Russian Easter
The concert overture Russian Easter (Светлый праздник, Swetly prasdnik ) Opus 36 by the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from August 1887 to April 1888 is dedicated to the memory of Modest Mussorgsky and Alexander Borodin , two members of the legendary Group of Five . It bears the subtitle Overture on Topics of the Russian Easter Liturgy and forms the end of a series of three outstanding orchestral works based on the Capriccio espagnol and the symphonic poem Scheherazade . The work was premiered in Saint Petersburg at the end of December 1888.
occupation
Material and program
The melodies in the overture essentially come from the Russian Orthodox liturgy . Their themes are based on the obichod , a collection of old Russian Orthodox hymns of praise. Rimsky-Korsakov added several biblical quotations to the score, for example from Psalm 68 and Chapter 16 of the Gospel according to Mark , in order to make his intentions clear to the listener.
As the composer explains in his autobiography, he endeavored to express the legendary, pagan aspect of Christian solemnity , as well as the transition from the festivity and mystery of the Easter Vigil to the rampant pagan celebrations of Easter Sunday.
structure
The opening has the tempo designation Andante lugubre (“sinister striding”) and alternates between two themes . The first theme ( God rises; thus his enemies are scattered ) is performed with great seriousness by the woodwinds . The second theme is the chant An angel spoke . It is played by the cello for the first time after a cadenza for solo violin . Then the trombones and strings take up the first theme again in the manner of an alternating chant .
The following Allegro section, introduced by a second violin cadenza, contains a very lively, syncopated theme that quotes the chorale Those who hate him flee from it and grows to jubilation. In addition, a calm melody appears, which is based on an Easter song that is very well known in Russia called Christ ist erupt .
All themes and chorales reappear at the climax and merge to a triumphant coda with fanfares and bells ringing.
A special feature of the work are the short violin cadences between several sections. They are intended to symbolize the light that emerges from the Holy Sepulcher at the resurrection of Christ.
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- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from October 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
