=Folk-Music in Russia=.—The Slav nature differs greatly from that of
the races of Western Europe, and this difference appears also in the
Slavonic music. For a proper understanding of the Russian Folk-songs,
the student should be familiar with the country and its history, its
vast steppes, its lonely summers and dreary winters, and the patient
poverty of its long-suffering peasants. It is rich in legendary lore,
and the poetry of Pushkin and Gogol has wrought the wild beauty of
these tales into permanent form. The popular melodies trace their
origin back to pagan times, and show infinite variety. There are
epic chants, songs of weddings and funerals, and weirdly beautiful
cradle-songs, Their delicate, capricious rhythm, and their strangeness
of harmony and cadence, possess the utmost attraction. At times the
songs are strong and savage, at times tranquil and majestic, or brisk
and graceful; but usually they are tinged with the profound melancholy
of an oppressed race. The church music, too, with its old modes and
deep-voiced choirs, flourishes in unusual purity.
=The Rise of Russian Music=.—In the middle of the 18th century, the
Imperial Court began to import foreign composers, and St. Petersburg
was enabled to hear and see such men as Paisiello, Cimarosa, and
Boieldieu. Works in the native language soon followed, and the Venetian
Cavos became so identified with Russian music that he might almost have
passed for a native. The first Russian composer, however, was =Glinka=,
whose “Life for the Czar” (1836) was received with profound enthusiasm
by the entire nation. Other composers followed, the best of whom were
=Dargomishky= and =Seroff=. The former died only recently, and his
later works show the Wagnerian influence. Instrumental music flourished
also. The rich melodic beauty of Rubinstein charmed all Europe, and
only the passionate power of Tchaikovsky placed it in the background.
But now even he, the greatest of the Russians, is not considered truly
national by his countrymen, who think him too German in style.
=Balakireff=.—Of the five men who strove to make Russian music
distinctively national, =Mily Alexejevitch Balakireff= (Nijni-Novgorod,
Russia, 1836) was not the greatest, but may justly be called the
founder of the movement. After his university studies, he came under
the influence of Alexander Oulibicheff, a retired diplomat who devoted
himself to music. The young man soon settled in St. Petersburg, where
he met Cui, and began with him the work of developing the new school.
Balakireff has been active as pianist, teacher, and concert leader. The
musical principles adopted by him and his four associates called for
the use of Russian Folk-music in just the way that Dvořák employed the
plantation style in his “New World” symphony. This idea is at least as
old as the days of Weber, whose “Freischütz,” written in the popular
vein, made such an overwhelming triumph in Germany. With the wealth
of beautiful Folk-songs in Russia, it has been possible to produce an
immense amount of interesting music, with which the Western world is as
yet by no means fully acquainted. Balakireff himself was not prolific
as a composer, but his works, though few in number, show real value.
They include a symphony, three overtures (Russian, Czech, and Spanish),
incidental music to “King Lear,” the symphonic poem “Russia,” and a
second one, “Tamara,” based on the legend of a beautiful Caucasian
princess who entertained the passing cavalier for a night, while in the
morning the river Tarek bore away his corpse. Another Oriental subject
is the difficult piano fantasie “Islamey.” His lesser works include
mazurkas, some four-hand pieces, and a score of remarkable songs,
masterly in their perfection of detail.
[Illustration: ANTON ARENSKY. CÉSAR CUI.