Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Scheherazade ( Russian Шехераза́да Schecherasada ), Opus 35, is a symphonic poem by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from the year 1888. The orchestral work, which is based on the story Thousand and One Nights , is characterized by two typical features of Russian music and especially the compositions by Rimsky -Korsakow from: a colorful instrumentation and a widespread interest in everything oriental in the Russian Empire .

occupation

Romantic orchestra: 3 flutes (3rd only, 2nd also piccolo ), 2 oboes (2nd also English horn ), 2 clarinets in A and B, 2 bassoons , 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in A and B, 3 trombones , Tuba , timpani , bass drum , snare drum , cymbals , triangle , tambourine , tam-tam , harp , strings with obbligato solo violin .

Structure, material and program

The suite consists of four movements. The composer was initially persuaded to give them the following programmatic titles, but later removed them again in favor of pure tempo markings and turned against interpreting “storytelling” into the music.

I. The sea and Sindbad's ship (Largo e maestoso — Allegro non troppo)
II. The story of the Prince Calendar (Lento — Andantino — Allegro molto — Con moto)
III. The young prince and the young princess (Andantino quasi allegretto — Pochissimo più mosso — Come prima — Pochissimo più animato)
IV. Celebration in Baghdad. Ocean. The ship crashes against a cliff under a bronze rider. (Allegro molto — Vivo — Allegro non troppo maestoso)

The motif at the beginning of the first movement stands for the tyrannical sultan. But after a few chords of the woodwinds that the initiation of the overture A Midsummer Night's Dream by Mendelssohn remember heard the only issue that is taken up in each set; it symbolizes the figure of the narrator herself, Scheherazade , his wife, who ultimately succeeds in appeasing him with her stories. The melody is performed by a recitative on the solo violin and accompanied by the harp. The theme is in the A- Dorian key .

$\ relative c {\ set Staff.midiInstrument = # "tuba" \ set Score.tempoHideNote = ## t \ tempo 4 = 130 \ clef bass \ key g \ major \ time 2/2 e2 \ ff bd ~ \ times 2 / 3 {d4 cb} c2. ~ \ StartTrillSpan c8. g16 \ stopTrillSpan ais2 \ accent \ staccato fis \ accent \ staccato \ bar "||" }$

$\ relative c '' '{\ set Staff.midiInstrument = # "violin" \ set Score.tempoHideNote = ## t \ tempo 4 = 60 \ clef treble \ key g \ major \ time 4/4 e4 (~ e8 \ times 2/3 {d16 ed} \ times 2/3 {cdc)} \ times 2/3 {b (cb} \ times 2/3 {ace} \ times 2/3 {g fis e)} e4 (\ bar " || "}$

Audio samples

after sentences

I. The Sea and Sinbad's Ship - Listen ^?^/ⁱ
II. The story of the Prince Calendar - listen ^?^/ⁱ
III. The young prince and the young princess - listen ^?^/ⁱ
IV. Celebration in Baghdad. Ocean. The ship crashes on a cliff under a bronze rider - listen ^?^/ⁱ

(The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra will play , conducted by Pierre Monteux ; violin solos: Naoum Blinder , 1942)

Adaptations

The American musician Skip Martin (1916-1976) published a jazz adaptation in 1959 under the title Scheherajazz .

Web links

Scheherazade : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
Discography of Scheherazade's recordings

Individual evidence

↑ Skip Martin. Retrieved July 7, 2019 .

[1] Skip Martin. Retrieved July 7, 2019 .