Russian Easter Overture
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Russian Easter Festival Overture: Overture on Liturgical Themes'' (russian: Светлый праздник, translit=Svetly prazdnik, translation=Bright festival), Op. 36, also known as the ''Great Russian Easter Overture'', is a
concert overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overt ...
written by the Russian composer
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...
between August 1887 and April 1888. It was dedicated to the memories of Modest Mussorgsky and
Alexander Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin ( rus, link=no, Александр Порфирьевич Бородин, Aleksandr Porfir’yevich Borodin , p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr pɐrˈfʲi rʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈdʲin, a=RU-Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin.ogg, ...
, two members of the group of composers known in English as " The Five". It is the last of what many call his three most exceptionally brilliant orchestral works, preceded by ''
Capriccio Espagnol ''Capriccio espagnol'', Op. 34, is the common Western title for a five movement orchestral suite, based on Spanish folk melodies, composed by the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1887. It received its premiere on 31 October 1887, in St ...
'' and '' Scheherazade''. The work received its premiere at a Russian symphony concert in St. Petersburg on .


Instrumentation

The overture is scored for a
Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...
period-sized orchestra, consisting of 3
flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
s (1 doubling
piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...
), 2 oboes, 2
clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
s in C, 2
bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...
s, 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in B, 3 trombones, tuba, 3 timpani tuned to A, D and G, percussion (
glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...
, triangle,
cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...
s,
bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...
, tam-tam),
harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
, and
strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
.


Background

The score is prefaced by two quotations from the
Old Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
and New Testaments and a third, written by the composer; these correspond to each of the overture's three parts. The first part is prefaced by two verses from Psalm 68:1–2; the second from the
Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Mark), or simply Mark (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). is the second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to h ...
16:1–6; and a third by a description of the Easter celebration written by the composer. The melodies in the overture are largely from the Russian Orthodox
liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
, based on a collection of old Russian Orthodox liturgical chants called the '' Obikhod''. Rimsky-Korsakov said in his autobiography that he was eager to reproduce "the legendary and heathen side of the holiday, the transition from the gloomy and mysterious evening of Passion Saturday to the unbridled pagan-religious merrymaking on Easter Sunday morning". He had always been interested in – and enjoyed – liturgical themes and music, though he was not a believer. American musicologist
Miloš Velimirović Miloš Milorad Velimirović (December 10, 1922 – April 18, 2008) was an American musicologist. Twice a recipient of a Fulbright fellowship, he was considered an international expert in the areas of Byzantine music, the history of Slavonic music, ...
explains, "The Obikhod was like the Russian's ''Liber usualis''...In 1848 it became mandatory for all of the Churches in Russia." Thus the Obikhod became associated with nationalism in Russia. The tunes that Rimsky chose from the Obikhod would carry a certain nationalistic and religious weight, and Russians would absolutely know them. The piece also appealed to the emotions of Russians because of its expression of the Easter Holiday, the high point of the liturgical calendar. Professor Robert Greenberg describes the ''Russian Easter Festival Overture'' as, "A narrative story of a Russian Easter day from dawn until dusk." In Russian, Easter is known as the "Bright Holiday".


Structure

The ''Russian Easter Festival Overture'' is mainly in sonata allegro form, with a lengthy introduction at the beginning. Throughout the piece, there are a number of prominent solo sections, featuring violin, cello, trombone, clarinet, and flute. The opening section is written in time, and is one of the more famous works for orchestra in quintuple meter. The final section of the piece is notated in time, making occasional use of , and is one of very few orchestral works to use either of these time signatures.


References


External links

* * :
Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...
, Eugene Ormandy, conductor {{italic title Compositions by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Concert overtures 1888 compositions Music for Easter