Nationalism in Rimskii-Korsako

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NATIONALISM IN RIMSKII-KORSAKOV'S INSTRUM ENTAL MUSIC
AN ANALYSIS OF THREE SYM PHONIC WORKS
BASED ON RUSSIAN THEM ES
by
BARRY T. BILDERBACK
A DISSERTATION
Presented to the School o f M usic

and the Graduate School o f the University o f Oregon
in partial fulfillment o f the requirements
for the degree o f
Doctor o f Philosophy
June 2001
UMI Number: 3018356
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1'Nationalism in Rimskii-Korsakov's Instrumental M usic: An Analysis o f
Three Symphonic W orks Based on Russian Themes," a dissertation prepared
by Barry T. Bilderback in partial fulfillment o f the requirements for the
D octor o f Philosophy degree in the School o f Music. This dissertation has
been approved and accepted by:
Dr. Marian Smith, Chair o f the Examining Committee
Date
Committee in charge: Dr. Marian Smith, Chair

Dr. Anne Dhu McLucas
Dr. Mark Levy
Dr. Wayne Bennett
Dr. Alan Kimball
Accepted by:
Dean o f the Graduate School
© 2001 Barry T. Bilderback
A n Abstract o f the Dissertation o f
Barry T. Bilderback for the degree o f D octor o f Philosophy
in the School o f M usic to be taken June 2001
Title: NATIONALISM IN RIMSKII-KORSAKOV'S INSTRUM ENTAL
MUSIC: A N ANALYSIS OF THREE SYM PHONIC WORKS
BASED O N RUSSIAN THEMES
Approved:
Dr. Marian Smith
Previous examinations questioning the relationship between N. A.
Rimskii-Korsakov and Russian nationalism have focused prim arily on his
staged dramatic works. This dissertation addresses how the personal style
evident in his symphonic works helped influence Russian nationalism in
music. As a means o f determining his position as a com poser o f Russian
nationalist music during the second h alf o f the nineteenth century, this
examination focuses on three symphonic works based on Russian themes by
N. A. Rimskii-Korsakov.
First, a discussion o f Russian nationalism, rural and urban music, the
musical philosophies o f M. A. Balakirev, and the rise o f the St. Petersburg
Conservatory provides an overview o f the m usical sociopolitical climate as it
affected Rimskii-Korsakov. Following this introduction is an analysis o f
three symphonic Russian-theme-based works: the Overture B ased on
Russian Themes (1866 version); the Sinfonietta B ased on Russian Themes,
op. 31 (1880-1884); and the Concert Fantasia B ased on Russian Themes fo r
Violin with Orchestra, op. 33 (1886-1887). B y analyzing the orchestral
treatment o f the folk songs in these works, I determine that Rimskii-Korsakov
made a significant contribution to the Russian nationalist movement by using
techniques which are described in his Principles o f Orchestration as a
deliberate and self-conscious means o f preserving folk songs in form and
spirit. Rimskii-Korsakov's unique orchestral ideology indelibly stamped his
music with the Russian national character and created a nationalist legacy
whose influence cannot be ignored.
CURRICULUM VITA
NAM E OF AUTHOR: Barry T. Bilderback
PLACE OF BIRTH: Auburn, New York
DATE OF BIRTH: 14 December 1961
GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED:
University o f Oregon
Bowling Green State University
State University o f N ew York at Oswego
Cayuga County Community College
DEGREES AW ARDED:
Doctor o f Philosophy in Music, 2001, U niversity o f Oregon

Master o f Arts in Music History, 1995, Bow ling Green State
University
Bachelor o f Arts in Applied Music, 1990, State University o f N ew
Y ork at Oswego
Associate o f Arts and Science in Liberal A rts, 1984, Cayuga County
Community College
AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST:
Russian Nationalism and Music

Ethnomusicology
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Graduate Teaching Fellow , School o f Music, University o f Oregon,

Eugene, 1995-2000
Teaching Assistant, College o f Musical Arts, Bow ling G reen State

University, Ohio, 1991-1994
AW ARDS AND HONORS:
CIEE RLP-I (Russian Language Program) Scholarship, 1999

Artistic Achievement Award (with New Y ork Certificate o f Merit),
1994
Excellence in Graduate Teaching Assistantship Award, 1992
Outstanding Music Student o f the Year Award, 1990
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author expresses sincere appreciation to Dr. Marian Smith for her
unfailing knowledge, support, and patience throughout the entire preparation
o f this manuscript. In addition, special thanks are due to Dr. Mark Levy and
Allan Kimball for their invaluable advice and sensitivity on matters relating
to a culture other than my own. Also, I thank Dean Anne Dhu McLucas for
her keen insights related to matters o f music history and ethnomusicology,
and, last but certainly not least, Dr. Wayne Bennett for his scrupulous
attention to detail in the area o f score study. I could not have done this
without you.
DEDICATION
To my wife and best friend Ann-Marie
X
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1
Statement o f P u rp o se ............................................................................ 1
Significance o f the Study ................................................................... 3
Prim ary Research Q u e stio n s.............................................................. 5
S o u rces.................................................................................................... 6
II. RIM SKII-KORSAKOV AND THE QUESTION OF

RUSSIAN NATIONALISM ................................................................. 7
A Statement on Western European N ationalism ............................. 8

Russian N a tio n a lis m .............................................................................. 11
Shifting Perspectives in S cholarship....................................................16
Understanding Rimskii-Korsakov's Position as a Nationalist
C o m p o se r............................................................................................. 18
III. REVIEW OF L IT E R A T U R E ...................................................................20
Russian Folk Song As Rural-Based Music Tradition and

Urban-Based Music T ra d itio n ......................................................... 22
Russian Urban-Based Music T ra d itio n ...............................................51
Biographical Information on Rimskii-Korsakov .............................98
xi
Page
IV. DEFINING THE NATIONAL ID EN TITY OF RIMSKII-

KORSAKOV IN RELATIONSHIP TO HIS PRINCIPLES
OF ORCHESTRATION AND RU SSIA N FOLK S O N G ................ 122
Chronological Aspects o f Rimskii-Korsakov's Principles

o f Orchestration and S ty le .............................................................. 122
Acknowledging Russian Character within the European
Symphonic T ra d itio n ....................................................................... 123
Rimskii-Korsakov's Treatment o f Folk Song: A
Representation o f Cultural A w areness ........................................ 125
Russian Folk Song Tradition A pplied to Rimskii-
Korsakov's Orchestration P rin c ip le s .......................................... 129
Rimskii-Korsakov and Dargomizhskii: A Comparison in
Russian Folk Song T re a tm e n t........................................................130
A Definition o f Orchestration and Its Role in Rimskii-
Korsakov's Instrumental M u s i c .......................... 133
Nationalism in Rimskii-Korsakov's Orchestral Treatment o f
Russian Folk S o n g ............................................................................135
The Connections Between Rimskii-Korsakov's Principles o f
Orchestration and Russian Folk S o n g .......................................... 137
V. FOLK SONGS FOUND W ITHIN RIMSKII-KORSAKOV'S

INSTRUM ENTAL WORKS BASED ON RUSSIAN
T H E M E S ....................................................................................................145
The Folk Songs of Rimskii-Korsakov's First Instrumental

Russian-Theme-Based Work: The Overture Based on
Russian T h e m e s................................................................................ 146
The Folk Songs o f Rimskii-Korsakov's Second Russian-
Theme-Based Instrumental W ork: The Sinfonietta B ased
on Russian Them es......................................................................... 152
Second Movement: Na devichnike (A t the Wedding Eve) . . . . 157
xii
Page
Third Movement: "In the Khorovod' (Circle Dance),"

S cherzo-F inale................................................................................. 163
The Folk Songs o f Rimskii-Korsakov's Third Russian-
Theme-Based Instrumental Work: Concert Fantasia
Based on Russian Themes fo r Violin with O rc h e s tr a ................170
VI. RIMSKII-KORSAKOV'S USE OF ORCHESTRAL

PRINCIPLES IN HIGHLIGHTING RUSSIAN T H E M E S 173
The Overture B ased on Russian Themes, Op. 2 8 ...........................174

Rimskii-Korsakov's Treatment o f Russian Themes in a
Multimovement Work: Sinfonietta Based on Russian
Themes, Op. 31 .............................................................................196
Russian Themes, Orchestral Music and a Single-Movement
Work: Concert Fantasia on Russian Themes fo r Violin
with O rc h e stra .................................................................................233
VII. C O N C L U SIO N ....................................................................................... 248
A P P E N D IX ........................................................................................................... 253
B IB L IO G R A P H Y ................................................................................................ 357
xiii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1. E. Lineva's Russian folk song d ia g ra m ................................................ 254
2. a my p rosu seiali seiala (Ah we sowed the millet),

Lvov/Prach c o lle c tio n .........................................................................255
3. u menia li miizh vodop'ianitsa (Too much vodka my husband

drinks), Lvov/Prach collection ......................................................... 256
4. khodila mladeshenka po borochkn (Once a m aiden walked by

the stream), Rimskii-Korsakov co llectio n ........................................257
5. khodila mladeshenka po borochku (Once a maiden walked by

the stream), Lvov/Prach c o lle c tio n ...................................................258
6. slava (Glory), Rimskii-Korsakov collection .......................................259
7. Lyrics to Russian folk song slava (Glory), Rimskii-Korsakov

c o lle c tio n .............................................................................................. 260
8. slava (Glory), Lvov/Prach c o lle c tio n ....................................................261
9. u vorot vorot (At the gate, the gate), Balakirev c o lle c tio n .................262
10. Melodic reduction o f u vorot vorot (A t the gate, the gate),

Balakirev v e rsio n ................................................................................. 263
11. na Ivanushkie chapan (Ivan has a big coat on), Balakirev

c o lle c tio n .............................................................................................. 264
xiv
Page
12. Melodic reduction o f na Ivannshkie chapan (Ivan has a big

coat on), Balakirev v e r s io n ................................................................ 265
13. vo pole timan zatimanilsaia (There upon the field see the fog
so dense descend), Rimskii-Korsakov c o lle c tio n .......................... 266
14. Melodic reduction o f vo pole timan zatim anilsaia (There upon

the field see the fog so dense descend), Rimskii-Korsakov
v e r s io n ................................................................................................... 267
15. Melodic reduction o f kak vo gorode tsarevnia (In the city o f

the tsar's daughter), Balakirev version ............................................268
16. kak po sadikn sadiku (In the green garden, garden fair),
Rimskii-Korsakov collection..............................................................269
17. Melodic reduction o f kak po sadiku sadiku (In the green

garden, garden fair), Rimskii-Korsakov version .......................... 270
18. katenka vecelaia (M erry little Katya), Balakirev collection 271
19. zelena grusha vo sadu shatietsaia (H ow the green pear tree

sways in the garden), Rimskii-Korsakov co lle c tio n ......................272
20. Melodic reduction zelena grusha vo sadu shatietsaia (How

the green pear tree sways in the garden), Rimskii Korsakov
v e r s io n ................................................................................................... 273
21. Lyrics to zelena grusha vo sadu shatietsaia (How the green

pear tree sways in the garden), Rimskii-Korsakov collection . . 274
22. tu zarai V maia zoriushka (Oh my daybreak, my daybreak),

Rimskii-Korsakov collection..............................................................275
XV
Page
23. u menia li miizh vodop'ianitsa (Too much vodka my husband

drinks), Rimskii-Korsakov's co llectio n ............................................276
24. M elodic reduction o f u menia li muzh vodop'ianitsa (Too

much vodka my husband drinks), Rimskii-Korsakov
v e r s io n .................................................................................................. 277
25. it menia li muzh vodop'ianitsa (Too much vodka my husband

drinks), Lvov/Prach c o lle c tio n .........................................................278
26. a u gusto na bereze liste (How thick the leaves there on the
birch are growing), Rimskii-Korsakov collection ....................... 279
27. Melodic reduction a u gusto na bereze liste (How thick the

leaves there on the birch are growing), Rimskii-Korsakov
v e r s io n .................................................................................................. 280
28. ne spasibo igumnu to mu (To the priesthood I can give no

thanks), Lvov/Prach c o lle c tio n .........................................................281
29. Lyrics to ne spasibo igumnu tomu (To the priesthood I can

give no thanks) ................................................................................... 282
30. ne spasibo igumnu tomu (To the priesthood I can give no

thanks), Rimskii-Korsakov collection..............................................283

thanks)~m otives from Rimskii-Korsakov c o lle c tio n ................... 284

thanks)—motives from orchestral v e rs io n ....................................... 285
33. nodoelie noche (Wearisome night), Balakirev collection ................ 286
xv i
Page
34. M elodic reduction o f nodoelie noche (Wearisome night),

Balakirev v e rsio n ................................................................................. 287
35. khodila m ladeshen'kapo borochku (Once a maiden walked by

the stream), Rimskii-Korsakov co llectio n ....................................... 288
36. M elodic reduction o f khodila mladeshen'ka po borochku

(Once a maiden walked by the stream), Rimskii-Korsakov
orchestra v e r s io n ................................................................................. 289
37. Instrumentation to the Overture B ased on Russian Themes op.

28, sections: wind, brass, percussion,strin g s..................................290
38. Cym bals and u vorot vorot (At the gate, the gate)
combination, three entrance a r e a s ...................................................291
39. O pening slava (Glory) theme, first clarinet and first h o r n .................293
40. slava (Glory) false entrance exchange in second clarinet and

celli .......................................................................................................294
41. slava (Glory) full statement in the string s e c tio n ................................295
42. The second full appearance o f the slava (Glory) folk song as
performed by the wind section .........................................................296
43. u vorot vorot (At the gate, the gate) melody in the opening
vivo section ..........................................................................................297
44. Statement on consistency in instrument combinations and

range .....................................................................................................298
45. u vorot vorot (At the gate, the gate) presentation o f second
h alf o f m e lo d y ..................................................................................... 299
xvii
Page
46. u vorot vorot (At the gate, the gate), second e x a m p le ....................... 300
47. na Ivanushke chapan (Ivan has a big coat on), first

p re se n ta tio n .......................................................................................... 301
48. na Ivanushke chapan (Ivan has a big coat on) theme

combined with syncopated rhythm from the u vorot vorot
(At the gate, the gate) th e m e ..............................................................302
49. na Ivanushke chapan (Ivan's coat), slava (Glory), and u vorot

vorot (At the gate, the gate) in full co m b in atio n .............................304
50. u vorot vorot (At the gate, the gate) return statem en t......................... 305
51. ivanushke chapan (Ivan's coat) theme with key change

(bb m in o r ) .............................................................................................306
52. slava (Glory) and c o d a ............................................................................ 307
53. vo p o le timan zatimanilsaia (There upon the field, see the fog
so dense descend) in tro d u ctio n .......................................................... 308
54. vo p o le timan zatimanilsaia (There upon the field, see the fog
so dense descend) motives ................................................................ 309
55. vo pole timan zatimanilsaia (There upon the field, see the fog
so dense descend) and bridge s e c tio n ............................................... 310
56. Snegoruchka, Act II (animato section), oboe and clarinet in

u n iso n ..................................................................................................... 312
57. kak vo gorode tsarevnia (In the city o f the tsar's daughter)
in tro d u c tio n .......................................................................................... 313
xviii
Page
58. kak vo gorode tsarevnia (In the city o f the tsar's daughter),
tonal and instrumental a lte ra tio n ........................................................314
59. Third statem ent o f kak vo gorode tsarevnia (In the city o f the
tsar's daughter) theme, including the ( l b) "In the Field"
motive ....................................................................................................315
60. kak p o sadiku sadiku (In the green garden, garden fair)
in tro d u c tio n ...........................................................................................316
61. kak p o sadiku sadiku (In the green garden, garden fair),
second three-note phrase introduction .............................................317
62. kak p o sadiku sadiku (In the green garden, garden fair), full
s ta te m e n t............................................................................................... 318
63. zelena grusha vo sadu shatietsaia (How the green pear tree
sways in the garden) and tu zarai I' maia zoriushka (O h my
daybreak, my daybreak) co m b in atio n...............................................319
64. tu zarai I' maia zoriushka (Oh my daybreak, my daybreak)

first presentation .................................................................................. 321
65. Pizzicato chart from Principles o f O rchestration................................. 322
66. tu zarai I' maia zoriushka (Oh m y daybreak, my daybreak)

with zelena grusha vo sadu shatietsaia (How the green pear
tree sways in the garden) rhythmic fig u re ........................................ 323
sways in the garden) melodic fragment with tu zarai I' maia
zoriushka (Oh my daybreak, my daybreak) rhythmic
g e s tu r e ....................................................................................................324
xix
Page
sways in the garden) imitative section based on melodic
s e g m e n t................................................................................................ 325
69. u menia li muzh vodop'ianitsa (Too much vodka my husband

drinks) opening s ta te m e n t................................................................. 326
birch are growing) segment, first e n tra n c e .....................................327
birch are growing) in im ita tio n .........................................................328
72. Wind combinations in octaves .............................................................. 329

drinks) and textural v a r ie ty ............................................................... 330

thanks), first presentation ................................................................. 331

thanks), second p re se n ta tio n ............................................................. 332
76. ne spasibo igumnu tom u (To the priesthood I can give no

thanks), third p resen tatio n ................................................................. 333

drinks), return o f theme and tonic key ........................................... 334

thanks) return in B b m a j o r ............................................................... 335

thanks) return in A major ................................................................. 336
XX
Page
80. u menia li m uzh vodop'ianitsa (Too m uch vodka m y husband

drinks) and a u gusto na bereze liste (How thick the leaves
there on the birch are growing) simultaneous return in
a m in o r ...................................................................................................337

drinks), closing o f the movement's scherzo s e c tio n ......................339
82. u menia li m uzh vodop'ianitsa (Too much vodka my husband

drinks) vivo section preceded by D b andante tranquillo
section ...................................................................................................340

drinks), presto section preceded by a second D b andante
tranquillo se c tio n ................................................................................. 341
84. Opening cadenza m o tiv e....................................................................... 342
85. Orchestral introduction, allegro m o d e ra to .........................................343
86. Orchestral in terlu d e................................................................................ 344
87. Second cadenza, D major with lowered sixth d e g re e ....................... 345
88. Second orchestral interlude and newly composed melody ............ 346
89. Inverted chord double-stop passage in tonic b m in o r.......................347
90. Inverted cadenza and composed melody ...........................................348
91. Second single-measure cadenza and first folk theme nadoelie

noche (W earisome night) ..................................................................349
92. Contrasting arpeggio motive to nadoelie noche (Wearisome

night) th e m e ..........................................................................................350
xxi
Page
93. nadoelie noche (Wearisome night) melody in double stops

w ith contrasting arpeggiated g estu re................................................ 351
94. Allegro scherzando section presenting the final folk song

khodila m ladeshen'ka po borochku (Once a maiden walked
by the stream) ..................................................................................... 353
95. Introduction, khodila mladeshen'ka po borochku (Once a

m aiden w alked by the stream )........................................................... 354
96. khodila m ladeshen'ka po borochku (Once a m aiden walked by

the stream) in thirty-second-note double-stop passage
related to in tro d u c tio n ........................................................................ 355
97. khodila m ladeshen'ka po borochku (Once a maiden walked by

the stream) pizzicato passage and arco single melody in
higher r a n g e ..........................................................................................356
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Statement o f Purpose
One o f the prim ary figures in Russian nationalist m usic, Nikolai
Andreeyevich Rimskii-Korsakov (1844-1908) is thought o f by m any to be the
m ost musically astute member o f Balakirev's moguchaia kuchka (N. A.
Rimskii-Korsakov, C. Cui, M. M usorgskii, and A. Borodin). M any o f
Rimskii-Korsakov's compositions are acclaimed for their orchestral
renderings o f Russian folk song. Yet, as the practice o f applying Russian folk
song to his compositions has contributed to the definition o f Russian
nationalism in music, his orchestral treatment o f the Russian folk songs
remains to this day understudied. It is ironic that this is the case; his
composition and orchestration techniques, as outlined in his Principles o f
Orchestration,' were Rimskii-Korsakov's primary contribution to the Russian
national style.
'Nikolai A. Rimskii-Korsakov, Principles o f Orchestration, ed.

M. Steinberg, trans. E. Agate (London: Russian Music A gency, 1922).
2
The purpose o f this dissertation is to show how Rimskii-Korsakov's
orchestration, as observed in his instrumental works based on Russian themes,
helped to forge the identity o f Russian nationalism in music. In the evolution
o f his individual style, Rimskii-Korsakov deliberately combined elements o f
Russian folk song and orchestration in a way that retained and highlighted the
original character o f the traditional music he used. And in turn, to emphasize
this relationship between folk and concert music, Rimskii-Korsakov relied on
the folk songs to highlight his orchestral innovations while retaining the
traditional music's original character.
To reach an understanding o f how Russian national sentiment was
achieved in Rimskii-Korsakov's Russian-theme-based instrumental works, this
dissertation examines the primary musical and cultural conditions o f Russia
that surrounded the composer. Next, to illuminate how the musical and
cultural conditions o f Russia influenced the composer, I focus on the treatm ent
o f Russian folk songs in Rimskii-Korsakov's three instrumental works based
on Russian themes: Overture on Russian Themes (1866 version); Sinfonietta
on Russian Themes, op.31 (1880-1884); and Concert Fantasia on Russian
Themes fo r Violin with Orchestra, op. 33 (1886-1887).
3
The foundation for understanding these representative works o f
Rimskii-Korsakov will be based on an analysis that considers the following:
(1) his emphasis on orchestrating folk songs and their prim ary musical
features (e.g., melody, scales, intervallic relationships and rhythm); and
(2) specific orchestral treatm ent o f the folk songs and how it relates to the
composer's treatise Principles o f Orchestration. M usical consistencies in the
treatment o f the folk songs are detectable, and we find that the orchestration,
with its specific timbres and textures, helped create a Russian identity in
music.
Significance o f the Study
There has been much debate over how to define Russian nationalism in
music during the second h alf o f the nineteenth century, including whether or
not it even existed, and a m ajority o f the musicological inquiry has focused
primarily on the staged dramatic works o f the Russian composers during this
period. The dramatic works, w ith the extramusical features o f dialogue,
staging, and costuming, have been convenient sources for understanding
Russian sentiment in music. Also, the impact o f the urban-based, staged
dramatic works on Russian national musicology is observable in the
4
abundance o f published debates over the operatic productions. M ost o f the
polemics on Russian music by Russians were about the urban-based, staged
dramatic productions o f the time. In this respect, under the shadow o f his
staged dramatic works, the orchestral works of Rim skii-K orsakov have had no
exposure in the m usicological debates regarding the question o f Russian
nationalism. W hile Rimskii-Korsakov has been recognized as one o f the
primary figures in creating Russian character in music, studies regarding how
he achieved this have overlooked a most crucial area in m aking their
determinations—namely, the orchestration o f his instrumental w orks based on
Russian themes.
Although Rim skii-Korsakov has been recognized as an excellent
orchestrator, little consideration has been given to how his orchestration has
influenced his position as a Russian national composer. W hile he certainly
has been recognized for including Russian folk songs in his works, the
specific ways he applied orchestration and instrumentation to the folk songs to
produce particular affective qualities in the Russian-theme-based w orks is still
an area not fully researched. Therefore, this dissertation, through an analysis
o f his Russian-theme-based instrumental works, provides a new area o f
5
inquiry for helping to determine Rimskii-Korsakov's position as a Russian
com poser o f national music.
Primary Research Questions
The following questions determine how Russian national sentiment is
inherent in the representative instrumental works based on Russian themes:
1. W hat is nationalism in general and Russian nationalism in
particular?
2. W hat was the composer's cultural position in Russian society and
how did it influence his music?
3. How did Rimskii-Korsakov's music depict Russian national ideals?
4. W hat were the Russian musical themes (folk songs) found in his
works?
5. What was the character o f the specific themes (melodic, intervallic,
and rhythmic)?
6. On what types o f Russian folk songs are the themes based (work
songs, wedding songs, calendar songs, dance songs, devotional songs,
seasonal songs)?
6
7. How did the character o f the themes contribute to the orchestration
and forms in the symphonic works?
Sources
The information for this dissertation was acquired through researching
the secondary sources regarding the music history and the folk music of
Russia during the time o f Rimskii-Korsakov. Sources that were specific to the
composer (biographical and analytical) were also examined. The primary
focus o f the dissertation, however, is on score analysis, with an emphasis on
the composer's treatment o f the Russian folk songs in his works.
Many conjectural statements within the body o f the dissertation,
especially regarding the relationship between the composer, Russian
nationalism and Russian urban- and rural-based music, are primarily the result
o f research I conducted, as well as Russian music and culture courses I
participated in, under the auspices o f Irena Gennadevna N abokova (Russian
Music Culture), and Rosa A lexandrovna Orlova (Nineteenth-Century Russian
Culture) at the St. Petersburg State University's Center o f Russian Language
and Culture (summer 1999).
7
CHAPTER II
RIM SKII-KORSAKOV AND THE QUESTION
OF RU SSIA N NATIONALISM
To show that Rimskii-Korsakov's instrumental works based on Russian
themes embody Russian national beliefs, my first task is to dem onstrate that
Rimskii-Korsakov was a nationalist composer. I address this question because
currently scholars are debating the composer's nationalistic intentions.
Scholars who want to place Rimskii-Korsakov in his rightful position among
the mainstream romantic com posers believe that the concept o f nationalism is
too limited when considering the composer's contribution to music. Claims
rejecting Rimskii-Korsakov as a nationalist composer, however, are based on
the fact that Russian nationalism has been too narrowly defined in
musicology. In the absence o f a complete definition o f Russian nationalism in
music, we must first establish the characteristics o f nationalism as it emerged
as a cultural phenomenon in western Europe. I examine the specific
characteristics o f Russian nationalism as they existed in Russian urban centers
during the second half o f the nineteenth century.
8
A Statem ent on Western European N ationalism
Nationalism, as it em erged in western Europe, is a belief in social
unification based on com m on traits shared by a group o f people. These traits,
defined through geographic boundaries, shared language and culture, serve to
create a standard identity in the people. This established identity, upon which
a culture defines itself, produces a sense o f collectiveness among the people
due to their shared qualities and traits. As history has shown, such a move
towards allegiance is sometim es prompted by a reaction against an undesired
large and centralized governing body.
Two important nationalist visionaries were Jean-Jacques Rousseau
(1712-1778) and Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803).' At the core o f
Rousseau's philosophy was the belief in the Greek city-state ideal. Rousseau
asserted that m anageable small-scale communities should be the focal point o f
human activity. He also emphasized the importance o f considering the
general will o f all citizens as a single voice when draw ing up political
'Morris Ginsberg, "The Growth o f the Idea o f Nationalism ," in

Nationalism (London: Frank Cass, 1966), 25-34.
9
constitutions. These constitutions in turn would reflect the distinct political
features o f each community.2
Herder's contribution to the ideal o f nationalism, on the other hand, was
his emphasis on the cultural unity o f a community and the role played by
folklore in its identity. Herder's perspective, as opposed to Rousseau's, is
usually defined as a cultural, rather than political, movement.3
Nationalism, according to Herder, can be seen as a view o f culture that
attempts to create a single attitude among its people about what it means to be
part o f their nation. In order for individuals to identify with a particular
nation, a common identity needs to be created so the people will see
themselves as part o f the collective. Herder's philosophical vision was one
that focused on German village/rural tradition as the embodiment o f national
identity.4 For Herder, it was the natural voice o f the "folk," expressed
especially in folklore and tales, where the people's roots remained distinct,
well defined, and unspoiled. Following Herder's principle, nationalism can be
defined as a collective self-consciousness that relies on a group's spiritual link
2Ibid., 28.
3Ibid., 30.
4Ibid., xix.
10
to its indigenousness and heritage. This character o f nativism, defined through
shared qualities in language, customs, and arts, also results in the development
and strengthening o f com monality within a group o f people while rendering
them distinct from other groups.3 As the concept o f unified social value based
on Russia's traditional past was a large part o f the nineteenth-century Russian
Slavophile ideal, Herder's influence is recognizable. Symbols and their
intended meanings play a major role in how national sentim ent is distributed
throughout a nation. Such symbols are deliberately cultivated within the arts,
and they have the purpose o f creating a message o f unity w ith w hich citizens
can identify.
Paralleling Herder's principle, much o f the symbolism that was created
in Russia for the purpose o f generating national enthusiasm had at its forefront
a glorification o f the old ways. This glorification o f tradition, in theory,
confined itself to an idealization o f Russia's former and virtuous life. It also
had contempt for foreign impositions.6 What is observable in music practice
^Konstantin Symmons-Symonolewicz, Nationalist M ovements: A

Comparative View (Meadvilie, PA: Maplewood Press, 1990), 4.
6Elena Hellberg-Him, "National Myths and the Legitim ation o f Social

Order," in The Fall o f an Empire, the Birth o f a Nation: N ational Identities in
Russia, ed. Chris Chulos and Timo Piirainen (Vermont: Ashgate, 2000), 13.
11
throughout Russian urban centers during the mid- to late nineteenth century,
however, were musical forms that em braced contemporary compositional
trends and western European influence as well. This combination o f newly
developed compositional trends and western European musical forms
coexisted w ith an emphasis on early tradition. Tradition was maintained in the
use o f Russian peasant folk songs, and together these elements served as a
model or standard for the way Russian music was to be defined by
urban-dwelling citizens.
Russian Nationalism
G eoff Hosking in his work Em pire and Nation in Russian History
provides an account of how nationalism was part o f Russia's pre-Soviet
history. Two similar yet distinctive forces, as identified by Hosking,
contribute to the existence o f any state: (1) the state-building dom ain that
oversees the territorial and economic concerns, and (2) the nation-building
domain that deals with the culture and education o f the people.7 Hosking also
notes that nation building is responsible for much o f the symbolism that
7G eoff Hosking, Empire a n d Nation in Russian History (W aco, TX:

Baylor University Press, 1992), 72.
12
"elicits the loyalty and commitment o f the people."8 Furthermore, Hosking
describes how the tsars throughout Russian history were superior state
builders, but due to the diversification o f people and the extent o f the
territories, they were unable to m anage as adequate nation builders and this
was why Russia has experienced so m uch cultural turmoil.
The debate over Russian self-identification during the nineteenth
century is m ost readily defined in the clash between the citizens who
promoted social life and culture based on an idealized vision o f ancient Russia
(slavofily) and those who wished to adopt contemporary European culture and
processes (zapadniki). However, as Elena Hellberg-Him explains in her
description o f the Russian national movement, which was guided by the
nonaristocratic, educated, urban-based elite, this dichotomy o f East versus
W est is a complicated subject with a fundamental inconsistency at its core:
Although the central role o f the Russian intelligentsia in the

formation o f national self consciousness is generally recognized,
little has been done explicitly to account for the ambiguous
position o f intellectuals and conditions which made it possible
for them to constitute a "community among strangers," while
their traditionalism, nationalism, individualism, and
cosmopolitanism formed a single, complex amalgam. In other
words, the problem is to explain how the pre-eminent purveyors
o f nationalist ideologies, who stressed the importance o f cultural
“Ibid., 73.
13
boundaries, emerged out o f a universalizing, cosmopolitan way

o f thinking.
The intellectuals were in the forefront o f the imagining
and enacting o f the Russian nation; in the forefront o f both
oppositional revolutionary movements. Their pivotal yet deeply
contradictory role as the main reproducers o f national forms o f
culture is a reflection o f an extremely complex process.9
Hellberg-Him's observation on the role o f the intelligentsia as the m ain
reproducers o f national forms o f culture is at the heart o f the complexities
surrounding the study o f the relationship between Rimskii-Korsakov and
Russian nationalism. As Hellberg-Him points out, what was emerging w ithin
Russia's urban centers was a perspective o f Russian self-identity that affirmed,
yet supplanted, folk culture. The trend o f symbolically using folk culture as a
device for generating an idealized and nostalgic view o f the collective
coexisted, however, with current cosmopolitan trends that affirmed individual
creativity and appropriated western European tradition.
The symbolism in Rimskii-Korsakov's instrumental works based on
Russian themes must, therefore, be seen as a national statement in the unique
way he combined Western symphonic forms and his own orchestral sty lings
with the folk songs. While it may appear to be ironic that the incorporation o f
9Elena Hellberg-Him, Soil and Soul: The Symbolic World o f

Russianness (Brockfield, VT: Ashgate, 1998), 214.
14
individual orchestral style and Western symphonic forms would define
national character in Russian music, it is in this gathering o f different m usical
trends from early Russia to contemporary w estern European romanticism that
is the most definitive o f the true nature o f Russian nationalism. Rimskii-
Korsakov's musical syncretism, which combines original orchestration based
on his own principles, the use o f western European symphonic forms, and
Russian folk song, accurately reflects the com plex urban-based cultural self-
perceptions traditional in Russia, even though the identifiably progressive
nature o f Rimskii-Korsakov's work may appear to be contradictory to the
definition o f nationalist standards as they were developing in the 1860s. As
Hellberg-Him states,
When they opposed the elitism o f the Russian Academy o f Arts

in the 1860s, the nationally oriented Itinerants, or Wanderers
(Peredvizhniki) sought to create a visual image o f Russia and the
Russians, and chose as their credo the nationalist sounding
slogan: Only Russian themes, only Russian models\ In an age
not yet seduced by visual aids, they painted Russia as they saw
or imagined her; they exhibited the prosaic side of life, and even
the "ugly face" o f Russia. In particular, Ilia Pepin's painting
Burlaki (1873), depicting a team o f bargehaulers on the banks o f
the Volga, became the icon o f the Russian populist intelligentsia
o f the 1860s.10
I0Ibid., 219.
15
The nationally oriented call o f the peredvizhniki to deliver "only
Russian themes and models" was echoed in the art forms o f the time.
According to J. H. Billington's interpretations o f Russian culture, however, the
medium o f music carried the most emotive and influential voice o f
nationalism. In his description o f the relationship between nationalism and
moguchaia kuchka, we observe the dominant role music had in the
transmission o f national ideals.
In Billington's perspective, the Moguchaia kuchka's (hereafter referred
to as the kuchka) use o f folk song matched the peredvizhnikis visual
depictions o f Russian life.11 This parallel between the artistic group and forms
is in part supported by Rimskii-Korsakov's use o f folk songs in his
instrumental works titled "Based on Russian Themes," as they exemplify the
slogan "only Russian themes, only Russian models." However, in order to
understand more fully the nature o f nationalism in the music o f Rimskii-
Korsakov, and its "closeness with the people," we must find a definition o f
nationalism in his music w hich accounts for characteristics that reflect the
nJ. H. Billington, The Icon and the Axe: An Interpretive History o f

Russian Culture (New York: Knopf, 1970), 406-7.
16
W esternizing reforms contained in Russian culture as well as the trend o f
defending past traditions.
Shifting Perspectives in Scholarship
D ue to the perplexities and ambiguities surrounding the nature o f
Russian nationalism and the way Russian nationalism has been presented in
early studies o f Russian music, nationalism in Russian music is a topic that
continues to be disputed by musicologists in the field o f Russian music.
Originally, early researchers such as Gerald Seaman and Gerald Abraham
defined Russian nationalism in music as an effort by mid- to Iate-nineteenth-
century urban-based composers to create a distinctive Russian musical style
based solely on the application o f modal harmonies to Russian folk song.
While this definition is valid in a general sense, it reduced the character o f
Russian national music to a single trend in style; applying harmonies based on
modal practices to borrowed Russian folk songs. Because o f this reductive
definition, contemporary themes and ideas in scholarship question the validity
o f observing Russian nationalism in music altogether. This new outlook,
which is traceable to Richard Taruskin's theories on the topic o f Russian
17
nationalism,12 is most comprehensively summarized in a position taken by
Russian music scholar Olga Khovina in a paper presented at the Rimskii-
Korsakov International Festival held in London (December 1998). In an
opening statement from her abstract on the topic "Rimskii-Korsakov as a
Romantic Composer," Khovina calls for a new perspective in Russian music:
Russian music is traditionally consigned to the margins o f

W estern music histories and discussed under the rubric o f
nationalism; its relation to mainstream aesthetic trends is rarely
considered. In Russian musicology there is also a tradition o f
disregarding them, stemming from the ambitions o f 19th century
nationalists to create a new independent musical world. Perhaps
the only aesthetic label most commonly associated with Russian
music, and its importance is largely overestimated, is Realism.13
While these two positions are found in much o f the current scholarship
on the question o f Rimskii-Korsakov's music and nationalism, I would argue
that placing the composer in the position o f being a composer o f national
music is by recent standards an understatement o f Rimskii-Korsakov's value.
To completely discount the existence o f a Russian cultural identity in music
l2Richard Taruskin, "Some Thoughts on the History and Historiography

o f Russian Music," Journal o f M usicology 3, no. 1 (W inter 1984): 321-41.
I301eg Khovina, "Rimskii-Korsakov as a Romantic Composer"

(abstract from paper presented as part o f the conference "The World o f
Nikolai Rimskii-Korsakov," at the Rimskii-Korsakov International Festival,
Ian Gullard Lecture Theatre, Goldsmiths College, University o f London,
December 11, 1998), 5.
18
by Rimskii-Korsakov and the rest o f the kuchka w ould be a critical error.
Such a position overlooks a great deal o f w hat inspired this group o f
composers to compose music. Olga Khovina's call to re-examine the
significance, and consequently the position, o f Rimskii-Korsakov in the annals
o f music history is one that cannot be overlooked.
Contrary to an earlier musicological perspective that viewed urban-
based Russian music, starting with Glinka, as autonomous and separate from
western European traditions, current scholarship emphasizes the interest these
generations o f Russian composers had in their European counterparts. Thus,
the current trend o f placing Rimskii-Korsakov's music in an international
milieu is an attempt to validate the musical integrity o f the m id- to Iate-
nineteenth-century Russian composers and place him beyond the confines o f
merely a Russian nationalist composer. However, with the same emphasis
placed on Rimskii-Korsakov's eclectic style, he can still be defined as a
nationalist composer.
Understanding Rimskii-Korsakov's Position

as a Nationalist Composer
Establishing Rimskii-Korsakov as a nationalist com poser who
portrayed the ideals o f a collective Russian cultural identity in music is not a
19
process that is reducible to his mere borrowing o f folk songs and application
o f modal harmonies (although both exist in a majority o f his works). Instead,
a more accurate way to determine the nationalistic trends in Rimskii-
Korsakov's music is to examine the strong relationship between his
orchestration, the use o f Russian folk song, and w estern European forms
against the backdrop o f Russia's late nineteenth-century sociopolitical trends.
20
CHAPTER III
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
In order to shed light on the primary topics related to the question o f
Rimskii-Korsakov as a nationalist composer, this literature review includes the
significant sources in the areas o f Russian folk song, Russian urban-based
music traditions, and biographical information on Rimskii-Korsakov. The
connections between each source and my topic will be pointed out along the
way. A n overview o f the changes in musicology o f Russian music also results
from the survey.
In an effort to place Rimskii-Korsakov among the mainstream
composers o f the romantic period, contemporary scholars are emphasizing the
progressive and westernizing characteristics in Rimskii-Korsakov's music,
whereas earlier research highlighted his use o f Russian folk song and modal
harmonies. While progressive and westernizing traits are apparent in his
instrumental Russian-theme-based works, my dissertation maintains that these
very aspects symbolically represent a sense o f Russian self-identification.
21
Therefore, they can ju st as convincingly and accurately define Rimskii-
Korsakov as a nationalist composer as the use o f Russian folk melodies.
One o f the problematic areas in defining Rimskii-Korsakov as a
Russian nationalist composer is his use of, and relationship with, Russian folk
song. Through his own writings and reminiscences on the subject, Rimskii-
Korsakov's involvement with Russian folklore is well documented, and his
relationship with folk song began at an early age. Direct contact with Russian
folk song was made by the composer while growing up in the small village o f
Tikhvin. Here, he recalled singing folk songs along w ith his mother and uncle
as well as hearing folk songs performed in Novgorod. Growing older,
however, Rimskii-Korsakov was also influenced and inspired by the
eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century Russian urban-based tradition o f
adapting folk songs into harmonized versions based on western European
models.
The urban-based representations o f the Russian folk songs, which
Rimskii-Korsakov had exposure to, removed the songs from their original
contexts and altered their musical character. Yet, as we shall see, as an effort
founded in national pride, Rimskii-Korsakov strove to retain and portray the
folk songs' original character in his Russian-theme-based instrumental works.
22
In order to come to terms with the multidimensional subject o f the relationship
between Rimskii-Korsakov and his use o f folk song, it is necessary to review
existing studies o f the use o f folk song as a rural-based music tradition and an
urban-based music tradition.
Russian Folk Song As Rural-Based M usic Tradition

and Urban-Based Music Tradition
A primary example o f early scholarship on Russian folk song is Alfred
Swan's 1973 work Russian M usic and Its Sources in Chant a n d Folk Song.1
As the title suggests, Swan explores the position o f Russian folk song and
Russian liturgical chant in selected works o f the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries. Swan, working with Russian urban-based music practices, implies
in his title that folk song and chant are something other than music. This is an
example o f the type o f early musicological thinking that current scholarship is
rejecting and reworking.
In chapter 1, titled "The Sources," Swan opens with a discussion o f a
musical time period he refers to as "early collection." This period, according
to Swan, began during the eighteenth century. From the "early collection"
’Alfred J. Swan, Russian Music and Its Sources in Chant and Folk Song
(New York: Norton, 1973).
23
period emerged various attempts to collect and publish folk songs. However,
as Swan points out, the early efforts to collect and organize the folk songs
were arbitrary. It was not until the next generation that transcriptions were to
become more accurate versions o f the original forms. "Early collections were
often made indiscriminately and without plan, collectors noting m ostly what
hovered in the minds o f townspeople, i.e. urban versions o f village
intonations. However, greater care to record faithfully was manifested in the
19th century."2
In his documentation o f early folk song, Swan discusses a field trip he
took to the Russian province o f Pechory (Pskov), where he intended to study
sixteenth-century manuscripts containing liturgical melodies. While in the
Pechory, he was sidetracked by a "peasant woman" who offered to take him to
a nearby village (near the lake o f Pskov) where he could hear singers perform.
He described these performances as having intense vocal quality, free meter,
ambiguous modality, and a heterophonic structure based on "dissonant
intervals."
Swan groups the folk songs as: (1) spiritual verses, (2) byliny (Russian
epic narratives), (3) wedding songs and incantations, (4) dance songs, and
2Ibid., 19.
24
(5) laments and prison songs. His commentary reflects the contextual
distinctions between the groups more than the musical differences (o f which
there are many).3 This is the area where Swan falls short, for given his
intention to reveal the tradition o f borrowing folk song within Russian art
music, more musical characteristics should have been provided. Swan's
description o f the folk music, although general, is still refreshingly unbiased.
What he brings into his work are accounts o f those who observed Russian folk
song, how they collected and categorized it, and how it would later influence
the composers o f the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. However, in
comparison to the depth and scope o f research on Russian folk songs that
early Russian ethnographers (most notably Eugenii Lineva) and contemporary
musicologists, especially Magarita Mazo, Elizabeth Warner, and Evgenii
Kustovskii, have brought to the field, Swan's observations are very general.
Perhaps the most definitive piece o f early scholarship on the topic o f
Russian folk song is Eugenii Lineva's The Peasant Songs o f Great Russia: As
They Are in the Folk's Harmonizations .4 Eugenii Lineva was a secretary and
3 Ibid., 22.
4Eugenii Lineva, The Peasant Songs o f Great Russia: As They A re in

the Folk's Harmonizations (Moscow: The Imperial Academy o f Science,
1905).
25
council member o f the Musical Commission o f the Imperial Society o f Natural
Philosophy, Anthropology, and Ethnography at the turn from the nineteenth to
the twentieth century. Lineva's Peasant Songs o f Great Russia is a
compilation o f transcriptions that were collected and transcribed from
phonograms. Compared to Swan’s work, Lineva's explanations on the folk
songs' contexts and characteristics is much more thorough. This is attributed
to the fact that Lineva, who was Russian, was better equipped to decode more
specifically information about the music. Although Lineva relies on western
European models to define the music, she does so in a way that describes the
distinct character o f Russian folk song.
In a breakdown o f Russian folk song's primary elements, Lineva begins
by suggesting that the most important aspects are: (1) progression o f parts in
relation to its harmonic structure, (2) rhythm, and (3) peculiarities o f peasant
singing and improvisation.3 The three aforementioned components o f Russian
folk song are important considerations when we view the way Rimskii-
Korsakov treated folk songs in his instrumental works. For Rimskii-
Korsakov, keeping many o f the musical elements consistent with their original
forms was an important way to keep Russian character in the music. Also, in
3Ibid., xiv.
26
the areas where certain elements o f the m usic are lost, such as vocal qualities
(Lineva refers to them as "peculiarities o f peasant singing"), texts, and
improvisation, Rimskii-Korsakov uses these elements, in a conceptual w ay, to
guide his orchestration.
In Lineva's discussion on the first point (progression o f parts in relation
to its harmonic structure), she remarks that the polyphonic structure o f
Russian folk song differs from choral practice o f the western European
classical tradition. The first o f the prim ary distinctions in vocal practice that
Lineva outlines is the strict call-and-response relationship between a soloist
and the group. This characteristic is follow ed by the heterophonic quality o f
the song (where each line moves along as a variation o f the structural melody)
and the small compass in range between the voices. To visually dem onstrate
the aural distinctions between the two styles, Lineva provides a graph that
compares the choral structure o f Martin Luther's "Ein Feste Berg" to the
Russian folk song "Among Us in Holy Russia" (recorded in the village o f
Noviaia Slobada, Province Nizhni N ovgorod; see Figure 1; all figures are in
the Appendix). Even without a detailed analysis o f the music, it does not take
much effort to see that the diagrams support Lineva's findings. The low er
example ("Ein Feste Berg") contains a larger range between the voices and the
27
m elodic contour o f each part is static without a distinction between the
vocalist and soloist. In the upper example ("Among Us in H oly Russia"), the
song begins with a lead voice that is followed by a response in the chorus.
T he range between the choral parts is closer with more activity in each
separate voice.
Regarding Lineva's second point, this diagram shows a rhythmic
com parison between the two forms. In the Russian folk song example, the
multiple-meter quality in the music is produced as the song moves between
duple and triple meter (see metric indications above "Among Us in Holy
Russia" in Figure 1). There is no change o f meter in Luther's example.
L ineva comments that rhythm in Russian folk song is even more complicated
as rhythm can follow the shifts in accentuations. The freedom with which
accentuation moves within words and verse determines the flexibility in
rhythm . According to Lineva, the changing accentuations, resulting in subtle
rhythm ic shifts, act as a device to overcome monotony in the repetition o f the
folk songs' texts and form.
In her final point regarding Russian folk song, Lineva discusses the
"peculiarities o f peasant singing and improvisation." Perhaps the m ost telling
device that makes Russian folk song unique by Russian standards, this area of
28
performance practice is at the heart o f Rimskii-Korsakov's instrumental works
based on Russian themes. In her discourse, Lineva presents the following
question: "One frequently hears an artist praised for having caught the swing,
the 'style1o f a peasant performer. W hat does this mean?"6 She goes on to
describe the way a performer comes to terms with the style. According to
Lineva, a singer-improviser must study the song in a way that penetrates its
meaning and its connection with life. The notes must only serve as a vehicle
for feeling and interpretation. She continues by saying that too much
attachment to either the melody or the text, without regard for their
relationship to one another, results in a repetitive, dry and emotionless version
o f the song.
Although Rimskii-Korsakov cannot use the folk songs' texts in his
instrumental works, he does remain true to the conceptual framework o f the
music's meaning and its connection with life. We will see through an analysis
o f the folk songs that, while removing the songs from their original context, he
replaces the text and improvisational character o f the original melodies with
his own creative methods o f orchestration. He does this in order to highlight
the presence o f the folk songs in his works based on Russian themes. And in
6Ibid., xxv.
29
so doing, he retains but redefines their connection with Russian life, as the
folk songs become part o f orchestral works that are identifiable to the new
Russian urban-based audiences o f the nineteenth century.
Lineva's Peasant Songs o f Great Russia also offers musical
transcriptions o f the representative songs that make up the genre. Although
she does not clarify the regional distinctions between folk song styles, Lineva
does provide an account o f where each song was recorded.
Reflecting current trends in m usicology that focus more on specific
characteristics in Russian folk song, Russian Traditional F olk S o n g by
Elizabeth W arner and Evgenii Kustovskii is a survey o f the folk song types
that are associated with Russian rural life.7 Because Russian folk song has its
roots in the context o f daily life, the songs are presented and divided in
accordance with the activities they accompany. It is also worth noting that
there is a valuable audiotape that accompanies the book. This tape contains
the songs that are explained in the text.
W arner and Kustovskii's primary folk song categories are ritual and
non-ritual songs. W arner explains that the categories o f ritual songs are
7Elizabeth W arner and Evgenii Kustovskii, Russian Traditional Folk

Song (Hull, England: Hull University Press, 1990).
30
related prim arily to the cycle o f the agricultural year and to ritual activities
found w ithin the familial/domestic domain. Non-ritual songs are not
necessarily restricted to performances during certain times o f the year or
bound by family tradition. Kustovskii also supplies an essay titled "Some
Distinguishing M usical Features o f Russian Folk Song." This section
characterizes certain folk song types and em phasizes regionally-based
distinctions.
The extreme age o f west-Russian songs also manifests itself in

the very nature o f their polyphony. In performance no
differentiation o f voices according to pitch is required. Instead,
what we find most often is unison singing or what the
musicologists have dubbed "variant heterophony." This means
that each singer performs their own m elodic version o f the main
tune, as a consequence o f which, in those parts o f the melody
which are unstable, extra-harmonic consonances are form ed.8
Kustovskii states that the unstable heterophony defines the folk songs
o f the western Russian regions, and she continues by adding that the folk
songs o f the southern regions are marked by musical styles and forms based
mostly on dances:
Considerably more complex and striking is the musical

organization characteristic o f musical folklore in the central and
southern provinces o f Russia. The songs o f Kursk and Belgorod
Provinces are widely represented in our selection. One unifying
8Ibid., 10.
31
factor here is a pronounced dance element which may be clearly

distinguished not only in songs accompanying what might
loosely be described as "lively" dances (plyasovia) but also in
songs for circle or figure dances (khorovodnia) and in wedding
songs and laments.9
As for the Russian Traditional F olk Song's format, each section is
divided according to vocally based genres with an excerpt o f instrumental
music as well. The reason for this scheme, according to Kustovskii, is that it
replicates the function, order, and roles o f the folk songs throughout the
represented regions. Closing the overview o f the musical features o f Russian
folk song, Kustovskii offers details about the important characteristics o f
repetition and solo versus group singing:
In the Russian folk song there are two processes at work that
come together to form a dialectical unity, on the one hand the
repetition o f the unchangeable framework o f a piece o f music
and on the other its creative transformation by each individual
singer in the group.10
This section on the structure o f folk songs will be very significant for
understanding how Rimskii-Korsakov maintained the character and quality in
the folk songs he incorporated in his instrumental works. In his instrumental
treatment o f the folk music, we will see how repetition and solo/group
9Ibid., 12.
10Ibid., 15.
32
performances will have an impact on the rhythms, harmonies, melodies and
countermelodies that the com poser creates.
Sections tH ("The Russian Folk Song and Village Life") and IV ("Song
Texts") contain classifications o f the songs that go beyond "arbitrary generic
categories or themes."11 For instance, the non-ritual songs that are included
fall into the categories o f (1) khorovodnaia, songs accompanying slow er and
more sedate round dances; (2) chastaia, songs accompanying livelier dances;
and (3) protyazhnaia, the slow and lyrical songs in free rhythm. The ritual
songs are classified under the times, events, and/or celebrations they are
performed. Thus, the titles o f such songs are found under the headings o f
calendar songs, work songs, and weddings/laments.
Within section III ("The Russian Folk Song and Village Life"), W arner
describes the types o f ritual and non-ritual songs in the contexts they were
performed. The calendar songs are subdivided into the primary seasons and
events, beginning with Christmastide and New Year greetings (kolyadki).
Next are the Shrove songs, followed by songs o f spring and early summer.
The section then ends with the songs for haymaking. Warner's discussion o f
the calendar songs and their contexts is very thorough, as it accounts for times
"Ibid., 24.
33
o f the cycles as well as the social values that correspond to the seasonal
practices. For instance, the explanation on the upbeat style o f some
haymaking songs contradicts the grueling task they accompany; yet W arner
puts this into perspective by stating, "In spite o f its difficulties the w ork had
many compensations. There was a pleasing rhythm to the physical
movements and a deep sense o f satisfaction and comradeship w hen the
communal task was com pleted."12 To emphasize the value o f Russian
seasonal practices in everyday life, she includes the w ay the traditions found
their w ay into Russian literature and music o f the nineteenth century:
"Shrove's departure marked the end o f winter. Aleksandr Ostrovskii (1823-
86) captures this feeling in his play Snegurochka (The Snow M aiden) based
on folk motifs and later turned into an opera by Rim skii-K orsakov."13
Similarly, in the section on weddings and laments (also ritual songs),
Warner brings Pushkin into her analysis to show a dark side related to the
practices surrounding marriage:
Aleksandr Pushkin, in an article o f 1833-4, pointed out that

tragic family circumstances seemed to be a normal feature o f the
life o f ordinary folk in Russia and that the majority o f Russian
l2Ibid., 33.
13Ibid., 25.
34
folk songs appear to deal either w ith the complaints o f some

young beauty against her will or o f a young husband whose wife
has lost interest in him. A n echo o f these sentiments m ay also be
found in his long poem, Evgenii Onegin (1823-31), in which the
old nurse laughs at her gently-born charge's notions o f romantic
love, recalling how she herself was married against her will at
the age o f thirteen to a lad even younger than herself.14
W here section HI offers much o f the contextual information behind the
songs, in section IV ("Song Texts") the reader is provided with the song
translations and commentaries by Warner w ith transcriptions by Kustovskii.
This portion o f Traditional Russian F olk Song is significant for those studying
the cultural context o f the music, because it refers directly to the music itself
and how many o f the words and phrases coincide with social beliefs and
practices. This arrangement is convenient for looking at the music and the
words and the way they reflect the times and beliefs o f the people who are
performing them.
Russian Traditional Folk Song is an important contribution to the
scholarship o f Russian folk song. W arner and Kustovskii's collaboration
offers a direct, understandable, practical, and well-organized source that
explains m any o f the finer points that distinguish one style o f folk song from
the next. The supplemental tape is the aural proof o f many o f the elements
14Ibid., 37.
35
they discuss. Also supplementing the work's text is a series o f plates—from
the Central Theatrical Library, the Historical Museum, and the Bakhrushin
Theatrical Museum of Moscow—illustrating nineteenth-century Russian folk
life.
W arner and Kustovskii's research also reflects a more current trend in
the m usicology o f Russian folk song, one that involves ethnographic
expeditions with the purpose o f gathering songs from the various districts in
order to show differences between the styles. This trend differs from earlier
efforts, such as those of Eugenii Lineva, in which scholars gathered the
separate folk songs o f various regions in order to define the single genre.
Currently, as Warner and Kustovskii's w ork shows, folk songs are being
gathered with the intention o f examining the internal variances within the
single genre.
The Russian music historian and ethnographer Margarita Mazo has
been a major contributor to scholarship on Russian folk song, especially
regarding the relationship between folk song and the eighteenth- and
nineteenth-century metropolitan composers. With great depth and
precision she explores the general concepts and finer points surrounding this
complex relationship. Her survey entitled "Russia, the USSR, and the Baltic
36
States" provides an overview o f the various collections o f folk songs in
Russia.15 The survey begins with Vasily Trutovskii's 1776 collection Sobranie
russkikh prostykh pesen s notami (Collection o f Russian Simple Songs w ith
M usic).16
A ddressing the multiple folk song collections that arose during the pre-
Soviet period, M azo discusses in a general w ay the contents and purposes o f
the collections along with their historical positions. Tracing the developm ent
o f the urban-based practice o f collecting rural folk songs from the Trutovskii
source to the Soviet period, Mazo notes the co-opting efforts during the late
nineteenth century:
Since the 1880s, the activities o f collecting, studying and

propagandizing folk music in concerts were organized under the
aegis o f scholarly institutions: the Song Commission (PK) o f the
Russian Geographic Society (RGO) in St. Petersburg (1884:
members Terty I. Filippov, M ily Balakirev, Anatoly Lyadov,
Sergey Lyapunov and others).17
1:5M argarito Mazo,"Russia, the U SSR and the Baltic States," in

Ethnom usicology: Historical and Regional Studies, ed. Helen Myers (New
York: Norton, 1993).
I6V. Trutovskii, Sobranie russkikh protstykh pesen s notam i (Collection

o f Russian simple songs with music) (St. Petersburg, Russia: n.p., 1776;
reprint, St. Petersburg, Russia: n p ., 1953).
l7Mazo, 199.
Reproduced with permission o f the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
37
These aforementioned organizations and individuals o f the latter
nineteenth century were carrying on a tradition o f collecting and publishing
folk songs with piano accompaniment. O f special interest to Rimskii-
Korsakov scholars is the period during the late eighteenth century w hen the
Lvov/Prach collection (LPC) emerged (1790). The Lvov/Prach collection,
apart from being a prim ary source for Rimskii-Korsakov, provided a
significant foundation for classification as well as the rudiments o f folk song.
"In 1790 the landmark collection by N ikolai Lvov and Ivan Prach appeared.
Lvov's preface contained the first discussion in print on folk song specifics;
his classification o f Russian songs by genre is still used."18
Rimskii-Korsakov's position, as well as Balakirev's, in the w orld o f
Russian folk song collections is presented by Mazo as a quest for capturing
the original character o f the folk songs they were arranging, as she states that
Balakirev's w ork served as the inspiration for a new trend o f scholarly
investigation into folk music. In their arrangements they were striving for
textural and harmonic relationships that were comparable to Lineva's diagram
o f "Among Us in Holy Russia," rather than "Ein Feste Berg" (see Figure 1).
Following her statement that "the tasks o f arrangement and scholarly
l8Ibid., 196.
38
investigation became separated after the efforts o f Balakirev (1866)," M azo
discusses the distinction between the artistic arrangements o f folk song (with
instrumental accompaniment applied to the single folk song melody) and
transcriptions o f choral polyphony (part-singing) found in peasant tradition.19
Mazo suggests that the ethnographic efforts o f post-Balakirev researchers such
as Yuly M elgunov and Nikolay Palchikov (Eugenii Lineva falls under this
category) focused on transcribing choral songs "as they were sung by the
peasants." From their separate findings there resulted a consistency in style
and form.
W orking independently in different regions, they reached similar

conclusions: a folk chorus sings a cappella\ each participant
improvises his or her own variant o f the melody; and only the
aggregate o f these melodic variants, which Melgunov called
podgoloski, should be recognized as the song.20
Mazo's description of the unique relationship o f melodic variants
between the multiple voices {podgoloski) parallels Lineva's description o f the
"peculiarities o f peasant singing," and Kustovskii's explanation o f
heterophony in Russian folk song's distinguishing features. This consistency
in musical dialect has been recognized as a standard in Russian folk song
19Ibid., 198.
20Ibid., 198.
39
performance practice. Mazo continues in her explanation on the style by
stating that, due to a combination o f limitations in musical abilities, notation,
and transcription systems that were unable to capture the essence o f
podgoloski, the collected transcriptions were distorted versions o f the choral
song.
The ethnographers' inability to transcribe the music notwithstanding,
the unique heterophonic quality o f Russian folk song was and is recognized as
being its definitive characteristic. Mazo's overview o f the practices in Russian
folk song collection is a valuable source that provides a general outline o f the
practice o f Russian folk song collecting as it existed during the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. However, in order to understand the full impact o f
Mazo's contribution to the area o f Russian folk song collections and their
place in nineteenth-century Russian urban-based music, one may turn to her
introduction to the sixth edition o f the Lvov/Prach collection.
The 1790 Lvov/Prach Sobranie russkikh narodnykh s ikh golosam i (A
Collection o f Russian Folk Songs) is a primary source from which the
nineteenth century Russian nationalists (especially Rimskii-Korsakov) gained
much o f their inspiration as well as material.
From soon after 1790 the Lvov/Prach collection was regarded

as the representative collection o f Russian folk songs, and a
40
large number o f 19th century anthologies contain many songs

taken from it. Even Rimskii-Korsakov in his 100 Russian Folk
Songs o f 1875-76 (Op. 24), chose to take almost one-fifth o f
the songs from the Lvov/Prach collection, composing new
accompaniments from them.21
In her introduction to the Lvov/Prach collection, Mazo provides a
concise and thorough overview o f the dynamic surrounding musical and social
trends that occurred during the eighteenth century, the result ultimately being
an overview o f the urban-based and westernized trends surrounding the
treatment o f folk song. Summarizing the primary musical trends in
eighteenth-century Russia, Mazo discusses secularization, westernization, and
urbanization as being primary factors that have sw ept throughout Russia.
These trends have had a direct impact on music production in Russia since the
time o f Peter the G reat (1682-1725).
The impact o f secularization on eighteenth-century Russia, according to
Mazo, had its greatest effect on the "literate urban population." With the dawn
o f this new world-view, urban-based citizens were focusing on entertainment
for home-dwelling leisure. M usic source books were created that were
2INikolai Lvov and Ivan Prach, A Collection o f Russian Folk Songs, ed.
Malcolm H. Brown, w ith an introduction by M argarita Mazo (St. Petersburg,
Russia: n.p., 1806; reprint, Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1987), xii (page
citations are to the reprint edition).
41
dedicated to leisure activities w ithin the confines o f the chamber/salon. While
folk song collections were only one part o f the picture, M azo describes the
collections containing the Rossiiskaia Pesnia—or those songs in the style o f
the Western air de cour (m usical arrangements for solo voice with piano
accompaniment)—as oftentimes based on contemporary poetry.
Mazo, through the m eans o f a summary, also explains the significance
o f the Lvov/Prach collection in the history o f Russian music and musicology.
H er observations help us to see how the collection served to inspire and
provide material for Rimskii-Korsakov. Mazo summarizes the significance of
the Lvov/Prach collection as follows:
1) The Lvov/Prach collection was the first publication to

try to comprehend in a scholarly way the peculiarities o f Russian
Folk Songs.
2) For better or for worse, the Lvov/Prach collection set
the standards for subsequent publications o f Russian folk songs.
3) The Lvov/Prach collection enables us to glimpse the
musical milieu w hich nurtured Russian composers o f the
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
4) During the last decade o f the eighteenth and
throughout the nineteenth century, the Lvov/Prach collection was
the wellspring into w hich everyone dipped in search o f material
on Russian folk song—composers, poets, amateurs, and compilers
o f anthologies.
5) The Lvov/Prach collection influenced the folk tradition
itself, even in the outlying regions as a consequence o f the
numerous reprints o f songs taken from the Lvov/Prach collection
42
and published in school songbooks circulated throughout the vast

reaches o f Russia.22
Beyond the summary, Mazo also includes explanations related to the
characteristics and categorizations o f the folk songs used. This aspect o f the
w ork is extremely beneficial to understanding how Rimskii-Korsakov applied
folk song characteristics to his compositions.
The Lvov/Prach collection also contained a system o f categorization
that became a model for subsequent collections o f the latter nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries. While folk songs were separated into various genres
based on musical characteristics, context, and in some respects regions, the
musical characteristics provide great insight into understanding how Rimskii-
Korsakov determined w hat folk songs would be suitable for his instrumental
compositions.
The 1806 edition o f the Lvov/Prach collection contains two parts, and
the subdivisions o f the song categories appear as follows: (1) Protyazhnaici
(twenty-four songs), (2) Pliasovaia or Skoraia (thirty songs),
JIbid., 75.
43
(3) Khorovodnaia (five songs), (4) Svadebnaia (five songs), (5) Sviatochnaia
(three songs), and (6) Malorossiiskie (eight songs).23
The title Protiazhnaia songs, the material com prising the first part o f
the Lvov/Prach collection, is an ambiguous term that, as Mazo points out, has
varying interpretations that rely primarily on slow tem po. As certain
consistencies in the songs in this genre demonstrate—e.g., asymmetrical
phrases, melismas, and irregular meters—the reliance on slow tempo is one
indication that a song is in the protiazhnaia style.
The second category o f folk song types found in the Lvov/Prach
collection is titled Pesnipliasovaia ili skoraia (dance or fast songs). Mazo, in
accordance with findings attributed to the Russian Academ y o f Science,
defines the ancient pliasovaia songs as a village women's fast dance song.
Because the women sing the pliasovaias while they dance, it is characterized
by its lack o f lower ranged vocals and lack o f instrumental accompaniment.
According to Mazo, the early style is also defined by the presence o f a single
short melodic idea. Contrary to the early style, the later pliasovaia tradition
incorporates lower voices, and instruments. The melodies also contain the
23Ibid., 36 (page citations are to the reprint edition).
44
elements o f leading tones that, according to Mazo, cloud the modal character
o f the melodies.24
Referring to the w ork o f musicologist Vladimir Propp, Mazo also
comments on how the pliasovaia are characterized by punctuated and driving
rhythms that lend themselves well to the function o f dance, for which they
were created.
The next set o f selections in the Lvov/Prach collection that Mazo
investigates are the Khorovodnaia songs (songs that accompany the
slow-paced couples dance called khorovody). This dance is characterized by
interwoven chains o f circles where the outer circle follows the direction o f the
sun. Mazo also indicates that in the circle dance o f the khorovody, couples
dance together and will switch partners at times. M azo, who also cites Nikolai
Vladykina-Bachinskaia's work Muzykal'nyi stil' russkikh khorovodnykh pesen
(The Musical Style o f Russian Dance Songs), demonstrates the close
connections between m usic, dance and village ritual:
Such dances [khorovodnaia] usually involve m any participants.

A variety o f choreographic movements may be employed: one
big circle that m oves in the direction o f the sun, clockwise circles
o f various sizes, that move simultaneously in different directions,
lines, freely interwoven chains, dancing in couples with changing
24Ibid., 49.
45
partners, and so on. M ost o f these dances are in a slow tempo.

The khorovodnaia-igrovaia or simply igrovaia (dance-games or
song-games), usually have one or more persons acting out the
text while the rest o f the participants move around. Igrovye may
be accompanied by slow and flowing songs as well as by faster
and animated ones. Bachinskaia considers the binary forms,
such as AABB, ABB, AAB, and AB, as typical for all categories
o f khorovodnaia and igrovaia songs.25
Mazo refers to concrete music characteristics that continue to define the
khorovodnaia within the larger body of peasant folk songs. Along with the
bipartite AB design (and its variants), a three-note pitch pattern (trichord) that
spans a perfect fourth (usually at the final cadence) are the primary musical
features o f the Khorovodnaia songs. Two examples from the Lvov/Prach
collection that contain these characteristics are (1) A m y prosn seiali seiali (Ah
w e sowed, sowed the millet; see Figure 2); and (2) U menia linguistic muzh
vodop'ianitsa (Too much vodka my husband drinks; see Figure 3).
In this twelve-measure khorovodaia, the first phrase (mm. 1-6) is
repeated in measures 7-12, although the text changes. In the cadence o f the
final two measures, the structural notes b, e, and d result in the trichord
spanning the distance o f the fourth between the b and the e. This type o f
25Ibid., 53, citing N. Vladykina-Bachinskaia, M uzykal'nyi stil' russkikh

khorovodnykh pesen (The musical style o f Russian dance songs) (Moscow:
n.p., 1976), 8.
46
symmetrical phrasing that results in a trichord spanning the distance o f a
fourth is also found in the khorovodnaia entitled U menia linguistic muzh
vodop'ianitsa (Too much vodka my husband drinks). Rimskii-Korsakov used
the typical the khorovodnaia melody o f this song to create the character for
the third movement in his Sinfonietta B ased on Russian Themes (see Figure 3).
In the four-measure khorovodaia, the binary form is defined in the
two-measure A section (mm. 1-2), followed by the two-measure B section
(mm. 3-4). The final three notes o f the melody set up the trichord d, f ff, g.
This melodic gesture, spanning the distance o f a fourth, helps to define the
khorovodnaia through musical content. As we shall see, Rimskii-Korsakov
capitalizes on such intervallic relationships and phrase structures in order to
create the musical character in his instrumental works based on Russian
themes.
The next group o f songs in the Lvov/Prach collection that Mazo
discusses are the svadebnaia (wedding) songs. The Lvov/Prach collection,
according to Mazo, was the earliest publication to include the tunes o f Russian
ritual songs, svadebnaia (wedding) songs among them. The ten songs found
in the Lvov/Prach collection o f 1806 are the songs that were performed during
the sacred portion o f the ceremony. The collection does not include the folk
47
songs found during the more secular parts o f the overall cerem ony. Mazo
does, however, inform the reader that local folk ceremonies apart from the
church ceremonies need to be fulfilled in order for the marriage to be
considered binding.26
In terms o f musical structure, Mazo describes an asymmetrical form in
the melody that propels the m usic into a cyclical pattern. This asym m etry that
results in an imbalanced structure results in a cyclical form that observers have
defined as captivating.
Most o f the wedding tune formulas are characterized by a

peculiar circular structure that evokes a sense o f imbalance and
"incompleteness" within the song stanza, thus requiring the
return o f a following stanza and at the same time creating
expectation and a kind o f hypnotic effect.27
These songs, referred to as glavnaia (main songs), belong to the church
ceremony before the crowning moment o f matrimony. Often the texts o f the
songs contain metaphorical im agery that is rooted in earth, nature, and
fertility.
Characteristic o f the asymmetrical form o f the svadebnaia are the
multiple metric patterns found within a single line. To illustrate this point,
26Ibid., 57.
27Ibid., 58.
48
M azo includes a single line o f text from the wedding song K ak ne p a va ("T is
not a peahen"), whereby within a fourteen-syllable line the m eter jum ps from
3 to 4 to 2. W hile such multiple m eters are common to m any folk song
genres, it is the subject matter o f the wedding songs' texts, w ith their specific
syllable counts and asymmetry, that makes this genre distinguishable.
The songs of sviatki (Yuletide) are the next classification that Mazo
discusses. These songs (sviatochnaia) are performed between the two weeks
o f Christmas and Epiphany.28 M azo describes the types o f songs under this
category as being either "fortunetelling songs" (podblindnaia) or youthful
gam e songs {igrovaia), and she describes the common tw o-part AB form also
found in the khorovodnaia and pliasovaia.
The final genre that Mazo discusses is the M alorossiiskie (Ukrainian)
song. This genre, according to M azo, characterizes Russian urban-based
tradition o f the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Citing M ikhail
Speranskii's 1909 work M alorusskaia piesnia v starykh russkikh pechatnykh
piesennikakh (The Ukrainian Song in Early Russian Published Songbooks),
she shows how the tradition o f "borrowing" was quite com mon in the
28
Ibid., 59.
49
metropolitan areas. According to Mazo (and Lvov), the distinctiveness o f the
malorussiiskie songs is the w ay the melodies are treated.
According to Lvov's preface, the melodies o f Ukrainian songs

differ intrinsically from Russian ones. While they are described
as being m ore melodious than the Russian pliasovaia, their
melodiousness nevertheless differs significantly from that
associated with the Russian protiazhnaia because, according to
Lvov, they betray "musical niceties" and some degree o f
"leamedness." Thus, they do not possess that quality apparently
valued so highly by Lvov in Russian songs, namely the Iatter's
strangeness and distance from the "rules" o f professional
composition.29
Mazo suggests that the intrinsic difference in the Ukrainian songs,
w hich Lvov undoubtedly views as musically inferior, is the presence o f
instrumental codas (found in Ukrainian publications). These instrumental
codas were attributed to the use o f the bandura (a stringed zither) in the music.
W ith an ethnocentric view, Lvov defined these lengthy instrumental tags as
incompatible with what learned musicians should produce.
The importance o f Mazo's work in understanding the Lvov/Prach
collection is unquestionable. Her sensitivity to the musical characteristics that
distinguish each genre in the collection provides great insight into recognizing
the elements that would be retained, altered, and/or rejected by the Glinka and
29
Ibid., 63.
50
post-Glinka metropolitan composers. Mazo also provides insight into Prach’s
ow n settings o f the folk songs, which have been under scrutiny since their
emergence. She concludes that the Prach's treatment and practice was in
keeping with the urban-based aesthetic o f incorporating the musical
conventions o f western European m usic. In so doing, Mazo does recognize
that certain musical subtleties governing the original folk songs w ere lost and
this was what many Russian music critics objected to.
Prach, who was obliged to harmonize the melodies, had to find a

bridge between the flexible melodic and rhythmic systems and
the set conventions o f the major-minor system with its stable
correlation between scale, tonality and harmonic progression.
Prach decided, it would seem, to treat the modal supporting tones
as local tonics o f passing m ajor and minor keys which involve, in
turn their own tonic, subdominant and dominant chords. A biding
by this principle, Prach produced an effect of frequent
modulations, which was found highly objectionable by several
critics, particularly by Serov.30
As an urban-based Russian composer, Rimskii-Korsakov w orked to
retain as much o f the folk song's original character as possible. Therefore, in
his orchestral treatment o f folk songs, we find more instances where he
adheres to their flexible melodic and rhythmic character, even when the
practices o f western European harmonic progressions are applied. In
30Ibid., 64.
understanding this relationship between Rimskii-Korsakov and Russian folk
song, Mazo's introduction to the Lvov/Prach collection, as w ell as Lineva's
and Kustovskii's work, together illustrate the key features o f the Russian folk
song that guided Rimskii-Korsakov's musical decisions w hen he orchestrated
his instrumental works based on Russian themes.
The next important subject in determining Rimskii-Korsakov's position
as a nationalist composer is the Russian music tradition as it existed in St.
Petersburg during the mid- to late nineteenth century. In the Russian urban-
based music tradition lay the politics, styles and activities w ith w hich Rimskii-
Korsakov was closely associated. The nature o f Russian urban-based music
and Rimskii-Korsakov's place in it has been a topic on which Russian music
scholarship has had much to say.
Russian Urban-Based Music Tradition
Studies related to Rimskii-Korsakov as an urban-based com poser focus
on three larger topics: (1) the nature o f Russian nationalism in music, (2) the
line o f composers who have been defined as Russian urban-based composers,
and (3) the rise o f music professionalism and institutions as they em erged in
St. Petersburg. While the "name and date" facts have remained consistent in
52
the scholarship on these three areas, changes in perspective have occurred,
especially in regards to the presence of, and the nature of, nationalism in each
category.
Musicological views on the nature o f nationalism in nineteenth-century
Russian urban-based m usic, especially those germane to Rimskii-Korsakov,
have been varied. The correlation o f nineteenth-century Russian urban-based
music and nationalism, especially in American musicology, has largely
followed the approach o f British musicologist Gerald Abraham. Abraham's
output from the 1920s through the 1980s covers the three prim ary topics
related to Russian urban-based music.
Gerald Abraham's w ork is primarily recognized for standardizing the
study o f Russian urban-based music in the literature o f western music,
especially when it comes to identifying trends and composers. For instance, in
his essay "Slavonic Music and the Western World," he makes a claim that can
be considered a m ission statement for his entire corpus on Russian music:
My title has nothing to do with the Iron Curtain and its effect on
the world o f M usic today. There is a much older curtain between
Slavonic music and the Western world, which I should like to
pull aside a little: a curtain woven by the group o f languages
spoken and written by Slav peoples. It is true that a certain
number o f vocal w orks—mostly Russian operas o f the period
1870-1910—have thrust their way through by the sheer force of
53
genius yet the great corpus o f Russian music remains almost

unknown.31
Abraham states that a large body o f Russian concert music remains
unknown in the Western world. Scholars today are finding that as more works
are being uncovered the relationship between Russian folk song and orchestral
works is a close one. Abraham's call to uncover the window to the East has
indeed been heeded by the researchers that followed him.
To accomplish his mission o f informing readers o f the abundance o f
Russian music during the last half o f the nineteenth century, Abraham relied
primarily on composers' life experiences and historical events. For Abraham,
these examples establish the spirit o f the times and the music that was
produced. Abraham traced the development o f Russian music/song from
Glinka forward, often emphasizing the works o f Rimskii-Korsakov. Again, a
brief passage from his essay "Russian Song" suggests the guidelines for much
o f his work:
During the thirty years before the Revolution o f 1917 a great

number of songs were produced by the pupils o f Rimskii-
Korsakov and Chaikovskii and in turn by their pupils.
Confronted by this vast corpus o f work by Taneyev, Arenskii,
3IGerald Abraham, "Slavonic Music and the W estern World," Slavonic

and Romantic Music: Essays and Studies (New York: St. Martin's Press,
1961), 11.
54
Lyadov, Glazunov, N. N. Cherepnin, Myaskovskii, Rebikov,

Vasilenko, Grechaninov, Rakhmaninov, Netner, and others, one
is struck by a certain sameness. Consider the six songs o f
Glazunov's Op.59, Taneyev's Op. 17 Nos. 8 and 9, Grechaninov's
N a nivi zheltie (Over the yellow cornfields): they might all be
late Rimskii-Korsakov.32
It is Abraham's description o f the "sameness" among Russian works
that is the focal point in much o f his output. Abraham's objective o f
determining the "Russianness" in Russian music has provided m any
presumptions that later scholars have questioned. In Abraham's attempts to
reveal Russian music as something distinct from other music, he often
overlooked the stylistic differences between the urban-based com posers as
well as the stylistic differences within the opus o f a single composer. M ost o f
Abraham's work deals with the similarities, rather than the differences,
between Russian composers. However, his assumptions have led to a greater
understanding o f Russian music, as later scholars questioned m any o f his
ideas.
Perhaps the most telling and controversial comment by Gerald
Abraham regarding his view on the homogeneity o f Russian m usic is found in
his essay "The Essence o f Russian Music." In this work, Abraham states:
32Gerald Abraham, "Russian Song," Essays on Russian a n d East

European M usic (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985), 31.
55
In more purely musical m atters—harmony, counterpoint and

modulation—the working o f the Russian mind differs essentially
from that o f the Western. Harm onic thought is a personal affair,
at any rate in the case o f a m ature master. Many o f Rimskii-
Korsakov's harmonic idiosyncrasies, for instance, are peculiar to
him self and certain harmonic progressions stamp a work as his
quite as definitely as some o f his favourite melodic shapes.33
W hile the first part o f this passage is a statement about the w ay Russian
music is unique and identifiable, in the second part he uses the personal style
o f Rimskii-Korsakov to support his claim o f Russian music being unique.
Although the statement stands as an argument for why Russian m usic is
usually misunderstood and often seen, to use Abraham's own words, as "too
nakedly direct, too primitive, or too sketchy," the impact o f his observation
loses force when no follow-up explanations in strict musical terms are
provided.34 In fact, as Abraham is taken up by later scholarship (as I will
discuss), he is often viewed as making statements that are general and
descriptive without documentation or support. Yet, in Abraham's w ork there
is accuracy in the sense that he describes the Russian experience o f sound and
composition as being different from that o f the West. To prove this point,
j3Gerald Abraham, Studies in Russian M usic (New York: N orton,

1935; reprint, London: William Reeves Bookseller, 1969), 17.
34Ibid., 15.
56
Abraham tells us o f the value maintained in sound production among the
Russian nationalist composers:
The Russian musical mind is essentially so naive, naive even in

ingenuity. It is childlike in many other respects than its love for
bright prim ary orchestral colours and its pure sensuous delight in
sound for sound's sake. Its freedom from preconceptions opens
the way to all sorts o f curious triumphs.35
Along w ith his claim that a unique set o f compositional ideals
differentiates Russian music from the Western experience, Abraham is also
recognized for his work in explaining the use o f folk song among the late-
nineteenth-century Russian nationalist composers. Here is where Abraham's
accounts might be considered to be strongest when trying to reveal national
ideals as they relate to Rimskii-Korsakov. His aim is observable in an
opening statement in "The Folk Song Element," regarding the philosophies
that inspired Russian composition:
They [the moguchaia kuchka] were still obsessed with the idea
that, as Glinka had put it, "the people were the composers; they
were only the arrangers." But the problem, akin to that o f the
novelist who borrows characters from history, existed all the
same and we can get a great deal o f insight into each composer's
mind if we can see how he solved it.36
35Ibid., 9.
j5Gerald Abraham, Studies in Russian M usic (New York: Norton,

1935; reprint, London: William Reeves Booksellers, 1969), 45.
57
Nationalism, relating to the identity o f a people and its culture,
resonates in Glinka's acknowledgment o f the Russian people as the primary
force behind his music. Following Glinka's nationally oriented observation
about the function o f composers in the relationship between Russian people
and their music, what Abraham offers is an obvious yet interesting conclusion;
w hen looked at carefully, each composer's treatment o f folk song offers
insight into the composer's mind and personal style. In this relationship
between Russian folk song, and urban-based composers, Abraham suggests
that there is a set o f problems in the orchestral treatment o f folk song:
They [the moguchaia kuchka] began to write more elaborate

orchestral compositions still very largely based on folk melodies,
and found themselves faced with the extraordinary difficulty of
fusing into the most complicated o f musical organisms—sonata
form on the symphonic scale—the simplest o f all natural forms of
musical organism. For a folk song is a complete entity, not a
mere cell as a m otif is, and therein lies the difficulty. Being
already a fully developed whole it has no growing power. Nor,
without vandalism, can it be decomposed into its constituent
parts and these parts treated as germ cells.37
Gerald Abraham's assessment that Russian urban-based composers
fused western European forms ("sonata form on the symphonic scale") with
Russian folk songs is correct. However, his early-twentieth-century,
37Ibid., 44.
westem-European-based, evolutionary view that assumes the W estern
symphonic tradition to be m ore complicated than folk song tradition is one
that musicologists continue to challenge and dismantle. As Lineva,
Kustovskii, and Mazo have demonstrated, complex musical features such as
rhythmic flexibility and variant heterophony (not to mention the m em ory
involved with performing in the oral tradition) are but a few o f the
characteristics that contradict the notion that Russian folk song is simple.
Furthermore, his perspective that folk song is not a good source for
developmental material is an opinion that is invalid. As we shall see, Rimskii-
Korsakov, in creating a Russian music style, owes a great deal to the
developable qualities o f the Russian folk songs he borrowed.
In the course o f time, current musicology on Russian urban-based
music and nationalism has challenged many o f Gerald Abraham's theories. At
the forefront o f the emerging shifts in perspective on Russian urban-based
music and nationalism is Richard Taruskin. Richard Taruskin has becom e the
most prolific o f the Russian scholars since Gerald Abraham. Taruskin's work
provides accounts o f Russian music during the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries. His position oftentimes discredits previously held misconceptions
and generalizations about Russian music. In Taruskin's work, readers are
59
provided w ith an abundance o f information explaining the relationship
between the Russian urban-based musical practices and the sociopolitical
climate that helped forge those practices. It must also be stated that it is
Richard Taruskin's directness and thoroughness in explaining the subjects that
has made him a primary figure in Russian musicology.
In Richard Taruskin's oeuvre, the four main sources that address the
relationship between Rimskii-Korsakov, Russian urban-based music, and
nationalism are (1) "Some Thoughts on the History and H istoriography o f
Russian Music"; (2) a collection o f articles published as D efining Russia
M usically, (3) Opera and D ram a in Russia, As P reached a n d Practiced in the
1860s; and (4) Stravinskii and the Russian Traditions: A Biography o f the
Works Through Mavra?z In various sections o f each o f the works, Taruskin
directly and indirectly provides information and theories related to the subject
o f Rimskii-Korsakov and the nature o f Russian nationalism.
38Richard Taruskin, "History and Historiography o f Russian M usic";

"Others: A Mythological and a Demurrer," Defining Russia Musically:
H istorical a n d Hermeneutical Essays (Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1997); Opera and Drama in Russia: As Preached a n d P racticed in the 1860s
(Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1981); and Stravinskii a n d the Russian
Traditions: A Biography o f the Works Through M avra (Berkeley: University
o f California Press, 1996).
60
Richard Taruskin's Journal o f Musicology article "Some Thoughts on
the History and Historiography o f Russian Music" addresses the impact o f
institutions and professionalism on Russian nationalism. He begins his
discourse by first rejecting the w ay nationalism in Russian music had come to
be defined in musicology:
The habit o f speaking o f Russian music above all in terms o f its

Russianness has ingrained many prejudices and lazy habits o f
thought. It is often taken for granted that everything that
happened in Russian music has a direct relationship, positive or
negative, to the national question, which is often very reductively
construed in terms o f "sources in folk song and church chant," as
Alfred Swan put it. This in turn can and often does become a
normative criterion. The result is our tendency to use the word
Russian in comparative and superlative forms.39
The central point in Taruskin's "History and Historiography o f Russian
Music" is that if Russian nationalism can be defined in the realm o f music, it
cannot be done so through musical style; rather, it must be observed in debates
over the rising Western-modeled institutions making their w ay into the urban
centers o f Russia. Yet, the question o f nationalism and institutions within the
Slavophile/W estemizer split (as Taruskin puts it) is even further removed from
conventional views on nationalism. For Taruskin, the question o f nationalism
and institutions was more related to matters o f anti-Semitism. According to
39Taruskin, "History and Historiography of Russian Music," 323.
61
Taruskin, "nationalists" (including Balakirev and the kuchka) were not
concerned with developing a distinctive Russian style. They were, on the
other hand, campaigning against the professionalization o f Russian musical
life under the "aegis o f baptized Jew Anton Rubinstein who was using the
conservatory as a way o f advancing his own social standing."40
The perspective o f reducing the efforts o f "nationalists" to agendas
involving ethnic concerns contradicts the common theory that the primary
consideration was based on rejecting the western European models o f music
that Rubinstein was promoting. Continuing in his manner o f debating the
conventional theories on Russian nationalism in music, Taruskin also
downplays the kuchka's rejection o f Western models in their music: "Except
for Glinka, all the objects o f their [the kuchka's] veneration were located to the
West o f Russia—and why not? Glinka was at this point the only Russian to
venerate, precisely because he alone was on a level with the Europeans."41
Taruskin's mission in his "History and Historiography o f Russian
Music" is to encourage the "raising the level o f sophistication in the analysis
40Ibid., 334.
4IIbid., 335.
62
o f Russian music."42 In challenging the conventional beliefs surrounding
Russian nationalism in music (which he defines as ironies and paradoxes),
Taruskin never denies the presence o f Russianness in the music o f the Russian
urban-based composers. He does contend, however, that accuracy can only be
achieved when analytical techniques account for more than m erely the
presence o f Russian folk songs.
Another Taruskin work that relates to the topic o f Rimskii-Korsakov as
a Russian urban-based nationalist composer is D efining Russia Musically:
H istorical and Hermeneutical Essays. As the title Defining Russia Musically
suggests, Taruskin shows how Russian music can serve as a device for
understanding Russian culture, especially where the topic o f nationalism is
concerned. This musicological strategy becomes apparent in a statement o f
intent found in the preface, "Others: A M ythology and Demurrer." Again, the
title is suggestive o f Taruskin's revisionary position when it comes to
previously held beliefs and claims about Russian music (a recurring theme in
Taruskin's work).
In part I, from which the title o f the book is drawn, I attempt to

set questions o f Russian nationality, national character, and
national self awareness (ail translatable by a single capacious
42Ibid., 338.
63
Russian word narodnost') in varying historical or musical

contexts to discourage the usual clumsy reductive or
essentialist—and ineluctably invidious—generalizations about
"nationalism."43
The primary objective in Taruskin's w ork is to provide ideas and
information that help to eliminate the misconceptions that have developed in
the musicology o f Russian music. To achieve this goal, he categorized his
essays in three sections: (1) "Defining Russia M usically," (2) "Self and
Other," and (3) "Hermeneutics o f Russian Music: Four Cruxes." Together the
collection o f essays, each in its appropriate section, provides an overview o f
Russian urban-based music from Glinka to Stravinskii. Like the tone found in
"History and Historiography o f Russian Music" and the preface o f "Defining
Russia Musically," his explanation for "Self and Other" is a rejection o f the
way Russian nationalism has been treated in musicology:
National self-definition through music is o f course right in the

foreground o f the trio o f essays in part 2, collected under the
rubric "Self and Other." I hope, however that they will serve to
complicate rather than simplify the subject or issue o f Russian
musical "nationalism," and that the complications will clarify.
The field is rife with teasers: ironies and paradoxes that are soft
pedaled if not suppressed in conventional reductive accounts.44
43Taruskin, "Others: A Mythological and a Demurrer," xxxi.
44Ibid., 105.
64
In the study o f Russian urban-based music and nationalism, as it relates
to Rimskii-Korsakov, the most significant o f Taruskin's essays compares
Glinka's groundbreaking symphonic work Kamarinskaia (1848) to Balakirev's
nationally oriented work the Overture Based on Three Russian Themes
(1857). This essay insightfully compares and contrasts Glinkas and
Balakirev's use o f folk song and western European compositional techniques.
Taruskin's objective in this essay is to uncover the difference between Glinka's
musical intentions and Balakirev's nationally oriented intentions. In so doing,
Taruskin provides an overview o f the significant musical features used by the
two Russian urban-based composers who had an influence on Rimskii-
Korsakov.
Standing as the first o f the three essays o f part 2, "How the Acorn Took
Root" gets its title from a quote by Chaikovskii on the merits o f Glinka's
Kamarinskaia f To illustrate how Glinka used folk song for musical material
^Kam arinskaia is the work that is known to all the w orld as a

paradigm—perhaps the paradigm—o f burgeoning Russian nationalism in
music. Chaikovskii wrote o f it, in a phrase that has become a dogma, that the
Russian symphonic school was "all in Kamarinskaia, ju st as the whole oak is
in the acorn," a diary entry o f June 27, 1888, quoted in David Brown, Mikhail
Glinka: A Biographical a n d Critical Study (London: Oxford University
Press, 1974), 1, cited in Richard Taruskin, Defining Russia M usically:
Historical and Hermeneutical Essays (Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1997), 115.
65
while Balakirev sought to create national music through an association
between the folk song and his compositions, Taruskin relies on two
considerations. First, the rhythmic and motivic characteristics o f the
kamarinskaia (a Russian folk dance) appealed to Glinka only as musical
material; and second, Balakirev's w ork was part o f a reaction against an article
by Anton Rubinstein titled "Russian Composers." This famous article, first
appearing in the Vienna Blatter fu r Theater, M usik und K unst, discussed the
rise o f the skepticism o f Rubinstein towards Russian music.46
Before setting up the musical analysis that defends Glinka's position o f
using the kamarinskaia for musical material, Taruskin opens with a very
revealing comment by Glinka regarding his use o f the folk dance:
A t the time [i.e., while in W arsaw in 1848], I noticed quite by

accident a kinship between the wedding song "From beyond the
Mountains High" [Iz-za gor, g o r visokikh, gor\, which I used to
hear in the country and the dance song "Kamarinskaia," w hich
everybody knows. And all at once my imagination took fire, and
. . . I wrote a piece for orchestra under the title "A W edding Song
and A Dance Song." I can assure the reader that I was guided in
composing this piece solely by my innate musical feeling,
46Cited in Stuart Campbell, Russians on Russian Music, 1830-1880: An

Anthology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 65.
66
thinking neither o f what goes on at weddings, nor o f how our

orthodox populace goes about celebrating.47
By com paring nationalistic intentions o f Balakirev to G linka's m usical
intentions, Taruskin sees the musical innovations o f Balakirev as a w ay o f
creating a musical style with specific R ussian identities and associations:
The w ork (Overture on Three Russian Themes) may be seen as a

conscious attem pt to lay the cornerstone o f a "school," som ething
Glinka m anifestly was not trying to do in Kamarinskaia. So
where Glinka had aimed at nothing higher than musical
witticism, Balakirev needed to aim at a statement o f m anifest
"importance." A nd where Glinka could afford to indulge him self
with a work that was sui generis in every particular, Balakirev
was attempting to establish a genre, and that meant observing
and handing dow n conventions.48
For Taruskin it is in the act o f establishing a genre where Balakirev's
musical treatment o f the Russian themes differs from that o f Glinka. To
demonstrate the emphasis that Balakirev placed on the folk music, Taruskin
shows that Balakirev used three folk songs compared to Glinka's two. Also, in
Balakirev's work the groundwork for a national music style was being set in
the Overture on Three Russian Themes. First, according to Taruskin, the
47M. I. Glinka, "Zapiski" (M emoirs), in Polnoe sobranie sochinenii:

Literaturnaiaprovizvedenaia iperepiska (The complete works: Literature and
letters), vol. 1 (Moscow: Muzka, 1973), 333, cited in Taruskin, D efining
Russia M usically, 117.
48Ibid., 131.
67
overture's westem-European-influenced sonata form (in the key relationship o f
a third—D m ajor and b minor) is guided by the melodic character o f the first
and second folk song. Another crucial element in Balakirev's effort to initiate
nationalism in music is the way the thematic materials based on folk songs are
treated in the unstable and less apparent sections (bridges, transitions, and
developments). This developmental technique provides the folk songs'
character throughout the piece rather than limiting it to their full statements.
As we shall see in the analysis o f his instrumental works based on Russian
themes, this is a technique that Rimskii-Korsakov capitalizes on.
Two procedures Taruskin observes as being fundamental in the
development o f the themes are: (1) sequential harmonic patterns based on the
three-bar rhythm ic units (associated with the naigrishi) and (2) the extent to
which m usical development was based on the extraction o f motives from the
themes.49 These compositional techniques, combined with the increased
number o f folk tunes found within Balakirev's overture, inspires Taruskin to
credit Balakirev with successfully setting the foundation for a deliberate
national identity in Russian music. These elements, attributed to Balakirev's
style, had a direct impact on Rimkii-Korsakov's instrumental works based on
49Ibid., 126.
68
Russian themes. Rimskii-Korsakov's further contribution to the national style,
however, was his unique approach to orchestration.
The next work o f Richard Taruskin that reflects the spirit o f
contem porary musicological scholarship on the topic o f Russian nationalism
and Rimskii-Korsakov is Opera and Dram a in Russia: As P reached and
Practiced in the 1860's. Like D efining Russia Musically, this work is a series
o f essays, only this time solely dedicated to Russian dramatic music. While
these essays do not appear to be as tightly connected by themes as those in
D efining Russia Musically, a connection is produced by a focus on Russian
dramatic music with an emphasis on the influence of critic/composer
A lexander Serov (1820-1871).
Although Russian opera as it pertains to Rimskii-Korsakov is beyond
the scope o f this dissertation, Taruskin's Opera and Drama in Russia does
engage the reader in many o f the details and debates that surrounded the
musical world o f St. Petersburg during Rimskii-Korsakov's time. Because
Russian opera is the primary focal point o f most scholarship related to
nationalism in Russian urban-based music during the second h alf o f the
nineteenth century, this source offers commentary on the significant
composers, works, and social trends associated with Rimskii-Korsakov.
69
The essays w ithin Opera and D ram a in Russia: As P reached and
P racticed in the 1860's serve to illustrate the strong emphasis on opera w hen it
comes to musicological scholarship on Russian urban-based national music.
The opening essay in Opera and Drama in Russia is titled "Glinka's
A m biguous Legacy and the Birth Pangs o f Russian Opera." For the purpose
o f showing two different trends in Glinka's operatic style, the foundation for
the first essay is a comparison o f Glinka's first two operas, A Life fo r the Tsar
(1836) and Ruslan a n d Liudmila (1842). According to Taruskin, the two
w orks oppose one another in drama as w ell as musical style. A Life fo r the
Tsar was progressive for its time. In Taruskin's assessment, Glinka, through
this opera, was the first Russian com poser to idealize Russian folk tradition
and om it spoken dialogue.30 Ruslan and Liudmila, on the other hand, was
viewed as more abstract in fantasy and romance.
Supporting his position that the tw o operas oppose one another,
Taruskin offers accounts by the primary art/music critics o f the time: Prince
V ladim ir Fyodorovich Odoevskii (1804-1869), Alexander Serov (1820-1871),
and V ladimir Vasilievich Stasov (1824-1906). These critics have differences
o f opinion as to which work o f Glinka's is most representative o f Russian
S0Taruskin, Opera and Drama in Russia, x.
70
ideals in music. O f special interest is Stasov's negative account o f A Life fo r
the Tsar. As Stasov condemns the w ork for missing the true point o f national
character, because it relied on older materials rather than relying on
spontaneous creative instincts o f the people, we observe a difference in
philosophy from the later Stasov, who, as spokesman for the kuchka, came to
defend the depiction o f traditional customs in musical drama.31 F or Stasov,
Glinka's approach to Ruslan, w hich embodies the contemporary spirit o f the
artist, suits the national spirit more than the limiting elements o f realism and
use o f folk music.
This argument shows that critics who were interested in defining
Russian national character in m usic had differing opinions about w hat
reflected Russian trends. For some, Russia would be defined by progressive
"avant-garde" ideals linked to the depiction o f fantasy and new structural
forms. For others, Russia was defined through an idealized depiction o f past
music, people and events. The controversies surrounding Glinka's operas
represent, as Taruskin's title suggests, the ambiguous nature o f the way
Russian urban-based citizens defined themselves.
5IIbid., 6.
71
A ll phases o f Taruskin's commentary in this article are responses to the
question o f how the Russian concert-attending society dealt w ith two very
different works by Glinka. Although Glinka's A Life fo r a Tsar still stands as
the pinnacle o f emerging nationalism in Russian musical drama, thanks to its
incorporation o f dramatic realism and use o f folk music, Taruskin's primary
point was that the two works, as opposing forces, created strong debates about
what music should be. In comparing the two operas, Taruskin determines
what was to become the desired aesthetic in Russian dramatic music. This can
be seen in in his final statement o f the essay: ''The history o f the Ruslan
controversy shows that Russia found her own way to music dram a and that the
major force came from Glinka. But it was not the success o f the master's first
opera that pointed the way, it was the failure o f the second."32
The next essay in the collection that continues with the question o f
defining nationalism in Russian dramatic music is "Drama Revealed Through
Song: An Opera After Ostrovskii." This essay explores Serov's final opera.
The Power o f the F iend is Serov's contribution to what Taruskin calls a "naked
realism," and it contains many o f the elements that have come to define
52Ibid., 28.
72
nationalism in R ussian music drama. In a comparison to Serov's earlier opera
Rogneda, Taruskin states:
Where the earlier work had been romantic interpretation o f

Russian history, its successor w as realism itself: a musico-
dramatic picture o f Russian life. The Power o f the Fiend w as a
milestone in the incorporation o f folk idioms into high art m usic,
and occupies from this point o f view a unique place in the annals
o f Russian opera. It embodies a new attitude toward folk song,
seeing it as the "organic'Vehicle o f musical drama on all levels
from the lowest recitative to the grandest ensemble, and
represents the m ost thoroughgoing essay in this particular brand
o f musical nationalism ever attem pted by a Russian com poser.33
The first h a lf o f the essay, providing the history behind The P ow er o f
the Fiend, leads into the second section that offers a thorough account and
analysis o f the work. Leaning towards Serov's usage and treatment o f folk
song, Taruskin provides a thorough analyisis o f the opera. It is also in this
section where Taruskin's admiration for Serov comes through:
Folk intonations are pervasive in The Power o f the Fiend, and

here we com e to the most interesting aspect o f Serov's m u s ic -
independent creation in the folk style. This was Serov's response
to Grigoriev's call for the idealized, spiritual portrayal o f "life as
it is," much as Ostrovskii has responded in turning the prose
dialogue o f his original play into simulated folk verses. Taking
his cue from the view o f folk song as a meeting ground betw een
"life" and "art" Serov envisioned a musical style—thence a
dramatic style—in which elements in Russian folk music would
53Ibid., 141.
73
penetrate the entire compositional fabric, in which, truly, dram a

would be "revealed through songs."54
Any music scholar who has had the task o f distinguishing an actual
Russian folk song melody from one that is composed to sound like a folk song
melody understands the significance o f Taruskin's observation that Serov's
"independent creation in the folk style" is a prominent feature o f his w ork.
Through Taruskin's research and analysis, the reader benefits from a m ost
thorough account o f the folk songs present in The Power o f the Fiend. The
analysis o f songs and ensembles are supported with excerpts from the folk
song collections they were taken from. Furthermore, the connections,
summaries and explanations are delivered with extreme clarity and logic. To
support his findings, Taruskin also provides the reader with a chart containing
the following: (1) the titles o f the nine traditional folk songs; (2) their location
in the opera; (3) locations in Stakhovich's and Villebois's collections; and
(4) other sources, such as the Lvov-Prach, Rimskii-Korsakov, and Balakirev
collections.
The final section o f the essay looks at how the music, staging,
costumes, text, and drama all embodied the Russian concept o f bytovia (the
54Ibid., 185.
74
conditions o f everyday village life and environment). According to Taruskin,
this term, actually untranslatable in its breadth and scope, reflects the impact
o f the realism that was demonstrated through Serov's final opera. Taruskin's
final assessment was that The Power o f the F iend was Serov's finest w ork in
delivering originality, unification, and overall achievement. On this topic,
Taruskin closes w ith his statement that "historic costume play served its
purpose not only in the characteristics it possessed but the inspiration it had on
Serov's contemporaries and followers, both on a conceptual and practical
level."35
Taruskin views the element o f bytovia, where village life was depicted
through costume and music, as a crucial part o f this opera's influential style.
The element o f village life depiction, as it existed in the Power o f the F iend
had a direct impact on the kuchkists. To this set o f Russian nationalists, the
ideal of a portrayed reality o f Russian village life through dramatic and
musical practice was a tradition they continued. Advocating realism in
Russian music, and incorporating this style into their own works, Balakirev's
circle produced critical writings that discussed ways to create this style that
seemed appropriate to Russian culture.
55Ibid., 192.
75
While the topic o f nineteenth-century Russian opera is beyond the
scope o f my dissertation, the arising controversies over how to define
Russianness in opera help us to understand the social and musical atmosphere
during the time Rimskii-Korsakov was composing. Although Rimskii-
Korsakov's instrumental works are underrepresented in scholarship related to
the question o f nationalism in music, many o f the concerns and debates over
what defined appropriate operatic output for Russian urban-based audience
consumption applied to symphonic works as well. This aspect will be taken
up in my examination o f the work o f Stuart Campbell later in this chapter.
Determining that Rimskii-Korsakov is a composer who contributed to a
cultural identity in Russian music calls for observing the way his musical style
and compositions influenced future generations o f Russian composers.
Rimskii-Korsakov's place in the tradition and line o f Russian composers is
best summarized in his relationship with Igor Stravinskii. Again, owing to his
work Stravinskii and the Russian Traditions: A Biography o f the Works
Through Mavra, Richard Taruskin's scholarship is at the forefront o f this
complicated and definitively Russian relationship.
Through biographical, historical, and musical analysis, Taruskin reveals
as much about his own ingenuity, thoroughness, and insightfulness as a
76
musicologist as he does on the com poser and his works. Stravinskii a n d the
Russian Traditions is a two-volume w ork made up o f twenty chapters divided
into four parts. For musicologists interested in the late-nineteenth-century
Russian m usical world, part 1, "A W alled in Artist" (chapters 1-6), is
significant. B y revealing the Russian m usic traditions that were em erging
during Stravinskii's developmental years, Taruskin shows how the kinship
between the young composer and the m ore seasoned St. Petersburg circle
began. This area is pertinent because it reflects the social and cultural
atmosphere under which Rimskii-Korsakov composed and taught m usic.
The boy grew up on the stage o f the Mariyinskii, a favourite

mascot o f the troupe. As he reached adolescence, he fell to aping
the musical prejudices and enthusiasms that were fashionable
am ong the progressive musicians o f the day. He also devoured
the vocal scores o f his father's library. From these circumstances
we m ay assume he possessed from childhood an intimate
know ledge o f the operatic repertoire, especially the Russian.56
Volume I leads up to a discussion o f Stravinskii's most famous and
controversial ballet, The Rite o f Spring. Taruskin's buildup to this very
innovative and radical ballet is done so in a way that The Rite is view ed as the
end result o f the composer's natural progression. Taruskin accomplishes this
by accounting for Stravinskii's musical and psychological "developments."
"6Taruskin, Stravinskii and the Russian Traditions, 92.
77
The ballet, in Taruskin's words, is noted for being "a brilliantly original and
thorough synthesis o f the folkloristic and m odem traditions o f Russian music."
In this assessment, Taruskin goes to great lengths to provide the background
o f the R ussian musical tradition from which Stravinskii simultaneously
borrowed and from w hich he broke away.37
In this section o f the work, Stravinskii's tie with the St. Petersburg
music circle, including his conservatory professor Rimskii-Korsakov, is
examined. To illustrate the strong connection between the instructor and the
student's com positional practices, chapter 4, "Chemomor to Kashchey:
Harmonic Sorcery," outlines their innovations in scales and harmonies related
to octatonicism (eight note series within a single octave). Taruskin provides,
by way o f Stravinskii, a history o f the influence Rimskii-Korsakov's
octatonicism had on early twentieth-century compositional practice. Rimskii-
Korsakov's treatm ent o f chromatic harmonies is seen in his use and variations
on the octatonic scale.
The strong association between Stravinskii and the St. Petersburg music
circle breaks at the end o f part 1. This chapter, titled "Rivalry, Recognition,
Realignment," examines the psychological turmoil Stravinskii faced as he
57Ibid., 713.
78
experienced a sense o f being an outcast due to the rise o f Maximilian
Steinberg (Rimskii-Korsakov's pupil and son-in-law) and the death o f
Rimskii-Korsakov.
Part 2 o f volume I, "A Perfect Symbiosis," explores in great detail
Stravinskii's Russian trio ( The Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite o f Spring).
In this section, Taruskin looks at each work's position in the development o f
the composer, its place in the Ballet Russe, and Russia's critical response.
While the inspiration for Taruskin's voluminous account o f Igor Stravinskii
comes from many o f Stravinskii's confusing and contradictory statements
about his relationship with Russia, it is in the volume's second part where the
reader gets a sense o f the political and musical situations that prompted the
composer's later statements:
Stravinskii came o f age in a musical milieu that upheld a banner

o f "denationalization" in Russian music and scorned "gusto for
native folklore." Stravinskii was converted to folklore as a
musical resource by the same new friends who had rescued him
from academicism—that is the painters and esthetes o f
Diaghilev's "World o f Art" circle—and these two facets o f their
influence on him were profoundly symbiotic. To find the
sources o f Stravinskii's folklorism, then, one must go outside the
history o f Russian music altogether and look to the history o f
Russian painting and theatrical design.38
58Ibid., 15.
79
Stravinskii, who was commissioned by Diaghilev to compose the three
ballets, showed a remarkable change in style through the three works. Each
work moved further away from the traditional practices to which Stravinskii
had become accustomed, thus solidifying his position among the musical
modernists. His first ballet, The Firebird, which was influenced by Rimskii-
Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel, was, according to Taruskin, a conscious
effort to compose music in a Russian style even though it was not well
received in his homeland.
Part 2 o f volume I continues with a discourse on the creation o f
Stravinskii's Petrushka. Conceptually, the groundwork for what Taruskin
refers to as a "neonational" ballet was the result o f efforts forged by Russian
ethnographers o f the time.
Russian renaissance in music, seeds w hich finally bore fruit in

Stravinskii's music beginning with Petrushka, were to be found
not in the work o f composers, but in the work o f a new school of
musical ethnographers. The movement had its start in the work
o f Yuliy Nikolayevich Melgunov (1846-1893).:’9
Revealing the way that the work o f "the new school ethnographers"
(including E. Linova) on Russian folk song inspired Stravinskii serves as the
impetus for Taruskin to explore the area o f Russian folk song transcription as
59Ibid., 723.
80
it was taken up by the Balakirev/Rimskii-Korsakov generation. In turn, this
excursion within his work on Petrushka shows how Taruskin, even when
dealing with music created decades later, offers insights related to late
nineteenth-century Russian nationalism and folk song:
In his epoch-making publication Russian Songs Transcribed

Directly From the Voices o f the People [Moscow, 1879],
Melgunov for the first tim e named and attempted to transcribe
without prejudice the so-called podgoloski (literally,
"undervoicelets") o f Russian song that is to notate not only the
main tune o f a given song, but also the heterophonic aspects o f
the vocal practice. W here, with a few exceptions, previous
Russian field transcribers, including Balakirev and Rimskii-
Korsakov, had collected songs from individual informants,
Melgunov and, following him, Eugenii Linova took them down
from groups o f singers, that is, as they were actually sung by the
peasants.60
For all o f the conceptual influence that the ethnographers had on
Stravinskii's Petrushka, the aural impressions o f the ballet reveal that elements
o f Stravinskii's style take up more o f the urban-based compositional practices
rather than retaining the character o f folk songs. Taruskin addresses this point
by providing an open-ended question:
Just what did Lyapunov make, one has to wonder, o f the crowd
scenes in Petrushka, where the whole orchestra becomes a
cosmic concertina? Or o f the coachmen's dance, with its
"uniform rhythm" and its calculated impoverishment o f
60Ibid., 724.
81
harmony? Even Serov had trouble in his day with ethnic

purists.61
Stravinskii's incorporation o f folk elements in the w ork was
underm ined by his avant-garde orchestral, harmonic and tonal innovations. So
highlighted were the new compositional techniques that Taruskin states, "there
is no cause for wonder that certain epigones o f the older traditions o f Russian
m usical nationalism took offense at the work and its creator."62 Yet, as
Taruskin demonstrates in the section entitled "The Music: H arm ony and
Tonality," the innovations in the work were actually a logical progression o f
octatonic practices traced back to his St. Petersburg roots.
In the section entitled "Controversy at Home," Taruskin outlines the
cold Russian reception o f Petrushka by first stating that there w ere no staged
perform ances of the work in Stravinskii's homeland until after the revolution;
therefore, judgm ent in Russia was passed only through hearsay.63
N onetheless, the views were mixed, with sides being drawn by the
traditionalists and those who were seen as advocating the avant-garde.
5IIbid., 734.
62Ibid., 736.
63Ibid., 758.
82
Volume I {The Great Fusion) closes with an essay on Stravinskii's m ost
controversial ballet, The Rite o f Spring. Accounting for Stravinskii's creative
process, Taruskin takes the opportunity to once again contradict conventional
beliefs in Russian musicological scholarship:
The usual account o f the work [The Rite o f Spring] places almost
exclusive emphasis on its putative rupture with tradition; and
despite all o f his subsequent disclaimers, that is the view the
composer chose to abet, increasingly alienated as he was from
the cultural milieu in which the ballet was conceived. It was,
however, precisely because The Rite was so profoundly
traditional, both as cultural outlook and as to musical technique,
that Stravinskii was able to find through it a voice that would
serve him through the next difficult phase o f his career.64
Conventionally seen as anything but traditional, Stravinskii's The Rite
o f Spring features Russian modernism in its radical simplification, yet the
traditional elements that Taruskin describes come through in Rimskii-
Korsakov's octatonic influence. In spite o f Stravinskii's stronghold in
tradition, Taruskin points out that critical Russian reception o f The Rite o f
Spring caused the gap between Stravinskii and his homeland to grow.
Taruskin sees that for all o f its foundation in Russian tradition, the
modem elements o f The Rite were the final wedge between Stravinskii and
“ Ibid., 847.
83
Russia. Yet, as Taruskin shrewdly points out, when it came to Stravinskii's
alienation the rift was not single sided:
It was no simple matter o f rejection by a conservative and

uncomprehending musical establishment. The rejection was
mutual. Perhaps sensing its inevitability, Stravinskii provoked
it—not in any abstract metaphysical sense by m erely composing
The Rite, but in very concrete words and deeds over the next few
years.65
The separation between Stravinskii and Russia that The Rite created, which in
turn was to grow in the next decades, is the topic that Taruskin continues to
explore in the second volume o f Stravinskii's Biography. However, he shows
how Stravinskii maintained Russian musical traditions while seeking
autonomy.
Elaborating on the Stravinskii/Rimskii-Korsakov connection, Taruskin
goes to great lengths to show how Stravinskii the student continued to bring
the practice o f octatonicism to new heights. Through an analysis of various
octatonic practices that support his findings, Taruskin shows how Stravinskii's
Russian-based traditions carried through to the instrumental works o f his
Swiss years. In part 4 of the work, On the Cusp o f the New Classicism: A
Heritage Redefined (chapter 18, Epilogue), Taruskin shows how the composer
65Ibid., 966.
84
maintained the important features o f modernism found in The Rite o f Spring
while sim ultaneously exploring the musical character o f the C-scale com bined
with octatonicism. To demonstrate this practice, the author relied on
Stravinskii's Three Pieces fo r String Q uartet # /.
The first quartet piece furthers Stravinskii's extension o f St.

Petersburg tonality. Its melodic material is partitioned into two
tritonally related tetrachords, o f w hich one is assigned to the first
violin, the other to the second. Partitions o f this kind, as we
observed as early as chapter 4, had originated in Rimskian
octatonic.66
Through providing a table o f the instrumental works o f Stravinskii's
Swiss years, beginning with the Three Pieces fo r String Quartet (1914) and
ending w ith Symphonies d'instruments a vent (1920), Taruskin shows how the
parallel universes o f Russian musical tradition and modem metropolitan
internationalism worked side by side to create the unique blend o f
instrumental works during the time preceding Stravinskii's neoclassical period.
The Epilogue o f Taruskin's biography on Stravinskii concerns other
neoclassic works containing Russian source material. Concluding with an
analysis o f Requiem Canticles (1966), Taruskin bears witness to the fact that
even within his final serial works Stravinskii never lost the ingrained thinking
66Ibid., 1466.
85
o f his Russian background. Again pointing out the strong force and impact
that Rimskii-Korsakov had on Stravinskii, Taruskin reveals how octatonicism
was a high priority in Stravinskii's compositional output, even when the highly
sophisticated and precise practices o f serialism were created. Through
demonstrating the octatonic affinities o f the Requiem Canticles, especially in
the "Lacrimosa" section, Taruskin shows how Stravinskii successfully
combined his furthest past with his most recent present.
Throughout Taruskin's work we were able to observe Rimskii-
Korsakov's impact on Stravinskii, especially in his use o f octatonicism. Also,
the work reveals the m ajor contribution that Richard Taruskin brings to
Russian musicology. Through his insights on Igor Stravinskii, we are able to
observe how Russian tradition was maintained by this
international/metropolitan composer and how it had a direct impact on both
the conceptual and practical frameworks o f the composer's output.
Richard Taruskin's work challenges the conventional theories and
definitions o f Russian nationalism in the field o f musicology. The operative
term he often applies to earlier scholarship is reductive. This is because the
pioneering scholars such as Gerald Abraham and Alfred Swan defined
Russian urban-based national music as a compositional formula that became
86
standardized with the use o f Russian folk music. Where nationalism in
Russian music was concerned, the differing opinions about how Russian
music should be defined was not a crucial part o f the earlier musicological
perspective. Instead, early scholars approached the music as though there was
only a single way that Russians viewed their own music. For this reason, as
Richard Taruskin uncovers some o f the musical debates, w e see that there are
complications in the matter o f how Russian music can be defined.
Taruskin leaves the question o f defining Russian nationalism in urban-
based music an open-ended one. For all o f his disputes against looking at the
standard definitions, he never provides a full definition o f his own. He does,
however, strongly emphasize through his work that if nationalism is to be
defined in Russian music, it must be done so in a way that accurately accounts
for the way Russians viewed themselves and their music, including all o f the
complexities, ironies, contradictions, and parodoxes.
The most substantial work to date that accounts for the spirit o f
nineteenth-century Russian urban-based music, as it was created and observed
by Russians, is Stuart Campbell's Russians on Russian Music, 1830-1880.
Stuart Campbell's Russians on Russian Music, 1830-1880 is an important
contribution to the field o f Russian musicology. It explores the relationship
87
between Russian national identity (narodnost) and urban-based musical
practices during the fifty-year span o f 1830-1880. The book provides
translations o f articles o f the prim ary music critics during this period and gives
the reader a sense o f how the Russian urban-based repertory developed.
Campbell also provides firsthand accounts o f those who attended and critically
assessed opera house and concert hall productions. Campbell's w ork is
significant in that it represents a push towards trying to understand Russian
music the way Russians saw it (as objectively as possible).
The eight chapters o f Russians on Russian Music address the operas
created from the time o f Glinka up until the 1880s. Campbell does provide the
disclaimer that while it may be arbitrary to use 1880 as the cutoff date for the
period (since it stops during the careers o f Rimskii-Korsakov and
Chaikovskii), it serves to complete the circle o f influences on the Belyayev
circle (o f which Rimskii-Korsakov was a member).67 Prior to each translation,
Campbell provides a brief history o f the authors. Campbell's introductions are
as insightful and informative as the articles themselves in that they impress
upon the reader the significance o f the topics that are being covered.
67Campbell, xvii.
88
Mikhail Glinka's significant position as the pioneer o f the Russian
school o f composition is taken up by Campbell in chapters 1 ("Glinka's
O peras") and 4 ("New Ideas A bout Opera"). Chapter 1, dedicated to Glinka,
centers around the critical writings o f V ladimir Odoyevskii. Odoyevskii,
w hose professional life involved civil service, proposed that Glinka's opera A
Life f o r the Tsar "marked the inauguration o f a new era in m usic."68 Hailing
the merits o f Glinka's treatm ent o f harmony and melody, Odoyevskii claims
that a national style o f Russian music became defined through Glinka's opera.
While A Life fo r the Tsar was viewed as favorable in its national
characteristics and appeal, Campbell shows that Odoyevskii was not the only
one who held this view. An article by Yanuarii Mihaylovich in The M oscow
Observer addressed the relationship between Glinka and Russia in terms o f
"national character." M ihaylovich's view clearly supports O doyevskii's
approval:
He [Glinka] has delved deep into the character o f our nation's

folk music, observed all o f its characteristics, learned and
mastered the music, and then has given complete freedom to his
own fantasy, which has created images which are purely Russian
and symbolize our hom eland.69
68Quoted in Campbell, 2.
89
The character o f narodnost' (national identity) is the key element that
critics addressed when they described the value o f Glinka's opera. Campbell
goes to great lengths to provide examples that demonstrate how the principles
o f realism and the idea o f the importance o f the collective people were as
apparent in music as in the society at large during the second h alf o f the
nineteenth century. Campbell offers articles dedicated to the renowned works
(i.e., M usorgskii's Boris Godunov and Chaikovskii's Romeo and Juliet), as
well as lesser known ones.
Chapter 2 ("The 1840s and 1850s") focuses on the period w hen the
"opposing forces" o f the Russian Musical Society and the Free M usic School
were founded. With the emergence o f these performance-based institutions
came a wave o f interest in the issues surrounding concerts and programming.
A commentary written by Modest D. Rezvoy in the Arts Gazette (1841)
confronts the issue o f musical societies in St. Petersburg:
Turning to public concerts, we find that in Russia they are given

only over the course o f five weeks, that is from the second week
o f Lent to the Holy Week, which amounts to thirty-five days. On
each o f those days some two or three (or more) concerts are
given. . . . Through- out the remainder o f the year concerts are
extremely rare or do not take place at a ll.. . . Concert programs
90
which are compiled here almost fit mechanically, to a uniform

pattern.70
Rezvoy continues to outline the standardized and cliched nature o f
music programs before the emergence o f the music societies. These earlier
programs consisted o f two overtures, arias, a piano concerto or variations,
followed by a concerto for the instrument composed by the individual giving
the concert. From this outline the reader gets the sense that Rezvoy was not
pleased with the current trends in performance. Further describing the value
o f the newly established musical society, Rezvoy hails the frequency o f
concerts and repertoires included in the new programs (consisting primarily of
Germanic symphonic works performed every Saturday evening). Here we
observe the emphasis on Germanic music that would become a controversial
subject surrounding the St. Petersburg Conservatory and Anton Rubinstein.
Supplementing the previous article, Campbell offers a viewpoint by
composer Dmitri Struyskii from the Literary Gazette (1842). The article titled
"A Few Words A bout National Identity in Music" sums up a differing opinion
on the topic o f narodnost’ (national identity). For Struyskii, the limitation o f
writing Russian music in a distinctly Russian style is not fitting for a true
91
national identity. Struyskii, defines this attem pt as prostonarodnost', or the
identity o f the com mon people.
A truly national poet or artist never seeks national identity, but

writes sim ply giving expression to what is in his heart in an
elegant form. That is how Raphael, Mozart, Goethe, Derzhavin
and Byron created their works. But in Russia things are now
going com pletely the other way: people seek to find national
identity in personal names, songs, and the dilapidated literary
style o f the chronicles.71
In Struyskii, we observe a focus on individual creativity and
interpretation in the definition o f a national style. In this way, Struyskii
contributes to the debate regarding how national music should be defined.
Along with accounting for the artist's personal contribution in the definition o f
national style, Struyskii also maintains that nationalism in music should not be
defined through the use o f village folk song but by the symphonic standards
that the com poser brings into the work:
Write a play on Tatar history, say, and everything in your work

will show a Russian stamp; it is a law o f nature. Don Giovanni
is a Germ an opera, and William Tell is an Italian one, in spite o f
the fact that the action o f the first takes place in Spain and that o f
the second is in Switzerland. But what would have happened if
Mozart had patterned his opera after the bolero and Rossini from
a ranz des vaches melody? But Russian music has fallen in
decisively with that system, and instead o f genuine national
7IQuoted in Campbell, 47.
92
identity (narodnost'), we now have the national identity o f the

common people (prostonarodnost).12
Apart from the questionable moral stance o f Struyskii, who
distinguishes between the value o f the noble and the common people, his view
on the nature o f national identity in music is significant. We observe in
Struyskii an implication that Russianness in m usic should be determined more
by the style the com poser brings into the w ork than the use o f borrowed
material.
O f special interest for scholars o f Russian nationalism in music and
Rimskii-Korsakov is the rise of, and the controversies surrounding, the St.
Petersburg Conservatory. From the emergence o f the conservatory to
Rimskii-Korsakov's appointment, debates about the conservatory's function in
defining Russian nationalism in music have been ongoing. The conservatory's
prominent place in the history o f Russian music, and the polemics that
emerged since its conception, are two obvious reasons why Campbell
dedicated a full chapter to the debate ("The Conservatoire Controversy—A
Clash of Ideals"). Yet, as we shall see from the arguments, subtleties and
fervor surrounded the debate(s). Again, Campbell takes great care in
93
providing arguments that represent the many sides o f the Russian music
public.
O pening the chapter, Campbell provides the article that sets the entire
controversy in motion: A. G. Rubinstein's "The State o f M usic in Russia."
This article, taken from The Age in 1861 (previously published in 1855 in
Vienna's Blatter fu r Musik, Theater und Kunst), provides an unflattering
portrayal o f the current music trends in Russia. In an excellent introduction,
Campbell provides a backdrop explaining why a movement such as
Rubinstein's would be successful in Russia.73
The beginning o f the reign o f Alexander II (1855-81) was

propritious for initiatives. After the stagnation o f the previous
period there was hope for reform and development in many
spheres o f Russian life. The musical world offered scope for the
creation o f new institutions for training musicians and raising
performance standards.74
73It is important to note that Campbell provides information that shows

Rubinstein's Russian heritage in that "he was bom a citizen o f the Russian
Empire in a Jewish family who converted to Orthodox Christianity in 1831."
In spite o f Rubinstein's cultural connection to Russia, opponents, again as
explained by Campbell, took the opportunity to exploit, in their favor, his
German surname, Jewish background, and his Berlin training. Ibid., 74.
74Ibid., 64.
94
Rubinstein, believing that Russia was suffering musically, blamed the lack o f
professionalism on the absence o f government support and recognition.
O bjecting to this situation, he writes:
B y some strange concurrence o f circumstances Russia has

practically no artist-musicians in the usual sense o f the word.
This, o f course, is a result o f the fact that our government does
not yet give music as an art the same privileges accorded to other
arts such as painting, sculpture, and the rest, in other words the
governm ent does not give those involved in music the civic
status o f artist.75
A rguing that the evolution o f professional status among w orthy
composers would increase Russia's musical output, Rubinstein continued to
denounce musical amateurism in Russia. Revealing how Russia w ould benefit
from formal musical education and institutions, Rubinstein also passed
judgm ent on certain circles and "forfeited the good will o f many Russian
musicians."76
Rubinstein believed that the majority o f Russian musical artists were
irresponsible, only relying on their own needs, ideas, and ultimately
limitations for directing their musical production. It does not take m uch effort
to see how Rubinstein's attack on Russia's musical dilettantism was offensive.
76Ibid., 65.
95
This is not to say that Russian musicians and composers did not desire the
same sort o f changes in the system. However, to suffer such an assault from
someone considered to be a foreigner was m ore than some were willing to
accept (especially Balakirev, Serov, and Stasov).
As offensive as Rubinstein's article was at the time, Vladimir Stasov's
rebuttal, found in The Northern Bee (24 February 1861), challenged
everything that the conservatory director proposed. While Stasov disputed
many o f Rubinstein's points, one o f his m ost passionate arguments was against
the w ay Rubinstein dealt with the concept o f amateurs in Russia:
It must be noted that our amateurs are far better than the pitiful
and despicable picture o f them painted by Mr. Rubinstein. They
are not at all such ignoramuses as he makes them out, and if their
musical compositions do not reveal any real talent (which, by the
way, virtually goes without saying in as much as they are
dilettanti), then, at least, they are, generally speaking,
incomparably more intelligent than Mr. Rubinstein proposes.77
Beyond the strength o f Stasov's defense o f Russian musical amateurs, his
branding o f Rubinstein as an outsider unfit to determine the standards by
which Russian music should be judged is also notable:
Mr. Rubinstein is a foreigner with nothing in common either w ith

our national character or our art (although some musical papers
abroad sometimes number him among Russian composers), a
96
foreigner w ith no understanding either o f the demands o f our

national character or o f the historical course o f our art. This fact
thus to some extent excuses or at least explains the many errors
in his article.78
W hile the Rubinstein and Stasov arguments set the tone for much o f the
socio-musical climate in St. Petersburg, Campbell continues with another
topic directly related to the debates. Another issue in controversy over the
conservatory is the rise o f the Free Music School. Campbell explains that this
program emerged in 1862 as an outgrowth o f and protest against the
conservatory movement. Providing musical training free o f charge, along
with public concerts, the Free Music School, in its conception, direction, and
productions, was another hotbed o f controversy for those who were involved.
In another Northern Bee article (9 M ay 1862), Alexander Serov critically
reviews the dawning o f the newly developed program. In so doing, he offers a
moving and revealing representation o f a Russian self-image:
The Slavonic character exhibits a certain slackness, an excessive

compliance and tolerance bordering on apathy in practical, day-
to-day affairs. In matters o f art and science we Russians,
because o f the characteristics o f our race, are quite willing to
stretch out our necks to receive the yoke thought up for
imposition on us by some passing trickster who has been smart
enough to realize that this virgin soil (in whatever respect) may
well turn out to be his prom ised land, believing that if he does
97
not seize this opportunity, then someone else will. Responsible

nullius cedit primo occupanti (property which belongs to no one
goes to the first person to take possession o f it).79
This opening statement o f Serov's extensive attack upon Rubinstein,
and the audiences who were accepting his efforts and productions, continues
w ith a description o f the Free Music School, which was directed by Gavriil
Lomakin. The rest o f the article praises the efforts o f Lomakin, and, in a
single sentence, Serov celebrates Russia's amateur music-making public while
denouncing Rubinstein and his followers:
Let us dwell on the gratifying and comforting fact o f the

existence o f this wealth o f vocal resources consisting almost
exclusively of Russians, o f amateurs, gathered together and
guided by that great m aster o f his craft, the Russian conductor,
without any outside help—indeed, on the contrary, facing
considerable obstacles raised by Russia's patented musical
educators.80
Serov's call to "stop marveling only at visiting experts" is the call for Russians
to take stock in their own musical sensibilities and examine the worth o f
Russia's own talent, their ideas about music, history and genres.
A s Stuart Campbell's w ork reveals, proving the existence o f Russian
nationalism in music as a deliberate act among the composers involved is in
98
part supported through the writings and beliefs surrounding the music.
However, through written testimonies by Rimskii-Korsakov, we know that an
array o f musical characteristics (including the use o f Russian folk song) and
circumstances play a role in the creation o f a Russian national identity in
music during the second part o f the nineteenth century. Therefore, in order to
gain a full understanding o f the explicit features influencing Rimskii-
Korsakov's position as a Russian nationalist composer, we m ust examine
biographical inform ation related to the composer.
Biographical Information on Rimskii-Korsakov
Gerald Abraham's Rimskii-Korsakov
Abraham's biography o f Rimskii-Korsakov is a chronological account
o f the composer's life, including his well-known works. W hen compared to
Rimskii-Korsakov's ow n account in M y M usical Life, or V. Yastrebtsev's
Reminiscences o f Rimskii-Korsakov, Abraham's w ork is considerably
condensed. Yet, the work succeeds in providing a description o f how
Rimskii-Korsakov's compositions correspond with his life experiences. Like
Abraham's essays on Russian music, the biography does not seem as
concerned with Rimskii-Korsakov's specific techniques o f composition as
99
w ith what the music might have meant to the com poser and the Russian
people. It is Abraham's Rimskii-Korsakov, as well as his essays, that inspired
Denis Arnold to write:
Music, for Gerald Abraham, has never been merely an artifact to

be measured and described. Rather it must be considered in its
cultural context—an attitude rapidly disappearing nowadays, alas,
under the inexorable advance o f specialization. It is rem arkable
that he can enliven our view o f the Russian scene w ithout his
actually having lived there for a prolonged period. N either is he
afraid o f stating preferences and judgem ents. He has thereby
avoided much o f the dross which musicologists today feel
impelled to discuss.81
Documenting the events and experiences o f Rimskii-Korsakov seems to
be the prim ary intention behind Abraham's biography. Drawing from
Rimskii-Korsakov's own work, M y M usical Life, Abraham does provide the
perspective on culture that Arnold talks about. N ever taking for granted the
significance o f Rimskii-Korsakov's personal experiences, A braham takes the
opportunity to explore the life o f the composer, the works he created and the
sociopolitical climate o f Russia during Rimskii-Korsakov's time. In keeping
with his psychological and cultural perspective, Abraham provides hypotheses
8IGerald Abraham, Essays on Russian and East European M usic, with a

foreword by Denis Arnold (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985), vii.
100
on Rimskii-Korsakov's intentions in composing. A n example of this trend is
in Abraham's statement relating to the composer's operatic works:
He [Rimskii-Korsakov] employed a dual musical language: on

the one hand diatonic and lyrical, shot through with the idioms o f
Russian folk music, sometimes actually quoting or closely
imitating actual folk melodies, for the "real" human characters;
on the other, chromatic and highly artificial, often based on the
whole-tone scale, a scale o f alternate tones and semitones, or
making play w ith harmonic ingenuities, e.g. alternating chords
hinged on the two notes common to two dom inant 7ths an
augmented 4th apart, for the "unreal" magical beings. This
duality in Rimsky-Korsakov's musical style is matched by
strange contradictions in his personality: although cool and
objective to an unusual degree, a religious skeptic, he not only
delighted in depicting religious ceremonies but was capable o f
total surrender to the nature-mysticism w hich possessed him
during the com position o f Snow Maiden.82
In Abraham's attempt to provide factual material about Rimskii-
Korsakov's musical intentions, we find the many generalizations that scholars
and researchers debate. It appears to be Abraham's conclusions rather than the
facts themselves that recent scholars consider suspect. While it is true that
there are many opportunities to observe the musical depictions o f characters
through the means that Abraham suggests, believing that Rimskii-Korsakov's
musical styles reflect his own psychological profile or religious conviction
82Gerald Abraham, "Rimsky-Korsakov," in The New Grove Russian

Masters, vol. 2, ed. Stanley Sadie (New York: Norton, 1986)," 27.
101
remains debatable. Furthermore, with the minimal proof that Abraham
provides to support his claims, one must go directly into Rimskii-Korsakov's
own accounts and documentation to establish what the composer might have
intended in his compositions.
Vasilii Yastrebtsev's Reminiscences o f Rimskii-Korsakov
Yastrebtsev's Reminiscences o f Rimskii-Korsakov (edited and translated
by Florence Jonas) is a firsthand account o f the relationship between
Yastrebtsev and the composer. Yastrebstev, who was a student and friend o f
Rimskii-Korsakov, began publishing this set o f memoirs in 1917. However,
as Gerald Abraham points out in the preface, the revolution stopped the
process and it was not until 1960 that the full w ork was published.83
Reminiscences is a chronological overview o f the dealings that
Yastrebtsev had with Rimskii-Korsakov, and the dealings Rimskii-Korsakov
had with the St. Petersburg Music Society. Within each chapter, titled by year
(except chapter 1, which takes up the years 1886-1891), the sections are set
off by the month and days that their meetings were held. Yastrebtsev writes in
83Vasilii Yastrebtsev, Reminiscences o f Rimskii-Korsakov, with a

preface by Gerald Abraham, edited and translated by Florence Jonas (New
York: Columbia University Press, 1985), xii.
102
the first person to provide firsthand accounts o f w hat Rimskii-Korsakov said
on topics ranging from career, philosophy, politics, music, and composers to
life in general. O w ing to the wide scope o f subject matter, Jonas's
introductory statement best summarizes the nature o f the w ork and Rimskii-
Korsakov:
The only m usic o f Rimskii-Korsakov that people ever hear are

the three orchestral showpieces: Sheherazade, Capriccio
espagnol, and the Russian Easter Overture. From this one would
never know that he was essentially an opera composer, author o f
15 works in this genre. In them is to be found everything that
Rimskii-Korsakov was: sailor, nature lover, lyricist,
orchestrator, teller o f tales, lover o f folk songs, Russian to the
core with a profound love o f the fantastic.84
Sidestepping the fact that Jonas's statement supports the emphasis
placed on Rimskii-Korsakov's operatic output, and the fact that many o f the
mentioned "Russian to the core" features she describes are inherent in his
instrumental works based on Russian themes, the comment does illustrate the
wide range o f interests that Rimskii-Korsakov had. Yastrebtsev's record o f
Rimskii-Korsakov's statements and reactions to the many subjects covered
provides insights into the composer as well as the general social and musical
atmosphere o f St. Petersburg during Rimskii-Korsakov's time. Many o f the
84Ibid., xiii.
103
rem arks also provide commentary on how the composer influenced m any o f
the musical traditions abounding in St. Petersburg, and in turn, how many o f
the traditions in St. Petersburg influenced the composer.
For the reader, Yastrebtsev's commentaries result in a personal diary
that is based on the life o f Rimskii-Korsakov. With topics ranging from the
most minute concerns o f the composer’s food preferences, and personal
indiscretions, to more pertinent matters o f compositions, orchestration and
personal philosophies, Yastrebtsev's obsession with the composer becomes
evident.
As we shall see in the context o f m y analysis o f Rimskii-Korsakov's
treatm ent o f Russian folk songs in his instrumental works based on Russian
themes, many o f his musical practices run true to form in respect to his
philosophies, while in other cases some contradictions occur. One example o f
Yastrebtsev's observations related to the musical philosophies o f Rimskii-
Korsakov deals with the relationship between musical keys and colors:
Apropos o f the discussion o f the latter [speaking o f Rimskii-

Korsakov's Skozka], I learned something highly interesting—that
the various keys suggest various colors, or rather, shades o f
colors to Rimskii-Korsakov. For instance, E major seems tinged
with a dark blue sapphire color (first movement o f Shehercizade—
"The Sea"; also [the] Rusalka scene from Act II o f May Night).
104
B major has more o f a somber character—it is dark blue with a

touch o f steel or lead (the beginning o f act UI/Mlada).85
Reminiscences o f Rimskii-Korsakov is replete with such observations.
While Yastrebtsev's w ork is insightful, musicology on Russian music is
fortunate to have an autobiography by Rimskii-Korsakov himself. The two
biographies together provide the opportunity to compare Rimskii-Korsakov's
own words with Yastrebtsev's interpretations. However, while it would
appear that Rimskii-Korsakov would be more o f an authority on his own life,
Yastrebtsev's work, even for all o f his invested interest in the composer, is
overall more objective. Nonetheless, whatever the focus may be, if Rimskii-
Korsakov's career and music is to be understood, a thorough account o f M y
Musical Life is necessary.
Rimskii-Korsakov's M y Musical Life
An important resource for any study on Rimskii-Korsakov is his own
chronicle My M usical L ife }6 Rimskii-Korsakov's autobiography contains the
entire life of the author and is personal in its treatment. The autobiography is
85Ibid., 31.
86Nikolai A. Rimskii-Korsakov, M y M usical Life, translated by Judah

A. Joffe (New York: Vienna House, 1972).
105
a chronological sequence o f Rimskii-Korsakov's life, with each chapter
dedicated to a particular period in his development. The first chapter, "1844-
56," examines the early stages o f the composer's life while offering
commentary on the Russian music atmosphere that surrounded him as well as
the first events that helped him to decide to enter a life o f music. Rimskii-
Korsakov's childhood memories o f Tihkvin (a small province outside o f
N ovgorod) appear comfortable and musically filled.
M y M usical Life discloses that at an early age Rimskii-Korsakov was
exposed to one style o f music that would have a great impact on him—namely,
folk music:
My uncle Pyotr Petrovich sang several fine Russian songs:

Sharlatarla iz Partarla; Ne son m oyn golovushku klonit
(Sharlatarla from Partarla it is not sleep which bows my head
down): k a k p o travkye po m nravkye (How on the grass, the
greensward), and others. He remembered these songs from
childhood days when he lived in the village Nikolskoye (Tihkvin
district), which belonged at that tim e to my grandfather. My
mother too sang some Russian songs.87
Rimskii-Korsakov was exposed to Russian folk songs in his ow n home,
but it was not the only place he heard it. Visits to the country also helped him
87Ibid., 7.
106
to hear the sounds o f rural Russia that would in turn have a direct im pact on
his compositional style:
I loved these [Russian] songs very much, but heard them

com paratively seldom from the people, as we lived in town,
where I nonetheless had the opportunity, year in, year out, to
witness the "seeing out" o f Butter-week [week before Lent] w ith
the procession and effigy. As for country life, I had glimpses o f
it in my childhood when visiting Bochevo and Pechnyevo
(estates o f the Timirevs and the Brovtsyns).88
The years covered in the chapter "1844-1856" refer to Rimskii-
Korsakov's position in the service, and the following chapter, "1861-62,"
defines the crucial tim e when he encounters Balakirev and his circle. H ere we
begin to observe Rimskii-Korsakov's attitudes towards Balakirev. B eing the
youngest mem ber o f Balakirev's entourage, Rimskii-Korsakov was easily
influenced and convinced o f the musical practices and theories surrounding
the circle:
I listened to the opinions with avidity and absorbed the tastes o f

Balakirev, Cui, and Musorgskii without reasoning or
examination. M any o f the opinions were in reality without
proof, for often other people's compositions under discussion
were played before me only in fragments, and I had no idea o f
the whole work; occasionally they remained altogether unknown
to me. Nevertheless I conned with admiration the opinions
mentioned and repeated them in the circle o f my own former
88Ibid., 7.
107
schoolmates who were interested in music, as if I were

thoroughly convinced of their truth.89
Early on, Rimskii-Korsakov may have held idealistic beliefs about Balakirev
and his efforts, but later he changed his opinion about the elder's practices.
During the year o f 1862, Rimskii-Korsakov voiced disapproval o f Balakirev's
self-perception and the strong impact he had on other composers.
Rimskii-Korsakov explains that the Balakirev stamp, which had such a
stronghold on the other composers, was defined through compositional
techniques he was creating. It came to pass that these were the very
techniques that w ould help forge the style that helped to define nationalism in
Russian music.
In the form er case [speaking o f Cui and Musorgskii], certain

melodic turns were used, certain methods o f modulation, certain
instrumental coloring which had originated in the tendencies o f
Balakirev's taste, in his own technique, by no means faultless or
varied, and in his own one-sided erudition in the field of
orchestration, as became clear to me subsequently.90
The chapters covering the years 1844-56, 1856-61, 1861-62, and 1862-
65, dealing with the early years o f Rimskii-Korsakov, reveal the double life o f
the composer and the naval cadet. The experiences discussed in the chapter
89Ibid.,21.
90Ibid., 33.
108
"1865-66" are some o f the m ost important, as he examines in further detail
Balakirev and his circle, his own first symphony, the Overture on Russian
Themes, and his acquaintance with Borodin.
Along with their efforts in composition and orchestration during the
mid-1860s, Balakirev and company started to collect and work with folk
songs, a process for w hich they would become famous. Besides the w ork o f
collecting and harmonizing folk melodies, Rimskii-Korsakov began writing
the Overture on Russian Themes.
I spent the sum m er o f 1866 mostly in St. Petersburg, save one

month where I w ent on the yacht Volna for a sail in the Finnish
skerries. On m y return from this trip, I composed the projected
overture and its score was ready towards the end o f the
summer.91
The Overture on Russian Themes was premiered in St. Petersburg, at a concert
o f the Free Music School on December 11,1866, and we see Rimskii-
Korsakov becoming a prominent figure among Balakirev's group. Yet, as the
composer goes on to explain, he had another side o f his social/musical life. In
fact, accounts o f every aspect o f the composer's life portray him as an
individual who had many sides:
9lIbid., 65.
109
M y musical life began to cleave: in one half, in Balakirev's

circle, I was considered a man o f talent for composing, a poor
pianist or none at all, an amiable and short-witted stripling of an
officer; in the other, among my acquaintances and the relatives, I
w as a naval officer, an amateur, a splendid pianist, a connoisseur
o f serious music, composing something by the way.92
Follow ing the Balakirev years came the period during which Rimskii-
Korsakov took on professional duties at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Yet,
as he reveals, he was not the person for the position at the conservatory:
Realizing that I was totally unprepared for the appointment, 1

gave Azanchevskii no definite answer and promised to think the
m atter over. My friends advised me to accept the offer.
Balakirev, the only one to realize how unprepared I was, insisted
on an answer in the affirmative, his main objective being to get
one o f his own men into the conservatory.93
The relationship between Rimskii-Korsakov and his conservatory
students was one that would be made fully manifest in his relationship with
Igor Stravinskii. However, as the first half o f the 1870s would show (chapters
"1871-73" and "1873-75"), the conservatory was not the entire picture for the
composer. Rimskii-Korsakov's affiliation with Balakirev and the others
continued (especially with Musorgskii). Rimskii-Korsakov also became the
92Ibid., 67.
93Ibid., 116.
110
navy department's Inspector o f Music Bands and the director o f the Free
Music School.
While things flourished for Rimskii-Korsakov during this period, the
times were not good for Balakirev. Despite his efforts to maintain everything
he w orked for, Balakirev's projects were not met with warm reception:
The war between Balakirev and the Russian Musical Society was
renewed: five subscription concerts o f the Free M usic School,
with interesting programs, were announced. Balakirev worked
energetically but the attendance was insufficient; the funds gave
out, and the fifth concert could not take place. The w ar was lost;
Balakirev was crest fallen.94
In 1874 the Directorship o f the Free Music School was passed from
Balakirev to Rimskii-Korsakov. As noted earlier, the Free Music School can
be considered as the core o f the Russian nationalist music movement in that its
chief aim was to provide music education and performances to Russian
citizens with moderate means. The school was to become a logistical and
administrative challenge for Rimskii-Korsakov as its funding began to
disappear. Nonetheless, his w ork as a composer continued to flourish. In his
writings, we find Rimskii-Korsakov's interest in Russian folk song increasing
as the Free Music School began to decline:
94Ibid., 128.
I ll
At our general meetings for the purpose o f reading annual reports

and electing members o f the board, I had further difficulties;
administrative matters were not my taste. In addition to the
above occupations, another work, new to me, turned up in the
season 1875-6. Since the previous year I had taken a strong
interest in Russian folk songs; I scanned all sorts o f collections
and I conceived o f the idea o f publishing one myself.95
Rimskii-Korsakov describes the process o f collecting materials from a
variety o f sources, including the Lvov-Prach collection. Also, along with
writing about the songs that he learned from his uncle Pyotr Petrovich, and
from his mother, he also recalls interviewing and transcribing songs from a
num ber of friends and acquaintances in St. Petersburg and surrounding areas.96
Taken together with my other work, the making o f my collection

took nearly two years. I arranged the songs in departments:
First by bylinas (epic songs), then the slow and the dance songs.
Then followed by the game songs and the ceremonial songs in
the order o f the cycle o f pagan sun-worship and the festivals still
surviving here and there until this very day. First in the series
came spring songs, then the rusalnaia (for Whitsunday), the
troyitskaia (for Trinity Sunday), and syemitskiya (for the seventh
Thursday after Easter Sunday); then summer khorovod (round
dance) songs, marriage songs, and vyelichal'nyia glorification
songs.97
Ibid., 163.
Ibid., 165.
Ibid., 165.
112
Through all o f his efforts o f collecting, researching, and harmonizing
folk songs, Rimskii-Korsakov became immersed in traditional Russian
lifestyles. Thus, in his testimonies about his instrumental works, we observe
how the folk song makes its way into his style beyond his vocal works.
Speaking o f a particularly productive summer in 1879, Rimskii-Korsakov
writes:
In addition I composed a string quartet on Russian themes; this I

subsequently worked over into a Sinfonietta for the orchestra. Its
separate movements bore the titles: (I) In the Field; (II) At the
Charivari; (III) In the Khorovod (circle dance and song);
(IV) Near the Cloister. The last movement, which did not go
into the Sinfonietta after all, was written on a church theme,
commonly sung at Teacher Deums ("Prepodobny otche imya
ryek, m oli Boga za was1—Reverend father so and so, pray God for
us") in imitational style.98
The productiveness o f Rimskii-Korsakov did not end with the end o f
the decade. On the contrary, the early 1880s can be considered a milestone as
well as a transitional period for the composer. It was during this time that
Rimskii-Korsakov completed his fairy-tale piece Skazka (Fairy tale),
composed his "mystical opera" Snegurochka (The snow maiden), and made
acquaintance with the lesser known yet highly influential Mitrofan Petrovich
Byelayev. Like Balakirev, Byelayev hosted a number o f evening soirees.
98Ibid., 217.
113
These events, which centered around music (especially string quartets), would
become Rimskii-Korsakov's next St. Petersburg socio-musical outlet:
Towards the winter 1883-4 Byelayev's Fridays became rather

well attended. In addition to the regular quartet players
(Professor Gesechus, Dr. Gelbe, the Engineer Evald) they were
attended by Glazunov, Borodin, Lyodov, Dutsch, and many
others. I, too, became a regular attendant at Byelayev's
F ridays."
W ithin the time o f 1833-1834, Rimskii-Korsakov continued work at the
conservatory, recast his String Quartet Based on Russian Themes into his
Sinfonietta, and was a regular participant at Byelayev's meetings. How
Byelayev's circle o f the 1880s compared to Balakirev's circle o f the 1860s and
1870s is a topic that Rimskii-Korsakov addresses with thoroughness and
sincerity. It is also within his explanations o f the two musical spheres where
we find a change in musical perspective as it was to occur am ong the Russian
urbanites o f St. Petersburg:
Can Byelayev's circle be looked upon as a continuation o f

Balakirev's? Was there a certain modicum o f similarity between
one and the other and what constituted the difference, apart from
the change in personnel in the course of time? The sim ilarity
indicating that Byelayev's circle was a continuation o f
Balakirev's circle (in addition to the connecting links), consisted
o f the advanced ideas, the progressivism, common to the both o f
them. But Balakirev's circle corresponded to the period o f storm
99
Ibid., 269.
114
and stress in the evolution o f Russian music; Byelayev’s circle

represented the period o f calm and onward march. Balakirev's
circle was revolutionary; Byelayev's, on the other hand was
progressive.100
The way Rimskii-Korsakov came to this conclusion can be seen in the way he
compared the dynamics o f the two groups. He examined the social and
musical philosophies that surrounded each o f them. Again, it is with the
clarity and thoroughness o f an insider that Rimskii-Korsakov offers the
comparison. As can be observed in the comparison, Balakirev's group, in
theory, m et the western European trends in music with some resistance. Also,
while their borrowing o f the western European musical forms was acceptable,
there appears to have been a drive towards establishing a strong sense o f
Russian musical character within their output. Byelayev's circle, on the other
hand, appears to have succumbed to the influence o f western European
musical form s and standards in every respect. Rimskii-Korsakov's
comparison o f the two groups describes their significant differences:
1) All the five members o f Balakirev's circle were

subsequently recognized as prominent representatives o f Russian
musical creative life. The other circle was variegated in make
up: it contained prominent composers o f talent, and men o f
lesser gifts, and men who were not composers at all but were
100
Ibid., 286.
115
conductors, like Dutsch, for instance, or solo performers, like

N. S. Lavrov.
2) Balakirev's circle consisted o f musicians o f feeble
technique, amateurs almost, who were pioneering by the sheer
force o f their creative talents, force that occasionally served them
in lieu o f technique and occasionally (as frequently with
M oussorgskii) was insufficient to conceal its shortcomings.
Byelayev's circle on the contrary, consisted o f composers and
musicians technically trained and educated.
3) The origin o f music that interested it was traced by
Balakirev's circle no further back than to Beethoven: Byelayev's
circle respected not only its musical fathers, but its grandfathers
and great-grandfathers as well, going back to Palestrina.
4) Balakirev's circle recognized well-nigh exclusively the
orchestra, the piano, the chorus, and vocal solos with orchestra,
ignoring chamber music, vocal ensembles (excepting the operatic
duet), the chorus a capella, and the solo for bowed instruments;
Byelayev's circle had a broader out-look on these forms.
5) Balakirev's circle was exclusive and intolerant;
Byelayev's was more indulgent and eclectic.
6) Balakirev's circle did not want to study, but broke
paths forward, relying upon its powers, succeeding therein and
learning; Byelayev's circle circle studied, attaching as it did great
importance to technical perfection, but it also broke new paths,
though more securely, even if less speedily.
7) Balakirev's circle hated W agner and strained to take no
notice o f him; those o f Byelayev's circle had their eyes and ears
open with eagerness to leam and respect.
8) The relations o f the one circle to its head were those o f
pupils to a teacher and elder brother, relations that had grown
weaker as each of the lesser ones grew older, as I have pointed
out more than once. Byelayev, on the other hand, was not the
head, but rather the centre o f his circle.101
l0IIbid., 286-87.
116
Rimskii-Korsakov's time and dedication to the topic o f comparing the
two circles indicates how important the differences w ere to him and how he
felt he had grow n musically right alongside the spirit o f St. Petersburg's
musical assembly. M oving away from the stronghold o f Balakirev was the
inevitable course o f the composer. Yet, as research will show, there were
vestiges o f Balakirev's influence that remained throughout the composer's
conservatory career and his time in the Byelayev circle.
Another im portant musical formation that arose during the 1880s, and
which became a large part o f Rimskii-Korsakov's musical life, was the
Russian Symphony Concert Series. These concerts, w hich exclusively
highlighted Russian compositions, were a direct result o f the increased
productivity o f Russian composers as well as Rimskii-Korsakov's ambition
and association w ith Byelayev.
The continued programs show that the Russian Symphony Concerts
remained true to their original nationalistic intentions. The Russian
Symphony Concerts served as an opportunity to present Russian works by
Russian composers. In so doing, they were also a hotbed for musical
criticism. Rimskii-Korsakov makes note o f this fact as he discusses the cold
reception o f one o f Borodin's works that were accompanied by two o f his own.
117
A lso, w ith Rimskii-Korsakov's presence in the Russian Symphony Concerts,
the conservatory, and the Byelayev circle, he was without a doubt a significant
figure in the progressive musical activities o f St. Petersburg.
D uring the first decade o f the twentieth century, Rimskii-Korsakov's
m usical life was strongly influenced by two events. The first was the closing
o f the St. Petersburg Conservatory. This closing occurred because o f the
im pact o f political upheavals that w ere being experienced throughout St.
Petersburg. The second was his w ork with His protege Igor Stravinskii, who
w ould go on to "carry the torch" o f the Russian master. Regarding the closure
o f the conservatory, Rimskii-Korsakov emphasizes the sequence o f political
events that led to his dismissal from the conservatory' and its ultimate dem ise.
O pening the chapter "1905-06," Rimskii-Korsakov writes:
The courses at the Conservatory went on more or less

successfully until the Christmas holidays. Before the beginning
o f the Christmas recess, however, a certain state o f excitement
began to be noticeable am ong the pupils who reacted towards the
disturbances going on in the University. Then came January 9,
and political ferment seized all St. Petersburg. The Conservatory,
too, was affected; its students were in turmoil. Meetings were
called. The cowardly and tactless Bernhard began to interfere.
The Directorate o f the Russian Musical Society also began to
meddle. Special meetings o f the A rt Council and the Directorate
became the order o f the day. I was chosen a member o f the
committee for adjusting differences w ith agitated pupils. All
sorts o f measures were recommended: to expel the ringleaders,
to quarter the police in the Conservatory, to close the
118
Conservatory entirely. The rights o f the pupils had to be

championed.102
Unfairly singled out as the head o f the revolutionary movement among
the students, Rimskii-Korsakov penned a letter that triggered a series o f
events, ultimately resulting in his dismissal from the soon-to-be-dissolved
conservatory:
Bernhard behaved in the most tactless fashionable imaginable.

In the daily Rus' (Russia) I made public a letter in which I took
the Directorate to task for not understanding the pupils, and
argued that the existence o f the Directorate o f the St. Petersburg
branch was unnecessary, as well as that self-government was
desirable. At a meeting o f the A rt Council, Bernhard devoted
him self to examining and condemning my letter. Counter
arguments were uttered, and he broke up the meeting. Then a
considerable group o f professors, together with me, suggested in
a letter that he leave the Conservatory. The result o f it all was
that the Conservatory was closed, more than a hundred pupils
were expelled, Bernhard left, and I was dismissed from the ranks
o f the Conservatory by the Chief Directorate, without previous
consultation with the A rt Council.103
H ow the events at the conservatory played into Rimskii-Korsakov's
output can be seen in the decline during this period o f his w ork as a composer
and his emphasis on teaching theory. Rimskii-Korsakov's on-again, off-again
status with the conservatory, which itself was experiencing an uncertain
102Ibid., 411.
103Ibid., 412.
119
future, led the composer to continue instruction at his own flat in St.
Petersburg. It is here that we find Rimskii-Korsakov working with a
University o f St. Petersburg student, Igor Stravinskii, whom he m et in
Heidelberg in 1902.104 The commentary provided about Rimskii-Korsakov
and his work with Stravinskii is brief and is not taken up in M y M usical Life.
Rather, it is found in his Chronicle (compiled by his son A ndrei),103 a series o f
brief notes and explanations during a later period not included in
Rimskii-Korsakov's autobiography. The Chronicle covers the time from
September 1906 to his death on June 8, 1908, and funeral on June 10.
In a passage reflecting the Russian tradition o f maintaining musical
circles, Igor Stravinskii is recognized as a member o f a group that combined
the old with the new:
September 27, at 28 Zagorodny Prospekt, the usual musical

Wednesdays began. The regular habitues during this and the
following seasons were: V. V. Yastrebtsev, N. I. Rikhter, the
Stravinskiis—Igor Fyodorovich and his brother Yurri
Fyodorovich the singer, N. I. Zabyela, M. O. Steinberg, 1.1.
Lapshin, the Byelskiis, the Mitusovs, the Blumenfelds, A. P.
Sanulyenko, and others. Frequent visitors; the Osovskiis, the
104Ibid., 402.
105Andrei Rimskii-Korsakov, Chronicle ofN .A. Rimskii-Korsakov's

Life, in M y Musical Life, Nikolai A. Rimskii-Korsakov (New York: Vienna
House, 1972).
120
Stasovs, the Komarovs, the Cherepnins, Lyadov, Glazunov,

N. A. Sokolov, N. D. Kuznyetsov, and others; more rarely
A. Ziloti, S. I. Taneiev, A. N. Scriabin, and others.106
D uring the final years o f Rimskii-Korsakov's life, Andrei writes,
"regular w ork with Igor Stravinskii (instrumentation, in conjunction with
advice on com position) took place once a w eek on Wednesdays from 4-6
p.m ."107 H istorians have accurately noted that this relationship between
Rimskii-Korsakov and Stravinskii was an important one that set Stravinskii on
the path to twentieth-century compositional fame. While Rimskii-Korsakov
remarked that the Byelayev circle may very well have been an appropriate
extension o f w hat was prior (Balakirev's efforts); so too can it be said that the
compositional career o f Stravinskii was greatly influenced by his lessons w ith
Rimskii-Korsakov.
Because the aim o f my dissertation is to define Rimskii-Korsakov's
position as a national composer, my literature review observes the significant
sources that relate most directly to my topic. The sources covered examine
the complexities surrounding the social, political and musical atmosphere o f
St. Petersburg during the time o f the composer. Also discussed were topics
106Ibid., 407.
107Ibid., 430.
121
related to the study o f Russian folk song, as Rimskii-Korsakov adopted this
genre as a means o f interpreting and presenting a new Russian cultural identity
through music.
Let us now turn to the topic o f how Rimskii-Korsakov treated Russian
folk song orchestrally in his instrumental works and thus created a new aural
image o f traditional m usic for Russian people. We can secure details on how
he recast the m usic through an examination o f his Principles o f Orchestration.
122
CHAPTER IV
DEFINING THE NATIONAL IDENTITY OF RIM SKII-KORSAKOV
IN RELATIONSHIP TO HIS PRINCIPLES OF ORCHESTRATION
AND RUSSIAN FOLK SONG
Chronological Aspects o f Rimskii-Korsakov's Principles

o f Orchestration and Style
Rimskii-Korsakov's treatise Principles o f Orchestration, first formally
published posthumously in 1913 with all chapters, explanations and music
examples intact, was a work that took up a good portion o f Rimskii-
Korsakov's life and career. At the same time he received the appointment to
the post o f inspector o f music bands for the naval department, an ambitious
Rimskii-Korsakov synthesized ideas for a complete examination o f the topic
o f orchestration.
W ith the peculiar haste of youth and a certain rashness in the

matter o f self-instruction, I immediately conceived the idea o f
setting out to write the fullest possible textbook of
instrumentation, and, with this end in view, I made various
outlines, memoranda and drawings which had reference to a
detailed explanation o f the techniques o f instruments. I was no
less eager to tell the world no less than all on the score. The
123
writing o f such a manual, or rather sketches for it, took a great

deal o f my time throughout the following season o f 1873-4.1
Having begun the manual around 1873, Rimskii-Korsakov's continued
commentary on the subject shows the efforts o f the "work in progress."
Accounting for the period from September 1906 to June 1908, Rimskii-
Korsakov writes, six days before his death (June 2, 1908), "I began to work;
shall endeavor to forge ahead with my textbook or notes on orchestration,
conceived long ago."2
In this treatise on orchestration we find the critical material that helps to
uncover Rimskii-Korsakov's contribution to the nationalist style o f Russian
urban-based music, with its focus on western European models.
Acknowledging Russian Character within the

European Symphonic Tradition
Current scholarship on the topic o f Russian nationalism in music is
downplaying the division between western European and Russian music
traditions by showing how the Russian composers o f the mid- to late
nineteenth century were never as separated from the evolution o f music in
'Rimskii-Korsakov, M y Musical Life, 136-37.
2Ibid., 461.
124
Europe as had been previously thought. Taruskin remarks on the reliance o f
Russian tradition upon European m usic practice: "For the question o f
Slavophile versus Westemizer is in essence a question o f attitudes towards
institutions, and once one is writing, say for the symphony orchestra, the basic
acceptance o f and commitment to the musical Europeanization o f Russia has
been m ade."3 As valid as Taruskin’s statement on the historic position o f the
symphony orchestra may be, a departure from or elaboration on European
symphonic practice occurs when the specific musical conventions that are
Russian-specific are applied. A symphonic w ork is imbued w ith a nationalist
character w hen the composer incorporates regionally specific m usical forms to
the work in question. In the case o f Rimskii-Korsakov, especially, it is the
com bination o f his personal orchestral style along with his dependence on
Russian folk song forms that creates a Russian musical expression w ithin the
European-based symphonic forms.
3Taruskin, "History and Historiography o f Russian Music," 333.
125
Rimskii-Korsakov's Treatment o f Folk Song: A Representation

o f Cultural Awareness
Knowing that Rimskii-Korsakov had a deep affinity for Russian folk
music, we are able to recognize his distinctive position w hen it came to
matters o f treating the folk songs in his instrumental works. Owing to the
combination o f his keen musical sensibilities, his growing up with the Russian
folk song tradition, and his ethnographic research, Rimskii-Korsakov was able
to orchestrate the folk songs in a way that went was sensitive to Russian
traditions.
Rimskii-Korsakov's own words on the subject o f collecting folk songs
demonstrates his strong interest in village music:
My own collection, I gathered very slowly. First I incorporated

into it all the best material I had found in Prach's collection. The
songs taken from this collection I set forth with a more correct
division as to rhythm and also added new harmonizations.
Secondly, I took into my collection all the songs I had learned by
heart from my uncle Pyotr Petrovich, and from my mother, who
in turn had heard the songs in 1810-20 in localities o f the
Government o f Novgorod. Thirdly, I wrote down songs from the
mouths o f some o f my acquaintances. And in the fourth place, I
recorded songs from the mouths o f such o f our servant girls as
had been bom in districts distant from St. Petersburg. Once, at
Borodin's I struggled to reproduce a wedding song (Zvon kolokol,
Ringing Bell), rhythmically it was unusually difficult, though it
flowed naturally from the mouth o f Borodin's maid, Dunasha
126
Vinogradova, a native o f one o f the governments along the

Volga.4
Rimskii-Korsakov's statement on his own folk song collection shows
his standing as both a composer and folk song ethnographer. Regarding his
first point on reworking the materials from the Lvov/Prach collection, in that
Rimskii-Korsakov took certain liberties with altering the diatonic harmonies,
we can see through a comparison that his revisions were not aimed at
exposing the falsifications (podelki) in the original folk song collection (see
Figures 4 and 5). Rimskii-Korsakov's version will show, instead, that his
musical treatment was influenced more by the character o f the folk song
melody and its identity as a dance song.
Khodila mladeshenk p o borochku is an example o f a dance song
(pliasovaia). The character o f the pliasovaia is produced by the combination
o f simple rhythms and symmetrical phrasing.5 Although Lvov/Prach's and
Rimskii-Korsakov's renderings o f this particular song contain the same
melody, there are a number o f features in Rimskii-Korsakov's example that
suggest he was influenced by the genre's purpose o f being a dance song.
4Rimskii-Korsakov, M y M usical Life, 165.
^Lvov and Prach, 50.
127
In Rimskii-Korsakov's piano accompaniment, a strong rhythmic
consistency is produced (see Figure 4). This consistency relies on the
interlocking patterns between the voicings in the bass and the treble clef. In
the bass clef, the lowest series o f quarter notes serve as the harmonic
underpinning for the middle voice's eighth-note rhythmic ostinato. This
gesture in the bass clef supports the treble clefs intervallic treatm ent o f the
melody, with the top voice doubling the melody. Together these features
provide a piano accompaniment that emphasizes a strong rhythmic activity.
Regarding the pliasovaia's phrase symmetry, Rimskii-Korsakov
demonstrates his awareness o f this feature by setting the two phrases apart at
m. 4. First, the brief pause produced by the eighth-note rest marks the end o f
the first phrase. This pause is supported by the dramatic effect o f the full
chord sonorities on beats 1 and the first half o f 2. A t m. 5, he begins the
second phrase with the ostinato rhythmic gestures that run parallel to the first
phrase. Also, at m. 8 with the turnaround, he provides once more the full
chord sonorities to set o ff the phrase. These features, highlighting the
sym m etry and strong rhythmic activity o f the song, suggest that Rimskii-
Korsakov was aware o f the pliasovaia's position as dance music in the folk
song tradition.
128
The Lvov/Prach version, on the other hand, is not as defined in
rhythmic character and symmetry as is Rimskii-Korsakov's version (see
Figure 5). In the bass clef, we observe a bass line that harm onically relates to
the melody and treble clef accompaniment. However, rhythm ically, when
compared to the symmetry and interlocking features o f the Rimskii-K orsakov
version, the bass line appears to exist independent o f the upper voice; almost
appearing arbitrary. While symmetry is an inherent quality o f the two phrases
in the melody, the Lvov/Prach version does nothing to clearly define the two
phrases.
For scholars on the subject o f Russian folk song (as w ell as critics who
lived in the nineteenth century), both Rimskii-Korsakov's and Lvov/Prach's
use o f altered notes ( f double sharp in m. 4 for Rimskii-Korsakov and g # in
m. 4 for Lvov/Prach) distorts the original diatonic character o f the folk song.6
However, Rimskii-Korsakov's accompaniment does dem onstrate an
6A lexander Serov admired the selection o f texts in the Lvov/Prach

Collection, but was irritated by the frequent use o f seventh chords, secondary
seventh chords, and their inversions in the accompaniment. D efending his
view that Russian song is purely diatonic (consisting only o f tones that can be
played on the white keys of the piano) and that it knows neither m ajor nor
minor, Serov wrote that Prach's transcriptions could not be trusted entirely
since he could not give up the practice o f Italian-German m usic. Cited in
Lvov and Prach, 30.
129
understanding o f the dance character o f the plasiovaia. The distinction
between the two examples serves to show that while Rimskii-Korsakov may
be guilty o f borrowing from the Germanic tradition o f harmonic functions, he
nonetheless retains and highlights pertinent features o f the song that
correspond to its original dance context. Let us now turn to the subject o f
Rimskii-Korsakov's orchestration and how it may be viewed as expressing
Russian character.
Russian Folk Song Tradition Applied to Rimskii-Korsakov's

Orchestration Principles
O f the contributions that Rimskii-Korsakov brought to Russian music,
his orchestral ingenuity was most influential. Orchestrally reworking Russian
folk songs in such a way that they were accessible to Russian urban-based
audiences, he was able to produce a distinct musical expression that
contributed to the Russian nationalist style. There are a number o f reasons
why Rimskii-Korsakov was able to create a distinctively Russian sound in his
instrumental works. Perhaps the most significant influence was the long-term
and deliberate exposure Rimskii-Korsakov had to Russian folk song. As
Rimskii-Korsakov made his orchestral decisions, the forms and sounds o f
130
Russian folk music, indeed, had a direct impact. Russian folk song styles are
thus detectable within his orchestral principles.
First, when considering the custom o f repeating melodies and
improvising on them in Russian folk song, Rimskii-Korsakov chose not to
compose out improvised-sounding repetitions o f melodies. Rather, what he
was very successful in doing (more so than other Russian com posers) was to
apply orchestral techniques in forms, colors, and timbres as a substitute for
improvisation; and as we shall see in the analysis o f his works in Chapter VI,
he did so very convincingly.
Rimskii-Korsakov also borrowed the call-and-response principle
between the soloist and the group and applied it to exchanges between
instrumental groups and solos. Finally, he orchestrally produced the non
blended timbres that are inherent in the separate vocal lines in Russian folk
songs. Together these elements made it possible for Rimskii-Korsakov to
create an orchestral style that recalls the character o f Russian folk song.
Rimskii-Korsakov and Dargomizhskii: A Comparison

in Russian Folk Song Treatment
To illustrate Rimskii-Korsakov's distinct position in respect to creating
a Russian style in music, one must compare his style in orchestration to other
131
Russian composers. A fitting example would be A. D argom izhskii’s use o f the
lyrical vocal song idet koza rogataya (A goat with horns). This folk song
serves as the primary thematic m aterial for the Overture o f Dargomizhskii's
1856 opera Rusalka (The Mermaid). As Seaman points out,
The first authentic folk song to be employed is the m elody idet

koza rogataya, which occurs in the opening and closing scenes
o f the opera. The tune was sung to Dargomizhskii by his nurse
as a child and in his declining years he gave it to Rimskii-
Korsakov, who included it in his 100 Russian Folk Songs, op.
24. The song does not appear in any other collection before this
period.7
Gerald Seaman compares the treatment o f the folk song in the Overture
to the mystical and fantastic qualities o f Glinka's Ruslan a n d Luidmila.
Furthermore, he likens Dargomizhskii's treatment in the Finale to the
developmental growth associated w ith Wagner:
The tune is first heard in the Overture, where it plays a

prominent part in the musical development, and its use in the
context m ay be compared w ith the employment o f the whole-
tone-scale motive in Ruslan a n d Luidmila, which is likewise a
symbol o f magic. It is heard in the overture in different keys and
contrasting forms, and this system o f development is repeated on
its reappearance in the Finale. In some respects in the Finale it
anticipates the harmonic treatm ent o f Wagner: the same motive
7Gerald Seaman, History o f Russian Music: From Its Origins to

D argomizhskii (New York: Praeger, 1967), 221.
132
is repeated incessantly, gradually increasing in tension and

volum e.8
Com paring Dargomizhskii's style to that o f Rimskii-Korsakov, we
observe a fundamental difference. As Seaman points out, in Dargomizhskii,
the Russian folk song is repeated and, in the tradition o f W agner, tension and
volume increases. In Rimskii-Korsakov, however, the character and treatment
o f the Russian folk songs set in his orchestral works parallel the practices in
the vocal tradition. Because Rimskii-Korsakov is guided by Russian folk song
practices, what he ultimately achieves in his approach is not thematic
development in a western European sense, but a use o f orchestration that
retains the character o f Russian folk song.
Before I pursue the details and ways in which Rimskii-Korsakov's
orchestration embodies principles in Russian folk song forms, style and
practice, it is necessary to define orchestration and its dom inant role in the
music o f Rimskii-Korsakov.
8Seaman, 222.
133
A Definition o f Orchestration and Its Role in Rimskii-Korsakov's

Instrumental Music
Orchestration, w hich deals with musical instruments and their
capabilities o f producing various timbres and colors, contributes to the
development o f a style w hen an orchestrator applies distinctive techniques to
orchestral instruments and their combinations. Most often, as pointed out by
orchestrator and pedagogue Alfred Blatter in his book Instrumentation and
Orchestration, the orchestration o f a piece is defined in the treatm ent o f
articulation (performance approaches to notes), dynamics (volume),
instrument timbre (sound production and quality), range (musical distances
between low and high notes), and instrument combinations.9 For Rimskii-
Korsakov, the aforementioned elements transcend the art o f com position for
they are responsible for producing the musical emotive qualities in his
instrumental works.
In Rimskii-Korsakov's orchestral representations o f Russian folk song
what is observable is not only the way that the character o f Russian folk song
guides Rimskii-Korsakov's orchestral decisions, but the inventiveness the
9Alfred Blatter, Instrumentation and Orchestration (New York:

Schirmer Books, 1980), xiii-xix.
134
com poser uses in his orchestration to highlight in obvious ways and develop in
subtle ways the folk songs he incorporates. The value placed on orchestration
by Rimskii-Korsakov is best expressed in a statement he made to Vasilii
Yastrebtsev. In a comment made on Septem ber 2, 1894, referring to his love
and deliberate approach to orchestration, Rimskii-Korsakov claims command
over every note in his work through the function o f orchestration:
"You will not believe this," rem arked Rimskii-Korsakov, "but

what I like most o f all is orchestrating m y things, even m ore than
composing them. This is because I realize that only when
orchestrating am I writing exactly what is to be inviolable, that
each note I write is just the right one and that thus there is no
guesswork, nothing tentative about any o f it."10
In order to capture the spirit o f the folk songs' presence in his works,
Rimskii-Korsakov relies on orchestration. He remarks on this relationship in
the context o f criticism he has received over it: "In obedience to my
pantheistic frame o f mind, I have harkened back to the voices o f folk music
and o f nature. What they had sung and suggested I made the basis o f my
creative art—and for doing so I subsequently incurred not a few reproaches."11
10Yastrebtsev, 88-89.
“ Rimskii-Korsakov, My M usical Life, 238.
135
N oting the prominent role orchestration plays in his creative art,
Rimskii-Korsakov's statement that "what the voices o f folk m usic an d nature
suggested to him" can be understood as referring to his orchestral
interpretations o f the Russian folk song style. In this way, the statem ent also
acknowledges the prominent role folk song played in his developm ent o f
musical ideas.
Nationalism in Rimskii-Korsakov's Orchestral Treatm ent

o f Russian Folk Song
As a vehicle for national identity in music, Rimskii-Korsakov's
principles o f orchestration, guided by the performance principles o f Russian
folk songs, also emphasizes two underrepresented, progressive characteristics
o f the nineteenth-century Russian urban spirit: (1) an emphasis on
individuality as well as the collective, and (2) an emphasis on w estern
European traditions as a part o f Russian culture. This is in keeping w ith
Mazo's defense o f the Lvov/Prach collection o f Russian folk songs. She
concluded that latter-day critics who view ed the arrangements as inauthentic
were not considering fully the aesthetic standards o f the time. A ccording to
Mazo, the collection o f songs represented what was acceptable to the targeted
urban-based audience which was engaged in thinking about the future o f
136
Russian national art.12 The same observation can be made about Rimskii-
Korsakov's orchestral treatment o f folk songs in his instrumental Russian-
theme-based works. The works are not defined as national because they only
contain folk songs representing ties with Russia's historical past. Rather, the
works are nationalist in that they also symbolically represent the trends found
in the Russian urban-based, musical-social milieu o f Rimskii-Korsakov's time.
It has been determined in scholarship on Russian urban-based music
that the rise o f Russian's professional music institutions was the result o f
western European influence. However, many o f the ideals that Russians
brought into the institutions were influenced by the desire to create a Russian
artistic style that, while not considered retrospective or emblematic o f early
Russia, sought to perpetuate individual creativity and imagination. This
em erging ideal resulted in such organizations as the Association o f Free
Artists and the Free Music School.13
l2Lvov and Prach, 33.
13"The artistic movement resulting from the new fabric o f ideas . ..

now culminated in a general revolt. The opposition that had long been
simmering quietly against the Academy o f Art's identification with the
pseudo-classical tradition exploded in 1863, when the whole o f the graduating
class ostentatiously boycotted the traditional contest for a painting prize to be
awarded a painting on a conventional theme; the dissident artists broke away
from the academy, founding the association o f Free Artists; this later broke up,
137
Like the music institutions o f Russia, the formal studies o f music
criticism, theory, and orchestration are also traced back to w estern European
influence. Yet, Russian treatises on these subjects, such as Rim skii-
Korsakov's Principles o f Orchestration, contain characteristics, definitions
and examples that are exclusively Russian in nature. While the Russian
musical tradition o f orchestration may be dependent in part on western
European models, these borrowed models exist only as a framework. A t a
deeper level, Rimskii-Korsakov lends a Russian national character to his
orchestration in that many o f his orchestration principles convey, in a new
way, the principles o f Russian folk song.
The Connections Between Rimskii-Korsakov's Principles

o f Orchestration and Russian Folk Song
Folk Song Call and Response, Contrast,

and Orchestral Soli and Tutti
As outlined in their analysis o f Russian folk song, E. Lineva and
E. Kustovskii revealed the significance of the contrast in the call and response
leading to the establishment in 1870 o f the Society o f Circulating exhibits."

Joel Carmichael, A Cultural H istory o f Russia (New York: W eybright &
Talley, 1968), 188-89.
138
betw een the soloist and the group in Russian folk song form (see Figure 1).
This foundational feature o f contrast in the vocal interaction between the
single voice and the group is n ot only the impetus for Rimskii-Korsakov's
devotion o f a large part o f the Principles o f Orchestration's fourth chapter to
this form, but it is a very prevalent feature in his Russian-theme-based
instrumental works.
"Composition o f the Orchestra," chapter 4 in the Principles o f
Orchestration, is extremely important because, as we shall see, the principles
that Rimskii-Korsakov outlines apply directly to the way he retains the
affective qualities o f the folk song. In chapter 4, Rimskii-Korsakov defines
the many characteristics o f a com position and how certain m usical techniques
and variations serve to create and enhance the desired qualities o f that piece.
In the first section o f chapter 4 ("Different Ways o f Orchestrating the Same
M usic"), Rimskii-Korsakov m akes the very important point that orchestral
decisions related to alterations in tonal color depend on how they relate to
previous passages. Such a perspective shows how all contrasting sections
m ust be considered as contributing to the piece's character overall.14 In
I4"The aim o f a com poser is closely allied to the form o f his work, to
the aesthetic meaning o f its every moment and phrase considered apart, and in
relationship to the composition as a whole. The choice o f an orchestral
139
Rimskii-Korsakov's statements on orchestral and compositional unity, the
emphasis on unity between the contrasting sections o f a work could be applied
to the form o f solo with group singing in Russian folk song. Together the
contrasting sections form the overall unity in the Russian folk song form,
although the timbrel quality o f each section is distinctly different.
Directly related to this principle o f unity through contrasting sections,
found in Russian folk song solo and group call and response, is the balance
and contrast produced by the separate tutti and soli sections o f any given
work, something that Rimskii-Korsakov discusses throughout chapter 4.
Rimskii-Korsakov states that in any successful piece the com bination o f
variation and consistency between the tutti and soli sections w ill result in
musical interest for the listener. A s variation and consistency occurs
simultaneously within a composition, according to Rimskii-Korsakov, they
must be produced through an array o f orchestral techniques that he outlines as
follows: (1) transference o f passages and phrases; (2) chords o f different tone
quality used alternately; (3) am plification and elimination o f tone qualities,
scheme depends on the musical matter, the coloring o f preceding and

subsequent passages. It is important to determine whether a given passage is a
com plem ent to or a contrast with w hat goes before and comes after, whether it
forms a climax or merely a step in the general march o f musical thought."
Ibid., 98.
140
(4) repetition o f phrases, imitation, and echo; and (5) diverging and
converging progressions. These aspects, according to Rimskii-Korsakov,
allow the orchestrator to constantly recreate musical ideas throughout the
course o f a composition.
Because the aforementioned qualities are a definitive and integral part
o f the solo call-and-group response form in Russian folk song form, Rimskii-
Korsakov's abundant use o f this principle in his Russian-theme-based
instrumental works comes as no surprise, considering his close relationship
and sensitivity to Russian folk music. The contrast and sectionality o f Russian
folk song, as it makes its way into Rimskii-Korsakov's instrumental works, is
amplified by the transparent instrumentation and textures he provides. This
perspective on, and approach to, orchestral treatment can very well be the
result o f the extensive exposure Rimskii-Korsakov had to the characteristic
non-blending harmonies and timbres that are synonymous with the Russian
folk song tradition.
Russian Folk Song Non-Blended Harmonies and Orchestral

Timbres and Transparency
Perhaps the most definitive characteristic of Rimskii-Korsakov's
orchestration that can be traced back to the practice o f Russian folk song is the
141
way he is able to orchestrate instruments and groups in a way that they
simultaneously stand alone yet contribute to the overall timbrel quality o f his
work. This interesting trait o f timbrel contrast and balance is a feature that has
perplexed many listeners and researchers o f both Russian folk song and
Rimskii-Korsakov's music. In the mix o f his orchestration, listeners are able
to hear independent lines and phrases that seem to simultaneously blend with
and escape the overall orchestrated texture. This feature harkens back to
Russian folk song performance, as individual lines are very distinguishable in
the vocal blend.
The way that Rimskii-Korsakov produces such interesting
combinations o f sounds within the fixed-pitch orchestral instruments is by
using orchestral means o f contrasting sound producers, as they are em ployed
within composed rhythms, melodies, and harmonies. Rimskii-Korsakov
speaks directly to this issue as he sums up the significance o f balance, contrast
and transparency in his principles o f orchestration. Rimskii-Korsakov's
discussion on standards related to balance and contrast in combined
instruments accounts for register, tone color, and musical expressiveness
between instrumental groups. His focus on the principle o f creating m ultiple
142
and distinct timbres simultaneously is observable in a comparison o f the
strings-and-brass com bination to that o f the strings and woodwinds:
Owing to the dissimilarity between the quality o f string and brass

tone, the com bination o f these two groups in unison can never
yield such a perfect blend as that produced by the union o f
strings and woodwind. When a brass and a stringed instrument
progress in unison, each can be heard separately, but the
instruments in each group which can be com bined with the
greatest am ount o f success are those whose respective registers
correspond the m ost nearly (violin-trumpet; viola-hom , cello-
trombone, dbl. bass-tuba). The combination o f homs and cellos,
frequently em ployed produces a distinct blended quality o f
tone.15
The emphasis that Rimskii-Korsakov places on the combined string-
and-woodwind group reflects the composer's sensitivity to combinations in
sound quality as well as the distinctiveness o f each separate instrument.
Contrary to wind-and-brass combinations that produce a "complex resonance
in which the tone o f the brass predominates," the string-and-woodwind
combination is compatibly separate, in Rimskii-Korsakov's view. We observe
in Rimskii-Korsakov's treatise a remarkable understanding o f timbrel blends
and textures that comprehends the significance o f the individual instrument
w ithin the group, m uch the same way the independent vocal lines are
detectable in the group texture o f Russian folk song.
l5Ibid.,61.
143
W hile Rimskii-Korsakov's Principles o f Orchestration can be seen as
influenced by the western European standard o f formalizing or codifying
musical practices related to orchestral music, Rimskii-Korsakov brings to the
work his ow n progressive ideas on the topic, which in turn were highly
influenced by his long-term exposure and interest in Russian folk song. His
principles for orchestrating instrumental music can, therefore, be observed as
adaptations o f Russian folk song vocal practices.
To conclude, first we have observed that while Rimskii-Korsakov did
not write out improvisation when he set Russian folk themes for the orchestra,
he applied variation in orchestration through the use o f varying timbres,
articulations, and dynamics. Next, regarding form, Rimskii-Korsakov's
emphasis on the solo and tutti sections in his work reflected the Russian folk
song structure o f solo call-and-group response. The final and perhaps most
significant and apparent feature o f his orchestration is that he stressed
contrasting orchestral timbres and transparency. This feature o f his orchestral
output reveals a strong connection to the non-blended harmonies that are so
prevalent in Russian folk song performance practice. Together, these
elements show how Rimskii-Korsakov's distinct and progressive orchestral
style relied heavily on the vocal tradition o f Russian rural/village folk song
within western European structures and forms.
Because Russian folk song practice is embodied in Rimskii-Korsakov's
orchestration, as an orchestrator he was, therefore, able to convincingly
transfer the vocal tradition to his instrumental w orks-m ore so than his
Russian predecessors, contemporaries, and followers. A detailed analysis o f
his three instrumental Russian-theme-based works will serve the purpose o f
indicating the depth and scope o f Russian folk songs' influence on Rimskii-
Korsakov's orchestration. However, before this process begins, an overview
o f the actual folk songs found in Rimskii-Korsakov's instrumental Russian-
theme-based works must be conducted. This process will not only provide an
understanding o f the source material Rimskii-Korsakov used, but it will help
to solidify contextual issues related to the urban-based practice o f collecting,
arranging and orchestrating Russian folk songs.
145
CHAPTER V
FOLK SONGS FOUND WITHIN RIM SKII-KORSAKOV'S
INSTRUMENTAL WORKS BASED
ON RUSSIAN THEMES
The body o f Russian folk song that served as a primary source for
Rimskii-Korsakov to apply his own orchestral and compositional innovations
also served as a device for fusing Russian music o f the past with the present.
The modifications that occur in the folk songs reflect the changing demands o f
the new urban-based audiences. These musical changes in turn reflect the
changing social and political trends of the country. Rimskii-Korsakov's use o f
folk song in his instrumental works also reveals a move, for the composer,
beyond the popular metropolitan salon- and chamber-based Russian folk song
collections. The bolder domain o f symphonic works allowed Rimskii-
Korsakov more exploration in the area o f orchestration. The Russian folk
song collections, arranged primarily for voice and piano, were, however, a
significant source o f material for the composer. By com paring the way folk
song melodies were treated in the collections and the w ay he treated them in
146
his instrumental works based on Russian themes, we see the musical
sensibilities o f Rimskii-Korsakov at work.
The Folk Songs o f Rimskii-Korsakov*s First Instrum ental

Russian-Theme-Based Work: The Overture
B ased on Russian Themes
Rimskii-Korsakov's O verture B ased on Russian Themes was composed
in 1866 and revised in 1880. The Overture was composed w hile under the
heavy influence o f Balakirev. However, in examining the R ussian folk songs
Rimskii-Korsakov chose, as w ell as the persistence he displayed in keeping
them (in spite o f Balakirev's criticism that the works were too similar), we
observe the composer's individuality even at such an early point in his
compositional career:
I composed little or nothing during the spring o f 1866 and,

towards summer conceived the idea o f an overture on Russian
themes. O f course, Balakirev's overture 1000 Years and the
Overture in B M inor w ere my inspiration. I chose the themes:
slava (Gloria), u vorot vorot (At the gates, the gates), and na
Ivanushkye chapan (Ivan has a big coat on). Balakirev did not
fully approve the choice o f the last two, finding them som ewhat
similar; but, for some reason, I persisted in my view—evidently
because I had succeeded in writing certain variations on both o f
these themes and some tricks o f harmony, and I was reluctant to
part with what had begun.1
‘Rimskii-Korsakov, M y M usical Life, 65.
147
The opening o f the work is based on the folk song titled slava (Glory), number
47 in Rimskii-Korsakov's collection o f 100 Russian folk songs. This
distinctive melody sets the foundation for the opening o f the w ork and is
classified under the category "playful songs" (pesnie igrovie; see Figure 6).2
The final two measures o f this seven-measure melody are significant in
that they contain the title o f the song ("Glory"). Musically, these two
measures are an extension beyond the tonic a b on beat 3 in measure 5. While
this extension serves to connect the significant word "glory" to the rest o f the
text, as the lyrics show, the same repetition occurs throughout the rest o f the
song (see Figure 7).
Apart from the change in key, the harmonic treatment in the piano and
the pulse based on the eighth note rather than the quarter note, the Lvov/Prach
treatment o f the melody is exactly the same (see Figure 8).
Although the texts o f the Rimskii-Korsakov version and the Lvov/Prach
version are very different, what remains consistent is the two-measure ending
that holds the key word slava or "glory." The significance o f this feature,
where the two versions contain the same melody with different texts but end
2Nikolai A. Rimskii-Korsakov, 100 Russian F olk Songs with Piano

Accompaniment (New York: Belwin Mills, 1973), 97.
148
on the title w ord slava (glory), can be traced to the genre o f the song and its
context in Russian history. As Mazo points out, the song, facsimile #297
(Slava), is a Sviatochnaia song. These songs, which are performed during the
two weeks between Christmas and Epiphany, function as fortunetelling songs
(podbliudnaia):
In peasant tradition, the podbliudnaia were a part o f the calendar

cycle and most probably had the ritual purpose o f incantation for
the future. . . . In the preface to Lvov/Prach collection-1 Lvov
considers Russian podbliudnaia as having been adopted from the
ancient Greek song and game w hich he calls Klidona?
Referring to the songs and games that were kept during the
podbliudnaia's move from Greek to Russian tradition, we can understand
Rimskii-Korsakov's choice for including the work under the category "playful
songs" in his collection. However, more significant than its categorization is
Lvov's explanation o f the term slava within the podbliudnaia songs:
The following happens in our villages: girls sing so-called

podbliudnaia songs; when they gather together, they put a red
w ooden dish on the table, cover it with a big shawl and place on
the shawl a piece o f bread and a piece o f charcoal.. . . We do
the same when we sing podbliudnaia songs; the only difference
is that in Greece they place their token into a vessel filled with
w ater and we into a covered dish. The Slavs added to the
Russian klidona their favorite refrain, which the Greeks did not
3Lvov and Prach, 60.
149
have. They sang and we sing slava [glory], the principle deity o f
the Slavic people.4
Lvov explains that the term slava is a refrain, and this shows us how the
title w ord can remain intact w ithin two different texts. Also, the changing
texts between two versions are dependent on the specific events relayed
during the fortunetelling. While the text may vary within the fixed melody, in
the event o f the elimination o f the text, as in the case o f Rimskii-Korsakov's
Overture on Russian Themes, op. 28, only the melody itself would indicate the
presence o f the podbliudnaia song. Thus, listeners hearing the melody would
expect to hear the attached slava melodic extension. The analysis o f the
Overture will reveal, however, that in order to highlight an orchestral
innovation, Rimskii-Korsakov eliminates the two-measure slava extension and
provides only the first five measures o f the original melody.
The next two folk songs that Rimskii-Korsakov incorporates in the
Overture can be found in Balakirev's Collection o f Russian F olk Songs; and
like the Lvov/Prach slava folk song, the melodies are Rimskii-Korsakov's
main consideration in his treatment o f them. While the harmonies Balakirev
applied to the melodies are, at this point, secondary to the dissertation topic,
4Ibid.
150
the subject does indicate the emphasis Balakirev and Rimskii-Korsakov
placed on working with folk songs, especially w hen compared to their
eighteenth-century forerunners.5 Also, in Rimskii-Korsakov's use o f the
melodies taken from Balakirev's collection—(1) u vorot vorot (At the gate, the
gate), #38; and (2) na Ivanushkie chapan (Ivan has a big coat on), #17—we
observe Balakirev's influence on the com poser by way o f source material
m ore so than basic views on musical com position (see Figures 9, 10, 11, and
12):
5"The 'Collection o f Russian Songs with Music' o f Ivan Prach, a

Bohemian, which appeared in 1790, contains a collection o f songs which for a
long time served as a model and source to various publishers o f Russian folk
songs. This collection, both by its good qualities and its errors, greatly
influenced w ork o f the same direction. In the introduction o f the 2nd edition,
Prach asserts that 'special care was employed to write down w ith perfect
accuracy the melodies.' 'Having preserved all the individuality o f Russian
peasant singing, this collection possesses all the characteristic qualities o f the
originals, its simplicity and singleness have not been destroyed either by
musical ornamentation or by correction o f sometimes peculiar melodies.' But
in spite o f all these assertions, Prach, who was brought up in the German-
Italian school o f the time, did not understand the spirit o f the folk song, nor
[did he] attain accuracy, and in his collection there are numerous errors, both
in regards to the melodies and the harmonization. . . . But the greater the
difficulty o f writing down the music, the greater respect and gratitude from
subsequent generations are due to the works o f M. A. Balakireff and N. A.
Rimskii-Korsakoff, who did excellent w ork in noting down melodies, and by
their artistic treatment placed the Russian national song on the same level as
classical musical works." Lineva, ix.
151
In his overture, Balakirev used the Russian songs "Not As a

White Birch,” "In the Field Stood a Little Birch," and "I Am a
Dark (Sad) Young Woman." Rimskii-Korsakov had taken from
Balakirev's collection the song themes "At the Gates, the Gates"
and "Ivan Has a Big Coat On."6
Although Balakirev detected the melodic similarities in the folk songs
in the Overture, Rimskii-Korsakov extracts and combines smaller intervallic
and rhythmic units from the melodies to provide variety and contrast in the
work. Appropriating the diatonically based folk songs for his single
movement Overture, Rimskii-Korsakov uses the melodies primarily as a
source of material that the Russian urban-based audiences would recognize.
In so doing, the familiar material might be considered as a point o f reference
by which the listeners would recognize any o f the variations Rimskii-
Korsakov would incorporate. As it will be revealed in his orchestration o f the
melodies, some o f the principal qualities and relationships between melody,
text, and harmony (as they existed in the familiar Russian folk songs) are
presented and developed in a way that ensures the underlying integrity o f the
traditional forms are not lost in his orchestration. This trend is seen further in
6E. M. Gordiva, Kompozitorie "moguchaia kuchka" (Composers o f the

moguchaia kuchka) (Moscow: Myzuka, 1985), 52.
152
the treatment o f borrowed materials he uses in another symphonic w ork, the
Sinfonietta B ased on Russian Themes.
The Folk Songs o f Rimskii-Korsakov's Second Russian-Theme-Based

Instrumental Work: The Sinfonietta B ased on Russian Themes
Chronologically, the second piece in Rimskii-Korsakov's trio o f
instrumental Russian-theme-based works is the multimovement Sinfonietta
Based on Russian Themes composed in 1884. As in his Overture B ased on
Russian Themes, Rimskii-Korsakov uses folk songs found in urban-based
collections (his own included). However, the relationship between the folk
songs themselves and Russian culture is an area that Rimskii-Korsakov
explores at a deeper level within the structure o f the multimovement form. In
the Sinfonietta, Rimskii-Korsakov uses the separate movements to
demonstrate the primary spheres of Russian rural life. Also, as explained in
My M usical Life, the development o f the Sinfonietta was an orchestral work
that progressed out o f a discarded chamber work:
In the summer o f 1879 I composed a string quartet on Russian

Themes: this I subsequently worked over into a Sinfonietta for
the orchestra. Its separate movements bore the titles: (1) In the
Field; (II) A t the devichnike ("At the wedding eve"); (HI) In the
khorovod (round dance and song); (IV) Near the cloister. The
last movement, which did not go into the Sinfonietta after all,
was written on a church theme, commonly sung at Te Deums, in
153
imitational style. This quartet o f mine never had a public

performance. I took it to K. Davydov and asked to have it
played at a quartet rehearsal. It did not please them m uch and I
found many shortcom ings in it myself. The first m ovem ent was
monotonous, having been written on a single theme; the Scherzo
had no coda and the Finale was dry; I did not venture to let the
public hear my quartet.7
In Rimskii-Korsakov's explanation it is worth considering that the title
o f each movement reflects a different aspect o f Russian rural life. This
practice reveals a deliberate and systematic approach in reflecting Russian
cultural identity through music. The title o f the first movement, vo pole (In
the field), represents the w orld o f agriculture and work. The second title, na
devichnike (At the wedding eve), stands as events relating to the life-cycle
traditions surrounding weddings. Finally, vo khorovode (In the circle dance)
is a portrayal o f secular-based leisure activities in rural life. The final "Te
Deum" movement o f the quartet was omitted from the Sinfonietta.
A possible reason for Rimskii-Korsakov's om ission o f the "Te Deum"
movement from the Sinfonietta is the fact that, as a religious chant, it was not
in keeping with the focus o f Russian folk song themes. Also, it w ould be a
direct contradiction to the final folk song o f the third m ovement, ne sbasibo
ignmni tomn (To the priesthood I give no thanks). This m ight suggest
Tbid., 217.
154
Rimskii-Korsakov's sensitivity to the subject matter as well as context o f
Russian folk song. He may have decided to leave out the final chant theme
because it did not coincide conceptually with the folk themes. Yet, the fact
that he transferred these folk songs from the chamber w ork to the orchestral
w ork suggests that he saw musical potential in them (separately and
collectively). Also, considering the composer's preoccupation with
orchestration, it is possible that he decided the medium o f the string quartet
itself did not offer as much timbrel and textural weight as a full orchestra
would in meeting the musical visions he had for the themes .
The first movement o f the Sinfonietta—vo pole (In the field), set as an
allegretto pastorale—is based on the folk song vo pole timan zatimanilsaia
(There upon the field, see the fog so dense descend). This particular folk
song, classified in Rimskii-Korsakov's collection as a lyrical vocal song (pesni
golosovie), is harmonically based in the minor mode (d minor) with a raised
sixth degree (b) in the bass at mm. 12-13 giving way to the standard b b at
mm. 18, 20, 21 (see Figures 13 and 14).
The second folk song o f Sinfonietta's Movement 1 is taken from
Balakirev's collection (#31) and is titled kak vo gorode tsarevnia (In the city
o f the tsar's daughter). The very distinct (and beautiful) melody implies a shift
155
in tonal centers from F major to C major. The tonal quality o f the m elody is
an element that Rimskii-Korsakov takes full advantage o f throughout the
course o f the first movement (see Figure 15).
Like the first two folk songs, the melody o f "In the City o f the Tsar's
Daughter" is also diatonic (for the most part). However, the melody with the
lowered b b (7th degree) opens the song in the key o f F major with the
emphasis placed on the mediant level (a) for the first four measures.
Following the suspended character o f the melody for the first four measures,
the descent to F major begins at the second half o f measure 5 and rounds out
on the F major key in the first half o f measure 7. Paralleling this tonic and
mediant relationship, measure 10 begins the move to the key o f C and again
suspends on the mediant level o f e from mm. 10-12. This section, like the
opening phrase, closes with the gradual descent to C major at measure 14.
Such a feature where small-scale melodic movement emphasizes the mediant
and tonic levels within a larger key relationship is one o f the many examples
o f adding implied tonal ambiguity and complexity within diatonically based
Russian folk songs (what Gerald Abraham referred to as various tonal
peculiarities).8 This characteristic o f Russian folk song, especially in the case
8Abraham, On Russian Music, 255-56.
156
o f the intervallic relationship o f the third, was a melodic quality that Russian
urban-based composers capitalized on as they developed approaches to
harmony.
M ark DeVoto in his work on Russian harmony brings to light some o f
the specific characteristics o f tonal functions in nineteenth-century Russian
urban-based music. These innovations can be seen as an outgrowth o f the
inherent melodic qualities o f Russian folk song.
Russian harmony significantly increases the importance o f the

submediant function in a major m ode context, by em phasizing
the sixth degree as an adjunct harm onic factor to the tonic triad,
and by promoting the submediant as an alternative focus to the
tonic function, even by merging the relative major and m inor into
a single superkey with two tonics. So important is this evolved
submediant function that it becomes the basis o f a prominent
stylistic mannerism, even a distinguishing characteristic in the
works o f Chaikovskii and the Five (particularly Balakirev and
Borodin).9
In the upcoming analysis o f the Sinfonietta's first movement, in Chapter
VI, it will be observed that Rimskii-Korsakov's instrumental choices, along
with their various transparent and blended textures, highlight the defining
m ediant relationships within the melody, even when striking tonal variations
and modulations develop.
9M ark Devoto, "The Russian Submediant in the Nineteenth Century,"

Current M usicology 59 (1995): 48.
157
Second M ovement: N a devichnike fAt the W edding Eve")
The Sinfonietta's second movement, titled na devichnike ("At the
W edding Eve"), is based on three Russian folk songs that Rimskii-Korsakov
classifies under the category o f "ceremonial w edding songs" (Obiadnie pesni
svadebnie) in his folk song collection.10 Together these pieces reflect the
various parts o f a traditional Russian peasant wedding ceremony.
A n understanding o f the beliefs and practices surrounding a traditional
Russian peasant wedding, especially as it concerns the position o f the bride,
makes it clear why Rimskii-Korsakov w ould cast these folk songs within a
slow lamentlike adagio movement. Elizabeth W arner describes the solemn
mood o f the Russian bride in this patrilocal society:
Even if the girl was marrying the m an o f her choice, there was
much in the impending change o f circumstances to give her
cause for anxiety and sorrow. She was leaving the comparative
comfort, love and freedom o f her own home, where her
household tasks had not been too onerous. Now she would join a
family o f strangers as an adult worker and producer o f children,
totally subservient to her husband, his parents and brothers.11
10Rimskii-Korsakov, 100 Russian F olk Songs with Piano

Accompaniment, 160.
"W arner and Kustovski, 38.
158
Although Rimskii-Korsakov's works based on Russian themes do not
include the folk songs' texts, the Sinfonietta’s second movement has musical
characteristics that convey the sam e messages as the songs. This aspect o f
Rimskii-Korsakov's work can, however, be best understood if words and
meaning are taken into account (see Figure 16).
Although the first seven verses set up the scenario that Pavel (the
groom-to-be) is a wonderful and handsome lad and the fair young maiden will
be forever grateful to be in his company, the final verses (eight and nine)
indicate that the wife-to-be is not happy about the prospect o f spending her
entire life with the likes o f Pavel. Yet, as demonstrated in Rimskii-Korsakov's
orchestral works, it can be noted that Rimskii-Korsakov would, in his
orchestral renditions, apply new musical features to describe and accentuate
the features that the text would convey.12
His treatment o f "In the G reen Garden" in the Sinfonietta's second
movement is an example o f this. As can be seen from Rimskii-Korsakov's
collection, the melody inherently has a solemn quality to it, and Rimskii-
12"The text and melody o f Russian folk songs are inseparable. As one
collector has observed: For the folk singer the text is meaningless without the
melody, and the melody without the text." Gerald Seamans, History o f
Russian Music: From Its Origins to Dargomyzhskii (New York: Praeger,
1967 ), 11.
159
Korsakov takes advantage o f this as he applies his orchestration (see
Figure 17). The wedding song "In the Green Garden," as reflected in Rimskii-
Korsakov's vocal/piano example, also demonstrates a tonal am biguity that is
often associated with the body o f Russia folk song. By standards in tonal
theory, the melody implies a tonal center o f A major; however, the song ends
"deceptively" with the final note landing on the supertonic o f B. Such
ambiguities in Russian folk song were observed, as Mark Devoto pointed out,
by Balakirev and led to varying harmonic interpretations o f the melodies.
Gerald Seamans, in his History o f Russian Music points out this trend in his
discussion o f Balakirev's version o f the folk song Katenka vecelaia (M erry
little Katya; see Figure 18).13
O f the options for harmonization that Seamans presents, Rim skii-
Korsakov's "In the Green Garden" employs that of remaining in the m ajor
tonality and landing on the supertonic b (ii chord) in the penultimate chord o f
the final measure. However, in order to introduce the series o f phrases
13"In . . . 'Merry Little Katya,' a possible interpretation (and that

followed by Balakirev in his harmonization o f the tune) is that the first h alf of
the melody is in B minor and the second h alf in the key o f D, the relative
major. Another interpretation is that the whole melody is in the natural major,
beginning on D with its final on E. Another peculiarity sometimes
encountered is the simultaneous employment o f major and minor." Ibid., 18.
160
sm oothly and continuously, Rimskii-Korsakov includes in his vocal/piano
version the V (E major) chord, resulting in a standard ii/V turnaround
progression (see the final two chords o f Figure 16). As such continuous and
steadfast repetition does not occur in the Sinfonietta, Rimskii-Korsakov adapts
other musical features to characterize the "In the Green Garden" theme.
Following a full statement o f the "In the Green Garden" theme w ithin
the second movement, Rimskii-Korsakov closes the introduction and presents
the next two folk songs o f the m ovement in very close proximity to one
another. The two folk songs—titled zelena grusha vo sadu shatietsaia (H ow
the green pear tree sways in the garden) and tn zarai V maia zoriushka (O h my
daybreak, my daybreak)—are taken from Rimskii-Korsakov's earlier collection
and represent two distinct parts o f a traditional peasant wedding ceremony.
Like the first "In the Green Garden" theme, "How the Green Pear Tree Sways
in the Garden" is classified under the category o f "At the Wedding Eve"
songs. The next theme "Oh Daybreak, M y Daybreak" is grouped under the
heading o f songs "At the Crowning o f the Bride at the Altar."
In comparing the first statement o f the "How the Green Pear Tree
Sways" melody to Rimskii-Korsakov's folk song collection version, w e will
161
see that a 5/8 meter is used in the orchestral version while the vocal/piano
piece combines a 6/4 with the 5/4 (see Figure 19).
To understand the melody's accompaniment, we m ust look at the
original song text and investigate some key principles behind it (see Figures
19 and 20). In the text o f the folk song "How the Green Pear Tree Sways in
the G arden There," there is again the story o f a young, distraught w om en who
is apprehensive about marriage. The young woman and her parents are the
key figures within the story, and the swaying of the green pear tree is depicted
in the music in the way Rimskii-Korsakov orchestrates the folk song in the
Sinfonietta (see Figure 21).
Elizabeth Warner explains that symbolism, especially as it relates to
nature, is a very important element in Russian poetic verse; in this folk song
the swaying green pear tree indicates the unstable disposition and
apprehension o f the bride-to-be.14 In the vocal/piano rendition o f this folk
l4"In the poetic language o f Russian folk song metaphor and symbolism
abound. In the wedding songs in particular, the young m an and woman who
form the nucleus around which m ost songs revolve, are m ostly described
metaphorically. They are perhaps a prince and princess, living in a splendid
world o f silks and brocades, gold and silver and precious stones, luxury far
removed from the realities o f everyday peasant life. The world o f nature too,
birds, animals, plants, the w eather offer a rich source o f metaphorical
material." Warner and Kustovski, 39.
162
song, the piano accompanies the melody w ith a recurring trem olo figure in the
right hand, and Rimskii-Korsakov retained this element when he transferred
the accompaniment to full orchestra.
The third folk song o f the movement, titled tu za ra i V m aia zoriushka
(Oh daybreak, my daybreak), is listed in Rimskii-Korsakov's collection under
the heading "A t the Crowning o f the Bride at the Altar" (see Figure 22).
Although the complete phrase in 4/4 time is only two measures long,
the tonal center still gravitates from major to minor. I f we observe the melody
as a single phrase, the first half (m. 1) centers around B b major, while the
second phrase (m. 2) centers around g m inor (with the repeated g o f the first
measure being the pivotal point).
The tonal variations and transitions, strongly based on intervallic
relationships o f the third within the three folk songs in the second movement,
show a level o f consistency in the pieces Rimskii-Korsakov chose. Each piece
existed separately in his folk song collection, albeit under the w edding song
classification. It was, however, the framework of the Sinfonietta that allowed
Rimskii-Korsakov the possibility o f connecting the works. This aspect o f
musical continuity is expressed in the third movement as well.
163
Third Movement: "In the Khorovod' ("Circle D anceV '

Scherzo-Finale
The third movement, titled "In the Khorovod" (Circle Dance)," has as
its inspiration music that is associated with the festive and secular side o f
Russian traditional peasant life.15 The three folk song melodies that
Rimskii-Korsakov incorporates in the movement are drawn from his folk song
collection and are classified under the heading o f "playful songs" (pesni
igrovie). Like the previous movement, where the adagio tempo in the
orchestral work represents the sorrowful emotions held by the bride in Russian
traditional weddings, here the fast-paced vivo reflects the amusement and
rebirth associated with pastime and springtime.
This movement reflecting the brighter side o f traditional Russian
peasant life is composed in the key o f A major and opens up directly with the
inclusion o f the first folk melody performed in full. The khorovod (circle
15"The khorovodnaia are songs to khorovody . . . the special dances

performed when village youth gather together out o f doors. Such dances
usually involve many participants. A variety o f choreographic movements
m ay be employed: one big circle that moves in the direction o f the sun, circles
o f various sizes that move simultaneously in different directions, lines, freely
interwoven chains, dancing in couples with changing partners and so on.
M ost o f the dances are in a slow tempo. Indeed, khorovody were, and in some
regions still are, one o f the most important components o f the spring rituals."
Lvov and Prach, 53.
164
dance) titled u menia li m uzh vodop'ianitsa (Too m uch vodka m y husband
drinks) is a dance song in a 3/4 m otor rhythm with a strong emphasis on the
subdivided quarter note (see Figure 23). In Rim skii-Korsakov's version, we
see that the homophonic chordal accompaniment directly follows that
rhythmic drive o f the m elody. Also, he creates harmonies that are associated
with traditional village vocal practice. As we shall see, Rimskii-Korsakov
retains these characteristics in the orchestral version. W hile this piece in the
vocal/piano work is scored in the key o f G major, for the Sinfonietta the
melody is transposed to A m ajor for the key o f the m ovem ent (see Figure 24).
Its four-measure melody can be divided into two parts where the second
measure repeats the first and the fourth measure repeats the third, so the
melodic structure can be diagramed as (AB) with a further breakdown o f (a a1
b b1). The binary form o f this folk song, also included in the Lvov/Prach
collection, prompts M azo to reflect upon the work o f Vladykina-Bachinskaia,
who states that this form is indicative o f the khorovodnaia lyric and musical
style (see Figure 25).16 It is important to point out that while the movement
I6According to M azo, "The khorovodnaia-rgrova/a, or sim ply igrovaia

(dance-games or song-games), usually have one or m ore persons acting out
the text while the rest o f the participants move around. Igrovaia m ay be
accompanied by slow flow ing songs as well as by anim ated and faster ones.
Bachinskaia considers the binary forms, such as AABB, ABB, AAB, and AB,
165
opens with the "Too M uch Vodka" folk melody, Rimskii-Korsakov relies on
thematic variations based on the melody's most characteristic traits to unify
the work.
The second theme Rimskii-Korsakov brings into the movement
contrasts with the "Too M uch Vodka" melody; it is melodic in nature rather
than rhythmic. The second theme, titled a u gusto na bereze liste (How thick
the leaves there on the birch are growing) is another taken from Rimskii-
Korsakov's collection (see Figures 26 and 27). Like the previous "Too Much
Vodka" folk song, this piece is under the heading "playful songs."
This folk song, predominantly in 3/8, has three measures o f 4/8 inserted
at mm. 5, 7, and 13. In the Sinfonietta, however, we will see that only the first
four measures o f the folk song are used. Yet, w ith their wide leaps and varied
note values, these four measures o f "How Thick the Leaves" are well suited to
provide musical contrast to the already established "Too M uch Vodka" theme.
Interestingly enough, while Rimskii-Korsakov alters the m eter to 3/4, he
maintains the b m inor tonality o f the vocal/piano piece. However, it is treated
as typical for all categories o f khorovodnaia and igrovaia songs." Quoted in

Lvov and Prach, 53.
166
as a ii/I construction rather than being transposed to the relative minor
position.
The first two folk themes work together in the Sinfonietta to provide
rhythmic and melodic interest. W e observe a reliance on the "Too Much
Vodka" theme for the rhythmic intensity and the "How T hick the Leaves"
theme for melodic interest. Rimskii-Korsakov, however, includes one more
folk song melody in the movement. This folk song, titled ne spasibo igumnu
tomu (To the priesthood I can give no thanks), is also found in
Rimskii-Korsakov's Russian folk song collection and is classified as a
khorovod. As the title suggests, the subject matter o f the song is one that is
without reverence for activities related to organized religion. Mazo elaborates
on this idea as she discusses the content of two khorovody from the
Lvov/Prach collection, one o f which is "To the Priesthood I Can Give No
Thanks" (see Figure 28).17 The ridicule of monastic activities—a typical theme
17Mazo writes, "The subject matter o f the songs Chto vo gorode bylo vo
Kazane and Ne spasibo igum ni tomu represents another popular theme at the
time: ridicule o f monks and the activities o f Russian monasteries. The first
song tells about a young monk who departs the monastery gate and first
encounters elderly women, then younger, and finally beautiful girls. At that
he takes off his habit and cries: 'Bum my dull cell, begone, my black habit!
It's time for me to marry.' The next song, Ne spasibo igum nu tomu, usually
accompanied the game Igumen, which called for a girl holding a candle in her
hands, parodying a nun." Quoted in Lvov and Prach, 56.
167
o f som e songs in the khorovody tradition, according to M azo—is apparent in
the text o f "To the Priesthood" folk song, which describes the young woman
who is not at all interested in the monastic lifestyle (see Figure 29). The
binary form of the melody is in keeping with the custom o f the khorovody
tradition (see Figure 30). Rimskii-Korsakov's vocal/piano version is set in a
3/4 m eter in the key o f B b major, and in the orchestral version the entire song
is based on the alteration o f two measures (see Figure 31). In the Sinfonietta,
however, Rimskii-Korsakov sets the "To the Priesthood" melody in a 2/4
m eter in the key o f D major (the subdominant o f the movement's primary key
o f A major; see Figure 32). W ith the pulse on the quarter note the motives
w ill alternate every three measures.
The playful quality o f the melody might at first glance appear to be
directly opposed to the text and the story that the folk song is describing. On
the other hand, the lighthearted nature o f the music m ight be an indication o f
the carefree manner in which the young girl is choosing to live over the very
disciplined and rigid activities associated with monastic life. In order to bring
the boisterous quality out in the music, Rimskii-Korsakov uses certain
orchestral devices such as higher ranges and light articulations to meet the
needs o f the lively character o f the melody.
168
The combination o f the Sinfonietta's three movements illustrates
representative folk songs associated with the primary realm s o f traditional
village life. It is not unreasonable to assume that, to bridge the gap between
the traditional village m usic and the urban-based audiences, Rimskii-Korsakov
deliberately chose to end the final movement with the khorovody. The genre
was familiar and popular am ong the urban-based audiences for which
Rimskii-Korsakov was com posing. Beginning with the popularity o f Mikhail
Glinka's 1848 symphonic masterpiece Kamarinskaia, nam ed for the very
popular khorovody used in the work, the rhythmically driven style associated
with this circle dance w ould become, according to Vladim ir Odoyevskii in an
1850 article from the St. Petersburg Bulletin, the thum bprint for Russian
musical style.18 Rimskii-Korsakov augmented the circle dance's village
18"The Russian fast-dance song or Kamarinskaia is one o f those

whimsical but profound creations o f our own genius o f a m usician which are
only accessible to Berlioz and Glinka, with the difference that it would have
been difficult for Berlioz to sustain constantly that Russian character which
never betrays itself, despite the sumptuousness o f its instrumentation, despite
all the tasteful combinations o f melodies, permeated by a deep knowledge o f
music. But it is not its technical finish which strikes you so much as the
profundity o f its contents. In it the Russian character is fully reflected with all
its freedom, good nature, light-heartedness and cheerfulness. Glinka's
Kamarinskaia is at one and the same time a marvellous m usical work as well
as a picture and a profound psychological observation." V ladim ir Odoyevskii,
"The Russian Concerts o f the Society for Visiting the Poor from the Musical
Point o f View," St. Petersburg Bulletin 8, no. 80 (April 1850), quoted in
169
context by incorporating it into the movement o f the Sinfonietta that
represented the village life sphere o f dance and pleasure.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Rimskii-Korsakov, being well
aware o f the tastes and demands o f St. Petersburg's audiences, made an effort
to maintain the strong tradition set by his predecessor Mikhail Glinka. The
"Too M uch Vodka" theme, containing the rhythmic character and energy o f
the Kamarinskaia, was musically suitable as an ending for the piece. The
anticlerical statement o f "To the Priesthood I Give No Thanks," on the other
hand, would have found approval among the St. Petersburg urbanites. In the
com bination o f the folk song genres found in the Sinfonietta Based on Russian
Themes, and in the way Rimskii-Korsakov presents them orchestrally, one
m ay see that he is bridging the gap between traditional rural-based music and
urban-based audiences is clear. Furthermore, as the work is viewed as a
tribute to Glinka, this practice o f fusing rural and urban-based music traditions
was taken even further as Rimskii-Korsakov later incorporated, idiomatically,
the very popular kamarinskaia in his final Russian-theme-oriented orchestral
work: his Concert Fantasia on Russian Themes fo r Violin with Orchestra.
Cambell, 48-49.
170
The Folk Songs o f Rimskii-Korsakov's Third Russian-Theme-Based

Instrumental Work: Concert Fantasia Based on Russian
Themes fo r Violin with Orchestra
Rimskii-Korsakov's 1886 work, the Concert Fantasia B ased on Russian
Themes f o r Violin with Orchestra, commonly referred to as his Fantasia, is
probably, in musical, historical, and cultural respects, the m ost interesting o f
his orchestral works based on Russian themes. In Rimskii-Korsakov's own
words, this single-movement work in b minor was one that he felt to be a
success, and it led to one o f his most popular works, the Spanish Cappricio.19
The first folk song melody o f the Fantasia is "Wearisome Nights" and it is
found in Balakirev's collection o f Russian folk songs (see Figure 33). While
Rimskii-Korsakov's version takes up the first eleven measures o f Balakirev's
I9"Having finished the revision o f my Third Symphony and having

grown interested in violin technique (I had gained a rather thorough familiarity
with it in the instrumental class), I conceived the idea o f com posing some
virtuoso piece for the violin with orchestra. Taking two Russian themes as a
basis, I composed a Fantasy on these and dedicated it to P. A. Kasnokooskii,
violin instructor at the chapel, to whom I was indebted for many explanations
in the field o f violin technique. This Fantasy I tried out w ith my orchestra o f
Chapel pupils, who had made considerable progress by that time. I was
pleased with the piece, and took it into my head to write another virtuoso piece
for violin and orchestra on Spanish themes. However, having made a sketch
o f it, I gave up the idea, preferring as I did to compose, subsequently, an
orchestral piece with virtuoso instrumentation, on the same themes." Rimskii-
Korsakov, My Musical Life, 282.
171
rendition, we observe a consistency in duple meter and tonality between the
two (see Figure 34).
The structural tones o f the melody imply the character o f tonal mutation
(peremennost) between e m inor and its relative, G major. In the melodic
contour o f the folk song, we will see how the choice o f the "Wearisome
Nights" melody works well with, and against, the final folk song melody o f
the movement and the w ork khodila mladeshen'ka po borochkn (Once a
maiden walked by the stream; see Figures 35 and 36). The first melody sways
between the minor and m ajor mode, and so too does the final folk song
melody. However, as the final song is an example o f a pliasovaia (fast
dance), it contains the strong punctuated rhythm in binary form rather than a
melodic flow.
The two folk songs o f the Fantasia complement each other through the
consistency o f tonal mutation they both share. It is also observable, however,
that they contrast with each other in melodic character and affect. This
example shows how Rimskii-Korsakov thoughtfully chose his examples to
work together in order to bring about as much musical consistency and
variation as possible.
172
Recognizing the significant features o f the folk songs, as well as their
original contexts, provided Rimskii-Korsakov the opportunity to place them
accordingly in his instrumental works based on Russian themes. The analysis
o f the three orchestral pieces demonstrate the care he used as he applied
orchestration to these particular folk songs. The folk songs' significance in the
instrumental works is highlighted as Rimskii-Korsakov orchestrates them with
techniques that can be traced to Russian folk song practice. In so doing, he
retains and highlights the affective musical character o f each song through an
array o f orchestral and instrumental innovations. Rimskii-Korsakov’s
recom posing o f traditional rural-based music into his newly composed urban-
based instrumental music, with sensitivity to the original form, shows that he
was a nationalist composer who helped create a Russian cultural identity in his
music.
173
CHAPTER VI
RIMSKII-KORSAKOV'S USE OF ORCHESTRAL PRINCIPLES
IN HIGHLIGHTING RUSSIAN THEMES
The following analysis o f Rimskii-Korsakov's instrumental Russian-
theme-based pieces, in respect to Russian folk songs, reveals the way Rimskii-
Korsakov orchestrally treated the folk songs when they were transferred from
vocal music to instrumental music. Details will include the way
instrumentation and orchestration reflect the musical material and subject
matter o f the songs.
The care that Rimskii-Korsakov takes in orchestrating his works around
traditional vocal music reveals the conventions he used to retain the
characteristic elements of the traditional music. I have asserted that Rimskii-
Korsakov's own individual style, along with the borrowings from Western
music traditions, contributed to the character o f late-nineteenth-century
Russian music. Both his own style and Western borrowings are detectable in
his instrumental works based on Russian themes. The analysis o f the
following pieces will establish Rimskii-Korsakov's position as a nationalist
174
com poser by showing that the orchestral practices which were directed
towards urban-based audiences were also guided by the folk song tradition.
This fusion o f Russian musical past and present reflects the numerous aspects
o f Russian soul (dusha) and culture.
The Overture Based on Russian Themes. Op. 28
The Overture Based on Russian Themes (1866) was Rimskii-
Korsakov's second orchestral work, his first being the First Symphony (1863-
1865). Russian musicologists consider Rimskii-Korsakov's later opera
Snegornchka (The snow maiden) to be Rimskii-Korsakov's definitive work
exemplifying Russian nationalist character, and I would argue that the
characteristics o f his Overture Based on Russian Themes had a strong
influence on the way he composed and orchestrated music throughout his
entire career.
Rimskii-Korsakov's Overture on Russian Themes, op. 28, in keeping
with the standard Western/romantic overture form, is a single-movem ent
orchestral work. However, certain characteristics o f the work show that
Rimskii-Korsakov merged his own ideas about orchestration with fundamental
principles related to the overall from. This connection is first dem onstrated in
175
the composer's choice o f instruments, followed by the way he treats the
instruments in relationship to the folk songs found throughout the piece
(see Figure 37).
To illustrate Rimskii-Korsakov's individual approach towards
instrumentation and orchestration, let us turn to the percussion section, w ith its
inclusion o f the tamburine (tambnrino) and cymbals (piatti). Here we find
Rimskii-Korsakov relying on instruments that he refers to as extras for the
purpose o f indicating key areas where folk songs enter into the com position.1
Although Rimskii-Korsakov's use o f the cymbals is minimal throughout the
work, they carry the significant position o f setting up the appearance o f the
Overture's second theme, u vorot vorot (At the gate, the gate; see Figure 9).
The modest yet discemable entrances o f the quieter cymbals against the fo r te
timpani anticipate the upcoming performance o f the Russian theme (see
Figure 38).
In the outlined cymbal examples, each cymbal part stands alone at the
end o f their phrases, and they serve to introduce the "At the Gate, the G ate”
'"Com posers using the first class in the course o f a big work (oratorio,
opera, symphony, etc.) may introduce special instruments called extras, for a
long or short period o f time; each o f these instruments involves an extra player
not required throughout the entire work." Rimskii-Korsakov, Principles o f
Orchestration, 13.
176
theme. In the first two examples, measures o f rests separate the cymbal from
the folk song theme, the melodies are clear and recognizable because they are
performed in the moderate ranges o f the first violin (Areas 1 and 3) and the
flute (Area 2). The execution o f the f# in the timpani is concurrent with each
o f the cymbal tones providing a harmonic-rhythmic support that also helps to
anticipate the unmistakable appearances o f the "At the Gate" theme. This
m odest yet apparent musical gesture, perceivable as symbolically standing for
a person's approach to and knock on the gate, demonstrates Rimskii-
Korsakov's resourcefulness in making the Russian themes the focal point.
The Introduction and the Slava (Glory) Theme
The introduction o f the Overture is based on the slava (Glory) folk song
theme. This theme is classified by Rimskii-Korsakov as playful songs (pensni
igrovie; see Figures 6 and 8 for melody). In the Overture’s opening, only the
beginning o f the melody is stated, and it is highly exposed with a two-measure
segment beginning at m. 5 (first horn), followed by the five-measure segment
in the first clarinet beginning at m. 6 (see Figure 39).
The entrances o f the melodic fragments o f "Glory" are a prime example
o f the reason Rimskii-Korsakov titled this series o f instrumental works "based
Ill
on Russian themes" rather than "based on Russian folk songs." Drawing from
segments o f the folk songs throughout the works, Rimskii-Korsakov relies on
the fam iliar and recognizable portions o f the borrowed material to establish
their presence. Also, reducing many o f the folk songs down to their
distinctive rhythmic and intervallic features, the composer used these
fragments as modules to bridge larger areas, combine separate folk song
themes together, and establish continuity throughout the work.
The next area o f interest, as it relates to Rimskii-Korsakov's treatment
o f folk song, instrumentation, and harmony, is in mm. 15-20 (see Figure 40).
Observable in this immediate restatement o f the melodic segment is the
lowering or deepening o f orchestral range as the celli present the five-measure
theme at m. 16. This widening o f range in the folk melody's five-measure
false entrance, which follows the three-measure statement in the second
clarinet (mm. 15-17), parallels the opening exchange between the first horn
and clarinet. The difference in this presentation, however, is a range reversal
where it lowers from the second clarinet to the celli rather than the increase in
range found in the movement o f the melody from the first horn to the first
clarinet.
178
In both exchanges o f the folk song fragment, the dynamic level o f
pianissimo remains constant. Yet, melodic grow th is still apparent as the
three-measure sections serve as implied introductory statements to the more
complete five-measure units. This melodic growth is supported by the drone-
based harmonies o f the sustained pedals in first the clarinets and first horns
(mm. 7-10). This harm onic underpinning continues with the second violins
and violas (mm. 16-20). Although this form o f musical organicism is viewed
as a function or creation o f Western symphonic practice, in this example, at
the hands o f Rimskii-Korsakov, it culminates into a passage that embodies
distinct Russian folk song characteristics. The first appearance o f the "Glory"
melody occurs in the first violin (beginning at m. 30) and is supported by a
strict note-for-note homophonic treatment by the remaining full string section
(see Figure 41). U sing such a dense texture in the string section for the folk
song's first full appearance is a consideration Rimskii-Korsakov discusses in
his account o f harmony, ensembles, and traditional music:
The movement o f solo voices is seldom purely harmonic in

character w ith predominance given to the upper voices
homophonically treated. The blending o f all the parts into a
harmonic whole, without any distinctive predominate feature in
179
an y one part is employed for songs or ensembles in traditional

style.2
In that the full "Glory" melody is given to the first violins and the
rem aining strings provide a dense homophonic sonority underneath, there is
no question that the result is "the blending o f all parts into the harmonic
whole." W hile Rimskii-Korsakov discusses this feature in terms o f music
designated to replicate traditional music, here we observe an instrumental
rendition that moves as a single voice, paralleling the solo voice in the form o f
Russian folk song. Furthermore, immediately following the strings'
presentation o f the folk theme, the next full statement o f the "Glory" folk song
(mm. 35-41) performed by first oboe and accompanied by the clarinet and
bassoon em phasize the variant heterophony quality o f podgoloski, which
parallels the group response to the solo introduction in Russian folk song (see
Figure 42).
C om pared to the strict note-for-note parallel homophonic texture o f the
strings, in the wind section there is more fluctuation between the divided
clarinet and bassoon lines. As described by Eugenie Lineva, the quality o f the
2Ibid., 143.
180
com bined individual lines is a harmonic feature that reflects in a general way
that o f Russian folk song:
A Russian folk song generally begins w ith the principal melody

sung by one voice or in unison, subsequently passes into many
parts and then periodically returns to unison. The secondary
parts (podgolosfci) constitute free imitation o f the main melody,
or, more correctly its development. Each secondary part, sung
separately, gives an idea o f the main m elody—it is a variation o f
it.3
The appearances o f the "Glory" theme results in a larger scale
relationship whereby the strings' first performance o f the melody in strict
unison is followed by the contrasting color and texture o f the winds'
performance. This combination corresponds to the structure o f the soloist and
group discussed by Lineva. The fixed melody, texture and color within the
string group is a soloistic feature when compared to the polyphonic wind lines
that respond to the unison strings. Such a structure mirrors the relationship
between the soloist and group in the vocal music. This treatment o f
orchestration adheres to the integrity of the traditional folk song structure.
The emergence o f the full "Glory" statement only after it was hinted at
in the previous segments shows how Rimskii-Korsakov's thematic
development relies on melodic and harmonic expansion. The melody,
3Lineva, xv.
181
progressing from the false entrances o f the unaccompanied three-measure
segments to the five-measure segments w ith accompanimental pedal tones,
foreshadows the final full statement(s) o f the melody. As these full statements
combined and characterized the harmonic, textural, and melodic structures o f
Russian folk song, this example supports the way Rimskii-Korsakov was
capable o f applying his own orchestral innovations to the traditional music
forms. Rimskii-Korsakov's approach o f deconstructing the m elody and
building on it until a full presentation is achieved, in practice, contradicts one
theory by Gerald Abraham found in his w ork on Russian music and folk song
in his Studies on Russian Music'.
They [the moguchaia kuchka] began to write more elaborate

orchestral compositions still very largely based on folk melodies,
and found themselves faced with the extraordinary difficulty o f
fusing into the most complicated o f musical organisms—sonata
form on the symphonic scale—the simplest o f all natural forms o f
musical organism. For a folk song is a complete entity, not a
mere cell as a m otif is, and therein lies the difficulty. Being
already a fully developed whole it has no growing power. Nor,
without vandalism, can it be decomposed into its constituent
parts and these parts treated as germ cells.4
Rimskii-Korsakov's fragmented treatment o f the "Glory" folk melody
throughout the Overture's, first 40 measures does not fit Abraham's principle o f
4Gerald Abraham, Studies in Russian M usic (London: William Reeves

Booksellers Ltd., 1969), 45.
182
using an unalterable melody. Rather, Rimskii-Korsakov uses a different and
perhaps more complex musical approach that relies on smaller segments o f the
folk song to generate musical development. Rimskii-Korsakov, w ho was
more familiar with the features o f Russian folk song performance practice and
structure than Abraham gave him credit for, was able to convincingly create
from Russian folk songs his large-scale works based on Russian themes.
Russian Theme Number 2: U Vorot Vorot (At the Gate)
I have cited "At the Gate" and its appearance used in conjunction with
the cymbal entrances to demonstrate the way Rimskii-Korsakov manipulated
instrumentation to draw attention to folk song themes (see Figure 39). But
this is not the only theme-oriented feature o f orchestration Rimskii-Korsakov
applies to this folk song. As the second Russian theme o f the O verture, "At
the gate" does not appear until the Overture's vivo section. Here, Rimskii-
Korsakov is able to apply a number o f harmonic and orchestral alterations that
establish this section as significant new material. Apart from the increase in
tempo, there is a modulation to a new tonal center o f f# minor from the
previous D major. In the opening seven measures o f the section (mm. 86-90),
where the "At the Gate" theme is presented in the first violin,
183
Rimskii-Korsakov sets a musical foundation for innovations that are to follow
(see Figure 43).
As opposed to the opening o f the Overture, where the melodic
segments are treated w ith a gradual increase in melody length (until the full
melody is presented in strict homophonic texture), here, with the emergence o f
a new theme, different techniques are used to draw attention to the chosen
melody. Surrounding the first eight measures o f the "At the Gate" statement
(first violins), is a sparse accompaniment supplied by the clarinet, violas, and
celli. To draw attention to the new theme, Rimskii-Korsakov presents a new
combination o f rhythms and textures along with the key change. The most
obvious feature in this accompaniment is the interlocking ostinato figure
between the clarinet and the violas. As the clarinet repeats a constant V-i (c li
f t! ) statement in a recurring eighth-note pattern, the violas perform the same
dominant-tonic relationship, only in an inverted i-V (ftt-c tt) relationship.
Also, to provide another level o f variety within the confines o f the limited
accompaniment, Rimskii-Korsakov increases the rhythmic density in the
violas as they perform the ostinato sixteenth-note pattern against the clarinet's
eighth-note figure. This stratified layering o f increased rhythmic activity,
along with the theme itself, is set against the dronelike character o f the
184
sustained open fifth (f # -c # ) o f the celli. Between the motor rhythmic activity
o f the clarinet and violas and the static open fifth drone o f the celli, attention is
drawn to the first eight measures o f the "At the Gate" melody as it is set
between the varied rhythmic and intervallic activity.
The reason why Rimskii-Korsakov decided to pair the clarinet with
viola to produce the stratified layering o f increasing rhythmic activity is found
in his theory related to instrumentation and register. In remarking about the
appropriate combination o f strings and winds, Rimskii-Korsakov states the
following (see Figure 44):
The best and most natural combinations are between instruments

whose registers correspond to the nearest. The object o f such
combinations are to: a) obtain a new timbre o f definite color;
b) strengthen the quality o f the strings; and c) soften the quality
o f the woodwinds.5
The consistency occurring in the range between the clarinet and violas
moves during the melody's second phrase. Here, Rimskii-Korsakov couples
the clarinet with the bassoon, now keeping the activity within the wind group.
The second part o f the "At the Gate" melody remains in the first violins
from mm. 96-103. A part from the double-stop open fifths (f# and c # )
beginning the second half o f the melody, the flow o f the legato line and the
5Rimskii-Korsakov, Principles o f Orchestration, 72.
185
moderate range parallel that o f the first h a lf o f the melody (see Figure 45).
However, there is an abrupt change in accompaniment. W ith the added
instrumentation o f the first bassoon, horns, second violins, and basses, there is
a clear change in the overall sound production.
The change in instrumentation emphasizes the sym m etry o f the two
phrases in the 16-measure melody. Also, the second h alf o f the melody,
beginning with the dominant c# in the top line o f the first violins is supported
by the double stop on the tonic f # . Accompaniment is further increased as the
second violins perform in divisi and the basses perform the celli line an octave
lower. This additional string accompaniment serves to increase the textural
density beyond the previous figure o f the celli performing the open fifths in
the first phrase. Nonetheless, continuity within the two phrases is still
achieved as the violas continue to supply the rhythmic repetition. However, in
the previous phrase where the violas were coupled with the clarinet, now the
alternating, syncopated, tied eighth-note and quarter-note f# s interlock with
the f # s in the horns.
The clarinet's continuous presence and lower range that supports the
serious character o f the "At the Gate" m elody is explained in Rim skii-
Korsakov's description o f the relationship between tone color and expression:
186
It is true that no mood or frame o f mind, whether it be joyful or

sad, meditative or lively, careless or reflective, mocking or
distressed can be aroused by one single isolated timbre; it
depends more upon the general melodic line, the harmony,
rhythm, and dynamic shades o f expression, upon the whole
formation o f a given piece o f music.6
With the emphasis on the f# minor in the "At the Gate" melody, the
suitable "ringing and threatening" quality o f the clarinet's relatively low er
range results in the dynamic shade o f expression that, as Rimskii-Korsakov
states, is appropriate for such a character.7 Also, like the programmatic use o f
the cymbal as a means o f signifying the approach to the gate, Rimskii-
Korsakov's use o f the clarinet's lower range, with its "ringing and threatening
quality," produces an impression that he m ay have associated with a large
cast-iron gate. Rimskii-Korsakov explains in his treatise that the clarinet in
m inor keys is suitable for reflective melodies and passages, and the fit m inor
quality and the pianissimo dynamic o f the "At the Gate" melody calls for such
a treatment. In this passage, Rimskii-Korsakov's orchestration indicates a
sensitivity to the quality o f the original melody, and he uses the instruments to
strengthen the theme's character rather than to detract from it.
6Ibid., 19.
7Ibid.
187
The amount o f linear (melodic) music activity was minimal during the
first phrase o f "At the Gate's" first appearance. In the second presentation o f
the "At the Gate" theme, however, the musical texture grows thicker (see
Figure 46). The tonal center o f the folk theme's second presentation moves to
the relative A major, thus emphasizing the relationship o f a third to the first
presentation's f# minor. Supporting this move to the relative major are two
musical gestures. The first is the ascending melodic gesture (e f# g ft a) in
imitation between the first and second clarinet parts (mm. 106-110; see Figure
46). The second gesture is the octave a's in the homs. Rimskii-Korsakov uses
the hom at this point to link the two statements of the themes together. He
does this by maintaining the punctuated rhythmic character found in the
repeated quarter notes and syncopated tied eighths in the second example. In
order to increase musical density, however, he includes the octave in the
second statement. Further musical contrast is provided by the first and second
flutes holding in unison a sustained c # against the melody in the oboe, the
imitative (e f# git a) figures o f the clarinets and the syncopated octave o f the
homs.
The string section provides musical contrast through the imitative
pizzicato lines paralleling the contour o f the clarinet four-note gestures. O f
special interest, however, is the bassoon section. The top line works in
conjunction with the first oboe and flute parts as it begins by doubling the
melody an octave lower than the oboe. Next, the top bassoon tapers o ff to the
sustained c# an octave lower than the flutes. The low er bassoon line doubles
the lower clarinet part in support of the imitative ( e f jl g # a) figures. The
variety o f musical contrast with which Rimskii-Korsakov surrounds the "At
the Gate" melody continually expands. Yet, when each accompanimental
instrument is isolated from the others and analyzed, a sense o f continuity
emerges whether it be in the form of sustained notes, repeated notes or
cyclical imitative gestures. Such rhythmic features follow the fixed rhythm ic
motion o f many Russian folk songs.
Just as Russian folk song performance relies on improvisation w ithin a
fixed rhythmic framework, Rimskii-Korsakov relies on varying musical
timbres within the repetition, providing the musical contrast that results in a
sense o f overall musical motion. In this way his orchestration replaces the
improvisatory nature o f Russian folk song with the same results. Furthermore,
Rimskii-Korsakov responds to the repetitive nature o f Russian folk song by
producing variety in instrumentation, timbrel coloring, and articulation. These
techniques are carried out even further in Rimskii-Korsakov's treatment o f the
189
next folk song, na Ivanushke chapan (Ivan has a big coat on; see Figures 11
and 12).
In the presentation o f the "Ivan's Coat" folk song melody, the texture o f
Rimskii-Korsakov's orchestration is similar to the texture o f a vocal
perform ance (see Figure 47). The first four measures o f the folk melody,
presented in the wind section (mm. 153-156), contain a note-against-note
structure that resembles the variant heterophony associated w ith Russian folk
song. W hile each instrument follows the same recurring eighth-note rhythmic
scheme, the linear/melodic contour o f each line diverges from the next. Also,
as the next three measures o f melody are made up o f two measures o f duple
meter and one triple meter, they combine to make up a single 7/4 phrase. This
asymmetrical phrase is repeated immediately by the first violin (mm. 160-
162). This melodic structure consisting o f an ABB form imitates a vocal call-
and-response form as the second B phrase shifts from the oboe to the first
violin.
In a large-scale tonal analysis, the b minor key emphasized by the
inclusion o f the a# leading tone at the cadence points in mm. 159 (first
bassoon) and 162 (first violin/second part) closely relates to the opening D
m ajor "Glory" introduction. Also, in keeping with Balakirev's observation
190
that the melodies were too similar for fruitful musical treatment, the m elodic
and rhythm ic shape still parallels that o f the "At the Gate" melody.
W ith all three o f the folk themes presented, Rimskii-Korsakov
com poses the rest o f the Overture around combinations related to the musical
qualities o f the previously stated themes. Combining rhythmic and m elodic
them es from previous sections, Rimskii-Korsakov creates a level o f repetition
that includes elaborating on the previously stated developmental m aterial (see
Figure 48).
The first- and second-violin sections re-create, without alteration, the
first four measures o f the "Ivan's Coat" theme, and rather than repeating the
strict variant heterophonic accompaniment o f the first presentation, Rimskii-
Korsakov incorporates in the wind and brass sections a layering o f rhythm ic
activity related to the second appearance o f the "At the Gate" theme.
Producing this accompaniment, the first and second bassoons provide a tonal
support w ith the sustained d in octaves, while rhythmic variety is created by
the unified syncopated rhythmic gestures between the oboe, clarinet, and the
com et sections. This rhythmic treatment surrounding the "Ivan's Coat" theme
parallels the gesture o f the homs in the second presentation o f the "At the
Gate" them e (see Figure 43).
191
Further combinations o f the previously stated them es occur as Rimskii-
Korsakov connects the three folk song themes together linearly. The final
measures o f the "Ivan's Coat" theme, in the string section (mm. 194-197),
leads directly into the opening gesture o f the "Glory" them e (mm. 198-201),
which in turn is followed by the "At the Gate" theme perform ed by the flute
(mm. 205-209). This horizontal progression o f the themes ends in a unique
imitative presentation o f the three folk themes (mm. 205 to 211) that carries a
distinctive tonal and orchestral treatment (see Figure 49).
In the distant modulation that occurs in this passage, from the tonal
center o f b minor to d# minor, Rimskii-Korsakov takes full advantage o f the
pivotal f# and the raised a# in b minor. The F # m ajor (the single common
chord between b minor and d # minor), moving from the V/i in b minor to the
n i/i in d # minor, serves as an example o f what the com poser later
documented in his Treatise on Harmony (1884-1885/second version) as a
second-degree modulation:
Rimskii-Korsakov traces the set o f twelve keys related to a

source key in the second degree as follows: "As belonging to the
2nd degree relationship to a given key we consider those keys
whose tonic triads are not contained in that key, but which
nevertheless have at least one triad in common." He defines the
2nd degree relationship as the sharing o f a triad other than the
tonic; but we observe that it turns out that this always entails a
192
compounding o f the 1st degree relationship (because every triad

is shared as the tonic o f the 1st degree key).8
In the move from b m inor to d # minor, the orchestra com es to rest at
m. 201 on the full F # m ajor chord. From this pivotal position the viola and
the second violins set up the harmonic foundation o f d # minor in their
staggered tremolo presentation o f the tonic; the violas remain on the f#
(mm. 201-205) and the second violins play the open fifth d it and att
(mm. 205-208). Also, while avoiding the cumbersome key signature o f dtt
minor (6 sharps), Rimskii-Korsakov chooses to incorporate the altered (raised)
a and d within the framework o f the A major key signature while including the
enharmonic spellings for the piccolo and the harp. It is within this unique
tonal area where Rimskii-Korsakov, for the first time, includes the
simultaneous yet distinct perform ance o f all three folk song themes.
Staggered in their presentation, the first flute and clarinet perform in
imitation the distinct opening gesture o f the "At the Gate" m elody (flute, mm.
205-209; clarinet, mm. 206-211). This is followed by the imitative
presentation o f the opening "Glory" theme motive between the violas and
sLarisa Petrushkevich Jackson, "Modulation and Tonal Space in the

Practice Manual o f Harmony: Rimskii-Korsakov's Harmonic Theory and Its
Historical Antecedents" (Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1996), 57.
193
basses (mm. 206-211). Lastly, at m. 209, the piccolo comes in with the
opening o f the "Ivan's Coat" theme. Together the three themes produce an
imitative polyphonic texture that Rimskii-Korsakov further highlights through
innovative orchestration.
W hile the transparent texture and sparse orchestration renders each folk
theme distinct and noticeable, Rimskii-Korsakov applies yet another layer o f
instrumentation to serve the purpose o f drawing attention to the Russian
themes in an area where their qualities could get lost in the tonal innovations.
Against the tremolo foundation o f the upper strings, the sharp attack o f
pizzicato is produced by the violas and celli (performing the "Glory" theme).
Against this contrasting sonority in the strings, the "At the Gate" theme is
presented by the flute and clarinet in long legato phrases, while the piccolo
produces further contrast with the staccato attacks on the "Ivan's Coat" theme.
Together the sharp contrast between the three melodies, along w ith the novel
modulation, and the terraced dynamics (the fortissimo at mm. 196 -200
dropping to the sustained pianissimo beginning at m. 201) form an expressive
focal point in the Overture where all themes are presented together. In this
way, Rimskii-Korsakov never loses sight o f the independent and original
194
qualities o f the separate themes, even when they are all performed
simultaneously.
The second theme o f the work, "At the Gate," is reintroduced in its
original form and key (f# minor). The recapitulated theme also possesses the
same orchestral treatment as the initial statement along with the increased
layering o f rhythmic activity between the clarinet, violas, and celli (see Figure
50).
Compared to the reintroduction o f the "At the Gate" theme, an
interesting tonal change arises when the "Ivan's Coat" theme is restated. Like
the "At the Gate" theme, the overall character o f the melody and orchestration
remains true to the form o f the original statement. However, rather than
moving from f# m inor to b minor as with the original statement, this time
Rimskii-Korsakov introduces the third theme in the key one h alf step lower, in
the key o f b b m inor (see Figure 51).
As the opening o f the Overture was introduced by the "Glory" folk
melody, Rimskii-Korsakov uses the same theme to present the closing section
o f the work. The beginning o f the coda section (mm. 389-395) contains the
"Glory" theme in unison between the first oboe and clarinet. However, the
key remains in the established b b minor. Also, as a connecting bridge, the
195
cello and bass sections present the "Ivan's Coat" theme underneath the "Glory"
theme. Together with the established key o f b b major and the gradual decline
in tem po (poco a poco ritardando), the two themes serve to create a definitive
im pression that the end o f the piece is drawing near (see Figure 52).
In Rimskii-Korsakov's Overture on Russian Themes it is apparent how
the composer, early on in his career, made the most out o f developing Russian
folk songs within the confines of a single-movement work. The care he
applied to orchestrally treating the folk themes was a testimony to the
com poser's awareness o f the significant and primary features o f the folk songs
themselves. Throughout the course o f the work, as the orchestration
developed around the themes, the intervallic and rhythmic characters o f the
melodies were never jeopardized. By way o f orchestral and tonal innovations,
Rimskii-Korsakov was able to highlight and combine the rhythmic and
melodic features in a way that maintained the musical integrity o f the original
folk songs while providing new musical interests. In this manner, the
repetition inherent in the folk songs themselves was a foundation for Rimskii-
K orsakov to implement his orchestral and compositional creativity. As
evidenced later in his career, especially in his Sinfonietta B ased on Russian
196
Themes, Rimskii-Korsakov not only continued in this tradition but expanded
on it to include multimovement works.
Rimskii-Korsakov's Treatment o f Russian Themes in a M ultim ovem ent

Work: Sinfonietta B ased on Russian Themes. Op. 31
In the trio o f works titled "Based on Russian Themes" (Overture on
Russian Themes, op. 28; Sinfonietta B ased on Russian Themes, op. 31; and
Fantasia on Russian Themes, op. 33), Rimskii-Korsakov's overt Russian
tendencies are particularly consistent, persistent and identifiable. In his
multimovement Sinfonietta Based on Russian Themes, his choice o f folk songs
w ithin the structure o f the Sinfonietta's multiple movements (without the aid
o f operatic dialogue and staging) recreates for the listener a sense o f Russia's
rustic heritage and past.
In the Sinfonietta's first movement, the first five measures o f the
melody vo pole timan zatimanilsaia (There upon the field, see the fog so dense
descend; see Figures 13 and 14) become the primary theme for the first
m ovement (mm. 3-7; see Figure 53). The movement's key (a minor) places
the motive in its natural relative position to C major rather than presenting it in
the second degree like the vocal/piano version. Also, this minor tonality,
197
supported by the sustained pedal a o f the celli and the basses (mm. 1-4), is
further em phasized by the g # —a gesture in the violas at mm. 6-7.
Through the course o f the first movement, Rimskii-Korsakov divides
the "In the Field" m elody (as performed by the first violin, mm. 3-9) into two
separate motives. These separate cells serve as the developmental material
that fuse the m ovem ent together and are as follows: (1) the ascending eighth
notes o f the first m easure (m. 3) and (2) the descending eighth/two
sixteenth/eighth-note gesture o f the second measure (see Figure 54).
The rhythmic quality o f these motives, as they relate back to the "In the
Field" theme, remains fixed as Rimskii-Korsakov attaches unique orchestral
and com positional ideas to them. In practice, Rimskii-Korsakov deconstructs
standard, recognizable folk songs to form new musical materials that relate
back to the original form. The listener is constantly reminded o f the source
material o f the folk song while it is reshaped throughout the course o f the
movement. Rim skii-Korsakov also takes full advantage o f the way the
smaller musical gestures can be connected and expanded. This characteristic
is observable in the areas where he connects significant musical passages. By
combining the m otives with specific instruments, bridge sections are produced
that provide contrast to areas where music is repeated. This aspect o f his
198
work, where the source material o f the folk song is found in bridge and
transitions, calls to mind Taruskin's defense o f Balakirev's use o f folk song
found in the bridges and transitions o f the Overture Based on Russian Themes
as being nationalist. One noteworthy occurrence o f Rimskii-Korsakov's
treatm ent here is the clarinet and bassoon combination that connects the repeat
o f the "In the Field" theme between the flute, oboe, and clarinet sections (see
Figure 55).
A musical passage o f particular interest, owing to the use o f
counterpoint, occurs in mm. 41-44. Drawing from the motive "In the Field"
(la ), this ascending eighth-note line, passed from the first bassoon to the first
clarinet, combines and repeats the opening eighth-note gesture o f the melody.
Supporting this move, the second bassoon at mm. 42-43 breaks away in a
related descending and inverted figure. This passage, with its brief transition
to A major (note the altered c# at mm. 41, 42, 43), links the two instrumental
lines together. The descending inverted figure also furnishes tonal contrast to
the melodies. The "In the Field" melody first passes between the clarinet,
oboe, and flute (mm. 29-40). Next, the bridge passage between the clarinet
and bassoon leads into the next repeat o f the melody (m. 46). At this point,
199
the melody is in the oboe and clarinet parts. This time, however, these two
instruments perform the melody in unison rather than in imitation.
The musical character o f the oboe-clarinet combination, especially in
unison, is a feature that Rimskii-Korsakov views as desirable in yielding full
sonorities that would relate to the vocal styles o f the folk song. "The clarinet
and oboe combination produces a fuller quality than that o f either heard
separately. The dark, nasal tone o f the oboe will prevail in the low register,
the bright, 'chest' quality o f the clarinet in the high compass."9 An appropriate
parallel example is also found in the oboe and clarinet accompaniment o f
Mizgar's vocal line in the animato section o f the scene between M izgar and
Snegoruchka in Act II o f Rimskii-Korsakov's nationalist masterpiece
Snegoruchka (see Figure 56).10 Here, the interplay o f range and melodic
quality corresponds with the unison oboe and clarinet passage found in mm.
46-50 o f the Sinfonietta where the melody "In the Field" recurs (see
Figure 55). Both passages exhibit the same principles o f full sonority
production that Rimskii-Korsakov championed.
9Rimskii-Korsakov, Principles o f Orchestration, 47.
I0Ibid.
200
The choice o f the full sonority produced by the unison treatm ent o f the
winds, rather than a repeat of the earlier imitative quality, m ay have been
influenced by the fact that this was the last presentation o f the melody "In the
Field" before the movement's introduction o f the second theme. The dense
sonority produced by the unison oboe and clarinet combines with the return to
the m inor tonal center to highlight the m elody at this crucial moment. In this
way, "In the Field" becomes secured in the listener's ear before the departure
into new material.
The first performance o f the theme kak vo gorode tsarevnia (In the city
o f the tsar's daughter) occurs in a solo by the first horn (compare to Figure 18).
The distinct brass tim bre here finds support in the full string section's chordal
accompaniment performed in an F major progression (mm. 70-75; see Figure
57).
The chord-for-chord analysis o f the first phrase (I-V6-I-V/V-V-I)
reveals a strong emphasis on the tonal center o f F Major. The smooth
transition and subtlety o f this tonal change, owing to the primary com m on
chords, are rooted in its first-degree relationship to the earlier a minor key:
F: I (F) = VI (in a), V (C) = III (in a). W hile the first phrase comes to rest on
the tonic in the first h alf o f m. 76, the second half o f the measure introduces
201
the second phrase, w hich later contains the m ove to C major. This descent to
the tonal center o f C m ajor rests predominantly on the pivotal chord at m. 79.
At m. 79 the C major chord (V in F m ajor) becomes I in C major and
carries out the new tonal center with a progression (I6-V-I-V/V-V-I) that
mirrors the first (see Figure 58; mm. 79-83). This standard progression resting
on C major (the relative major for the key o f the piece) also serves as the V o f
F major and is suitable for the transition into the repeat o f the melody. In
order to em phasize the dominant function o f C in the move to F major,
Rimskii-Korsakov inserts a further C major chordal passage in the winds at
mm. 83-84. This chordal progression, referring back to the imitative passage
at mm. 41-43, connects the two melodies. This passage serves to introduce
the next statement o f the folk song.
In the next statem ent o f the folk melody (mm. 81-91) the tonal center o f
F major remains intact; however, Rimskii-Korsakov includes variations that
distinguish it from the first. With the inclusion o f the clarinets and bassoons,
the timbre broadens and brightens when com pared to the previous statement
containing only the horn and the string section. Also, the inclusion o f the bass
fft in the V/ii position at m. 87, followed by the ii-V progression at m. 88, is a
clear tonal contrast to the I-V progressions in the previous statements (see
202
Figure 58). The third statement o f the second them e (mm. 98-106) contains
orchestral variations that distinguish it from the first two statements (see
Figure 59). In this third area o f the second statement, Rimskii-Korsakov
includes melodic variations based on the first them e—specifically, the lb
m otive (see Figure 54). As this one eighth/two sixteenth rhythmic motive is
inserted into the structure o f the second theme, Rimskii-Korsakov deliberately
provides the listener with a subtle reminder o f the movement's opening theme.
The deliberateness o f this compositional move, while not prominent in the
third appearance o f the second theme, becomes so in the sequential
development that follows in the clarinet part.
The thin texture and sparse instrumentation in the higher ranges o f the
wind section (flute, oboe, and clarinet) and string section (first and second
violin) provide an abrupt contrast from the orchestration surrounding the
previous statements o f the second theme. As the oboe (doubled by the first
violin) contains the second theme with melodic alterations (mm. 98-106), we
also observe a brief countermelody in the clarinet and second violin at
mm. 103-106. W ith such thin texture accompanying the melody, the insertion
o f the lb motive in the oboe (and first violin) at mm. 101 and 105-106
becomes a highlighted feature. To further em phasize this musical intrusion
203
from the "In the Field" melody, Rimskii-Korsakov inserts it once m ore in the
higher range o f the flute at m. 108. Together these musical moments,
reminiscent o f the first theme, set up the extended sequential clarinet line
based entirely on the lb motive (mm. 108-115; see Figure 59).
A t this point w e observe how Rimskii-Korsakov broke dow n the first
"In the Field" theme to create rhythmic developments throughout the piece.
A t the same time the second "In the City" theme is a melodic force throughout
the movement. It is also important to note that while the primary musical
character o f the entire movement relies heavily on the combination o f the 1a
and 1b motives, as observed in the previous examples, at the key structural
points where Rimskii-Korsakov combined the two melodies/themes together,
he subdivided the la - lb structure into la or lb to create musical impressions
that would subtly relate back to the first theme. In this way, Rimskii-
Korsakov demonstrates that while two separate folk songs can each possess
their distinct rhythmic and melodic features, they can work together to provide
musical contrast and unity.
204
Second Movement: Na D evichnike (A t the Wedding Eve)
The sorrowful character o f the bride during part o f the traditional
village w edding comes through in the Sinfonietta's second movement, as
Rimskii-Korsakov scores the work in a lilting adagio tempo. This slow -paced
adagio reflecting the disposition o f the bride supports the movement's unique
opening and the first presentation o f the folk song (see Figures 16 and 17). In
the first eight measures, Rimskii-Korsakov presents the opening entrance o f
"In the Green Garden" in the high winds at mm. 3-4 and 7-8 (see Figure 60).
These entrances are presented in the movement's primary key o f F
major, and the opening fragments o f the folk theme provide contrast to the
lower ranged bassoons, strings (celli and basses), horns and timpani. A s the
entrances o f the timpani and horns coincide w ith the winds (while supporting
the F major tonality), the bassoons and strings enter with melodic m otives in
the dominant C major. Rimskii-Korsakov's instrument choices further
highlights this treatment o f key relationships. The overall texture is quite
transparent, and each section is highly exposed; thus, Rimskii-Korsakov
provides the w inds with the prominent folk theme. This gesture, provided at
the end o f the four-measure phrases (mm. 3-4 and 7-8) and only containing the
first three ascending notes o f "In the G reen Garden," appears to function only
205
as a countermotive to the descending lines in the bassoons and lower strings.
This melodic fragment operates as a prelude to the melody until it is
introduced in full. When the full melody is introduced in the tonic key o f F
m ajor (as it does in mm. 24-36), the listener recalls the opening three-note
motive as being significant to the work. However, before the full melody
begins, Rimskii-Korsakov repeats the three-note theme to emphasize it (see
Figure 61).
Retaining the F major key in the winds, horns and timpani for variation,
Rimskii-Korsakov reduces the space between the entrances o f the three-note
motives. In the first opening of the introduction, the two wind entrances are
spaced five beats apart, and here the entrance o f the second motive follows the
first after 2/4 beats. Underneath the higher winds, Rimskii-Korsakov alters
the melodic line o f the bassoon and the lower strings by transposing them
dow n a P4th and eliminates the tied half- and quarter-note figure o f the
original (at mm. 3-4 and 7-8). These variations occurring in the lower
registers highlight the stability o f the theme presented in the winds. Together
these elements set up the horn's presentation o f the melody "In the Green
Garden" (mm. 16-19) before the actual full version occurs at mm. 24-35 (see
Figure 62).
In this next area o f the introduction, before the full "In the Green
Garden" theme is introduced, the horn plays another distinctive part o f the folk
melody at m. 16. The three descending eighth notes in the hom are a
continuation o f the folk theme that was introduced in the previously discussed
wind section. The descending eighth-note gesture is followed by more o f the
melodic idea (mm. 17-20), and we observe that the theme again exists as a
melodic fragment. The solemn quality o f the theme is brought out in the
horn's solo perform ance and is accentuated w ith the altered and sustained
lowered b b at measures 18-19. This gesture is followed in imitation by the
first clarinet (mm. 22-24), and it presents the full melody for the first time at
mm. 24-35. By limiting the first presentation o f the full theme is limited to the
first hom, Rimskii-Korsakov produces a very distinct timbrel quality that
highlights the them e and makes it absolutely unmistakable.
We may perhaps better understand Rimskii-Korsakov's choice o f using
the homs for introducing the full "In the Green Garden" theme by reading his
explanation o f the strong relationship between brass instruments and diatonic
melodies.
Melodies involving chromatic or enharmonic writing are much

less suitable to the character o f brass instruments. Nevertheless
such melodies may sometimes be allotted to the brass. Vigorous
phrases in the form o f a fanfare, although introducing chromatic
207
notes sound singularly beautiful on the brass. As a general rule,

brass instruments lack the capacity to express passion or
geniality. Phrases charged with these sentiments become sickly
and insipid w hen confided to the brass. Simplicity and
eloquence constitute the valuable qualities o f this group.11
Because Rimskii-K orsakov recognizes that brass instruments are most
effective in delivering simple melodies o f a diatonic nature, they are also
perfectly suited to m eet the needs of passionless character o f the "In the Green
Garden" theme. In the melody's original relationship to the text, where the fan-
maiden has no passion for the young Pavel, the simple and unemotional
character o f the m elody is conveyed accurately by the homs.
Following the full statement o f the "In the Green Garden" theme, the
remaining themes o f the movement are introduced in a unique bridge section
overlapping the final statement o f "In the Green Garden" (see Figure 63).
Observable in the next example, the first bassoon presents the theme "In the
Green Garden" starting at mm. 55-58. Following this brief musical m om ent is
the introduction o f the movement's next two themes, titled "How the Green
Pear Tree Sways in the Garden" and "Oh Daybreak, My Daybreak." The first
orchestral statement o f the theme "How the Green Pear Tree Sways" is
strikingly presented by the combination o f the first oboe and first and second
"R im skii-K orsakov, Principles o f Orchestration, 55.
208
clarinets playing in unison (mm. 63-70). This passage, w ritten strictly in 5/8,
varies from the chamber example in which Rimskii-Korsakov's rhythmic
treatm ent o f the melody transforms from 5/4 to 6/4 in the final three measures.
Pertaining to the melody, the orchestral version corresponds note for
note w ith the cham ber 5/4-6/4 version. Rhythmically, however, with the
slight alterations o f the tied a from m. 68 to m. 69 and the omitted d in the
m elody (compared to the vocal/piano version's m. 7), Rimskii-Korsakov
retains the five count rather than shifting to the six (see Figures 19 and 20).
Apart from the metric alteration in the orchestral version, the melody
retains its a m inor character, although due to the avoidance o f b b , it is treated
as a m odulation w ithin F major. The tremolo figure o f the vocal/piano piece
depicts the back and forth movement o f the swaying pear tree, and Rimskii-
Korsakov transfers this idea to the ostinato sixteenth/eighth-note figures in the
first violins o f the orchestral version (see Figure 63).
With the complete loss o f text in the orchestral version, Rimskii-
Korsakov, being sensitive to the symbolic significance o f the pear tree, retains
the ostinato octave gesture denoting the text that was borrowed from his
vocal/piano arrangement. Noting that the ostinato figures in the first violins
begins at m. 54, we see that they alternate between e and e l . After setting up
209
the dominant V o f a minor for eight measures (mm. 54-61), the piece moves to
the tonal center o f a minor in mm. 61-62 with the ascending f# and g # to a in
the ostinato figure. From this point, the recurring figure that oscillates
between a and al accompanies the full melody until m. 70. Following this
presentation of the theme "How the Green P ear Tree Sways," the meter
change at m. 71 indicates a move away from the theme while it accompanies
the arrival o f the third and final folk song to be found in the movement tu
zarai V maia zoriushka (Oh daybreak, my daybreak; see Figure 64).
The entire "Oh Daybreak, My Daybreak" melody, performed twice by
the bassoon and doubled by the viola (mm. 71-78), is accompanied by the
remaining string section and clarinets. The first violin continues with the
already established tied sixteenth/eighth "How the Green Pear Tree Sways"
rhythmic gesture, and the first and second clarinets provide a staccato chordal
accompaniment that is furthermore doubled by the second violins performing
the same chordal progression in pizzicato. An even louder pizzicato
accompaniment occurs in the cello and bass sections. Using the second
violins in pizzicato, which double the staccato clarinet progression, is an
aspect o f instrumentation Rimskii-Korsakov discusses in his Principles o f
Orchestration (see Figure 65). The necessary conditions for such a doubling
210
relies on, but is not limited to, range. Using the pizzicato chart shown in
Figure 65 as a basis, Rimskii-Korsakov demonstrates that, overall, pizzicato
has a very limited range o f expression and is used primarily for purposes or
orchestral color. Furthermore, due to the strings' lack o f resonance in the
upper registers, the ranges designated by the black notes must be doubled by
the woodwinds.12
Although the pizzicato in the second violins is in the middle range and
does not need the support o f the winds, for a fuller sonority Rimskii-Korsakov
doubles the strings and the staccato clarinets. The two groups share the same
range and provide orchestral color, balance and contrast to the legato "Oh
Daybreak, My Daybreak" melody shared by the bassoon and viola. The
instrumentation that Rimskii-Korsakov provides in this particular passage
reflects a very im portant philosophy in orchestration. "It cannot be denied that
the constant use o f compound timbres, in pairs, in threes, etc., eliminates
characteristics o f tone, and produces a dull, neutral texture, whereas the
12,1Although capable o f every degree o f pow er from f f to pp, pizzicato

playing has but small range o f expression, and is used chiefly as a colour
effect. On open strings it is resonant and heavy, on stopped strings shorter and
duller; in the high positions it is rather dry and hard." Ibid., 27.
211
employment o f simple, elementary combinations gives infinitely greater scope
for variety in color."13
This first presentation o f the "Oh Daybreak, M y Daybreak" theme is an
example o f the use o f compound timbres in pairs, and for the purpose o f
avoiding redundancy, Rimskii-Korsakov swiftly moves away from this
texture. In the next section, which opens at m. 79, the elimination o f the
pizzicato and staccato treatment makes way for a vibrant orchestral legato
section (see Figure 66). In order to unify the two contrasting sections,
Rimskii-Korsakov retains the sixteenth/eighth "How the Green Pear Tree
Sways" rhythmic gesture in the first violin section (see Figure 66).
In this passage a series o f b-flats in first bassoons and violas are
introduced along with the low sustained d's in the bass strings. This gesture,
supported by c-sharps, sets up a move to the tonal center o f d minor. This
shift in tonal centers anticipates one o f the most climactic moments in the
movement, which, as the next passage demonstrates (mm. 83-88), results in an
increase in rhythmic and textural activity (see Figure 67). Also, we observe in
this area the poignant rhythmic and melodic characteristics o f the previously
stated folk themes.
I3Ibid., 35.
212
In the return o f the "How the Green Pear Tree Sways" theme, at m. 85
(in 5/8), the full melody is not provided. What is included, however, is a
developed rhythmic gesture based on the "Oh Daybreak, M y Daybreak"
melody. The recurring two sixteenth/eighth-note figures in the first flutes,
oboes, clarinets, and violins retain the rhythm o f the first h alf o f "Oh
D aybreak, M y Daybreak's" second measure (see Figure 64; mm. 72 and 76).
This prom inent and recognizable gesture o f the "Daybreak" melody is
com bined with the 5/8 o f the "How the Green Pear Tree Sways" theme.
Together the two features are supported by the crescendo into the fortissimo
dynam ic level. For contrast, a countermotive to a two sixteenth/ eighth-note
gesture is introduced by way o f a recurring, ascending eighth note between the
second flutes, oboes, clarinets and trombones. This gesture, when combined
w ith the bass line o f the trombones, produces the recurring chordal
progression o f i6-iidim6-III-iv against the sustained d/c # o f the lower strings.
This striking passage, which demonstrates Rimskii-Korsakov's ability to
extract the significant and memorable features o f the previously stated folk
melodies, results in an impressive musical moment that combines forceful
dynam ics, a direct change in meter, aggressive rhythm, and a persistent
chordal pattern. Thus, this passage produces a strength in sonority that shows
213
Rimskii-Korsakov's ability to fully orchestrate a passage without jeopardizing
the presence o f the folk songs' melodies, even when they are performed
simultaneously.
Following (and contrasting with) this densely orchestrated section
comes yet another critical area in the movement that shows how Rimskii-
Korsakov is able to maneuver different and contrasting orchestral motives in a
way that retains the integrity o f the folk melodies' original spirit. The next
passage presents a thin, imitative polyphonic arrangement based on the final
segm ent (four measures) o f the "How the Green Pear Tree Sways" melody
(see Figure 68). Recall that in the final four measures o f the chamber version
there was a move from the 5/4 to 6/4. Here, as with the previous statements o f
the theme, this segment remains in the 5/8. Supporting the 5/8 rhythm are the
highly exposed melodic passages. According to their range, these passages
are based on pairings between winds and strings. Also, the delicate quality o f
the sparse instrumentation is enhanced by the staccato treatment o f the winds
coupled with the spiccato treatment o f the strings.
Between these two sections, the first being the fully orchestrated dense
section (mm. 85-88) followed by the thinner imitative section (mm. 89-95), we
observe how Rimskii-Korsakov uses fragments o f the melodies to fuse
214
otherwise very disparate sections o f music. In this respect, Rimskii-
K orsakov’s method of musical development is not necessarily based on taking
a single idea and building music around it; rather, he breaks the Russian
melodies down into smaller parts and attaches the smaller parts to separate
sections o f the works. The linking o f the very disparate orchestral sections
rests on the fact that Rimskii-Korsakov, being sensitive to the significant
musical characteristics o f the folk songs, applies them to the multiple sections.
In this way, he is able to create musical unity between these varying sections
while the fragments, being the most representative features o f the folk songs,
harken back to the melodies from which they are derived. In retaining the
consistency between folk song awareness and innovative orchestration, the
third movement (perhaps the most animated o f the three) takes up the
recreational sphere o f Russian village life.
Third Movement: "In the Khorovod (Circle Dance),"

Scherzo-Finale
One o f Rimskii-Korsakov's compositional strengths, as the previous
example illustrated, was his ability to use the most recognizable features o f
folk song melodies to effectively unify very contrasting sections w ithin a
movement. By recognizing the significant features in the folk songs'
215
melodies, as only a Russian versed in the style could, he utilized them to the
fullest degree as he applied his own orchestration around them. Rimskii-
Korsakov's com petence is fully demonstrated on yet another level as he
convincingly chooses the appropriate folk songs to bring out the bright quality
o f the final movement. This movement, reflecting the vivacious side o f
traditional Russian peasant life, opens directly w ith the first folk melody ("Too
M uch Vodka M y H usband Drinks") performed in its entirety w ith a vivo
indication. In the movement's key o f A major the "Too M uch Vodka" melody
first appears in the first violin section as the lower strings provide a note-
against-note hom ophonic accompaniment that is similar to the piano in the
vocal/piano piece (see Figures 23 and 24).
The first statem ent o f the "Too Much Vodka" melody occurs in
mm. 5-8, and it is surrounded by two musical phrases that rhythmically and
intervallically relate to the folk melody itself (see Figure 69). These two
outside areas (mm. 1-4 and mm. 9-11) also serve as developmental material
throughout the movement. Prior to the first statement o f the "Too Much
Vodka" melody, Rimskii-Korsakov includes a four-measure phrase in the
second violins and violas (see mm. 1-4 in Figure 69). This phrase, similar to
the folk theme's m elodic contour in the first two measures, still parallels the
216
"Too M uch Vodka" theme in that it contains the same four-measure binary
form with a n a a ' b b ' breakdown. The violins and violas performing in
parallel octaves, with the altered ft] and g \\ in the first two measures, come to
rest on the repeated e (dominant o f A) o f mm. 3-4. This phrase, although
resting on the dominant, provides harmonic interest as it sets up a deceptive
minor/Phrygian quality. This transition in turn moves to the tonal center o f A
major.
In making use o f the distinct melodic characteristics o f this folk song,
Rimskii-Korsakov directly develops and varies the "Too M uch Vodka" theme
within the opening measures o f the movement. Immediately following the
introduction o f the fundamental four-measure melody (mm. 5-8), the binary
phrase repeats in mm. 9-12. However, the melodic contour changes with a
melodic inversion. Observable in the first violins at mm. 10-11, where the
m elody could be expected to descend to the tonic (c # b a; see mm. 6-7), it
ascends to the dominant (c# d # e; see mm. 10, 11, 12). This emphasis on the
altered d # to e carries through mm. 11-12 and the result is an added
counterphrase that expands the binary form to include 2 four-measure phrases:
(1) the "Too Much Vodka" melody resting on the tonic (mm. 5-8) and (2) the
altered melody resting on the dominant (mm. 9-11).
217
To accentuate this melodic development o f the "Too M uch Vodka"
phrase, Rimskii-Korsakov increases the instrumentation to include the wind
section and homs. Along with the doubling o f the developed m elody in the
first flutes and first oboes, the lower strings and homs pick up the
accompaniment at mm. 9-11. W ith this inclusion o f the winds and homs in
the second phrase, the expanded chordal structures result in a denser texture.
This change in chordal density, which had arisen in all three sections in the
first 11 measures, according to Rimskii-Korsakov, corresponds to the
presentation o f a new musical idea.14 As we observe in the first "Too Much
Vodka" phrase, the orchestration is limited to the strings, while the second
developed phrase includes the winds and the comets. Included in the addition
o f the winds (especially the second flutes and oboes) are the denser chordal
sonorities that reflect what Rimskii-Korsakov describes as "the harmonic
changes that must coincide with the inclusion o f a new idea." The emerging
I4"Every transition from one order o f harmonic writing to another, from

four-part harmony to three, or from five-part harmony to unison etc., must
coincide with the introduction o f a new idea, a fresh theme or phrase;
otherwise the orchestrator will encounter many unforeseen and
insurmountable difficulties. For example, if, during a passage written in four
parts a chord in five-part harmony is introduced, a fresh instrument must be
added to play this particular fifth part, and this addition may easily damage the
resonance o f the chord in question, and render the resolution o f a discord or
the correct progression o f parts impossible." Ibid., 64.
218
harmonic and instrumental changes that are attached to the distinct rhythmic
and melodic features o f the "Too Much Vodka" theme will serve throughout
the movement as a significant focal point. With the emergence o f the
upcoming and contrasting folk melodies, the "Too M uch Vodka" theme,
especially with the first four measures, will supply continuity for the entire
movement.
As demonstrated earlier, these four measures relate directly to the
binary form o f the "Too Much Vodka" melody and lend themselves to
variation. The first two measures o f the opening coincide w ith the melodic
contour o f the folk song. However, the intervallic relationship is altered from
the folk melody's l-M 2-m 3-m 2-M 2 structure to 1-m2-m3-M 2-m2. Also, the
intervallic alteration o f the folk melody reminiscent o f the Phrygian mode will
be carried out at key points in the movement. Furthermore, the second two
measures based on the repeated eighth notes will also serve as a unifying
element in the movement. It is important to point out that while Rimskii-
Korsakov opens the movement with the "Too Much Vodka" folk melody, as
we shall see, he relies ju st as heavily on these early variations o f the theme to
unify the work.
219
Rimskii-Korsakov introduces the next theme, "How Thick the Leaves
There on the B irch Are Growing" (see Figures 26 and 27), in the first violin
section, and the accompaniment to the melody is in a combination o f the
clarinets and the celli (see Figure 70). The accompaniment, performing the
open fifths o f the tonic b and dominant fit o f b minor, unfolds as a
combination o f the clarinets sustaining the open fifth for four measures (mm.
45-48) underneath the celli playing the same interval. However, in the celli,
the spiccato, set w ith the recurring eighth-note pattern, rhythmically relates to
the earlier "Too M uch Vodka" variation established in mm. 3-4.
Continuing from the melody's introduction in the first violins, the next
appearance o f the "How Thick the Leaves" theme is found in an imitative
section based on single-measure overlaps. The theme passes from the second
violins (mm. 48-53) to the flutes and oboes (mm. 52-57), and finally returns to
the first violins (mm. 56-60; see Figure 71).
Along w ith the imitative presentation o f the "How Thick the Leaves,"
the celli holds the repeated eighth notes on the open fifths o f b minor.
However, in an interesting compositional move that simultaneously supplies
tonal variety while alluding to the opening "Too Much Vodka" theme,
Rimskii-Korsakov presents, in the tonic o f A major, the original opening
measures o f the theme (clarinet and viola at mm. 53-54; see Figure 71). This
figure, paralleling the opening melodic variant gesture o f l-m2-m3-M 2-m2,
sequences down a h alf step at mm. 55-56 before it takes up the original
intervallic relationship o f l-M2-m3-m2-M2. The tw o melodic gestures
alternate through m. 60 against the open fifths o f the celli. These two figures
trace directly back to the "Too Much Vodka" theme. They also provide the
rhythmic force behind the newly introduced melodic "How Thick the Leaves"
theme. In this section, Rimskii-Korsakov was able to base the orchestration o f
his compositions on the folk songs' most conspicuous intervallic
characteristics.
In spite o f the intense rhythmic drive from the "Too M uch Vodka"
treatment, the melodic "How Thick the Leaves" melody is still quite
prominent, especially in the flute and oboe presentation at mm. 53-57.
Performing the melody an octave apart, the flute and the oboe reflect one o f
Rimskii-Korsakov's principles on combining winds an octave apart.
According to Rimskii-Korsakov, the best resonance between wind instruments
performing in octaves is achieved when each instrument remains in its
optimum range (see Figure 72).
221
The natural resonance that is achieved through the use o f combined
winds in octaves, especially between the flute and the oboe, is a device
Rimskii-Korsakov uses throughout his compositional career to produce
contrasts in texture. Rimskii-Korsakov's use o f techniques in orchestration to
distinguish one theme from another, especially in areas w here the themes are
combined, is an aspect o f his musicality that relates specifically to his
instrumental works. It is clear that while combining two different folk songs
in the setting o f a vocal work would be awkward to impossible, w e see
Rimskii-Korsakov doing so here, using the medium o f instrumental works to
its full advantage. Unlike the vocal chamber renditions that rely on a single
vocalist with piano accompaniment, Rimskii-Korsakov's sym phonic
renditions, while deviating from the original forms and contexts o f the folk
songs, still retain the tradition and property o f creating variety in musical
com binations.15 Although the instrumental versions, like the vocal/piano
15"The structure o f the Great Russian folk song, based on the

development o f the main melody in the secondary parts, implies an
extraordinary number and diversity o f variations or m odifications o f each
song. Besides variations o f a song in accordance with the locality
(government, district, village, street etc., there are also variations depending
on epoch, even on the moment o f the singing (in accordance with the nature o f
the chorus, the leader, the mood o f the singers), and o f each given version o f a
song, there are the variations made up o f the secondary parts improvised by
the singers. The final outcome is an enormous variety o f musical
222
pieces, abandon the improvisation that helps to characterize Russian folk song,
in his orchestration, Rimskii-Korsakov creates musical expression that
imitates the practice o f com bined individuality found within traditional
Russian folk song performance. It has been argued that Russian art music in
the symphonic tradition, without the feature o f improvisation, loses the
character o f individuality found in Russian folk song.16 In observing Rimskii-
Korsakov's orchestral treatment, however, we see a com pensation for the loss
o f improvisation by way o f contrasts in the simultaneous performances o f
rhythmic and melodic gestures as well as changes in texture, timbre, and
dynamics.
In musical passages such as the one shown in Figure 73, which is based
on the "Too M uch Vodka" rhythmic theme, Rimskii-Korsakov provides each
combinations. Lineva, 27.
16"The conductor, like a mesmeriser, by one wave o f his arm, calls forth
the most delicate tones from the scarcely audible pianissim o to the thunderous
forte, but the individual feeling o f every member is suppressed, it cannot come
out when the whole attention is in the baton o f the conductor. The peasant
chorus is based on an entirely different principle. It consists o f singers who
pour out their own feeling in improvisation, they strive each to express his
individuality, though careful o f the beauty o f the performance as a whole."
Ibid, 23.
223
instrument o f the wind section w ith a distinct musical texture that sets it apart
from the next.
The trilled d's o f the flutes are set against the staccato treatment o f the
"Too M uch Vodka" motive in the oboe and clarinets. Furthermore, the
combination o f the first bassoon's melody against the second bassoon's g pedal
provides an even greater variety in texture. Together the multiple lines, while
not improvised, create a distinctive quality that is attributed to the individual
character o f each instrument. Rimskii-Korsakov, being cognizant o f this
aspect o f orchestration, discusses in detail and observes in his compositions
the importance o f orchestrating the same music in different ways and
summarizes his conclusions in his Principles o f Orchestration'.
There are times when the general tone, character and atmosphere
o f a passage, or a given m om ent in an orchestral work to point to
one, and only one particular manner o f scoring. I have
endeavored to outline the general principles to be followed, but I
do not profess to deal w ith all the countless cases which may
arise in the course o f orchestration.17
The first two themes w orking together provide the foundation for much
o f the rhythmic and melodic activity in the third movement.
Rimskii-Korsakov includes, however, one more folk song melody to round out
I7Rimskii-Korsakov, Principles o f Orchestration, 96.
224
the structure o f the movement. The next folk song theme titled, ne spasibo
igumnu tomu (To the priesthood I can give no thanks), is another khorovodaia
circle dance (see Figures 28, 29, 30 and 31). The theme "To the Priesthood,"
in the context o f the Sinfonietta, is in a 2/4 meter in the key o f D major. The
binary structure o f the circle dance is also observable in the melody.
In the first presentation o f the theme the melody is given to the oboe
against a single tremolo line in the first violins and a thin pizzicato melody in
the celli (see Figure 74). Regarding the shape o f the movement, the very thin
texture and minimal instrumentation that Rimskii-Korsakov incorporates in
the theme's first presentation allows for a later increase in musical activity. As
we shall see, the orchestration broadens as the movement progresses towards
climactic points. In the second presentation o f the theme "To the Priesthood"
an abrupt increase in instrumentation and density o f texture occurs through the
addition o f flutes and strings (see Figure 75). Being a major contributor to the
increased orchestral density, the them e is performed in the parallel
homophonic texture by the flute, clarinet and bassoon (mm. 104-115). This
gesture, further supported by the divisi pizzicato in the first violins, replaces
the solo oboe.
225
The "To the Priesthood" melody played in parallel octaves by the wind
instruments is set against the tremolo figure in the second violins and violas.
This tremolo figure was originally found in the first violins during the theme's
first appearance. Replacing the tremolo o f the first violins is a divided
pizzicato treatment o f the melody in octaves. The density o f the melody,
increased by the winds and first violins, performing in parallel octaves,
coincides with an expansion in overall range. This increase in range is
produced by the lowering o f the tremolo accompaniment to the violas and the
heightening o f the melody to the flutes. Together while these variations
broaden the shape and range o f the accompaniment, Rimskii-Korsakov still
retains the animated quality and presence o f the circle dance melody (see
Figure 76). This consideration o f musical growth and expansion continues
w ith the third presentation o f the folk melody (mm. 116-121).
In the third presentation o f the melody by the winds, Rimskii-Korsakov
continues to expand the development o f the theme by including a fortissimo
chordal accompaniment that is further accentuated by tenuto attacks in the
brass section (see Figure 76, mm. 116-121). Furthermore, in the bass range,
the timpani performing on the D tonic and the basses perform ing the open-
octave d's provide a strong harmonic foundation. This harmonic underpinning
supports the recurring parallel eighth-and-two-sixteenth-note rhythmic motive
in the second violins, violas and celli.
In the three aforementioned presentations o f the "To the Priesthood"
melody, there is the continual expansion o f instrumentation and texture that
results in a heightening o f tone quality and color. Contributing to this
elaboration in sonority is the transfer o f the "To the Priesthood" theme from
the single oboe in the first presentation to the rem aining w inds in the second
presentation, and finally, in the third presentation, its presence in the first and
second flutes, oboes, and clarinets. This increase in density also occurs in the
expanding string accompaniment to the melody. It begins w ith the tremolo o f
the first violins, which gives rise to the inclusion o f the second violins and
violas. Next, this tremolo passage is coupled with the divided octave pizzicato
o f the first violins, and finally, in the third presentation, a very dense texture
results through the inclusion o f the brass and timpani against the sustained D
major tonic o f the bass. In the retention o f the melody's rhythm ic character
and intervallic contour, however, the orchestral w eight does not detract from
the theme. On the contrary, orchestral growth and developm ent serves to
make the presence o f the folk melody w ithin the variations m ore driving and
recognizable. Also, with the loss o f the original folk song's improvisational
227
character, such developmental techniques keep the recurrence o f the theme
from being motionless and repetitive.
The themes' reappearances, in keeping with the standard ternary
tradition o f the movement's scherzo form, return to the original "Too Much
Vodka" theme in the movement's key o f A major (see Figure 77, mm. 190-
205).
In the final movement, Rimskii-Korsakov incorporates the standard
ternary scherzo form as the appearances of the folk themes in the return
section (mm. 190-360) parallel the original statements throughout the
movement's opening section. However, there is one point o f departure. It is
found in the return o f the "To the Priesthood " theme. W here the original
statement was presented in the key o f D major (subdominant to A major tonic)
by the solo oboe, in its return, Rimskii-Korsakov scores the melody in the
unique tonal center o f B b m ajor (one half step to A major tonic; see Figure
78). It is also presented in the first trombone. Rimskii-Korsakov does,
however, retain the tremolo accompaniment in the first and second violins.
This drastic alteration o f key in the "To the Priesthood" theme is short-lived,
however, as a direct modulation to A major returns at measure 306. A return
228
to the tonic key o f the movement supports the theme found in the first
clarinets and first violins (mm. 306-311; see Figure 79).
Following the A major "To the Priesthood" theme, in a very distinct
passage o f the movement, a simultaneous restatement o f the movement's first
two themes emerges. Beginning with a return to the movement's original
triple meter at m. 318, the "Too Much Vodka's" primary motive (l-M 2-m 3-
m2-M2) reappears as an ostinato figure in the bassoons and violas (see Figure
80). While this rhythmically driven recurring eighth-note figure descends
diatonically from e to a (mm. 321, 322, and 323), the melodic "How Thick the
Leaves" theme, performed in parallel octaves, also enters w ithin the first and
second violins (mm. 321-326). In this passage, which Rimskii-Korsakov
inventively set in a minor, the altered c \\ s are prominent throughout the
theme, especially against the sustained dominant E pedals in the lower ceili
and basses. Despite such key changes, however, the definitive rhythmic drive
o f the "Too Much Vodka" theme against the melodic "How Thick the Leaves"
remains intact.
The practice o f playing two folk songs simultaneously, as it has been
discussed, is possible in orchestral music. Also, the abrupt changes in keys—
e.g., the move to the parallel a minor and the chromatic m ove to Bb M ajo r-
229
com prise another feature that adds musical interest to com pensate for the loss
o f traditional Russian folk song improvisation. Furthermore, another feature
Rim skii-Korsakov includes to add interest to musical growth and shape is
found in the Finale o f the work. This technique is the interruption o f the folk
theme through insertion o f a new motive. The contrast that develops out o f
this delay o f the melody results in an interesting musical effect that still serves
to highlight the characteristic features o f the melody (see Figure 81). The
musical interruptions serve the purpose o f drawing the listeners' ears to the
theme. In the last section o f the scherzo, the piece draws to a close with the
introduction o f an ostinato figure based on the recurring eighth notes and
intervallic relationships o f the opening "Too Much Vodka" them e ( mm. 355-
360).
The bassoons and strings em ploy an ostinato figure to perform the
opening gesture (l-M 2-m3-m2-M 2). In turn, this ostinato leads into the strong
fortissimo c # in the brass section at m. 360. The tapering-off effect o f the
decrescendo that follows the fortissimo indication continues the passage and
serves to highlight the c # that rests as an enharmonic pivotal point for the new
interruptive motive found in the wind section's d b andante tranquillo (see
Figure 82).
230
The imitative ascending entrances o f the bassoon, oboe, and clarinet in
D b Major are counteracted by the descending chromatic passages o f the
lower bassoon and clarinet parts. Because the point o f departure between the
two countermelodies rests on the d b and b b b (the lowered sixth degree)
between the lower and upper bassoon parts (m. 362), the solem n quality is
quite distinctive. This relationship between the tonic and the lowered sixth
degree, as Larisa Petrushkevich Jackson has pointed out in her w ork on
Rimskii-Korsakov's tonal practices, is characteristic o f w hat Rimskii-
Korsakov refers to as the artificial harmonic major scale because it is more
than one accidental removed from the original key.18 This feature contributes
to the dramatic character o f the piece's closure.
The brief andante tranquillo in D b , with its imitative passage, apart
from being uncharacteristic to any previous section o f the movement,
interrupts the established fast-paced "Too Much Vodka" theme. The "Too
Much Vodka" theme, with its recurring eighth-note gesture, returns at m. 365
in A major at a vivo tempo. This very familiar motive (1 -M 2-m 3-m2-M 2) in
the lower range o f the higher strings produces a very constant and dense
sonority that is once again interrupted by the andante tranquillo passage at
18Jackson, 45.
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mm. 370-374 (see Figure 83). This time as the passage remains in the tonic o f
A major, in order to increase the dramatic affect, the artificial harmonic major
is produced by introducing the altered ft) in the celli and bass parts at m. 371.
A part from the key change and the passage's transfer to the string section, the
treatment o f the ascending imitative line against the descending chromatic
countermelody, beginning at the lowered sixth degree, parallels that o f the first
andante tranquillo. The presto version o f the "Too M uch Vodka" theme
closing the movement is appropriate for the upbeat and rhythmically driven
circle dance. Standing as the opening and final statem ent o f the Sinfonietta's
final movement, the "Too Much Vodka" also provides musical continuity
throughout the section.
Even as the other themes are presented, the forceful rhythmic and
intervallic characteristics o f the "Too Much Vodka" them e emerge. Because
the "Too Much Vodka" theme contains the distinctive characteristics o f what
the circle dance is, it stands to reason that, with Rimskii-Korsakov's
knowledge o f Russian folk song, he would use it as the prim ary musical force
behind the movement dedicated to the recreational part o f traditional Russian
peasant life. His choice o f this theme, and the orchestral means he uses to
highlight its distinctive qualities, stands as yet another testim ony to the insight
232
Rimskii-Korsakov had regarding traditional Russian folk song music and its
context.
The programmatic character o f the Sinfonietta is demonstrated in the
titles o f the separate movements. While each movement represents a separate
sphere o f Russian traditional peasant life, Rimskii-Korsakov musically
portrays a very important part o f Russia's musical and cultural heritage. His
sensitivity to this topic is further emphasized by his deliberate choices o f the
folk songs he used to represent the area depicted in each movement. Because
o f Rimskii-Korsakov's attentiveness to the themes' musical characters and
contexts, the Sinfonietta stands as a musical depiction o f Russia's rural past for
the consumption o f his present day urban-based audiences. The third piece in
his instrumental trio o f works based on Russian themes, the Fantasia fo r
Violin and Orchestra, op. 33, is another example o f Rimskii-Korsakov's
attentiveness w hen composing and orchestrating works around Russian folk
songs. Like the Sinfonietta, this work, composed in 1886, combines and
draws from rural and urban influences, as well as innovations in orchestration,
to highlight the character o f the piece's specific folk songs.
233
Russian Themes. Orchestral Music and a Single-M ovem ent W ork:

Concert Fantasia on Russian Themes fo r Violin with Orchestra
In Rimskii-Korsakov's own words, one o f the reasons for composing
the Fantasia was to explore instrumental techniques as they concerned the
violin (see n. 25 in Chapter V). Therefore, fully understanding this
masterpiece, especially as it applies to the relationship betw een his principles
in orchestration and the Russian folk themes he used, requires a detailed
analysis o f the special care he took in composing idiom atically for the violin.
One indication that the violin plays a big role in the Fantasia is the early
entrance of the violin's virtuosic passage work prior to the presentation o f any
folk themes. Long before the first Russian theme is presented (m. 137), the
prominence o f the violin is established through a com bination o f cadenzas and
elaborate double-stop passages. It is unquestionable that the violin is one
focal point o f the work. However, the two folk song them es are critical to the
overall structure, shape, and sound o f the work.
The Fantasia, while emphasizing the violin as the prim ary musical
instrument, relies on a num ber o f principles outlined in Rimskii-Korsakov's
234
Principles o f Orchestration to highlight the melodies.19 In the Fantasia's
emphasis on the solo violin, Rimskii-Korsakov's explanation o f the melody
standing out in relief from the accompaniment through "natural" means is
evident. Furthermore, with his insistence insisting that contrast o f timbre is
the primary way to highlight a melody, the solo violin in this concertolike
work becomes a device for producing an array o f contrasting timbres. Also,
the orchestral variations and techniques that Rimskii-Korsakov applies to the
instrument not only set the violin apart from the orchestra, but as the piece
progresses through its array o f solo violin passages, the solo instrument, in a
manner o f speaking, contrasts with itself.
The first Russian folk song theme does not enter until m. 137.
Therefore, the Fantasia's introduction is significant in that it not only
functions as an introduction to the work, but it also stands as an independent
"submovement." In the introduction there are musical features that carry over
into the upcoming folk themes. However, also present is a high-profile
I9"Whether it be long or short, a simple theme or a m elodic phrase,

melody should always stand out in relief from the accompaniment. This may
be done by artificial or natural means; artificially, when the question o f tone
quality does not come into consideration, and the melody is detached by
means o f strongly accentuated dynamic shades; naturally, by selection and
contrast o f timbres, strengthening o f resonance by doubling, tripling, etc., or
crossing o f parts." Rimskii-Korsakov, Principles o f Orchestration, 36.
235
m elody that is folklike in character and exists only in the introduction. This
feature connects the introduction to the rest o f the piece while simultaneously
rendering it distinct.
One o f the most significant motives o f the work, although not directly
related to either o f the folk themes, exists in the form o f an elaborate cadenza
presented in the opening o f the introduction. This cadenza m elody not only
introduces the solo violin, but w ith its multiple presentations becomes one o f
the Fantasia's most significant motives (see Figure 84).
The first and second measures o f this free-rhythm cadenza emphasizes
the fit dominant o f b minor in the longer half-note figures. This key o f
b minor also receives emphasis in the series o f tied triplet eighth-note figures
ending on the structural notes o f b and d. Furthermore, the melodic gesture
highlighting the b minor tonality is then followed by the series o f ascending
triplet arpeggio figures with the altered a # creating the major dominant
function o f F # major (mm. 19-21). Before the presentation o f the second
violin solo (modulated to D major), an interlude (mm. 22-37) based on the
orchestral opening (mm. 1-16) bridges the two cadenza passages (see Figures
85 and 86). Together the orchestral opening and interlude are significant in
236
that, as we shall see, they anticipate a composed melody that Rimskii-
Korsakov presents in the introduction.
The first six measures o f the introduction and the interlude, w ithin the
framework o f b minor, display a harmonic and melodic em phasis on the
unaltered f# m inor (v/I). It is not until mm. 15 and 16 in the introduction that
the altered a# creates the dominant relationship leading into the full b minor
o f the first cadenza. This same structure holds true in the first six measures o f
the interlude (mm. 22-27). Also, in the final three measures o f the
introduction where the dominant F # major tonality emerges, there exists
the lowered sixth degree o f B b major (mm. 34-37). Because the lowered
sixth degree is the significant feature in Rimskii-Korsakov's artificial
harmonic major scale, here we observe its presence as a bridge to the second
cadenza resting on the key o f D major with the lowered sixth o f b b (see
Figure 86).
A part from the key change, the second cadenza parallels the first in its
melodic contour and free rhythmic treatment. Through repetition o f this
cadenza, its structural significance in the work is established (see Figure 87).
Immediately following the second cadenza, however, there is a second
orchestral interlude (based again on the introduction). This second interlude
237
moves into the newly composed melody, which also alludes to the opening
and interludes (see Figure 88).
The second interlude (mm. 43-49) abbreviates the orchestral opening by
repeating the first three measures three times before the entrance o f the solo
do Ice melody at m. 50. This melody, containing the m2 grace note from g to
fit, structurally consists o f the intervallic pattern M 3-M 2-M 2-m2-M 3-P4-
m2(grace note)-M 2-M 2. In the violin’s melody at mm. 51-53 and 54-56, this
intervallic pattern, w ith only the alterations o f the e it (m2) at mm. 53-54 and
the drop o f the M2 instead o f the P4 at m. 56, also derives from the orchestral
opening and interludes. It is Rimskii-Korsakov's consistent use o f the
intervallic relationships whereby the music is able to move sm oothly from the
denser orchestra texture to the thin melody. Another interesting transitional
point in this area is the V7 at m. 66, which leads directly into a contrasting
double-stop passage. Unlike the cadenza motive or the com posed melody,
however, this double-stop gesture carries over directly into the Russian themes
Rimskii-Korsakov later presents.
This double-stop passage built on structural intervals in the b minor
tonic has a rhythmic drive that contrasts with the previously stated
motive (Figure 89). Within the series o f recurring sixteenth-note patterns,
238
each measure consists o f chords alternating in ascending and descending
inversions. The measures based on the tonic (b minor, mm. 67, 69, and 71)
ascend, and the measures based on III (D major, mm. 68 and 70) descend. In
keeping with Devoto's and Taruskin's theories on third relationships in
Russian music, Rimskii-Korsakov provides unity in the varied passages by
employing third relationships in the harmonies. However, owing to the
composer's innovative side, the final measure o f the passage (m. 72) contains
an altered g # that resolves to the distant A major chord (VTI in the modulation
to B b major; mm. 73-74).
The double-stop passage, w ith its root notes at the top, relates to the
next inverted cadenza section. This next cadenza is built on a thinner texture
o f single notes in one measure. Furthermore, the cadenza leads directly into a
repeat o f the composed melody (see Figure 90, m. 96). The single-measure
cadenza that connects to the melody also parallels, as we shall see, what
Rimskii-Korsakov employs when introducing the first Russian folk melody o f
the Fantasia titled nadoelie noche (W earisome night).
This single-measure cadenza incorporates the altered a# throughout the
passage, lands on the sustained f# and is followed by the three repeated f Jf
half notes. The cadenza rests in the dominant position, supporting the
239
entrance o f the composed melody that again centers around f# in the key o f
b minor (mm. 97-101). This single-measure cadenza, while suggestive o f the
earlier extended cadenzas, foreshadows the entrance o f the first folk melody o f
the work, titled "Wearisome N ight." Observable in this cadenza's next
presentation, which leads into the folk melody (m. 136), the overall melodic
contour parallels the shape o f that found in m. 97. However, as the tonal
center changes to B major (with the altered d # ), it now serves as the dominant
function o f the e minor key o f nadoelie noche (Wearisome night; see Figure
91).
While the folk song's title suggests a somber quality to which both
Balakirev's and Rimskii-Korsakov's versions adhere, Rimskii-Korsakov's
version, with its lento character, coupled with the longer legato lines in the
violin, creates a more solemn quality than Balakirev's slower (m edlieno)
rendition (see Figure 33). Also, in Rimskii-Korsakov's direct rhythm ic and
key modulation of one sharp in 4/4 time (m. 137), he retains the same
signature and duple meter as Balakirev's version. The pulse, however,
changes to the quarter note in 4/4 from the eighth note in 2/4.
Like the contrast between the cadenza motives and the com posed
meiody in the introduction, the nadoelie noche (Wearisome night) melody is
240
coupled w ith another violin-oriented idiomatic motive (see Figure 92). This
new motive, based on articulated and repeated thirty-second-note arpeggios
grouped together by single slurred bowings, is scored in the key o f the relative
G major. Against the chordal passage o f the violin, the recurring eighth-note
pattern is taken directly from the orchestral opening in mm. 12-13 (see Figure
85). The highly exposed texture o f the running thirty-second-note arpeggios
in the solo violin works against the recurring eighth-note gesture o f the
orchestral accompaniment (see Figure 92).
Following the first presentation o f this contrasting thirty-second-note
gesture, the "Wearisome Night" melody returns. For variation, Rimskii-
K orsakov adds harmonic interest to the melody by incorporating double stops
above the structural notes (see Figure 93, mm. 169-177). A fter the
double-stop passage, Rimskii-Korsakov includes a melodic extension
consisting o f a repeat of the melody's final phrase, only an octave lower
(mm. 178-182). Also, in the next passage the repeat o f the "W earisome
Night" melody leads directly into the next contrasting passage. A major
alteration, however, is that the melody closes in the key o f G m ajor at m. 182,
and the contrasting thirty-second-note motive is presented in E b major (see
Figure 93, mm. 182-187).
241
The musical character o f the lowered sixth degree, found in the running
thirty-second-note figures o f the violin, is the basis for the chromatic move to
the final orchestral interlude. This final interlude precedes the introduction o f
the second folk song theme. Retaining the b b in m. 188 (see Figure 93), the
chrom atic move that connects it to the a in the beginning o f the eighth-note
orchestral run finally results in the I 6/4 in the new key o f D major (see
mm. 188-189, with key and meter change). This orchestral interlude in D
m ajor serves to bridge the "Wearisome Night" section to the final folk song
them e khodila m ladeshen’k a p o borochku (Once a maiden walked by the
stream). This folk song, classified in Rimskii-Korsakov's collection as a circle
dance, is presented in the key o f D major. Its presence in the work follows the
final statement o f the orchestral interlude based on the introduction. Before
this final folk theme is presented, however, Rimskii-Korsakov sets it apart by
incorporating a thinly orchestrated Allegro scherzando section (mm. 201-216;
see Figure 94).
Directly following the Allegro scherzando (mm. 201-216) is the
introduction o f the final folk theme o f the Fantasia. This particular
introduction is unique in that the melody is in double stops (mm. 217-224; see
Figure 95). This characteristic sets it apart from the presentations o f the
242
com posed melody and the "W earisome Night" theme. Both were presented as
single-note melodies.
This piece is also found in Rimskii-Korsakov's collection (#37) under
the classification o f dance songs. Its rhythmic drive based on the eighth-note
pulse in 2/4 parallels that o f the Fantasia. The allegro moto character o f the
cham ber version, also corresponding to the allegrato grazioso, contains a
playful quality that contrasts with the solemn quality o f the "Wearisome
Night" theme. Also, in the structure o f the melody there is the binary
character associated with the dance-song form. Finally, the tonal mutation
between major and minor found in the traditional Russian folk song genres is
apparent as well.
The first four measures (antecedent phrase/A) o f both versions are in
the m ajor keys, while the shift to the final four measures (consequent
phrase/B) turns to the relative minor, with a dominant turnaround in the final
measure for the return to the A phrase. This shift in keys demonstrates tonal
mutation {peremennost), which becomes a prominent feature in the way
Rimskii-Korsakov scores his works to fit the character o f the original folk
song themes. Such consistency in the treatment o f the melody becomes
further evident in the melody's transference from the vocal/piano piece to the
243
Fantasia. In the orchestral piece, Rimskii-Korsakov develops the theme
idiomatically for the violin throughout the rest o f the piece.
Contrasting the melodic character o f the "Wearisome Night" them e and
the rhythmic character o f the "Once a Maiden" theme, Rimskii-Korsakov
exploits their separate qualities immediately with the introduction o f the
second theme. Whereas the melodic character o f the "Wearisome Night"
theme is paired with the repetitious thirty-second-note motive to create
musical interest, the rhythmically driven "Once a Maiden" theme, which was
originally a dance tune, evolves in a number o f ways to provide musical
contrast and interest. Immediately following the double-stop introduction o f
the melody's second appearance there is a return o f the opening section's
thirty-second-note double-stop gesture. In the original introduction, this
thirty-second-note gesture stood as contrasting material to the cadenza and
composed melody. However, at this point in the piece, Rimskii-Korsakov
applies the structural melodic notes o f the "Once a Maiden" melody to the
upper notes o f the rhythmically dense double stops (see Figure 96). W hile the
dense rhythmic treatment o f the thirty-second-note passage can be traced back
to the double-stop passage o f the introduction, here we see that the rhythm
doubles the first presentation's sixteenth notes while still retaining the melodic
244
contour. Such treatm ent and alterations based solely on the round dance's
rhythmic characteristics demonstrate Rimskii-Korsakov's preference for the
theme's strong rhythm.
W hereas Rimskii-Korsakov does not provide alternate themes
producing musical contrast among the multiple presentations o f the second
Russian folk them e (as he did with the "W earisome N ight" melody), for
variation he develops musical passages based directly on the theme. These
varied passages, in turn, express the violin's unique capabilities. For instance,
before the "Once a Maiden" theme recurs as a single melody without double
stops, a pizzicato passage begins as a fragmented version o f the melody. This
fragmented version gradually diminishes (see Figure 97, mm. 248-261).
Directly following this pizzicato passage, Rim skii-Korsakov presents the
"Once a M aiden" theme for the first time as a single m elody with an arco
bowing. However, in order to display the violin idiomatically, he increases
the range o f the single melody (see Figure 97, mm. 262-269). Together the
two related passages work together to emphasize the significant position o f the
solo violin against the full orchestra.
In the pizzicato passage, Rimskii-Korsakov gradually abbreviates the
"Once a M aiden" melody until it is reduced to the single f# notes at mm. 260
245
and 261. The combination o f the pizzicato o f the violin's upper line and the
arco o f the lower line begins the first two measures o f the theme. From there
Rimskii-Korsakov extends it with a repeat o f the first four f# eighth notes
(mm. 248-251 and 252-255). This gesture is followed by a reduction o f the
motive where only the first measure o f the melody is played out with its
repeated f# s (mm. 256-257 and 258-259). This sequence o f melodic events
concludes with the two single f# s (the first arco, in m. 260, and the second
pizzicato, m. 261). In turn, the reduction o f the abbreviated melody down to
the single opening note leads directly into the full arco theme. Unlike the
earlier contrasting thirty-second-note arpeggio motive that was combined with
the "Wearisome Night" theme, this reduced pizzicato/arco passage relates
directly to the melody itself. It also demonstrates the numerous alterations
possible due to the theme's rhythmic nature.
The idiomatic treatment o f the violin evident throughout Rimskii-
Korsakov's 1886 single-movement Concert Fantasia fo r Violin and Orchestra
has a special place in demonstrating the significant instrumental principles o f
the composer. Although Rimskii-Korsakov composed the work with the
violin in mind, he took special care in the folk songs he chose for the work.
W hile the piece was written for and dedicated to violinist/pedagogue P. A.
246
Kasonuskii, the care with w hich Rimskii-Korsakov composed for the violin
was dramatic. However, the emphasis on the violin does not occur at the
expense o f the folk songs he incorporated. Contributing to the unique
structure o f the piece, the entire introduction o f the work is based on the
cadenza motive and the composed melody. Neither directly relates to the
actual Russian folk themes in the work. The care Rimskii-Korsakov took in
choosing the folk songs he used for the work, however, shows a remarkable
level o f musical insight into the folk songs' qualities.
As a means o f producing overall musical contrast, Rimskii-Korsakov's
choice o f combining the melodically based "Wearisome Night" and the
rhythmically based "Once a M aiden Walked by the Stream" shows his
awareness o f the folk songs' poignant features. The two themes' contrast serve
to highlight the violin and shape the form o f the piece. Inasmuch as the
"W earisome Night" theme is highly lyrical, the alternating thirty-second-note
arpeggio motive Rimskii-Korsakov combines it with fits the characteristics o f
the solo instrument and provides musical contrast with the theme. On the
other hand, the intense rhythmic drive o f the second dance theme serves to
highlight the violin's idiomatic features o f double stops, pizzicato, and high
range. In this way, as in the Overture and the Sinfonietta, the multiple themes
247
o f the Fantasia w ork together to provide musical contrast and continuity.
Also, through the course o f som e significant alterations in musical texture and
treatm ent to the melodies, Rimskii-Korsakov was able to retain the musical
integrity and characteristics o f the original folk songs by appropriately
extracting their definitive features for musical development. In so doing,
Rimskii-Korsakov established his place as a com poser who was attentive to
the significant features o f the folk songs he was re-creating for his orchestral
works.
248
CH APTER VII
CONCLUSION
Com posed at various times throughout his compositional career,
Rimskii-Korsakov's symphonic works based on Russian themes have a special
place, not only within the composer's oeuvre but in the body o f works that
have come to be identified as Russian nationalist music during the second h alf
o f the nineteenth century. Highlighting common features o f the composer's
orchestral style in these three works requires examining the means by which
he orchestrated the traditional folk songs. Among his instrumental
compositions, nowhere is Rimskii-Korsakov's emphasis on Russian culture
more identifiable than in his trio o f Russian-theme-based symphonic works:
the Overture on Russian Themes, op. 28 (1866): the Sinfonietta on Russian
Themes, op. 31 (1880-1884): and the Concert Fantasia on Russian Themes,
op. 33 (1886-1887). In these works, Rimskii-Korsakov developed a sense o f
Russian cultural identity in the music by including recognizable traditional
folk song melodies, but not just as sources o f musical material. In the process
o f developing the folk songs he chose, Rimskii-Korsakov retained the
249
definitive characteristics o f the folk songs themselves and oftentimes based his
orchestration techniques on the way they were performed in rural practice.
Rimskii-Korsakov retained the integrity o f the borrowed folk songs and
emphasized their most characteristic musical and affective features through his
orchestration.
Although the three instrumental works do not contain the extramusical
features o f dialogue, staging, and costuming associated with Rimskii-
Korsakov's staged dramatic works, and though, for this reason, they have
remained in the shadow of his operatic works, they are nonetheless special in
the way that they are identifiably Russian in character. Through the analysis
o f Rimskii-Korsakov's treatment o f the folk songs in his Russian-theme-based
works, this dissertation has shown that even with the move away from the
original folk songs' context, Rimskii-Korsakov deliberately retained much o f
the overall affective quality o f the source material. In spite o f the loss o f the
improvisation associated with the folk songs, Rimskii-Korsakov preserved
many o f the harmonic, melodic and rhythmic features o f the folk songs with
great sensitivity to their inherent features. Furthermore, in the context o f the
works' overall forms, when he did combine the themes, he did so in a way that
provided musical unity and contrast. Rimskii-Korsakov succeeded in this
250
m usical endeavor by orchestrally highlighting the folk songs' rhythmic and
m elodic qualities in a way that w ould result in the m ost m usically effective
com binations. In this respect, even as the composer took musical liberties
w ith the themes, he did so in a w ay that recognized the m ost salient
characteristics o f the folk song melodies. Such an approach towards
orchestrating a composition could only be done by a com poser who was
capable o f decoding the significant musical features o f the original folk songs
and rendering them recognizable to the emerging urban-based audiences.
The use o f instruments to produce the folk melodies also afforded
Rimskii-Korsakov certain compositional liberties that could not be taken with
the original vocal renditions. Rimskii-Korsakov was able to simultaneously
introduce separate themes, apply extended ranges, and fashion distant key
relationships not found in the traditional vocal ensembles or the cham ber
renditions based on the same folk songs. While such practices indicate that
Rimskii-Korsakov was pushing the limits in the way folk songs could be
reproduced, he applied these innovations as a means o f draw ing attention to
the presence o f the folk song in the works. These m usical alterations, which
w ere indicative o f Rimskii-Korsakov's orchestral creativity, were meeting the
standards and expectations o f St. Petersburg urban-based m usical audiences.
251
In this way, Rimskii-Korsakov's contribution as a culturally sensitive
com poser is evident in the way he was able to adapt traditional rural-based
music to m eet the needs of urban-based audiences.
Rimskii-Korsakov's connection w ith Russian folk song, so powerfully
em bodied in the treatment o f these folk m elodies in the orchestral works, is
m ost often attributed to the influence o f M . Balakirev. However, perhaps
more significant is Rimskii-Korsakov's personal history, traceable further back
to his upbringing in the rural town o f Tikhvin. For it was here, as he discussed
in his chronicles, that his exposure to the folk songs heard in T ikhvin and
N ovgorod had a direct and deep impact on his life. This reliance on folk
song—w hich was ju st as significant to the com poser as the Rom antic Western
art m usic forms he used—resulted, at one level, in the distinctive sound that
has come to be viewed as Russian nationalist music. Directly related to
Rimskii-Korsakov's contribution to Russian music during the second h alf o f
the nineteenth century is the care he took in applying his orchestral principles
to the folk songs that he used as themes.
W hile m any o f the folk songs can be analyzed as modal, Rimskii-
Korsakov applied orchestration principles in a w ay that highlighted their
inherent characteristic o f tonal mutation (perem ennost). Furtherm ore, while
252
rhythm ic repetition and binary melodic forms are significant features o f the
original folk songs, Rimskii-Korsakov, in developing the themes throughout
the shape and form o f the works, did so in ways that highlighted these
definitive characteristics. To meet this end, Rimskii-Korsakov's principles in
orchestration served to accentuate the original character of traditional Russian
folk song. Also, as these works were a means o f distributing the folk songs to
urban-based audiences, Rimskii-Korsakov's contribution to the preservation o f
Russian culture exists in his combination o f personal orchestral expertise and
progressive com positional techniques with traditional Western musical forms
as a means o f retaining and highlighting the characteristic features o f the folk
songs he incorporated in his works. Together, these factors reinforce the
R ussian cultural identity that exists within Rimskii-Korsakov's instrumental
w orks based on Russian themes and ultimately define him as a nationalist
composer.
APPENDIX
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254
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w — j— h P ^ - a --------- ------------------- ------------------:-----------—

p j , J ] - — = ,
FIGURE 2. a m y p ro su seiali seiala (A h we sow ed the millet),

Lvov/Prach collection.
256
iff - H \ A- ^ I- - £ - X S
«✓£/<£ Jteyjtl’g sdfyfO rZ6JL76Z624cZs
'T U & p r 'O <r~3 j~*^ j ~3 i n t * r*^
N . N N IN N N
!# * = { --- S--- fr- -K \ ■ ------ -
f— — ----------------------
---- * . J J ' * ----* II - - - -
J E W J O .& ^ ? O s Z O s r £ J & 7 c i6 2 fc z <
■ r 11"i------- — -i------- --------------------------

m
& = *
= r n —
1- " i
—.
i i " -i
\---------------------------
f
HU— 1-------------------------- :
^ --------- i ---------- l/Q •
-r ^ 1 r ^ r = i
1 1
' ------------------------------------
FIGURE 3. mm enia li muzh vodop'ianitsa (Too m uch vodka m y

husband drinks), Lvov/Prach collection.
257
A lle g r o m o to
C'ifl__________
I. Xo - r h _ Jta K.ia - ae . meHi>_«a no 6o_pon ay,----

I . Once a maid - en walked there lo n g b y th e s tr e a m . _
Repear_____________ Finale
Ma c uorropeHM H a n ocmiuti
x , = ■ p r— i, , ■= — n—i---- ^----- 1
T * 'fT p' ft ft" P P ■
Epa.na, Spa.Jia a _ roa.xy xy — - THl"
S h e w a s p ic k - ihr i(raw - 6er-no a s in -a d rea m __ s o n g !"
--------------- i- F
a -Ia ^ <F l = # = f j- T
= f= f= I' ^
r V ' C
7 ^ 4*^
t - r w x -=1 ■ -■■T.... * V
FIGURE 4. khodila mladeshenkapo borochku (Once a m aiden walked

by the stream), Rimskii-Korsakov collection.
258
x. s
{i^pElla
t ii> *±^»
■ ^ -H -^ -f I ■
— ,n ~ U I I I
4 «
jo m i jc f(ijd /u i0 /* & ? ' m » {G p o zA y
» -J
I = :
___
, l i.
'S u fiy / v . fts u m u l t i m a
c\
TT
y *
^ ( L i u cj/xua.
£=£
m
to jA t/ jfM JX & za: —
-u
in
—
f
j>: f - ■f ■■—t: ~P~3 ^ I ^ -* ■ I
FIGURE 5. khodila mladeshenka p o borochku (Once a m aiden w alked

by the stream), Lvov/Prach collection.
M o ie f |U e i t e t U s i
j i j i ^ r f ) f ~ ' r- - i Q r - M ^
l Kijth . *o_cisep_no__ no 6 a p . x» . t y._
L Am* ter-m i of an*__ at « i - wr irifal
FIGURE 6. s7av<2 (Glory), Rim skii-K orsakov collection.
260
l . K a T H J i o c « aepH O n o 6 a p x a T y . I. A small kernel o f earn on velvet rolled.

CnaB a I Glory!
2 . npHK&THJIOCfl 3epHO KO HXOHTy. 2. A small kernel rolled to a ruby rare.
CnaBa! Glory!
3 . K p y n e H xceKHyr c o h x o h t o m . 3. A large pearl is beside the ruby rare.
CnaB a I Glory!
4.XopOI2I JteHHX CO HeB'eCTOB. 4. A fine bridegroom is standing w ith his bride
C naB a! Glory!
5 . f l a KOMy Kbi c n e n H , TOMy R o 6 p o . S . Those with wham we mature, then those are good.
CnaBa! Glory!
S .K o M y B U H C T ca, T o n y c 6 y a e T c * . 6. Those with whom w e abide, w e shall be tru e
CnaBa! Glory!
7.T o M y c S y n e T c x , He H H H y e T c * . 7. Those to whom we are true shall never change
C naaal Glory!
FIGURE 7. Lyrics to R ussian folk song slava (Glory), Rim skii-

Korsakov collection.
261
FIGURE 8. slava (Glory), Lvov/Prach collection.
262
lie OHcm ncnpo. ^
. p»«rw. w%- pu*<w. «n.pwpv
Ilf M'cntti rttcipa.
Ci
.^y.nai ,o* _ j m S f
9 a tr
C & ^ a i . q a —in . .m - tf* - t ju pa**- - f t -
/Y
. ju i ,\f - w n 1
FIG U RE 9. m vorot vorot (A t the gate, the gate), B alakirev collection.
263
i
r r i Pm - r^ = r^ = r~n j i
i *— j-*--— j —= i
-----
—j n
— j —- j r—- » r* =■■■ J j —J n--- *--- jn--- J=-------
i
9
r t - h l - . - - - -i-— r _ r^ = J - —J j j m--- T-------
* 8 = * = --------- J J J L J - ..-■=»
JJ3 r J j = J
FIG U RE 10. M elodic reduction o f u vorot vorot (A t the gate, the

gate), Balakirev version.
264
t
He o^cufc rK«ip«.
Puucru.
-»— S"<— —r — g—r -r ‘ / /
ICx M > K t . i i f - n d i i< ifr% «n trfc.ra . a f n n n L n . .
(let RKopU.
ClU .WHIk 4N m ,n .M . R J'.IIW , vk .pw n te.4 ll, JfT4* «*« - flTCVXM?
FIG U RE 11. na Ivanushkie chapan (Ivan has a big coat on), Balakirev
collection.
265
U U 1
k 8# *---------- r — f - r - * - f --------r - r f —
:= y t [ X r r ■ -f— L 4 _ I -------- [ _ y --------
-J L -h rL i
r- r
L f 1* L k rr r 1 *~f L
FIG U RE 12. Melodic reduction o f na Ivanushkie chapan (Ivan has a

big coat on), B alakirev version.
266
I. B o n o . ne Ty _ h ik , Ty. k ik » . Ty
There up - OK the fie ld , tee th e fo t *> -
■Bo n o . n e ry - man,
There up - ok the field .
trt
c* - K a.xa. _ * *o _ c». k.yiu.it*., apy*_K «.— AO Ha

c°* t- h fy deer frien d Is nor here y et. mud f ______
&_
K a.-K S .-a *o - c s xyiu - KS, APT* - U

Here y e t, end
H e r.
noyed.
M y d o r frien d a mot /
FIGURE 13. vo p o le timan zatim anilsaia (There upon the field see the
fog so dense descend), Rimskii-Korsakov collection.
267
i
rrj- ' n i r |,J J i -t
5
■- J - m- ---------- 1
rT j. i ' - ' ■> i .J
FIG U RE 14. Melodic reduction o f vo pole timan zatim anilsaia (There

upon the field see the fog so dense descend), Rimskii-
Korsakov version.
268
FIG U RE 15. Melodic reduction o f k a k vo gorode tsarevnia (In the

city o f the tsar's daughter), Balakirev version.
269
M oderate
35=
1. R ax n o ca
S ’ ffn-icy, ca n o 3e_Jie _ Ho-My
I . In (he
•4- --------- J Q J -'

* 11 j , 4 3 ^ -
1 ------ . I____
^ I"---------------
--------- ih r D -J — j-4
I ^----------vJ--------
i — —f—1r1jf-----------
. 11 V
Jr W
BH-HOjpafl-HKH-Ky n o ae _ ne h o -M y B H -H O jrpafl.H H H -ny.

love - ly . fresh a n d fair. In the green vin e-ya rd , lo v e -ly , fresh and fair.
/Z \
1. KaK n o caffHKy, caflH Ky, 1. In th e green garden, garden fair,

n o aeneHOMy BHHorpanHHHKy. (a p a s a ) In th e green vineyard, lovely, fresh and fair, (2 times)
2 . 3f l ec b xoflHn, r y n u n jiofipMH Monoflen, 2 . H e was there strolling, th is fin e lad.

C b c t C -toi FlaBen AneKCeeBKH. (a p a s a ) I t was young Pavel, anything but sad. (2 times)
3. O h n e c a n c b o h KyapiourKH, S. With his hair curling 'round his cheeks.

O h x e c a n [ - t o ] , n p ur o Ba pH B a n, (a p a s * ) L e t u s now listen as young Pavel speaks, (2 tim es)
4 . PycbiM KyapHM oh npHKa3biB an: 4. So h e says, as he walks a pace:

u n p H n e r a ftT e , mok KyaepyuiKH, ( a p a s a ) "Curly locks, gently fram e m y handsome fa ce, (2 tim<
5. K MoeMy k JTHuy 6 e no My , 5 . G ently go, curling 'round m y ears,

H t o k o f ie n o M y , pyMHHOKy. (a p a s a ) I shall n o t cu t m y hair fo r many years. (2 times)
6. npHBbiKafi, a y u i a BapBapyuiKa, 6. Barbara, even y o u adm it

K MoeMy yMy, k pa3yM y, (a p a s a ) To m y clever and fascinating w it, (2 times)
7.[ K o Moeft 6yftHofi . r o no B y u i K e ] , 7. F or th e rest o f yo u r living days.

K o6hiHaio MOJioneuKOMyl" (a p a s a ) Y o u ’l l enjoy all m y prepossessing waysi ” (2 times)
8. K ax a m h s - t o , K pacH oft jieBytiiice, S . H ow could I, a young m aid so true.

FIp h 3 bjKaTb [ - t o ] He x o T e n o c H , (a p a s a ) Grow accustom ed to anyone like you? (2 times)
9 .3 a flo ca a y n oK a3ajiocx, 9. A lw ays seeing y o u r locks so fair,

3 a a o c a a y 3 a BenKKyo. (a p a s a ) I w ould th in k that is fa r too muck to bear! [2 times)
FIGURE 16. k a k p o sadiku sadiku (In the green garden, garden fair),
Rimskii-Korsakov collection.
270
i
lt* iH . r , _n ---- Jn n
f i~~n ------------ n —
$ Lf r Lr M----- ; ----
m r w---r r
j h— ¥fl—-Jn* JnJ ^- I— It-------i U ^---U U -U Lr f — 1
FIG U R E 17. Melodic reduction o f ka k p o sadiku sadiku (In the green
garden, garden fair), Rim skii-Korsakov version.
271
FIGURE 18. katenka vecelaia (M erry little Katya), Balakirev

collection.
FIGURE 19. zelena grusha vo sadu shatietsaia (How the green pear
tree sways in the garden), Rimskii-K orsakov collection.
273
4 ^ p a m i ' i - Ji
4=7 tfc fP -J' i i Jl q - p t r
FIGURE 20. M elodic reduction, zelena g rusha vo sadu shatietsaia

(H ow the green pear tree sw ays in the garden), Rim skii
K orsakov version.
274
l.A x l I . A hl
SejteMa rpyma » easy maTaerc*, Bow the p tc a p tw tree pear* fit the gmdm th eft.
Cict ( m) M am eK ua-xym a pacnjiaxaaack. A nd dew U tth n h th a n ttia to robs end Uan.
a.A! 2 . AM
C aer (_w) M a u ie H u a -x y aia paennaxanaev, Bow dew Madieaha hunts haotoht tad tew t.
C aer HaaHoaHa pasaoaxaaca. A adlraaota trembles ahh many (m
*.A ! 3. AM!
Caer HaaHoaHa paaaonKJiaca A nd Beaom trembles mdth away ferns
Ilep poxiuout CaTutnxoft. Before her ow* daw fu h tr wha stands vkh her.
4.AI 4. A hl
riep pO X H K U K OaTDUWOtt, B ^bre her earn daw fd h w who steads wfth her.
Ilep poxHMoft MaTymaoft. While her m m dearest motherhold heads with hw.
».At S . A hl
flap poxjutoft Marymxofl, WhBehw m m daweetmethw holds hmrdt with her,
Kaa tcoJtoxy a 'ly x n jnoxa ot* u >t .. X w n w H * q >|fcn j i i » a | H a i dm arm y. . .
X *n«
FIGURE 21. Lyrics to zelena grusha vo sadu shatietsaia (How the

green pear tree sways in the garden), Rimskii-Korsakov
collection.
275
M o d era to Finale
*• i n ( • r ~ t o u .^ u .;u a a D w w jvv^iva.n«
tOfi, k nxjib, Aa nx.nH, jix. jih,]
1. Oh, m y day -break, o h , m y day-break. Which Is fuse now as-cend-ing!
(O y, I - lya l, da lya - It, lya - li,f
FIGURE 22. tu zarai I' maia zoriushka (O h m y daybreak, my

daybreak), Rimskii-Korsakov collection.
276
A l l e g r e t t o v iv a c e
1. y MS - HJt /IK MyiK B O _flO _nbJI-K H .ua,

/_ Too much vod - ka my hus - band drinks I think Oy, tyu -
Repeat Finale
i sorropeaajt
-JIH, JUO.HK, BO . AO - UbR - HH . U2L. 2. Oh bk _

no 6e_ - c e .A y t ii - K a M l
iyu - ii. hus - bend drinks
they are feal • ous allt
L J
FIGURE 23. u m enia li muzh vodop'ianitsa (Too m uch vodka my

husband drinks), Rimskii-Korsakov's collection.
277
FIGURE 24. M elodic reduction o f u m enia li m uzh vodop'ianitsa (Too

m uch vodka my husband drinks), Rim skii-Korsakov
version.
278
j -i j u
JU C ^ 0 ^ 4 0 /Z 6 J l,7 6 Z 6 2 4 C Z /
M n p n n rt n
d e r a il
3:* 3
N - N N1 N'JST-JV
<ZZ£ JZAP^& Zr J& & JIZ 6 '
FIGURE 25. u menia li muzh vodop'ianitsa (Too much vodka my

husband drinks), Lvov/Prach collection.
279
A a d u tii« 0
1. A a ryc.To. rye . t o h £ 6 e . p e - 3e m e n . . € . 3 !— Oh,.

1.0k. ko» Itkkike lent* tkenau the Mdt_«e pme - htf.ek!— 0»,
tV I
1**^ Uii M n r a / U I w w u u l
f i t V a 1 i r T - f i— i T i U f c a J
• t r — l j v~ “ -------- f e * - T * 3 -r-' u r --------- r
‘ -‘ I
HH, J i^ H a 6 ^ ., pC . 2 r IH C tS . e S T y .in c
0
ED .
120 . hht!
hr 4 OL.Hke b m rk-.ere,(raw . • ii | Q . n f f a r
S
______ 4
pkk -
1 p t= = r= H
f * = h
t 1— f 1*
H 1- f --------------- T —
-p— «- t = = j
& 1 — 4------- 1 --------f . p ~ • f if = __3
5 .= |
FIGURE 26. a u gusto na bereze liste (How thick the leaves there on
the birch are growing), Rimskii-Korsakov collection.
280
Lr r -1r - (IP¥
FIGURE 27. M elodic reduction a u gusto na bereze liste (H ow thick
the leaves there on the birch are growing), Rimskii-
K orsakov version.
281
-m ■ > P f =
I t S r r n j i D " 1, ^ . 3
'o '6 6 a y jc * ^ 77? O J K j/.
9 O -V f W m . — —P---------P~~P_f— —; T ~ 5 ---- i ^ p | p
''rfrtd a sz& szo .
H^-G >-------> f T~— p r p p i f ta

\ 4 w f r y *
js j B z -— - - = ------------------------------------------------ -
-&U---- J ------- • ----------- 1----------------------------------------------
o
g -J ^ J II = - .
---- ^------------- <TTJ---1-
b :--P ---------- 1-----------------------------------------------

f l . " = r - =
FIG U RE 28. ne spasibo igumnu tom u (To the priesthood I can give no
thanks), Lvov/Prach collection.
282
1. He cnacKtfo HryMHy TOMy, 1. To the priesthood. I can give no thanks,

He c n a c n fio Bcefl 6paTbH e r o , Icannot thank all the brothers there.
3 a HTO MOJIOAy B MepHHLtbl CTpHryi^ They had dll the nuns cut o ff all my hair,
M on ofletueH b K y nocxHMJiHBaioT. I who am so young, I a maiden fair.
2. He Moe jie n o b nepH K uax CHfleTb, 2. [d o not like sitting with the nuns,
He Moe A eno k ofieflHe xoA H T b. I do not like sitting there at mass.
He Moe Aeno MoxiefiHsr cnyjtcHTb, And I do not like candlesticks o f brass.
R a x M oe A C /io b SeceA e C K A eTb; But T like to chat, as the hours pass.
3. R a x Koe A eiio h k b u o , b h h u o riKTbi 3. Iam fond o f drinking wine and beer!

r io c o m e n b u e noA riaBKy 6 p o u iy , Sometimes I drink sitting in the pew,
KaMwnaBKy Ha c t o a noAoacy, Or some beautiful daydream / pursue,
A c a n a j M n a a a .n o K e n se npoH A y, For a young nun’s jo ys are indeed too few.
4. M onoA euieH bK a noryxiH Bara! 4. Soon I have to get away from here!
rioAUMy Ab R n o c o u ie n b u e . c s o e , First IV drink just one small final one.
H aA eH y n b h rcaMHnaexy c b o io , Taking o f f my veil when the drink is done.
n o A a p » n b h [hxJ c e c T p n u e CBoefi. And I ’l l leave it here fo r some other nun!
FIGURE 29. Lyrics to ne spasibo igiunnu tomu (To the priesthood I

can give no thanks).
He 60. ECffM 5pa-Ttr< e - ro 3 a h to M O .n o . a y __
thank th e . broth-ers there.— They had. all. the
1s r p . kh . iih f C TpH . r y r,_ Mo - no . ae . u ie H b . ay _

cu t o f£— . aO my hair. — wh g s- r m ___ su y o u n g .__
r~n r~Ti£Ti i~ ~ s
ir*;
m m m
no . C X K H .H H . Ba ce . C TpH . u e C8 0 . e«.
fa r som e— o th • er nun!
a a
FIGURE 30. ne spasibo igumnu tom u (To the priesthood I can give no
thanks), Rimskii-Korsakov collection.
284
2.)
doc
m m
FIGURE 31. ne spasibo igumnu tomu (To the priesthood I can give no
thanks)—motives from R im skii-K orsakov collection.
285
¥ m
F ? H * = f = r = i
p— r ^
thanks)—motives from orchestral version.
FIG U RE 33. nodoelie noche (W earisom e night), Balakirev collection.
287
m m fr r Lf J- J p... J —
---
J.=*= r - r r r = -d
FdHhy--- ..
7
^ 'I
. . .. —
f U - —
10
m Cri—r—1
m
— e ------------------------------------------- 1
— s ----------------------------------------------------- 1
FIGURE 34. M elodic reduction o f nodoelie noche (W earisome night),

Balakirev version.
288
A lle g ro m o t o
■jUL Z”f l __________
m
L X o - j W - J i a Mna - ne
I . Once a maid - en walked
. uieHt.fca
there a •
no
long
6o_pon
by the
*y,
stream,
m
C fl
1 A
- • —
f=
R epear Finale
JiiUt QOBTOpeSKJC J U * 4 K O K 1ftX ««
B p a . n a , 6 p a _ /ia h rO JL ^K 'f 3e_ H JIH .K H H - THl

S he was pick • straw ber •ries as. in a dream__ song!"
/
FIG U RE 35. khodila m ladeshen’k a p o borochku (Once a maiden

w alked by the stream), Rim skii-K orsakov collection.
289
i
I*---
4
m---------------------1 0-------------------------------------------------- ,
=j£-fy
1 H 1 J
FIGURE 36. M elodic reduction o f khodila m ladeshen'kapo borochku

(Once a maiden walked by the stream), Rimskii-
Korsakov orchestra version.
290
M oderato J z re
Piccolo
2 FlantL
2 Oboi
C la rin e tti (A)
2 F agotti
1.11(D)
4 Corni
2 Trombe CD)
in
Timpani
Tam burino
P ia tti
Arp a
M oderato < : ti
Viole
Contrabaasi
FIG U RE 37. Instrumentation to the Overture B ased on Russian

Themes op.28, sections: wind, brass, percussion, strings.
291
©
12
Tiro Jr
ri.
y.
Cc.
@
2'i
l*‘> L
»r I r is h ’r7
CL
99
Cr.
i'fb.
>/
FIGURE 38. Cym bals and u vorot vorot (At the gate, the gate)
com bination, three entrance areas.
292
P to*.
PU
Ob.
Cl.
C r.
C o ra l E m at* l a E«
T rb a ,
T lm p . A m a ts l a P
A.
A rcb l
m m m
FIGURE 3 8. (Continued)
293
M oderato J r is
Piccolo
2 F la u li
2 Oboi
M l mi
2 F ag o tti
4 C om i VP
2 Trombe (D)
3 Tromboni in
FIGURE 39. Opening slava (Glory) theme, first clarinet and first
horn.
294
F I.
O b.I
C l.
C r .I
PF
A.
FIGURE 40. slava (Glory) false entrance exchange in second clarinet

and celli.
FIGURE 41. slava (G lory) full statement in the string section.
296
O b.I
C l.
■1-"J J
1 M
A.
Arcfcl
FIGURE 42. The second full appearance o f the slava (G lory) folk
song as performed by the wind section.
297
Vfro
Fl.
CL
Cr. m]
Areki.
PPd{T.
FIGURE 43. mvorot vorot (A t the gate, the gate) m elody in the
opening vivo section.
298
Vn + FI (bass fl, picc), Vn + Ob, Vn + Cl;

Viola + Oboe (Eng. horn), Viola + Cl, Viola + Fag.
Cellos + Cl (Bass cl), Cellos + Fag.
FIG U R E 44. Statement on consistency in instrument com binations

and range.
299
100
.CL
Cr.D
A ro h i
ixco
FIG U RE 45. u vorot vorot (At the gate, the gate) presentation o f
second half o f m elody.
300
*.2
110
F I.
Ob. I
C l.
Cc.D
plxz.
A rch!
FIG U RE 46. u vorot vorot (At the gate, the gate), second example.
301
AnU
FIGURE 47. na Ivanushke chapan (Ivan has a big coat on), first
presentation.
302
** B.Z ~ .- 1
ff
- - - - .-h r - ^
ff y
-v ^ .y"
g -f r = c y t... i, =
jg—:—1----- 1----- -4M----- b= y —i— l j j 1— l=
1f f ;
- j = d .1, --- r
1 — - - :.l— 1:1 I j-J. — »
s- -i i I 4 J- rt ■Jw
■#---------
r» - 1F p f = f S IT 1~ t= p.. J-— ~'f> ▼
~zy~------ T ~ r { ff r-
i
^ =------------------1
- - r = =- = L ^ = ------- r h T
>J 'd —
t % -------------- '
/O
T j, = f=
** y-
r II
1 1> . 1. > 1. > .*« . » > i

V
* t f ' r ' i * { * * r *
if
, i *
\ ft =
l
V--- f ^ ----1-^ F ^ ^ yP F ^ rf P tJ = r r f r - f i i f
^ 1^ l
2-la ^ ~r~'~l=r~r r r f M r r—r p r r-f= . r U r r ^ T rT ^ r-
ft ■ f— 1=— f t . f t I r > ! 1 1 •r t - f r i - K - i f * 1— ! H UL-
j aalr. 1 |
i 7 ' -y ! - h Ja - • * - - t-
ff r
!>„ | J J U M -P . . I . ,^ =
^ * - .....- f — } - p J *— ■y— * — ■fr1 *— p P-1- 1 — L- ~
m = 4 -n K ■ 1 -------
'V » J J r t-pT * ip L r- > It f --
FIGURE 48. na Ivanushke chapan (Ivan has a big coat on) them e
combined w ith syncopated rhythm from the u vorot
vorot (A t the gate, the gate) theme.
303
FIGURE 48. (Continued)
304
LA
O b .t
CL
4.2
T rb .
VP
PP
Arch. I
FIGURE 49. na Ivanushke chapan (Ivan's coat), slay a (Glory), and u

vorot vorot (At the gate, the gate) in full combination.
305
P I.
Ob.
C l.
C r.
C a ro l C m a ta In E i
II
T p.
A..
FIGURE 50. u vorot vorot (At the gate, the gate) return statement.
306
P teo .
F i.
O b.
C l.
FIGURE 51. ivanushfce chapan (Ivan's coat) them e w ith key change
(b b m inor).
307
(39al Poco a poco ritardaudo

O h.
ci.
in
C r .E .
A ro h l
FIGURE 52. slava (Glory) and coda.
308
A lle g r e t t o p a s t o r a le r 108
I
Violini
II
Yi ol e
Contra bas si
It. 1. 3 * 9 3 r .
FIGURE 53. vo pole timan zatimanilsaia (There upon the field, see
the fog so dense descend) introduction.
u) I- f h - f l I »»1^ P § I
FIGURE 54. vo p o le timan zatimanilsaia (There upon the field,

the fog so dense descend) motives.
FIGURE 55. vo p o le tim an zatimanilsaia (There upon the field, see
the fog so dense descend) and bridge section.
311
194
SO
Ob.
xZ
CL
Cr.
d£v.
Arcki
312
FIGURE 56. Snegoruchka, Act U (animato section), oboe and clarinet

in unison.
p£zz.
Cr.L j
m p iiP w
pp
a.rco
Axebi m PP
n
m
p^~-
xrco
PP
* pp =p
FIGURE 57. kak vo gorode tsarevnia (In th e city o f the tsar's

daughter) introduction.
314
faol
Cr.L
PP
PP
J L E j T
pp
tu t u « a r.
r.L n
i— 1
1 1 * 1
=?£- ■*—] | =
^ ------ — r — 1^ ~ t i t
rP3-l , .T=
& J IT HJr.- H| v j — = i * 1 | | ir = 4 = p i-
I________ j__________ jittU.
1 [ 1p
“\™ " 1—o'—
" 9
FIGURE 58. kak vo gorode tsarevnia (In the city o f the tsar's
daughter), tonal and instrumental alteration.
p.
FIGURE 59. Third statement o f kak vo gorode tsarevnia (In the city
o f the tsar's daughter) theme, including the (lb ) "In the
Field" motive.
316
i Flauti
2 Oboi
i Trombe®
Tromboni
Viole
ioloncelli
FIGURE 60. k a k p o sadiku sadiku (In the green garden, garden fair)
introduction.
317
O b.
CL
r 3'
xZ
C r.
T rb .
T rb a.
' ” ff ~ - ~*5- ~ - l/;

a a;., kr^lajm
*
iu
~ *- ^*r'
FIG U RE 61. k a k p o sadiku sadiku (In the green garden, garden fair),
second three-note phrase introduction.
318
F t.
so il
folo
do
pp
pp
to ll
■ gf
Cr. Hr
FIGURE 62. /fcorA:po sadiku sadiku (In the green garden, garden fair),
full statement.
319
A.r«fcl
FIGURE 63. zelena grusha vo sadu shatietsaia (H ow the green pear

tree sways in the garden) and tu zarai V maia zoriushka
(O h m y daybreak, my daybreak) combination.
320
L’lste sa o tem po
321
(ID *L 'ls te s s o tem p o

'£ = i V E . , i
& T z3
H5-— 11-----
Ok.£ hS.T 4 = =
- f ,; i - .
Cl.
P f. L /f ? f ijf ; fa f f f lf
I P
1 ttlP
^
n 4In »lif.
f : i ^ re e . : t ap. ^ ~r H i : . .
g A ,:ft fr C-5F-P "fr -3 " --•? p
J» „__ „
mf
J9\ XX.
\ f r f' ,
%L 1 L -fl = P = * = L f P — ■P 1 "Of P '■T p ^ - v 7 L j=
pi*t.
v ? - ? f -r -- r '* =*=-<*■ «■ T ' -^r.: - r =p *
— 11H L J ' I L,------- — hr — v 1 -L = f L > - ^ ■F P — - ;i P -: L _f -t
sss
f D
EE 3 sol ■ P iif S
----------------------
1F
■ .f e y & - p m . f D - m m .
9 - -L i L- :T P = ^ - fr —
a z z f e Q
• r , -J' kj < — i K r ' n
■al».
m z
«rco
FIGURE 64. tu zarai I' maia zoriushka (O h m y daybreak, m y

daybreak) first presentation.
Pizzicato.
T h t t t a e k n o t e s a r e d r y a n d h a r d , -w ith o u t r e s o n a n c e , a n d s h o u l d o n l y b e
• d w h e n d o a b l e d w it h t h e w o o d - a l n d .
FIGURE 65. Pizzicato chart from Principles o f Orchestration.
FIGURE 66. tu zarai V m aia zoriushka (O h my daybreak, m y
daybreak) with zelena grusha vo sadu shatietsaia (H ow
the green pear tree sways in the garden) rhythmic figure.
324
f t f l u m
IB
Trba.
Tp.
FIGURE 67. zelena grusha vo sadu shatietsaia (H ow the green pear

tree sways in the garden) m elodic fragment w ith tu za ra i
V rnaia zoriushka (O h m y daybreak, m y daybreak)
rhythm ic gesture.
325
i
s . j> t .— h . r .
I
i hh fH-
i -
-/
t r ?>
Cr.
•
Trh. .1 A
■$— p T
Tr km .
T-i-J
sp te e & to &s«xl
n n n v
A rehl
spioo&to
/
sptec& to &«s&i
FIGURE 68. zelena grusha vo sadu shatietsaia (How the green, pear
tree sways in the garden) imitative section based on
melodic segment.
326
Y IT O J r 178
Y io lia i
ir
V io le
V ioloaeellL
Caatr& bassi
ri.
"'hMvpi imaami
O b.
m
ci.
p.
m
FIGURE 69. u menia li muzh vodop'ianitsa (Too much vodka m y

husband drinks) opening statement.
327
E3
F I.
O b.
Cl. t o n ii
o'
Fff-
j -i ■* fr.
I — 't O'
C r. O'
—7~
T rb .
-i_r l T r -4-
EE=
Arcfal
o'
ilr. I f ttt tl t
•r
FIGURE 70. a u gusto na bereze liste (H ow thick the leaves there on

the birch are growing) segm ent, first entrance.
A reh l
i » ; L-J * =
i (* r- - f —
1 J s
-f-: ■"Z - - i—i —# I i i
4 — 4
« h L n
C r.l
i p u . _ i - 3 n---------1— r — a W J & U
rr
zJX* .------
r* ’ ^ -
Kfht ■fo * Jn J i =^=4
" . _*> . ■*— . - • . . J ■■■■y Jl J :—«J d
-x){ > . P P r - r^ -►r f r—f r , , J~3 ■■3 3 3 i 3 3
="=*=£ EE *=— ^ E E E ^
»
FIG U RE 71. a u gusto na bereze liste (H ow thick the leaves there on

the birch are growing) in imitation.
329
FI FI FI Ob Ob Cl
8
Ob Cl Fag Cl Fag Fag
FIGURE 72. W ind combinations in octaves.
330
FIG U RE 73. u menia li muzh vodop 'ianitsa (Too m uch vodka m y

husband drinks) and textural variety.
331
iU l 241
[9°1 t U isteseo 1empo
------------------
I ------------------ %. ^ I M tO . • . .
-s
■fr -k-v =
~ s'*
------------------ 'r
^ :
« ____________ _________. _______ [ 1__________________
^ • I T1
|_!--------------1-----1---- 1-------------------
V
* L 'istcsso t empo JrJ
PP
M tf - T - .-. .......... - - = ------------------^
-P . -------------------
— - ____ -d .
sf I■ pirx.
------------------ir
ff j P
. L* i f r ti—^ ' I1 1 U 1 f I: 1 r (r ' r

cu
S 4 --------------------- > -»- -r-» . . ^ ,---------------- -----------—
4 h .» t r
‘j J J ^ -i- 0 4— - ■
>4. - =
1 "
f — f - ' ^ 1 1
r 1 ji" j1 ~ 1 -
thanks), first presentation.
332
Z42
inol
=S- _ r - ■ ■ = != - - jL :' ~ r— -i------ =T: J -
T T 1 ' - " ~ S I
-------- j--------
4 ^ — - p- ~ - /
I a 'f' 1T* f f-
Cl. ■
f
FC- ■f _ £=, t f r r |f
v
p r i ---------- —p -----------
i =
r
ss
C / f .)
T rb . f = ± = =
^ = = = = =
- .
Uu* f«a.
------- ------------------ ■J - = I ■ = =
■8 = 1— ------ ^ --------- — L --------- —
* rio .
SS
Tp.
rek i
FIGURE 75. spasibo igumnu tomu (To the priesthood I can give no
thanks), second presentation.
333
• ♦ 11 2 0 1 4-
S B s i- U s S — is d i
L<««J
thanks), third presentation.
334
—--T i —
\»v4
■ r i~ ' . y — ■ t ; r rr-fr-
—u------- -----
o J H ~ V ‘ ii-.'
* j*
^ ii«k. r
Lj — —
■ J.-u T F r i r i r i --- y *1 r
n r m mpi

husband drinks), return o f theme and tonic key.
335
[aao!
A rehl
f - H * ---------------- — r f r , f . f f f . -zjrf F M f
p
i . »» *
- = -----i—PC
k - if ^ f -— I - - h- L i
p
,T - ..r i —> ■■■-i— i
L I t '
I t j - h r ‘
p 1 r —:-----J-----
\ *----- f — ^
pi**.
r » ..=i -r-r f r “r---- F -f- r F r-----
■L—f f ■£ —- L i —t - J — Lf—-fcri— £ E - f — -| - -r ■
C~n
plzs.
rf
FIGURE 78. ne spasibo igum nu tomu (To the priesthood I can give no
thanks) return in B b major.
336
thanks) return in A major.
337
320
F I.I
Ob.
C r .I .I I
Tp.
FIGURE 80. u m enia li muzh vodop'ianitsa (Too much vodka m y

husband drinks) and a u gusto na bereze liste (H ow thick
the leaves there on the birch are growing) simultaneous
return in a minor.
338
261
F I.
C l.
mm m m a s g nsnji
T rb.
T rb*.
T p.
A re ll
ilfP i
yoeo • p
339
Arehl
FIGURE 81. u menia li muzh vodop'ianitsa (Too much vodka m y

husband drinks), closing o f the movement's scherzo
section.
340
267
[S 3
A n d a n te tr* P A * m o J =7* poco r l t e u . V ivo CTempo I)
P i. fe|
Ob. mm *A
f d m tew
P .
C l. lA ±±
i 7 3 ^
*
a m m i§ e
pfefc
Trbm.
Tp.
P
A a d a n te tr a n ^ a ilio J ; n poco r l t e a
' n m m m i p f m m
iff
l» t* I=. -
Jgl--------------- .-i l=TT3= r r 11 1 I |:
m m
* or
jter
jor
m m m m m m

husband drinks) vivo section preceded by D b andante
tranquillo section.
FIGURE 83. u m enia li muzh vodop'ianitsa (Too much vodka m y
husband drinks), presto section preceded by a second
D b andante tranquillo section.
FIGURE 84. Opening cadenza motive.
FIGURE 85. Orchestral introduction, allegro moderato.
344
48
PP
cresc.
bzr 30
FIGURE 86. Orchestral interlude.
FIGURE 87. Second cadenza, D major with lowered sixth degree.
346
E3
i i n
m
f t- .- -''1
l i ll f -----:--- s-=!_ f . f l.r > .
f r 'i . r — {=
(#■ 13-.
pp j.
p t —• ■| »» i. - jJ t —
g L 1L
ao im ato
FIGURE 88. Second orchestral interlude and new ly composed

melody.
347
& a ia i.a t o
TO
FIGURE 89. Inverted chord double-stop passage in tonic b minor.
348
A.
PP
ri ten.
TT
a t e m p o ( poco m e n o m os s o )
PP
100
rit.
FIGURE 90. Inverted cadenza and composed melody.
349
nialto r ite n .
FIGURE 91. Second single-measure cadenza and first folk theme

nadoelie noche (W earisome night).
350
f ^ f t = # = — ,
^ ...
PP
f r ] ^ J r ---------^ ^ j
& 1 j — * i - i
^ pp 1 ............
t ------- ) "
J -T > _____ I H
l_-------- fc--------- * J -
^ * j-•
1* r ,— J-*
-U 3
?offf
-= H = ==f J- : - --------
f = ^
ft ■---------- " ------- iC__ :
------- f —
— ■ $
■51 i
sa . *
FIGURE 92. Contrasting arpeggio motive to nadoelie noche

(W earisome night) theme.
351
i jiim
^ una co r da
170
180
j j r , ^ jj tte i h-nhfi fftmj

1 t
PP
m
r
i p i
iP i M S
FIGURE 93. nadoelie noche (Wearisome night) melody in double
stops with contrasting arpeggiated gesture.
f ------------
—-h------- * ------ ^ 1 -----------
■
\L---190
---------1 ~ " 7 —M-L——
J 67? jjr n . 071
-I f ---- j f 4 S -m
i" -4 1 1 # 1— 1
r , . *. r T T l ,» >
d jc.4 7 J J J ^ ee r u —
-i — j jj -
>-
) ,.t f _ f jt _f7T* f f ? f J* ^j -
i j ♦ « - * • L^ 1 m J- •* * 1J- £ J r ~ r
200
FIGURE 93. (Cont inued)
'1 ^ T
A lle g r o s c h e r z a n d o
■« * - T f t
PP
210
FIGURE 94. Allegro scherzando section presenting the final folk song
khodila m ladeshen'kapo borochku (O nce a m aiden
walked by the stream).
354
'LFLH H ^ n
A lleg -r ctto g r a z io s o
i 220
j> ^r-rri. M
FIGURE 95. Introduction, khodila m ladeshen'kapo borochku (Once a

maiden w alked by the stream).
355
58
t* a n a n r im
joco r lte n .
r j-= - n rJ j
f
~ T ~
M 0 T J J>
L j-f FP ■=6=M---------
r 1
FIGURE 96. khodila mladeshen 'ka p o borochku (Once a maiden

w alked by the stream) in thirty-second-note double-stop
passage related to introduction.
356
arco
mf 250
p r i t e n . niolto
8—
if p
260
n
n
d o lr.
A lle g re tto tran q q illo
PP
FIGURE 97. khodila m ladeshen'kapo borochku (Once a m aiden

w alked by the stream) pizzicato passage and arco single
m elody in higher range.
357
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INFORMATION TO USERS

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ProQuest Information and Learning

AN ANALYSIS OF THREE SYM PHONIC WORKS

BASED ON RUSSIAN THEM ES

Presented to the School o f M usic

Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company

Three Symphonic W orks Based on Russian Themes," a dissertation prepared

by Barry T. Bilderback in partial fulfillment o f the requirements for the

D octor o f Philosophy degree in the School o f Music. This dissertation has

been approved and accepted by:

Dr. Marian Smith, Chair o f the Examining Committee

Committee in charge: Dr. Marian Smith, Chair

Dean o f the Graduate School

Barry T. Bilderback for the degree o f D octor o f Philosophy

in the School o f M usic to be taken June 2001

Title: NATIONALISM IN RIMSKII-KORSAKOV'S INSTRUM ENTAL

MUSIC: A N ANALYSIS OF THREE SYM PHONIC WORKS

BASED O N RUSSIAN THEMES

Previous examinations questioning the relationship between N. A.

Rimskii-Korsakov and Russian nationalism have focused prim arily on his

evident in his symphonic works helped influence Russian nationalism in

music. As a means o f determining his position as a com poser o f Russian

examination focuses on three symphonic works based on Russian themes by

musical philosophies o f M. A. Balakirev, and the rise o f the St. Petersburg

Conservatory provides an overview o f the m usical sociopolitical climate as it

affected Rimskii-Korsakov. Following this introduction is an analysis o f

three symphonic Russian-theme-based works: the Overture B ased on

Russian Themes (1866 version); the Sinfonietta B ased on Russian Themes,

op. 31 (1880-1884); and the Concert Fantasia B ased on Russian Themes fo r

Violin with Orchestra, op. 33 (1886-1887). B y analyzing the orchestral

treatment o f the folk songs in these works, I determine that Rimskii-Korsakov

made a significant contribution to the Russian nationalist movement by using

techniques which are described in his Principles o f Orchestration as a

deliberate and self-conscious means o f preserving folk songs in form and

spirit. Rimskii-Korsakov's unique orchestral ideology indelibly stamped his

whose influence cannot be ignored.

NAM E OF AUTHOR: Barry T. Bilderback

PLACE OF BIRTH: Auburn, New York

DATE OF BIRTH: 14 December 1961

GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED:

Doctor o f Philosophy in Music, 2001, U niversity o f Oregon

AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST:

Russian Nationalism and Music

Graduate Teaching Fellow , School o f Music, University o f Oregon,

Teaching Assistant, College o f Musical Arts, Bow ling G reen State

AW ARDS AND HONORS:

CIEE RLP-I (Russian Language Program) Scholarship, 1999

unfailing knowledge, support, and patience throughout the entire preparation

her keen insights related to matters o f music history and ethnomusicology,

To my wife and best friend Ann-Marie

II. RIM SKII-KORSAKOV AND THE QUESTION OF

A Statement on Western European N ationalism ............................. 8

III. REVIEW OF L IT E R A T U R E ...................................................................20

Russian Folk Song As Rural-Based Music Tradition and

IV. DEFINING THE NATIONAL ID EN TITY OF RIMSKII-

Chronological Aspects o f Rimskii-Korsakov's Principles

V. FOLK SONGS FOUND W ITHIN RIMSKII-KORSAKOV'S

The Folk Songs of Rimskii-Korsakov's First Instrumental

Third Movement: "In the Khorovod' (Circle Dance),"

VI. RIMSKII-KORSAKOV'S USE OF ORCHESTRAL

The Overture B ased on Russian Themes, Op. 2 8 ...........................174