in the creation of “Russian style” From the beginning, composers defined Russian music as
non-German German stereotypes thus became a major factor in Russian
musical development
Class Divisions A great divide existed between the educated elite and the
lower classes Late 18th-century writers claimed national character stemmed
from the lower classes “The people” (lower-class peasants) made up the majority of the
population Upper-class Russians spoke French and tended toward the
cosmopolitan Catherine the Great (r. 1762-1796) descended from Germans However, she occasionally wore Russian national garb to tease
courtiers The gentry and the peasantry rarely interacted on a regular basis
Even servants in noble households did not maintain ties to their rural backgrounds
Despite their claims, the elite knew little about the general population
Catherine the Great
Abolition of Serfdom
The abolition of serfdom in 1861 sparked renewed interest in the peasantry The Peredvizhniki (Russian Realist school) did not idealize peasant
life in paintings The Narodnik (populist) movement inspired intellectuals to move to
the countryside Most narodniks were students who left their city homes to join the
peasantry The narodniks provided education and medical assistance to rural
peasants Peasants often treated the narodniks with indifference or even
resentment Interestingly, the peasants placed more stock in social hierarchy than the
wealthy The appearance of their superiors seemed unnatural
Author Leo Tolstoy worked with peasants on his land He wore a collarless peasant shirt However, he still lived off the rent from said peasants
Nikolai Palchikov moved to a village to collect folk song melodies In the village, he worked as a country judge The peasants ultimately accepted him and helped him in his transcriptions
• Composer Modest Mussorgsky (1839- 1881) revealed the greatest narodnik influence in art music• He originally hailed from the
landowning gentry• However, he lost his wealth after the
emancipation of the serfs• Despite his reversal of fortune,
Mussorgsky maintained sympathy for the poor
• He wrote songs presenting different peasant characters
• For instance, his song “Trepak” features a drunk and depressed peasant• This miserable character falls to
the snow to awaits his death
East and West Even as they defined the West, Russians also
explored the East The Russian empire spanned a huge continuous
stretch of land Finland and Poland formed the Western boundaries The Black and Caspian Seas lay to the South Eventually, the empire stretched from the Baltic to the
Pacific “The East” covered many different nationalities and
cultures Still, Russians considered a few regions stereotypically
“Eastern” These included the Caucasus region, Central Asia, and
the Far East
Russian soldiers constantly fought tribes in the Caucasus Mountains and Transcaucasia These tribes waged war on their conquerors hoping to
reassert their independence Russians stereotyped “the East” just as they did the
West The East, however, was under Russian control
Russians viewed the East as exotic These stereotypes affected musical Orientalism80
Expansion into Central Asia also influenced Orientalism to a lesser extent The Russian Far East did not influence 19th-century
music as much This region was too distant and relatively unpopulated Thus, it received little scholarly attention
Perspectives on the role of the East differed Westernizers dismissed the East entirely
They claimed the region would not contribute to Russian cultural growth
Slavophiles, by contrast, gladly emphasized the role of the East They claimed the East influenced Russian fatalism,
mysticism, and autocracy The elite emphasized both the similarities and
differences between Russia and the East They often juxtaposed Russia’s simplicity with the East’s
exotic extravagance However, Russians also “Orientalized” themselves
They emphasized their differences from the West and similarities to the East
They depicted themselves as “Barbarians” who opposed Western corruption
Track 3: “The Glory Chorus” from A Life for the Tsar
Background “The Glory Chorus” comes from the finale of
Glinka’s opera A Life for the Tsar This opera as a whole exemplifies Official
Nationalism Different elements in this work illustrate
“Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality"
Featured excerpt In the score, Glinka identifies “The Glory Chorus” as a “hymn-march”
The onstage military band emphasizes the martial aspect of the march rhythm The rhythm imitates a Russian Orthodox chant This rhythm consists of a half-note followed by two quarter notes
Glinka also uses harmonies unusual for an opera Outer voices move in parallel thirds Such harmonies frequently appear in Orthodox hymns Glinka’s score thus indicates religious and nationalist influences
Like the rest of the opera, “The Glory Chorus” embodies Official Nationalism In addition to the “hymn” aspects above, Glinka uses church bells to
show Orthodoxy The church bells also reflect Nationality
The lyrics glorify the first Romanov tsar in keeping with the principle of Autocracy
Glinka: The Father of Russian Music Most Russian music histories begin with Mikhail
Ivanovich Glinka (1804-1857) Virtually all historians agree that true Russian
classical music started with Glinka’s work Many consider his first opera, A Life for the Tsar
(1836), the first Russian national opera Of course, opera existed in Russia before Glinka
Peter the Great began the development of Russian art music
He hoped to prove Russia’s status as an international power His assamblei featured dance music byWestern
musicians Peter hoped to recreate Western-style music as part of his
Westernization campaign
Actual opera first appeared in Russia during Tsaritsa Anna’s reign It began as a foreign
import from Italy In 1731, an Italian
company performed Calandro by Giovanni Ristori in Moscow
In 1736, Russian musicians collaborated with an Italian troupe in St. Petersburg
They performed The Power of Love and Hate by Francesco Araja
Glinka continued
From then on, opera flourished in Russia The Russian Imperial Court welcomed Italian
and French troupes Private opera houses opened in St. Petersburg
This development allowed opera to reach wider audiences
The first Russian-language libretto appeared in 1755 The story centered on the myth of Cephalus
and Procris Italian instructors trained Russian opera
singers
Glinka’s predecessors set the stage for Russian opera composition Maxim Berezovsky (1745-1777) was the first Russian opera
composer to achieve fame Audiences in Russia and abroad recognized his name Other opera composers included Yevstigenei Fomin (1761-1800) and
Dmitri Bortnyansky (1751-1825) These Italian-trained composers conformed to accepted Western
genres While studying in Italy, they wrote opera seria (“serious opera”) These works used mythology as their subject matter One could not differentiate between the Russian and Italian opera seria
In Russia, these composers created comic operas based on French archetypes However, the librettos featured Russian language The composers included distinctly Russian plots and characters Audiences reacted favorably to the familiar elements Russian comic operas thus enjoyed considerable popularity
Glinka’s Innovations Many of Glinka’s “innovations” actually existed in the
works of his predecessors Glinka’s works often incorporated folk melodies
Fomin’s Coachmen at the Relay Station (1787) also reflected folk influence
The opera’s opening chorus imitates a protyazhnaya folk song The solo singer is eventually joined by the chorus
Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar (1836) focused on a historical, not mythological, subject The story centers on peasant Ivan Susanin
He gave his own life to save the future Tsar Mikhail Romanov In 1815, Catarino Cavos premiered an opera based on the
same tale A Venetian by birth, Cavos lived and worked in St. Petersburg His version of the story remained immensely popular It took time for Glinka’s opera to step out of Cavos’ shadow
Glinka’s great ambition set him apart from his peers and predecessors His skilled originality put him on par with his
European contemporaries These peers included Vincenzo Bellini,
Giacomo Meyerbeer, and Hector Berlioz A Life for the Tsar featured no spoken dialogue
Every line was sung It was the first Russian-language opera to attempt
such a feat Cavos’ version featured long sections of spoken
text between arias and songs
Glinka’s ambition proves surprising given his upbringing He lacked any formal composition training86
In fact, Glinka regarded himself as a student even in his late years
Born to landowners, Glinka participated in his uncle’s private orchestra This ensemble mostly played fashionable
overtures Based on this experience, Glinka might have
become a composer of light, elegant songs and dances for aristocratic salons
In his apprenticeship, he did create such works However, they did not satisfy his lofty aspirations
Glinka honed his skills abroad before returning to dominate Russian opera In Italy, Glinka studied vocal composition
He could have settled for writing Italian-style arias and operas However, he dared to dream of a purely Russian operatic form
This Russian opera would draw subject matter from Russian history It would prove more serious and musically demanding than Italian
opera Glinka learned more difficult compositional techniques in
Germany There he studied with theorist Siegfried Dehn In 1834, Glinka returned to Russia after hearing of his father’s
death In Glinka’s last year of life, however, he would return to
Germany to visit Dehn
A Life for the Tsar Glinka’s first opera, A Life for the Tsar, premiered
at the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre in 1836 The opera featured a clearly monarchist message
The storyline implied the divine authority of the Romanov dynasty Russia successfully fought off a Polish invasion in 1613 Afterward, the first Romanov tsar took the throne The peasant Ivan Susanin fooled the Poles to allow the
tsar time to escape When they discovered the deception, the Poles killed
Susanin At the end of the opera, Susanin dies in a forest
The epilogue concludes with a somber march Afterward, the chorus cries, “Glory to the Tsar!”
Naturally, Tsar Nicholas I supported the performance87 Besides the imperialist storyline, the libretto came from
the court itself Baron Rosen, secretary to Nicholas’ heir Alexander II,
wrote the libretto Following the premiere, Nicholas I showered Glinka
with recognition He offered the composer a royal ring as a token of favor Furthermore, he offered Glinka the highest musical
position in his court Despite imperial recognition, Glinka did not write A
Life for the Tsar on commission He actually composed quite a bit of the music before
Rosen completed the libretto
As Glinka intended, A Life for the Tsar sounds distinctly Russian Glinka first created musical contrast between
the Russians and the Poles He characterized the Poles using two Polish
ballroom dances Russians were familiar with both the polonaise and the
mazurka Both dances involved 3/4 time and dotted rhythms
Glinka used more songlike pieces in 2/4 and 4/4 to illustrate the Russians
In Act III, Glinka dramatically juxtaposed both styles The Poles demand Susanin’s compliance in a mazurka
rhythm Susanin defies them in a protyazhnaya style
Glinka favored the imitation of folk themes rather than direct quotation The overture mimics a protyazhnaya The opera’s “Rowers’ Chorus” also features
a protyazhnaya-like melody Glinka set this melody over a pizzicato string
accompaniment The strings represent the balalaika, a
plucked string instrument In the entire opera, Glinka only quotes two
actual folk tunes
The intelligentsia admired Glinka’s technique and the opera’s apparent Russianness Glinka’s compositions alluded to Russian folk and
popular song They also reflected “Romance” influence These musical aspects made the fresh compositions
seem familiar to Russian audiences Non-Russian audiences, by contrast, noticed the
Italianate elements of the opera
Ruslan and Lyudmila (1842) Glinka based his second opera on a
narrative poem by Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) Many considered Pushkin Russia’s greatest
19th-century poet Unfortunately, he died before he could create
a libretto for Glinka The resulting libretto received a great deal of
criticism The fairy-tale opera emphasizes musical
color over drama Thus, the five acts pass very slowly
In this work, Glinka continued to experiment with the use of color to depict nationality A quoted Finnish song characterized Finn,
a kindhearted sorcerer Glinka used many Orientalist devices to
represent Ratmir, Lyudmila’s Eastern suitor Remember, Glinka composed this opera
before Orientalist clichés developed
The evil dwarf Chernomor received special musical treatment This supernatural creature possessed a beard seven times
his height Glinka invented the whole-tone scale to depict
Chernomor’s magical existence This scale divides the octave into six equal parts instead of
eight It moves in whole steps only Glinka also called this scale his “chemical” scale
The whole-tone scale put off conventional rules of tonal harmony This effect evoked a sense of the supernatural Use of this scale indicated that human laws did not apply to the
magical creature
The public did not react enthusiastically to the 1842 premiere of Ruslan and Lyudmila Performances discontinued shortly after the premiere
Glinka’s popularity plummeted from the high point reached with A Life for the Tsar
Glinka considered this failure his greatest disappointment
As a result of his letdown, Glinka traveled abroad extensively In Spain, Glinka took folk dancing lessons
His experiences inspired the orchestral pieces Jota Aragonesa (1845) and Night in Madrid (1848)
In the end, Glinka returned to Russian styles in Kamarinskaya (1848) This orchestral work almost reconceived variation
form
Glinka’s legacy and musical contributions
Russian composers mythologized Glinka and his contributions after his death They took his example as the foundation for a
new markedly Russian compositional style His uncommon musical devices became part of
Russian national heritage Some of these techniques came from Russian
folk music Others, however, simply arose from Glinka’s
own creativity
Glinka championed the creation of folk-like musical idioms He believed art music could benefit from elements
of folk songs and dances Only some of his folk melodies appeared as direct
quotations Glinka imitated folk music in his original material He reproduced protyazhnayas and dance songs alike
Glinka also cleverly reproduced folk heterophony He never lived with peasants or used audio technology Thus, he worked with limited understanding of the
texture
A Life for the Tsar demonstrates the composer’s affinity for folk-like sounds The introductory chorus switches between a solo singer and the
chorus Glinka varied the number of individual voices present in the choral
texture Like folk music, he wrote two or three parts that converged to a
unison Glinka also employed the folk device peremennost’
This technique involved shifting between several equally important modal centers
Unlike most Western music at the time, folk tunes did not center on one tonic
Glinka’s chord progressions reflected this influence However, he still used standard harmonies
Usually, Glinka moved between pairs of relative major and minor scales
The widespread use of 5/4 meter began with Glinka This unusual meter appears in the wedding choruses
of both A Life and Ruslan Indirectly, this device reflects folk influence
Russian folk poetry featured five-syllable lines that accented the third syllable
This characteristic frequently appeared in wedding songs
Russian folk song typically uses five notes of different length for the five syllables Glinka, however, used five equal quarter notes
Glinka’s disciples treated 5/4 as an authentic Russian meter They also experimented with other uncommon meters
Borodin employed 7/4 Rimsky-Korsakov used 11/4
The whole-tone scale from Ruslan inspired other innovative scales Rimsky-Korsakov created the octatonic scale
This scale alternates whole steps and half steps It spans eight notes, hence the term “octatonic” Rimsky-Korsakov’s invention proved more useful
than the whole-tone scale 20th-century classical and jazz music
incorporated the octatonic scale Glinka’s fans also divided their works into
sections with different musical rules
The composer also popularized “changing-background variations” In fact, Russian scholars refer to this technique as “Glinka
variations” Typical variation form changes the melody while the
accompaniment remains constant Glinka variations do the exact opposite
The melody remains unchanged All other elements (harmony, instrumentation, etc.) vary
Despite the deceptive name, Glinka did not originate the Glinka variations Beethoven uses this technique in “Ode to Joy” from his Ninth
Symphony Movement 3 from Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 59 No. 2 also
features this device In fact, it centers on a Russian melody Possibly, this earlier work inspired Glinka
Regardless of the technique’s origin, Glinka created important examples For instance, he used folk themes with changing-background variations This musical technique honored the folk melody
Glinka’s use of different musical colors for different nationalities in opera inspired others This same principle also appeared in the West
There, composers referred to the technique as couleur locale
Glinka’s supporters focused on two operatic genres They wrote heroic national dramas like A Life for
the Tsar Also, they composed fairytales like Ruslan and
Lyudmila
Glinka’s orchestral works also influenced subsequent composers He never wrote any symphonies, only single-
movement overtures and fantasies Other composers wrote on Russian and non-Russian
folk themes Balakirev composed the Czech Overture Rimsky-Korsakov wrote the Serbian Fantasy
Glinka’s Kamarinskaya served as a model for future composers This piece features Glinka variations on two themes Similarly, Balakirev wrote Overture on Three
Russian Themes Balakirev also composed the piano piece Islamey The composer Lyapunov created the virtuosic
Lezghinka Etude for piano
Track 4: Kamarinskaya Background The single-movement Kamarinskaya involves a
slow theme and a fast theme Glinka alternates between variations on the slow and
fast themes
The Russian wedding song “From behind Tall Hills” forms the slow theme This theme occurs four times in different registers Each repetition features different texture The fourth statement appears in the bass line
“Kamarinskaya” refers to the sprightly dance tune that makes up the fast theme This melody also lends its name to the
piece as a whole Folk tradition repeated this theme in
“dance-till-you drop” variations The piece’s form defies any previously
established musical form Instead, Glinka reinvents the variation
form His techniques elevate the folk melodies
and variations
The excerpt on the USAD CD begins with the first fast section The first violin section presents the opening
statement of the theme Glinka then adds other instrumental voices to
the mix Throughout the variations, Glinka barely alters
the melody When he does, the alterations suggest virtuosic
fiddling Each phrase sounds like an ostinato pattern The 11th statement modulates from major to
minor Glinka emphasizes the opening notes of the slow
theme
The slow theme reappears for two-and-a-half statements
Then, the kamarinskaya dance tune resumes At one point, Glinka drops the melody
altogether, leaving only the accompaniment The tempo slows down slightly as Glinka
explores truly innovative variations A C-natural in the horn produces dissonance
against a D-major harmony In the end, the tempo quickens triumphantly
The Mighty Handful and “National” Style
The birth of Russian music conservatories The Rubinstein brothers vastly enhanced musical
education in Russia Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein rose to fame as one of
the world’s top virtuoso pianists He also worked as a conductor and composer
Anton’s younger brother Nikolai also performed as a pianist and conductor
A Russian border-guard stopped Anton as he returned from a European concert tour Asked for his occupation, Anton replied that he was a “self-
employed artist” The guard did not recognize this profession Anton only received entry for being “the son of a merchant
of the second rank” This incident inspired Anton to work to improve the status
of Russian musicians
Between 1859 and 1860, the Rubinstein brothers formed the Russian Music Society This institution organized a series of public
concerts in St. Petersburg and Moscow Anton worked in St. Petersburg while his
brother lived in Moscow The repertoire featured major works by the likes
of Beethoven, Schumann, and Mendelssohn For the first time in Russian history, the general
population could access art music Previously, a handful of aristocratic enthusiasts
shaped most Russian musical life
The Rubinsteins also founded music conservatories in the two major cities The St. Petersburg Conservatory opened in
1862 and the Moscow Conservatory in 1866 Musicians and composers no longer needed
to enroll in private classes Instead, these conservatories offered
comprehensive five-year courses Most professors came from abroad,
especially from Germany The conservatories increased the social
prestige of musical careers in Russia Russia now entered the wider world of
international art music
Conservatories Vs. Mighty Handful
The Mighty Handful led an anti-conservatory movement in Russia These composers argued against
conservatoriesdue to nationalistic concerns They feared the institutions would overly
Westernize Russian music Conservatories, they claimed, revealed too
much foreign influence
Formation of the Mighty Handful Vladimir Stasov (1824-1906) and Mily Balakirev
(1837-1910) became friends in the mid-1850s Both men loved the music world
Balakirev performed as a pianist He also composed his own pieces Glinka personally encouraged Balakirev to continue
composing Stasov worked as a prominent music critic
Both dreamed of a distinctive Russian style of music This style should appeal to both domestic and
international listeners Stasov and Balakirev hoped it would sound original and
progressive Balakirev and Stasov assembled four other musicians who
shared this goal
Stasov first referred to the group as the moguchaya kuchka Literally, this name translates to “the mighty little
heap” “Handful” sounds more elegant than the original
Russian term In English, some refer to the group as “The Five” in
reference to the five composers However, this term overlooks the sixth important
member, Stasov Stasov alone of the Mighty Handful did not compose his
own works Nonetheless, he helped establish the group’s nationalist
ideology As a critic, he also promoted the group’s music and
discredited rivals
Balakirev served as the Mighty Handful’s musical mentor He was the only full-time musician in the
group At the time, composers struggled to
maintain a living Balakirev earned the majority of his
income by teaching piano lessons He still lived in relative poverty
The opera-loving Cesar Cui worked as an engineer building military fortifications
Army officer Modest Mussorgsky played the piano skillfully However, he only composed polkas for
aristocratic ladies Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov composed
between tours of duty as a naval officer Alexander Borodin served as an
internationally acclaimed chemistry professor He played the cello in his spare time
Despite their talent, the four lacked knowledge of technique and important repertory Balakirev taught them the devices
needed for large-scale works He also introduced them to the
masterworks of famous composers
Balakirev approached teaching differently than the conservatories Of course, Balakirev stood firmly opposed to the
conservatories He favored a demanding but informal approach
Unlike conservatories, he did not assign exercises or “pastiche” composition
Instead, Balakirev played arrangements of symphonies on the piano Mussorgsky, the skilled pianist, often joined him in duets Balakirev then pointed out interesting forms, features
and techniques Balakirev sometimes created his own terms to
explain music theory
Balakirev did assign ambitious homework projects, though He instructed Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov to write a symphony The task required a good amount of help and advice, according to
letters Mussorgsky and Cui attempted to write operas
Despite his stringent expectations, Balakirev also proved incredibly kindhearted He himself composed passages that seemed beyond the skill of
his students When the scores were published, Balakirev did not claim credit
In the end, Balakirev’s pupils surpassed him in terms of fame He selflessly devoted his attention to cultivating the group’s
skill and creativity Thus, he did not spend enough time on his own works Completed late in his career, his works did not receive great
recognition
Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade features arabesque100 patterns in solo violin A similar device appears in the solo
clarinet from Balakirev’s Tamara Balakirev’s work probably inspired
Rimsky-Korsakov’s However, Scheherazade’s greater
popularity leads listeners to believe the opposite
Creating “Russian style” Balakirev and Stasov aimed to create the image
of a unified “musical party” Cui also proved instrumental in molding the
Handful’s public image His writings saw publication in both Russia and France
The group worked in close cooperation in the 1860s The composers wrote their first large-scale works
collectively Balakirev believed the compositional process should
involve the entire group’s input At first, the composers all pursued similar ideals In later years, however, their ideas diverged
considerably
To create “Russianness,” Balakirev mainly advocated avoidance of Western clichés Balakirev used pieces by some Western
composers as negative examples for his pupils Felix Mendelssohn’s works allegedly
represented Germanic “routine” Balakirev hated the smooth musical periods
characteristic of these pieces Balakirev also disparaged the overly
sentimental compositions of Frederic Chopin
However, Balakirev did approve of “progressive,” original Western composers Balakirev championed the works of Ludwig van
Beethoven and Robert Schumann He admired these composers’ use of strong rhythmic
motives Moreover, he liked their compelling experiments with
form Franz Liszt and Hector Berlioz also met with
Balakirev’s approval These composers skillfully wrote “program music” Their compositions used musical colors to depict
characters and events In addition to these Western composers, Balakirev
also promoted Glinka’s works
Above all else, Balakirev stressed the importance of originality in composition
“Russianness” would result from avoidance of Western devices
For instance, he instructed his students to avoid common harmonic progressions
He considered the IV-V-I cadence too clichéd Instead, he suggested skipping the dominant (V),
creating a IV-I cadence Otherwise, the composers might disguise the
dominant chord
Balakirev also taught his students to incorporate folk and Oriental idioms The Mighty Handful turned to folk song for
non-Western material Balakirev alone traveled through Russia to
collect folk melodies Most of the songs came from educated
individuals, not the peasants themselves106 Still, Balakirev published 40 of these tunes in
1866 His collection included his own original piano
accompaniments The Mighty Handful seized this material for their own
compositions
These accompaniment devices reflected Balakirev’s tastes, not the original tunes
However, due to the Handful’s widespread use, many listeners mistakenly
The Caucasus region inspired the Handful to develop the Oriental style
Balakirev absorbed Georgian, Armenian, and Turkic musical elements
¨ New melodic and instrumentation ideas shaped the Handful’s works
¨ These foreign devices helped distance the Handful from Western composers
¨ Oriental music sounded instantly non-Western ¨ It proved more difficult to make folk music sound
non-Western o Audiences reacted favorably to the Oriental style o Western listeners began to notice the Handful o For various reasons, they identified all Handful
compositions as distinctly “Russian”
Many Russian composers incorporated the new Oriental style in some of their works Balakirev began the movement in the 1860s with his
piece Islamey Finished in 1869, this piano piece centers on a
Caucasian-inspired folk dance Balakirev applied Glinka variations to the theme Liszt’s virtuosic compositions also influenced Balakirev’s
piece Rimsky-Korsakov wrote Antar (1868), a symphonic
suite The music depicted an Eastern fairy tale in Oriental
style Borodin’s opera Prince Igor featured the Orientalist
Polovtsian Dances Mussorgsky and Cui also experimented with Oriental
themes in opera
The Handful also turned to Glinka’s oeuvre (composer’s lifetime works) for inspiration
Thanks to the Handful, listeners considered Glinka’s innovations innately “Russian” In particular, these composers favored the
changing-background variations form This device proved especially useful for
pieces based on folk themes
Rimsky-Korsakov expanded on Glinka’s approach to the supernatural His fairytale and supernatural works
featured Glinka’s whole-tone scale Rimsky-Korsakov also invented the
octatonic scale This scale alternates half steps and whole
steps It contains eight pitches in an octave rather
than the typical seven Russian scholars call this device the “Rimsky-
Korsakov scale” Today, jazz composers still use the scale
Like Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov used his unique scale to suspend tonal rules This effect resulted in an unearthly, exotic
sound In Sadko, this scale represents the
Underwater Kingdom Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera Kashchei the
Deathless also features this scale
The Mighty Handful also embraced Glinka’s use of unusual meters They realized folk melodies did not easily
conform to regular meters Thus, they switched between measures of
2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 Besides Glinka’s trademark 5/4, his
followers used 7/4 and 11/4
Second Symphony, Opening Alexander Borodin composed this
symphony Russian musicians nicknamed the piece
Bogatyrskaya o Borodin did not intend to create a
truly programmatic piece However, he thought the opening theme
represented bogatyri, ancient Russian warriors
The striking opening begins with a unison line carried by the entire orchestra The first movement repeats this first
phrase several times Each repetition sounds more grand
Borodin employs augmentation, lengthening the note values of the phrase
Two keys shape the opening section It starts out in B minor, though the first phrase
contains two chromatic pitches The repetition of the phrase modulates to D major The piece continues to hover between these two
closely related keys Unlike German symphonic allegros, the symphony
does not establish one main key The uncertainty of the key vaguely reflects the folk
technique of peremennost’ In peremennost’, a piece shifts between two modal
centers Unlike Western music, no single tonic defines the key of
the piece