Glinka's 'Russlan and Ludmila' Author(s): M. D. Calvocoressi Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 66, No. 991 (Sep.

1, 1925), pp. 785-787 Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/912148 . Accessed: 01/02/2011 09:36
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(FOR LIST OF CONTENTS SEE PAGE 847.)

GLINKA'S

'RUSSLAN By M.-D.

AND

LUI)MILA'

CALVOCORESSI

A few weeks ago, orchestral excerpts from Glinka's 'Russlan and Ludmila,' arranged as a Suite by Mr. Constant Lambert, were given at the Royal College of Music. Thus was a London audience afforded a fresh glimpse of a work that teems with lovely music, and is very little known outside Russia. It has been often said that Russian music's indebtedness to Glinka's works, and to 'Russlan and Ludmnila'in particular, equals that of western music to 'Tristan and Isolda.' It would be truer Ex. i. Vivace assaz-. A _ to say that it exceeds it considerably. The better we know 'Russlan and Ludmila,' the better we Ala-gen, O fUrst dir im Frie - den und strei - te realise how direct, how great, how decisive its influence has been on all Russian composers of the second half of the I9th century-Moussorgsky standing as a partial exception. It is not, however, from the historical point of --Iview alone that I recommend acquaintanceship with 'Russlan and Ludmila'; for there is much se - gen die Gt - ter-ver - lein in this work which should delight all music-lovers, besides interesting all students. It played an allimportant part in creating. the idiom and style which characterise most of the later masterpieces Ex 2. . of the Russian school; but it gives us actualities, Allegreto. SOPRANO, not mere potentialities. ALTO. This fact being acknowledged (and I hope Trau - re nicht, 0 sis - ses Herz. ens -kind, the few quotations given below may serve as a there remains, of course, the other amazing bait), fact that the work was finished in the early part of It is exactly at the time when western I842. ORCH. grand opera had reached the level of Meyerbeer's 'Le Prophete' and Halevy's ' La Reine de Chypre,' ---'4 --"---------L----'-- - --?=j whereas Wagner had proceeded no further than 'The Flying Dutchman,' that Glinka-a practically self-taught composer, with no national art-tradition to fall back upon-followed up his first wonderful an - d're Freud beut die Welt dir kei- ne achievement ('A Life for the Csar,' 1836) with the sudden revelation which stood embodied in the ...... music of 'Russlan.' From that moment a vast new field was thrown open, and its first-fruit proved how rich it was. Let it be clearly undersome day the claim here made be stood-lest twisted out of recognition--that it is not because others found Glinka's innovations profitable that Ex. 3. Allegro. Glinka's music should oe admired. It is worthy S. A. of being enjoyed just for what it is; its seminal T. B. _ _ -- -d-_ -value is but an additional proof of its own wel Wonne-maclit -kraft, Wel- cheZa - ber vitality. --e -r-~--e-It will be noticed that I speak of the music of ----'Russlan,' not of 'Russian' as an opera. As an opera it is one of the dullest and most incoherent uns der Lie - be glut doch ver - leiht. I know. The libretto was written piecemeal by (The orchestra likewise in octaves.)

four of Glinka's friends, with his co-operation, and is barely good enough to serve as a prop for the music-a good deal of which, by the way, was written in anticipation of the words. And even the music is not all good. 'Russlan' is a score from which it is advisable to pick and choose; the best in it will be found very lovely. There is little likelihood that the work will ever be given here; and even less likelihood that, if given, it would take root. Often I think of the possibility of grouping the most beautiful parts of it together into a kind of anthology for concert purposes, and possibly in view of a stage production intended for music-lovers rather than for the average opera-goer-a kind of concert-opera with stage settings, pageants, and dances. That the first Act, with a few cuts, can hold its own, was proved by its production at Paris in 19o9. It contains a number of admirable choruses (indeed, the whole choral part of 'Russian' is first class), from which the following samples may be culled:

ei

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The last-quoted chorus begins in octaves as shown, but afterwards the arrangement is interestingly varied. It occurs immediately before the episode which appears the of Ludmila's abduction-in whole-tone scale that is the only thing in which most western writers on 'Russlan' seem to be interested. After this episode begins the famous canon for four male voices and accompanying choir, which is one of the finest- things in the whole opera. Of Ludmila's part, the utmost that can be said is that it is, musically, far more interesting than the stuff usually written for coloratura soprano. It becomes more attractive in the fourth Act, although even then it remains overladen with ornaments and runs. Such as it is, it might serve to provide much-needed changes in the diet which coloratura sopranos, when they give a concert, provide for their public. In the second Act two things stand apart: the opening ballad sung by Finn, the kind wizard, which is altogether delightful and instinct with originality (it is rather long-drawn), and the scene between Russlan and the Giant's Head, to whose fantastic character the music does full justice. It constitutes a big step in the direction shown by Weber's Wolfsschlucht music in 'Freyschiitz,' and in anticipation of the Fafner music in 'The Ring.' In the third Act, the Persian chorus, with its subtle, ingeniously carried-out colour variations (the kind of variation already used in some of the choruses in the first Act, and a favourite kind with Liszt and the later Russians), and Ratmir's recitative introduce Eastern elements as definitely and as effectively as the first Act had introduced archaic Slavonic elements. There is also a fine Cavatina sung by Gorislava (I name the characters without troubling to specify the part they play in the slender, puerile plot), and a lovely chorus of Na'ina's maidens. It is chiefly in the instinct which prompted Glinka to select and adapt the hitherto ignored Slavonic and Oriental elements that the signs of his originality are to be found, but not altogether. Over and above, there existed in him a strikingly individual sense of purity and simplicity in workmanship, coupled with a rare sense of effectiveness. He was not conspicuous for his critical sense, and would pour out indifferent music as freely as capital music. Yet in that music of his which is fine, there is absolutely no flaw from the technical or from the oesthetic points of view. His orchestration especially is always splendid. To the student of the history of orchestration two things remain marvellous: Glinka's orchestration, and that of Liszt. Both composers, evidently, were born orchestrators, like Mozart, Weber, and Berlioz. But how and where they acquired their practical experience-that practical experience which other composers of genius acquired so slowly and often far less thoroughly -is an unanswerable question. There exists no instance of indifferent scoring from the pen of Glinka or of Liszt. All they have written is

perfectly in keeping, technically faultless, and comes off.' Their technique seems to have sprung, fully-equipped, from the brain of the orchestral Jupiter. And Glinka did not even have the chances of hearing, studying, or conducting music which Liszt had. He was acquainted with a certain portion of the classical repertory, he played the violin a little, and he had received a few lessons from Dehn at Berlin. His inborn musicianship did the rest. Both the height to which his musical invention could rise and the ingenuity and dexterity of his scoring are admirably evinced in the fairy music and the scenes in the fourth Act. The Turkish Dance, and especially the ' Lesghinka,' are worthy of close study. The latter is one of the most original things in Russian music. Here is one instance of the new and effective devices with which it teems:
Ex. 4. Vivace assai.

-I

4- -

-0-

--

-_

1
.I -. .

t'

--

Again the temptation is strong to quote freely from the choral music, which is as simple as it is telling; and again it must be resisted. Two short excerpts may be given:
Ex. 5. Andante mosso. Sop. dolce. I. II.

O Her Alt. -

--"
rin,

du hol - de,

.
orch..

--

""%"

on

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dolce assai.

-1-du hol
-

de,

I shall wind up by quoting the beautiful recitative for the clarinet which occurs when Russian grasps the hand of the sleeping Ludmila (Act 5):
Ex. 7. Andante. -

0 Her

- rin,

du

hol - de,

S EBY----

VPY

8 Con grazza, afiacere.

Lim

,. ...

.
-14

Ex.

Compare this with the instrumental recitatives in Liszt's 'Dante' Symphony (first movement, middle section), in the third Act of 'Siegfried' (heralding Briinnhilde's awakening)), and in 'Mlada' (Cleopatra's Rimsky - Korsakov's zih - me Zorn und Schmerz. appearance). It will be found, I am sure, that when speaking of the beauty of 'Russlan and Ludmila,' I have understated rather than overstated. I aimed at zih - me Zorn und Schmerz. appraising it from a particular point of view. I contented myself with noting a few of the things in it which I consider of paramount musical significance, without taking into account all in it that is effective, tuneful, or otherwise acceptable, but not essentially characteristic of Glinka's own genius. For aught I know, I may be under-rating the chances of success which the work might have here if properly produced. I am, I fear, utterly incapable of understanding what it is that, here or there, makes or mars the success of an opera. The Russian public of the 'forties did not take kindly 6. Sopr. I, 2. to 'Russlan,' and it is only much later that the Andante quasi allegretto. -- .......... ! - " - --------- : -: beauties of the work carried the day in Russia. These beauties may still do so elsewhere. In advocating what I have called an anthology, I - en. ihr Fried Sanf-ter Schlaf gieb ihr Ruh, gieb may seem to be advocating the very kind of thing Alti. against which I sometimes protest excitedly. But I do not suggest that this anthology should be offered -7A"7-----. under a misleading label. The case of 'Russlan' is exceptional, and calls, I believe, for exceptional ihr Fried - en. Sanf-ter Schlaf gieb ihr Ruh, gieb measures. There is no reason, after all, why these measures should not be only temporary. --orch.
--I -E.

Here we are at the very fount-head of all that is newest and most significant in Russian music of the 19th century. Even these brief excerpts will show how near the music of 'Russlan' brings us to the music of Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Sadko' and Borodin's 'Polovtsian Dances,' exactly as other quotations would show its nearness to Balakirev's Tamara' or to other works of the same period and after.

P.S.-Referring to my comments on the revised edition of Borodin's first Symphony (see Musical Times, December, 1924), M. Andrei RimskyKorsakov, the composer's son, writes to me that the changes are Borodin's own, and that both versions were published during Borodin's life-time. He informs me that M. Dianin (the son of a pupil of Borodin) is preparing an article in which he will set forth the facts and, I understand, condemn my 'unscientific rashness.' Pending the time when this article will come forth, all I wish to do is to make M. A. Rimsky-Korsakov's statements known to my readers. I shall be glad-though the evidence certainly not for my own sake-if proves these statements true.-M.-D. C.