Music of Russia
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Transcript Music of Russia
Music of Russia
USAD 2012-2013
Folk Music
Folk songs varied locally from region to region
Different villages sang different songs
Urban assimilation of villages transformed folk songs
¨ They also sang different variations of the same song
¨ 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
Their repertoire included both true folk songs and urbancreated “folk” songs
Most 18th- and 19th-century collectors focused on
notating legitimately rural folk songs
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
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
Funeral laments featured naturalistic sobbing sounds
The North of Russia favored byliny, or epic songs
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 solo tunes recounted ancient legends and historical
events
Byliny were syllabic and imitated human speech
Labor songs helped coordinate group labor projects
Tradition required the bride to sing a song lamenting leaving
her parental home
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
The Lvov-Pratsch collection was the most
influential early folk song anthology
It
(1790)
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
Lvov did not keep records of his sources
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
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 nonWestern sounds
Balakirev cont’d
Balakirev mostly employed diatonic harmonies
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
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 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
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
Heterophony involves unsynchronized singers performing the
same melody
It can also refer to a single melody with simultaneous variations
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
His attempts did not truly transcribe a choral folk song
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
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
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
For instance, Mikhail Glinka used folk songs to designate
peasants in A Life for the Tsar
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 largescale 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, largescale 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
Slavophiles also wanted to firmly distinguish Russian
Orthodoxy (Eastern Christianity) from Western Christianity
(especially Catholicism)
They called to reinstate communal law and other abolished
practices
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
Upper-class Russians spoke French and tended toward
the cosmopolitan
“The people” (lower-class peasants) made up the majority of
the population
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
Author Leo Tolstoy worked with peasants on his land
Interestingly, the peasants placed more stock in social hierarchy
than the wealthy
The appearance of their superiors seemed unnatural
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
Russians viewed the East as exotic
The East, however, was under Russian control
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
Slavophiles, by contrast, gladly emphasized the role
of the East
They claimed the region would not contribute to
Russian cultural growth
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 “hymnmarch”
The onstage military band emphasizes the martial aspect of the march
rhythm
Glinka also uses harmonies unusual for an opera
The rhythm imitates a Russian Orthodox chant
This rhythm consists of a half-note followed by two quarter notes
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
The first Russian-language libretto appeared in
1755
This development allowed opera to reach wider
audiences
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
These Italian-trained composers conformed to accepted Western
genres
Audiences in Russia and abroad recognized his name
Other opera composers included Yevstigenei Fomin (1761-1800)
and Dmitri Bortnyansky (1751-1825)
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
Following the premiere, Nicholas I showered
Glinka with recognition
Baron Rosen, secretary to Nicholas’ heir Alexander II,
wrote the libretto
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 considered this failure his greatest
disappointment
As a result of his letdown, Glinka traveled abroad
extensively
In Spain, Glinka took folk dancing lessons
Glinka’s popularity plummeted from the high point
reached with A Life for the Tsar
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 song typically uses five notes of
different length for the five syllables
Russian folk poetry featured five-syllable lines that
accented the third syllable
This characteristic frequently appeared in wedding
songs
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 singlemovement 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 “dancetill-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-ahalf 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 “selfemployed 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 anticonservatory 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
Despite his stringent expectations, Balakirev also proved
incredibly kindhearted
He himself composed passages that seemed beyond the
skill of his students
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
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 RimskyKorsakov’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 “RimskyKorsakov 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
Mussorgsky’s Experiments in
Operatic Realism
Modest Mussorgsky
Historians typically present Mussorgsky as the
only significant Handful composer
They celebrate his opera Boris Godunov
His piano cycle Pictures at an Exhibition also
receives lavish praise
Modern critics applaud him as a genius who
foresaw modernist harmonies and forms
Mussorgsky’s contemporaries hardly shared
such complimentary views
Even the Mighty Handful considered him half
competent
His ideas seemed insane to his peers
Some believed Mussorgsky suffered from mental
instability
Like the rest of the Handful, Mussorgsky strove
to avoid Western clichés in his operas
Mussorgsky particularly sought to differentiate
his work from Italian opera
Germany dominated most other musical genres
However, Italy led the operatic world
The Russian court favored Italian opera and
overpaid Italian singers
Meanwhile, the Russian opera company failed due
to neglect
Mussorgsky disapproved of sweet Italian
melodies and complicated plots
He and the Handful preferred to stage realistic
events and characters
To this end, they dispensed with the formal
clichés of Italian opera
Dargomyzhsky’s influence
The
Handful admired the operatic work of
Alexander Dargomyzhsky (1813-69)
Dargomyzhsky and the Handful interacted
on good terms in the late 1860s
At
that time, Dargomyzhsky began The Stone
Guest
This
opera centered on Pushkin’s “little
tragedy” of the same name
Mozart’s famous opera Don Giovanni
revolves around a similar plot
Dargomyzhsky felt words were more
important than music in an opera
Thus, he decided to preserve Pushkin’s text
exactly
In other words, he opted not to create a
different libretto
Only two short songs appeared in Pushkin’s
original
As a result, Dargomyzhsky replaced the
standard arias with declamatory pieces
These passages proved taxing for both
audiences and singers
Listeners struggled to follow the unconventional
operatic form
Meanwhile, the singers found the music more
difficult to memorize
Fortunately for the listeners and singers,
Dargomyzhsky died before completing The
Stone Guest
The Marriage
Mussorgsky
took Dargomyzhsky’s
approach a step further
He decided to write an opera based on
The Marriage by Nikolai Gogol
The
play focuses on a commitment-shy
bachelor
In the end, he does not appear at his own
wedding
Gogol’s comedy was written in prose, not
verse like Pushkin’s The Stone Guest
This
difference complicated Mussorgsky’s task
Unlike Dargomyzhsky, he could not use the
poetic rhythms to aid his compositions
Mussorgsky painstakingly imitated the
inflections of spoken dialogue
To notate the intonations, Mussorgsky read
each line out like an actor
He aimed to add another level of realism to the
characters through their music
Furthermore, Mussorgsky rejected typical
harmonic progressions
He also used musical themes to represent stage
action
For instance, a light and elegant theme
indicates the buttonholes in a frock-coat
After finishing the first act, Mussorgsky
discontinued work
The work had become too long
Regardless, he considered the experiment useful
as important practice in realism
THE MARRIAGE
The
Marriage, though incomplete,
alarmed the rest of the Mighty Handful
Mussorgsky presented the first act to his
friends
At
the piano, he performed the parts with
gusto
His fellow composers realized that
audiences would not accept such a
composition
The
music proved incredibly challenging for
soloists
Besides that, audiences would struggle to find
coherent melodies
The disjointed harmonies increased doubts of
Mussorgsky’s abilities
The Marriage
Mussorgsky
Stasov
dedicated the first act to
Stasov accepted the score but hid it away
for years
¨
He believed it would damage Mussorgsky’s
reputation as a composer
The score reappeared after Mussorgsky’s
death
¨
At this point, music had progressed
considerably
¨Stasov believed that the public would
receive the performance more
sympathetically
Boris Godunov
After
abandoning The Marriage, Mussorgsky
began a new project
He created an opera based on Pushkin’s tragic
play Boris Godunov
Boris
Godunov takes place during the time period
after Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar
The events occur immediately preceding the dawn of
the Romanov dynasty
During this “Time of Troubles,” Russia experienced
political instability
Unlike
Glinka, Mussorgsky does not unquestioningly
venerate the Tsar
Rather than spew propaganda, the opera requires its
audience to think critically
Boris Godunov
The
opera questions the legitimacy of Tsar
Boris Godunov’s regime
Godunov takes the throne after the murder
of a child who stood in his way
Most likely, Godunov himself ordered the
killing
Boris’ rule seems benevolent, but a monk
records the truth
Meanwhile, a rival challenges Boris’
authority
The Russian people, however, will live in
poverty regardless of who rules
Boris Godunov
Mussorgsky
produced two separate
versions of Boris Godunov
The
first version (1869) more closely
adheres to Pushkin’s original and operatic
realism
This adaptation does not strictly
conform to standard conventions
Mussorgsky
does not divide the action into
separate musical numbers
The score contains no arias
It does, however, include a few “ariosos,” or
“monologues”
Boris Godunov
Most
shockingly, Mussorgsky does not
include a role for a prima donna
This lead female singer often served as the
central attraction of an opera
Without a prima donna, Boris Godunov
lacks a love story
A
dark, serious mood prevails in Boris
Godunov
Some comic relief appears in the Inn Scene
The
Imperial Theatres demanded that
Mussorgsky revise the manuscript
Boris Godunov
Thus,
in 1872, Mussorgsky unveiled a
second, more widely acceptable version
He added a vivid Polish Act that allowed
him to include a prima donna
Western
music characterized the Polish
Marina Mniszek
Thus, Mussorgsky could afford to give her a typical
love duet
By contrast, Mussorgsky used experimental
techniques for Russian characters
Mussorgsky
also wrote some songs for a scene
between Boris and his children
These tunes did not drive the plot
However, they allowed the audience a break
from declamatory songs
Boris Godunov
Finally, Mussorgsky created a whole new
closing scene
Unlike the first version, the revision did not end
with Boris’ death
Instead, the conclusion featured a peasant
revolt
This addition added political overtones to a
previously psychological work
The opera now concerned the whole nation,
not just Boris’ conscience
The second version of Boris served as an
effective compromise
The extravagant effects and vocal virtuosity
suited the Imperial Theatres
However, the music still fits Mussorgsky’s realist
and nationalist ideals
Boris Godunov features progressive
realism and sounds distinctly Russian
Realism
manifests in the characters’
speech and conversation
Different characters speak in unique ways
The
monk Pimen sounds noble and stately
The Innkeeper sings in a folk style
Her music echoes that of the Matchmaker in The
Marriage
Moreover,
naturally
Mussorgsky presents the music
The Innkeeper sings a song to herself rather
than the audience
Boris’ coronation does not feature a fulllength aria, only a few brief thoughts
Boris Godunov
To
create national color, Mussorgsky imitated
folk themes
He represented folk choral singing more
accurately than Glinka ever did
Mussorgsky
also used bell-like sounds
reminiscent of the Russian Orthodox Church
In the Coronation Scene, the entire orchestra
imitated the bells
Lower
instruments represented large bells
Smaller instruments symbolized the more frequent
medium bells
Rimsky-Korsakov
this idea
helped Mussorgsky orchestrate
Boris Godunov
Mussorgsky
alternates two dissonant chords
Both chords share the same tritone interval
This technique reflects the lack of precise tuning in
bells
Unfortunately,
many of Mussorgsky’s complex
harmonies went unrecognized
His contemporaries dismissed them as evidence
of incompetence
Only later did critics and audiences appreciate
his innovations
Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov
While
he wrote Boris Godunov, Mussorgsky
shared an apartment with RimskyKorsakov
At the time, Mussorgsky worked as a civil
servant, copying documents
The two men took turns composing at the
piano
When Mussorgsky was working, RimskyKorsakov wrote The Maid of Pskov
Like
Boris Godunov, this tragic opera also
focused on Russian history
Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov
Rimsky-Korsakov later became a Conservatory
professor
Thus, he rejected many of the Handful’s key ideas
After Mussorgsky’s death, Rimsky-Korsakov
revised Boris Godunov
Obviously, he no longer opposed the Eurocentric
conservatories
In the process, he changed 80% of Mussorgsky’s
original score
He also provided more acceptable harmonies
Rimsky-Korsakov re-orchestrated the opera in a
more grand style
For decades, Rimsky-Korsakov’s version
dominated the international scene
However present-day opera houses perform
Mussorgsky’s original instead
Track 6: Boris’ Death Scene
from Boris Godunov
Background
This
piece appears in Modest
Mussorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov125
In the first version, this scene serves as
the conclusion
The
second version includes an additional
scene following this one
In
this selection, a dying Boris Godunov
gives his son a few final commands
Featured Excerpt
The
excerpt begins with Boris’ prayer
He sings in a solemn monotone,
accompanied by a lyrical melody in the
orchestra
A
bell rings out, signaling the beginning of
Boris’ funeral rites
Boris’ impatient rival, the boyar Shuisky,
ordered the service
Of
course, Boris still lives, if only for a moment
Featured Excerpt
The
orchestra imitates the tolling of the
bells
A dissonant chord in the middle register
follows a bass note and gong
An actual bell sounds as well
Offstage,
the chorus sings a chant
Mussorgsky uses a diatonic melody
Thus, he attempts to evoke music older
than that of the Orthodox Church
Against
the sound of the ceremony, Boris
delivers his final thoughts
Mussorgsky notates this music in speech-like
declamation
However,
the singer does not necessarily
follow the exact pitches in the score
Mussorgsky wanted a naturalistic scene
Thus, he allows the performer to decide his style
of delivery
At the climax, a sudden harmonic change
pauses on a brilliant chord
Boris
cries “Wait! I am still the Tsar!” and dies
Mussorgsky’s beautiful score allows the
audience to sympathize with Boris
Russian Orientalism in Music
Ruslan
Glinka
In
and Lyudmila by Mikhail
the 19th century, Russia comprised an
expanding multinational empire
Russian culture revealed great interest
in the exotic
Occasionally, this fascination involved
political underpinnings
Ruslan and Lyudmila by
Mikhail Glinka
Ruslan
and Lyudmila illustrates the Russian
obsession with the East
Glinka uses exotic-sounding devices to
characterize Lyudmila’s suitor Ratmir
Ratmir,
a Khan of Khazaria, comes from the
Orient
Glinka scored the male role for a contralto
female voice
The English horn accompanies Ratmir’s
relaxed musical phrases
It imitates the zurna, an instrument popular in the
Caucasus and Central Asia
Both woodwind instruments require a double
reed
Ruslan and Lyudmila by
Mikhail Glinka
A Russian woman, Gorislava, attempts to
woo Ratmir as he searches for Lyudmila
In
the end, Ratmir and Gorislava become a
couple, joining the reunited titular pair
The finale features a Turkish dance theme
Glinka
envisioned Ruslan as a political
representation of the Russian empire
He originally planned to stage several
tableaux vivants of the empire during the
finale
However,
this idea did not come to fruition
In the Steppes of Central Asia by
Alexander Borodin
Alexander II commissioned this orchestral
piece for his silver jubilee in 1880
Borodin intended In the Steppes of Central Asia
to celebrate the Russian empire
The piece focused on the empire’s recent
territorial acquisitions
He offered a programmatic image of a
caravan moving through the Asian desert
The piece centers on two themes
One reflects Oriental character
The other sounds like a Russian folk song
Though stated separately, Borodin eventually
unites them with counterpoint
Prince Igor by Alexander
Borodin
Borodin’s only opera, Prince Igor, juxtaposes
the Russians and the Polovtsians
Also called the Cumans, these nomads
wandered between Southeastern Europe and
Central Asia
They frequently raided Russia in the 11th century
Though he never finished the opera, Borodin
seemed to respect both forces equally
The Polovtsian Act features a wide variety of
Orientalist ideas
Borodin borrowed some devices from Glinka
and Balakirev
However, he also invented some of his own
Prince Igor by Alexander
Borodin
In Act II, the first female chorus involves a long
pedal note
In Western tradition, pedal notes usually created
tension and anticipation
The melody moves slowly above the pedal
note, with barely shifting harmonies
Russian music, on the other hand, uses pedal
notes to circumvent tension altogether
It features a great deal of ornamentation135
The dance of the boys featured rapid triplet
ostinato
This technique captured the fiery and wild
nature of the Polovtsians
Prince Igor by Alexander
Borodin
Russian Orientalism typically featured certain
elements
The augmented second interval reflected Turkic
influence
Orientalist pieces also frequently used chromatic
harmonies
Unfortunately, this device became clichéd in the
20th century
For instance, chords might move in half steps over a
pedal note
Composers also typically featured solo woodwinds
They favored double-reed instruments like the oboe,
bassoon, and English horn
Orientalist compositions also called for a good deal
of percussion
Many Orientalist works used compound meters like
3/8 and 6/8
Track 7: Scheherazade, First
Movement
Background
Nikolai
Rimsky-Korsakov premiered his
symphonic suite Scheherazade in 1888
He drew inspiration from the Persian
stories in Thousand and One Nights
Scheherazade must entertain the king
with a new story every night
If she fails, he will order her execution
Track 7: Scheherazade, First
Movement
The
piece comprises four
movements
Originally,
Rimsky-Korsakov assigned
each movement a programmatic title
However, he later removed them
He felt they inhibited true
appreciation of his music
Track 7: Scheherazade, First
Movement: Featured excerpt
The
first movement opens with musical
representations of the king and Scheherazade
An imposing unison figure in the lower register
illustrates the king
Meanwhile, a solo violin represents
Scheherazade
The
solo line features an expressive arabesque line
of triplets
Rimsky-Korsakov allows the soloist to vary tempo
freely
This melody symbolizes Scheherazade preparing to
tell a story
Track 7: Scheherazade, First
Movement
The tale in question centers on Sinbad and his ship
Rimsky-Korsakov opens this section with music
representing the sea
Like the waves, the music rises and falls
Long pedal notes and slow-moving harmony
emphasize the sea’s perpetual motion
Former naval officer Rimsky-Korsakov often depicted
the sea in his music
Germanic music typically directed harmonic
phrases toward cadences
By contrast, Russian music features more wandering
phrases with great freedom
Orientalist music especially emphasized this sense of
aimlessness
Mr. Cosmopolitan: Tchaikovsky
Tchaikovsky
vs. the Mighty Handful
Pyotr
Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) began his
career differently than the Mighty Handful
He was one of the first graduates of the St.
Petersburg Conservatory
There,
Tchaikovsky studied composition under
Anton Rubinstein
After graduating, Tchaikovsky accepted a
professorship at the Moscow Conservatory
Tchaikovsky vs. the Mighty
Handful
Unlike the Handful, Tchaikovsky did not adhere to
strict nationalist guidelines
He received criticism for producing overly
cosmopolitan works
Stasov and Cui claimed Tchaikovsky did not qualify
as a Russian musician
Tchaikovsky disagreed with the Handful’s narrow
concept of Russianness
Rather, he was a Germanic composer living in Russia
He thought himself equally Russian
The Handful convinced the world of their position
However, Tchaikovsky’s music still proved immensely
popular
Tchaikovsky vs. the Mighty
Handful
Tchaikovsky vs. the Mighty
Handful
However,
in the 1860s, Tchaikovsky
actually associated closely with the
Handful
He especially respected Balakirev’s
compositional style
Tchaikovsky incorporated some of
Balakirev’s ideas in his own works
His
Second Symphony centered on a
Ukrainian folk song
Tchaikovsky then developed this theme with
changing-background variations
Tchaikovsky vs. the Mighty
Handful
Romeo
and Juliet, a concert overture,
uses Balakirev’s two favorite keys
The sonata allegro revolves around B minor
and D-flat major
The two keys lie far apart on the circle of
fifths
B
minor features two sharps and D-flat major
contains five flats
Tchaikovsky modulates abruptly between the
two in true Balakirev style
Romeo and Juliet
Tchaikovsky
achieved his first major
success with the Romeo and Juliet
overture
The
beautiful love theme reflects
influence from Italian opera
He first states this theme modestly with
transparent orchestration
At the piece’s climax, the theme
returns full-force with grand
instrumentation
A
countermelody and other layers also
contribute to the lush texture
Romeo and Juliet
Tchaikovsky
proved especially
adept at composing powerful
musical climaxes
Typically,
he raises the piece to its
highest point and slowly winds it down
However, in Romeo and Juliet, he
interrupts the glorious climax
The warring families theme
overpowers the love theme
Tchaikovsky and psychorealism
Tchaikovsky also revealed a knack for
accurately portraying sequences of intense
emotions
Scholars termed this illusion psychorealism
Tchaikovsky achieved this effect primarily
through use of harmony
Listeners associate standard progressions with
emotional tension and resolution
For instance, the dominant creates tension
The expected tonic allows resolution of this tension
Delaying resolution increased the sense of
emotional tension
Moving from the dominant to a non-tonic harmony
creates a sense of unease
Tchaikovsky and psychorealism
19th-century composers mastered the
complexities of harmonic psychorealism
Tchaikovsky
and Richard Wagner both
excelled at this emotional manipulation
Tchaikovsky’s
psychorealist techniques
appeared in his programmatic
instrumental pieces
He wrote pieces based on the tragedies
Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Manfred
He also incorporated emotions in his nonprogrammatic symphonies
Listeners
easily associate emotions to the
Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Symphonies
Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony
Listeners
recognize the opening
fanfare as a “Fate theme”
This
theme returns several times to
wreak havoc against the human
protagonist
Note that said protagonist is not
necessarily Tchaikovsky
Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony
Tchaikovsky
based the Fourth Symphony’s
finale on a recognizable folk theme
This tune is titled “In the field there stood a
birch tree”
Tchaikovsky develops the theme with
Glinka variations
However, unlike the Handful, Tchaikovsky
only uses it as a component of the drama
The
Handful would use the theme as a piece
of national heritage
Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony
The
Mighty Handful took issue with
Tchaikovsky’s treatment of the folk song
First, Tchaikovsky did not exalt the folk
song
Worse yet, Tchaikovsky did not
preserve the original three-measure
phrases
Instead,
he reconfigured the piece to more
Western four-measure phrases
Tchaikovsky’s Fourth
Symphony
Nadezhda
von Meck requested a
programmatic explanation of the
finale
According
to Tchaikovsky, the hero
mingles with a joyous crowd
However, he cannot forget his own
troubles
In the middle of the folk celebration,
the Fate theme reappears
Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin
Tchaikovsky
achieved his greatest fame as a
composer of symphonies
However, he also composed ten operas and
three ballets
Tchaikovsky
believed opera was the most
democratic art genre
Unlike the Handful, he aimed to create popular
“grand operas”
However, he did write a few more “realist”
operas
His most famous opera, Eugene Onegin, does
not fit either of these categories
This
opera was one of few Russian works to enjoy
international fame
Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin
Eugene
Onegin draws its plot from
Pushkin’s eponymous verse novel
Tchaikovsky
found the characters more
relatable than distant royal figures
His psychorealist approach required him to
empathize with his characters
The story involves unhappy love among the
rural elite
Social circumstances restrict the
characters
As a result, their love seems doomed to
failure
Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin
This
opera takes place in a domestic setting
Thus, Tchaikovsky does not feature excessive
stage effects or virtuosic vocal passages
Even decent amateur singers can perform most
of the music
The music imitates parlor songs (“romances”)
popular during Pushkin’s time
Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin
The
Mighty Handful did not recognize
the music as Russian
After
all, it did not include folk-like melodies
However, Tchaikovsky’s contemporaries
would easily recognize the Russian aspects
Eugene Onegin fits a broader definition of
Russianness
Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin
Instead
of reflecting peasant culture,
Tchaikovsky uses material he better
understands
In other words, he uses Russian music popular in
his own social class
The upper and middle classes enjoyed the
parlor songs that influenced Onegin
Track 8: Beginning of the Finale
from Tchaikovsky’s Sixth
Symphony
Background
The Sixth Symphony was Tchaikovsky’s last
To remain true to the tragic subject,
Tchaikovsky broke conventions of
symphonic form
Most
Western finales ended with loud,
positive-sounding fanfare
Instead, Tchaikovsky wrote a short, somber
movement
Many scholars consider this piece one of the best
musical depictions of grief
Track 8: Beginning of the Finale
from Tchaikovsky’s Sixth
Symphony: featured excerpt
A
descending conjunct theme in the
violins opens the movement
This theme seems to end in a question
The reply always sounds terse and
unsympathetic
Regardless, the inquisitive theme becomes
increasingly insistent
Track 8: Beginning of the Finale
from Tchaikovsky’s Sixth
Symphony: featured excerpt
The
second theme contrasts starkly with
the first
The range broadens and the whole
orchestra enters
The second theme sounds more majestic
and chorale-like
Unlike the first theme, the second theme is
in a major key
Track 8: Beginning of the Finale
from Tchaikovsky’s Sixth
Symphony: featured excerpt
As
usual, the themes appear more
grandly later in the piece
At the climax, a pulsating rhythm
suddenly halts the forward movement
The music falls through the entire orchestral
range
Afterward, the speech-like phrases recreate
the original grief-stricken mood
Track 9: Beginning of
Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano
Concerto
Background
Sergei
Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
produced five piano concertos
He worked as a composer, conductor, and
virtuoso pianist146147
The Second Piano Concerto enjoys
considerable popularity even today
Rachmaninoff also composed the
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Track 9: Beginning of
Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano
Concerto
Rachmaninoff
compromised between the
ideals of Tchaikovsky and the Handful
He included the “Russian” folk idioms of the
Handful
However, like Tchaikovsky, he also favored
psychorealism and emotional drama
Track 9: Beginning of
Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano
Concerto – featured excerpt
The
selection opens with a dramatic
piano solo
The
pianist plays a sequence of chords
The same bass note sounds after each
chord
Each successive chord builds the tension
Scholars compare this texture with musical
depictions of bells in Russian music
Track 9: Beginning of
Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano
Concerto – featured excerpt
After
the introduction, the orchestra presents
the main theme
The solo pianist plays a tempestuous
accompaniment
The relatively conjunct melody frequently doubles
back on itself
Track 9: Beginning of
Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano
Concerto – featured excerpt
Rachmaninoff often uses stepwise motion in his
melodies
The
melodies derive from vocal songs
Scholars relate these melodies to Russian Orthodox
chants
However, this particular melody involves a marchlike rhythm
Overall,
the piece reflects a mood of severe
concentration
Track 9: Beginning of
Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano
Concerto – featured excerpt
The
piano adopts the melody
The melody becomes more lyrical and
melancholic
However, the music builds to an intense climax in
Tchaikovskian style
In a momentary calm, a contrasting major theme
appears in solo piano
149
Some
features recall the Handful’s Orientalist style
Track 9: Beginning of
Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano
Concerto – featured excerpt
However, scholars typically attribute these
harmonies to Rachmaninoff’s general style
As
with Tchaikovsky’s works, the main theme
reappears in a more lavish style
Rachmaninoff adds rich orchestral
accompaniment
Diaghilev and Russian Music
Abroad
Western
audiences discover Tchaikovsky
Russian music only achieved international
recognition near the end of the 19th
century
By
this time, Glinka’s music had fallen from
favor
Glinka worked in the 1830s and 1840s
In Milan, a late 19th-century show of A Life for the
Tsar received little attention
Diaghilev and Russian Music
Abroad
Western audiences discover Tchaikovsky
Tchaikovsky was the first Russian composer to
attain great fame abroad
He became an international celebrity
His reputation as a conductor also helped
spread awareness of his works
New York’s Carnegie Hall invited Tchaikovsky to
conduct its inaugural performance
During Tchaikovsky’s lifetime, several
European opera houses staged Eugene
Onegin
In 1892, Gustav Mahler conducted a
performance in Hamburg, Germany
The Mighty Handful abroad
The Handful’s music took longer to reach
international audiences than Tchaikovsky’s
France most enthusiastically welcomed the
Mighty Handful’s music
Some pieces premiered at the Paris Expositions
in 1878 and 1889
Other composers received the Handful’s scores
through private means
Claude Debussy first heard Boris Godunov in the
early 1890s
Mussorgsky’s declamatory style influenced
Debussy’s own operas
Sergei Diaghilev (1872-1929)
introduced the Saisons Russes
in 1907
Sergei Diaghilev: Saisons
Russes
This concert series almost exclusively included
compositions by the Mighty Handful
Thus, Parisian society became acquainted with
Handful’s “Russianness”
Diaghilev felt Parisian critics would find
Tchaikovsky’s work too Western
Cui contributed to this perception by publishing
articles in the French press
Between 1878 and 1880, Cui wrote that the
Handful alone created nationalist works
French critics thus viewed Tchaikovsky’s works as
Germanic
French audiences wanted a unique sound like
the Handful’s
The
success of Saisons Russes convinced
Diaghilev to stage other Handful works
In
1908, Diaghilev produced a performance of
Boris Godunov
He used Rimsky-Korsakov’s revised
orchestration
Fyodor
Chaliapin performed the title role to great
acclaim
Audiences considered him the perfect Boris
Diaghilev
spared no expense on the
production
The
elaborately ornate sets and costumes dazzled
the Parisian audience
Boris
Godunov’s enduring international
success stems in part from this performance
Diaghilev
staged other Handful works
posthumously
He produced the Polovtsian Act from
Prince Igor
He reimagined Rimsky-Korsakov’s
Scheherazade into a ballet
Also, he transformed Rimsky-Korsakov’s final
opera The Golden Cockerel into an operaballet
The
singers sang in the background
Meanwhile, the dancers performed the
action in the forefront
Sadly, Mussorgsky, Borodin, and RimskyKorsakov died before seeing their fame
French composers embraced
the Handful’s influence
They,
like the Handful, sought to create a
distinct nationalist style
The French also hoped to avoid Germanic
clichés
They
particularly abhorred Wagner’s style
These composers admired the Handful’s
originality and non-Western sound
French composers embraced
the Handful’s influence
Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel
integrated Russian elements in their works
They studied Mussorgsky’s declamatory
operatic realist style
Debussy subsequently produced the opera
Pelleas et Mélisande
Ravel wrote L’heure espagnole
These French composers also assimilated
Russian Orientalism and exoticism
Ravel’s Spanish-style music sounds like RimskyKorsakov’s Spanish Capriccio
The Oriental style appeared in Ravel’s song
cycle Scheherazade
French composers embraced
the Handful’s influence
Ravel
also produced an arrangement of
Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition
Mussorgsky originally envisioned the piece
as a piano cycle
Today, however, most listeners only
recognize Ravel’s orchestral arrangement