Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was born in Tikhvin, Russia, on March 18, 1844.
Trained for a naval career, he was graduated from the Naval School in
St. Petersburg in 1862, after which he embarked on a two-and-a-half-year
cruise as naval officer. From earliest boyhood he had been passionately
interested in music, especially the folk operas of Glinka and Russian
ecclesiastical music. When he was seventeen, he was encouraged by
Balakirev to essay composition. After returning to Russia in 1864,
Rimsky-Korsakov associated himself with the national Russian school then
being realized by Balakirev and Mussorgsky among others, and completed
his first symphony, introduced in St. Petersburg in 1865. He plunged
more deeply into musical activity after that by completing several
ambitious works of national character, including the _Antar Symphony_
and an opera, _The Maid of Pskov_. In 1873 he was relieved by the
government of all his naval duties and allowed to devote himself
completely to music. At that time the special post of Inspector of
Military Orchestras was created for him. He soon distinguished himself
as a conductor of the Free Music Society in St. Petersburg and as
professor of composition and orchestration at the St. Petersburg
Conservatory. He did not neglect composition, producing many significant
operas and orchestral works. In his music he remained faithful to
national ideals by filling his music with melodies patterned after
Russian folk songs, harmonies derived from the modes of Russian church
music, and rhythms simulating those of Russian folk dances. To all his
writing he brought an extraordinary technical skill in structure,
orchestration and harmony. He died of a heart attack in Liubensk,
Russia, on June 21, 1908.
The exotic personality and harmonic and instrumental brilliance of
Eastern music are often encountered in Rimsky-Korsakov. They are found
in two extremely popular excerpts from his opera _Le Coq d’or_ (_The
Golden Cockerel_): “Bridal Procession” and “Hymn to the Sun.”
_Le Coq d’or_ is a fantasy-opera, introduced in Moscow on October 7,
1909; the libretto, by Vladimir Bielsky, is based on a tale by Pushkin.
A golden cockerel with the talent of prophecy is presented to King Dodon
by his astrologer. In time the cockerel accurately prophesies the doom
of both the astrologer and the King.
The oriental, languorous “Hymn to the Sun” (“_Salut à toi soleil_”)
appears in the second act, a salute by the beautiful Queen of Shemaka.
After the Queen has captured the love of King Dodon with this song, they
marry. There are many transcriptions of this beautiful melody, including
one for violin and piano by Kreisler and for cello and piano by Julius
Klengel.
The third act of this opera opens with the brilliant music of the
“Bridal Procession.” The royal entourage passes with pomp and ceremony
through the city accompanied by the cheers of the surrounding crowds.
In the vital “Dance of the Tumblers” or “Dance of the Buffoons” for
orchestra, Rimsky-Korsakov skilfully employs folk rhythms. This dance
comes from the composer’s folk opera, _The Snow Maiden_
(_Snegourochka_). The third act opens with a gay Arcadian festival
celebrated by the Berendey peasants during which this gay and exciting
folk dance is performed.
The pictorial, realistic “Flight of the Bumble Bee” is an excerpt from
still another of Rimsky-Korsakov’s operas, _The Legend of Tsar Saltan_.
This is an orchestral interlude in the third act describing tonally, and
with remarkable realism, the buzzing course of a bee. This piece retains
its vivid pictorialism even in transcriptions, notably that for solo
piano by Rachmaninoff, and for violin and piano by Arthur Hartmann.
The “Hindu Chant” or “The Song of India” is also an operatic excerpt,
this time from _Sadko_. It appears at the close of the second tableau of
the second act. Sadko is the host to three merchants from foreign lands.
He invites each to tell him about his homeland, one of whom is a Hindu
who proceeds in an Oriental melody to speak of the magic and mystery of
India.
The _Russian Easter Overture_ (_La Grand pâque russe_), for orchestra,
op. 36 (1888) was one of the fruits of the composer’s lifelong
fascination for Russian church music. The principal thematic material of
the overture comes from a collection of canticles known as the _Obikhod_
from the Russian Orthodox Church. Two of these canticles are heard in
the solemn introduction, a section which the composer said represented
the “Holy Sepulcher that had shone with ineffable light at the moment of
the Resurrection.” The first is given loudly by strings and clarinets,
the second quietly by violins and violas accompanied by woodwind, harps,
and pizzicato basses. A brief cadenza for solo violin is the transition
to the main body of the overture where the two canticles from the
introduction are amplified and developed. A brilliant coda leads to the
conclusion of the work where the second of the two melodies is given for
the last time by trombones and strings.
Rimsky-Korsakov’s most famous work for orchestra is the symphonic suite,
_Scheherazade_, op. 35 (1888). Nowhere is his remarkable gift at
pictorial writing, at translating a literary program into tones, more in
evidence than here. This music describes episodes from the _Arabian
Nights_ in four movements which are unified by the recurrence of two
musical motives. The first is that of the Sultan, a forceful, majestic
statement for unison brass, woodwinds and strings; the second is a
tender melody in triplets for strings depicting the lovely Scheherazade.
The Sultan theme opens the first movement, entitled “The Sea and
Sinbad’s Ship.” After quiet chords for the brass, the Scheherazade
melody is heard in solo violin accompanied by harp arpeggios. The music
later becomes highly dramatic as Sinbad’s ship, represented by a flute
solo, is buffeted about by an angry sea, the latter portrayed by rapid
arpeggio figures. The poignant Scheherazade motive in solo violin
introduces the second movement, “The Tale of the Kalendar.” The tale is
spun in a haunting song for bassoon, dramatically contrasted by a
dynamic rhythmic section for full orchestra. The third movement, “The
Young Prince and the Princess” is a tender love dialogue between violins
and clarinets. After a recall of the Scheherazade melody there appears
the finale: “The Festival at Bagdad; The Sea, The Ship Founders on the
Rock.” A brief recall of the Sinbad theme brings on an electrifying
picture of a festival in Bagdad. The gay proceedings, however, are
interrupted by a grim shipwreck scene, vividly depicted by the exciting
music. This dramatic episode passes, and the suite ends with a final
statement of the Scheherazade theme.
The _Spanish Caprice_ (_Capriccio espagnol_), for orchestra, op. 34
(1887) is one of the composer’s rare attempts at exploiting the folk
music of a country other than his own. There are five parts. The first
is a morning song, or “Alborada,” in which two main subjects of Spanish
identity are given by the full orchestra. This is followed by
“Variations.” A Spanish melody is here subjected to five brief
variations. In the third part, the Alborada music returns in a changed
tonality and orchestration. The fourth movement is entitled “Scene and
Gypsy Dance” and consists of five cadenzas. The Capriccio ends with
“_Fandango asturiano_,” in which a dance melody for trombones is
succeeded by a contrasting subject in the woodwinds. A last recall of
the main Alborada theme of the first movement brings the work to its
conclusion.