Music of Russia

1. Music of Russia USAD 2012-2013

2. Folk Music • Folk songs varied locally from region to region • Different villages sang different songs • ¨ They also sang different variations of the same song • Urban assimilation of villages transformed folk songs • ¨ In some cases, urban popular music obliterated folk tradition • The late 18th century gave rise to folk song transcription • Educated urban gentlemen spearheaded the notation of folk music • Many of these men were amateur musicians • Their work introduced folk songs into the world of art music

3. Transcription • Scotland pioneered transcription, but Germany performed most important legwork • Achim von Arnim(1781-1831) and ClemensBrentano (1778-1842) compiled Des KnabenWunderhorn (1805-1808) • ¨ This folk song collection only included song lyrics • ¨ However, ensuing anthologies often featured melodies as well

4. Johann Gottfried Herder • Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803) linked folk songs and nationalism • This German philosopher traveled through Europe and Russia • He believed national divisions existed based on language • Herder considered folk song part of the national, not just local, culture • He was one of the first to note the national importance of folk music • Herder wrote that folk music channeled national spirit • Folk songs became part of national heritage

5. Transcription methods and their flaws • Before audio recording, transcribers relied solely on their memories • Circumstances did not always allow the transcriber to hear the song multiple times • Even if he did, the same singer might still vary the song • Folk tradition did not stress rigid adherence to pitch and rhythm • Peasants only performed certain songs on certain occasions • Many folk songs were tied to ritual or work-related events • Thus, the transcriber only had one chance to listen • These events, like weddings, often came with distractions as well

6. Problems cont’d • The extensive lyrics took a long time to perform • Many publishers only printed excerpts from songs • A nonsensical verse about nature might have led to a profound tale of love • Worse yet, publishers rarely indicated these omissions to the reader • Some scholarly works generally included full texts • However, the general public could not easily access these publications • Even with the help of audio recording, transcribers must still make choices • Transcribers must decide which irregularities to preserve and which to exclude

7. Problems cont’d • Early transcribers did not bother themselves with issues of authenticity • Above all, these transcribers viewed folk songs as market goods • Transcriptions needed to appeal to domestic consumers • Most arrangements involved solo voice and piano • Arrangers ignored or rewrote polyphony and heterophony • These textures greatly differed from Western art music • Arrangers feared buyers would not approve • Sometimes arrangers replaced Western-like idioms to increase “folk” appeal • Notated folk songs reflected urban expectation more than rural tradition

8. More Problems with transcriptions • Despite their claims, arrangers always invented their own harmonies for folk melodies • The original songs most often involved only solo voice • However, arrangers still claimed to use “authentic” harmonies • 20th-century arrangers became more conscious of authenticity and accuracy

9. Track 1: “The Day was Breaking” • This folk song derives from the Smolenskregion • “The Day was Breaking” exemplifies the protyazhnaya genre • It features a long, winding melody • The melody is melismatic • Each syllable stretches out over an entire musical phrase • Thus, the lyrics unfold incredibly slowly • The lyrics refer to army recruitment • Russian conscripts served in the Tsarist army for 25 years

10. “The Day was Breaking” cont’d - excerpt • Each verse begins with a zapev, or solo introduction • The zapev centers on the interval of the fifth • Protyazhnayasoften focus on this interval • Mikhail Glinka described the fifth as “the soul of Russian music” • Podgoloski(“undervoices”) overwhelm the zapev, thickening the texture • Each ensuing verse becomes more dissonant • At the end of each verse, the texture reverts to unison

11. “The Day was Breaking” cont’d - excerpt • The song takes liberties with intervals • At the outset, a minor third featuring the modal center and the third scale degree appears • However, at the end of each verse, a major third appears • This interval sounds widely tuned compared to Western music • 19th century collectors would dismiss the sound • However, 20th century collectors indicated the wider tuning in their notation • The singers use “open” sounds, just as real folk singers do

12. Overview • Various types of “Russian folk songs” pervade the musical world • Examples include “Dark Eyes,” “Those Were the Days, My Friend,” and “Coachman, Spare Your Horses” • A few songs originated in the countryside • 19th-century Russian restaurants often featured gypsy singers and choirs • Their repertoire included both true folk songs and urban-created “folk” songs • Most 18th- and 19th-century collectors focused on notating legitimately rural folk songs • These songs reflected local village traditions and rituals • However, collections did include the occasional popular song • Scholars classify folk songs into genres • They base these decisions based on the song’s function • They also consider the lyrics and character of the song

13. Protyazhnaya • A solo performer may sing a lyrical song without a special occasion • These songs often focus on a tale of unhappy love • The best-known subgenre of lyrical songs is the protyazhnaya • Protyazhnaya literally means “prolonged” • A protyazhnaya typically features a long, winding melodic line • The melismatic aspect of the songs further increases their length • Melismaticsongs stretch each syllable over a musical phrase • Even native Russian speakers struggle to piece together the slowly unfolding lyrics

14. The protyazhnaya took on great symbolic status in the 19th century • Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) established the protyazhnaya as a symbol for Russia as a whole • His novel Dead Souls (1842) includes a memorable image • Three horses lead a coach across an unending stretch of Russian land • The coachman sings a melancholic, interminable protyazhnaya • Thus, Gogol implies that both Russia and the protyazhnaya are endless and tragic • Many people came to believe all Russian folk songs sounded melancholy • City dwellers encountered the protyazhnaya more frequently than other folk genres

15. Calendar Songs • Rural peasants only performed calendar songs for certain seasonal rituals • These occasions include Advent, Christmas, Shrovetide, and the summer solstice • The lyrics of these songs often combine pagan and Christian symbols • Many Christian festivals replaced earlier pagan holidays • Calendar songs differ significantly from protyazhnaya songs • Scholars believe calendar songs are much older than lyrical ones • Calendar songs use shorter, more syllabic melodic phrases • Each pitch corresponds to a single syllable of text

16. Other folk genres • Wedding songs included joyous hymns and more depressing tunes • Tradition required the bride to sing a song lamenting leaving her parental home • Funeral laments featured naturalistic sobbing sounds • The North of Russia favored byliny, or epic songs • These solo tunes recounted ancient legends and historical events • Bylinywere syllabic and imitated human speech • Labor songs helped coordinate group labor projects • Barge workers sang the “Song of the Volga Boatmen” • The rhythm allowed the many workers to pull ropes simultaneously • Plyasovyerefers to energetic dance songs • These repetitive melodies featured strong rhythms • Other genres included lullabies, game songs, and military marches

18. “Akhty step” • V. Sokolovarranged this Russian folk song • The song reflects popular (urban) elements rather than true rural roots • Three aspects of the song reveal its classification as a protyazhnaya • Many songs of this genre feature the same opening line: “O, ye steppes…” • The melody features wide intervals • The opening starts with an ascending sixth • Later, we hear an ascending octave • Like other protyazhnayas, the song sounds lyrical and sorrowful

19. “Akhty step” cont’d • “Akhty step” clearly displays urban influence • This arrangement is much less melismatic than traditional folk songs • Urban styles override folk-like variants and irregular harmonies • The modern choral arrangement adds a hummed introduction and a lengthy conclusion • However, the arranger does attempt to imitate folk devices • Some of the four verses begin with expressive vocal solos • Middle voices actively participate in the harmony • The ends of phrases often converge to a unison or octave

20. Folk Songs Collections & Arrangements • Lvov-Pratsch(1790) • The Lvov-Pratsch collection was the most influential early folk song anthology • It included both text and music • Nikolai Lvov transcribed the text • Johann (Ivan) Pratscharranged the music • City dwellers used the collection for domestic music playing • Composers included the arranged melodies in their own works

21. Lvov-Pratsch cont’d • Accusations of Westernization contributed to the collection’s fall from grace • Critics charged Pratsch with rewriting melodies to match urban expectation • Pratschsupposedly placed accents on the wrong syllables to match Western meter • Later musicians found Pratsch’sharmonizations insensitive and Western67 • Lvov did not keep records of his sources • The sources may already have been altered from the rural originals • Thus, scholars cannot know the extent of Pratsch’s changes • In the 19th century, collectors became more conscious of accuracy and authenticity

22. Balakirev (1866) • The Balakirev collection stressed the distinctive sound of Russian folk music • Unlike Pratsch, Mily Balakirev did not try to urbanize folk melodies • Rather, he attempted to exaggerate the differences between folk and art music • This choice reveals the abrupt shift in consumer taste in the 19th century • Balakirev favored non-Western musical ideas and simple harmonies • He often used flattened seventh degrees instead of Western leading tones • Sometimes he misrepresented sources to emphasize non-Western sounds

23. Balakirev cont’d • Balakirev mostly employed diatonic harmonies • In other words, he only used the pitches of a single scale • Other than hymns, Western art music did not typically do this • These harmonies created a modal sound • He used triads rather than four-note chords • From 1600 onward, seventh chords frequently appeared in Western art music • Balakirev believed folk music should sound more ancient • Balakirev also meticulously adhered to the natural stress pattern of words • He varied meter rather than sacrifice the stress pattern • Despite his scrupulous methodology, Balakirev still produced arrangements • In other words, the transcriptions did not accurately reflect folk practice • However, they were more accurate than Pratsch’s approach

24. Melgunov and Palchikov • Before the late 19th century, collectors did not transcribe polyphony or heterophony • Heterophony involves unsynchronized singers performing the same melody • It can also refer to a single melody with simultaneous variations • Polyphony refers to simultaneous melodies • Russian folk collectors were not very aware of these textures in folk song • Few early transcribers made serious attempts to notate them • Composers imitated the effect vaguely, but few understood the texture well • They began folk-like choruses with a soloist • They then incorporated the rest of the choir • The section ended in unison • Composers only became aware of these two textures after recording technology appeared

25. YuliMelgunov &Nikolai Palchikov cont’d • YuliMelgunovand Nikolai Palchikoveach attempted to notate folk heterophony and polyphony before recording technology • Melgunov published his collection of folk songs in 1879 • He succeeded in notating heterophony • To do so, he listened to the music in melodic, not harmonic, terms • He listened to several singers in the same village performing one at a time • Then he combined these variations on a single melody into one score • His attempts did not truly transcribe a choral folk song • However, they served as good approximations of heterophony • Composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov dismissed the collection as “barbaric” • He could not bear the heterophonic texture • The idea contradicted his own method of harmonizing folk songs

26. YuliMelgunov & Nikolai Palchikov cont’d • Nikolai Palchikovproduced the best notation of folk polyphony • Palchikovlived in a village • Thus, he could observe the same songs and singers multiple times • Unfortunately, he also remained in relative obscurity • Palchikovstood next to each singer and notated each part • He then combined these separate lines into a score • The result proved better than Melgunov’s compilation • Unfortunately, Melgunov’s collection received greater attention • Melgunov’sarrangements introduced Russian folk texture to the art world

27. Linyova (1904) • YevgeniyaLinyovareleased her first folk song collection in 1904 • She spearheaded the use of audio recording technology • Now, composers could not deny the textures in Russian folk music • Composer Igor Stravinsky was the first to embrace these folk textures • Other 20th century composers eagerly followed his lead • At the time, composers longed to break established composition rules

28. Folk Songs in Classical Music • Composers’ uses for folk song • Composers used folk themes to characterize lower-class characters in operas • For instance, Mikhail Glinka used folk songs to designate peasants in A Life for the Tsar • Other composers believed folk melodies made music sound more “national” • Philosophers like Herder reinforced this belief • Glinka chose Russian folk songs to differentiate his work from Italian operas • The use of familiar folk melodies also garnered sympathy and acclaim from audiences • Folk music also contained new techniques • Glinka and other composers drew inspiration for technical innovations • Composers often included folk melodies for several of the above reasons

29. Folk Songs in Classical Music cont’d • Myths and exaggerations • Many “national” composers exaggerated their knowledge of folk traditions • Often, their biographers published gross overstatements • In truth, most 19th-century composers came from privileged backgrounds • They did not grow up listening to folk music • Most composers consciously studied folk music in their adult years • Rimsky-Korsakov himself denied rumors of his familiarity with folk songs • He did not experience folk music until his twenties • Rimsky-Korsakov studied Balakirev’s collection of transcriptions

30. Contemporary critics often exaggerated the authenticity of quoted folk songs • Composers rewrote folk melodies to suit their own works • The songs themselves transformed en route from the village to the city • Rimsky-Korsakov presented a folk song melody simply • He often used a solo woodwind instrument • The accompaniment consisted of subtle string pizzicato • Rimsky-Korsakov kept harmony to a minimum, using long pedal notes • A pedal note refers to a long sustained note, often found in the bass line. Usually, a pedal note contains the root of the harmony. • Audiences frequently believed all folk songs sounded like this • However, the style was all Rimsky-Korsakov’s creation

31. Most importantly, scholars overplayed the national spirit imparted by folk songs • Only peasants from a certain region would recognize a folk song • Yet composers came to associate folk song with the entire population of Russia • In other words, a tiny little-known part represents the vast whole • Folk music does not possess noticeable “Russianness” • A foreign audience unfamiliar with Russian music would not recognize it as such

32. Russian Music of the 19th century

33. Westernization and Russian National Identity • Westernization under Peter the Great • In the early modern period, Russians set themselves apart from “The West” • Ivan the Terrible (r. 1547-1584) allegedly sent several dozens of scholars abroad • Unfortunately, none of these students ever returned to share their learning • Before Peter the Great, Russia rarely contacted Europe • Russia occasionally sent diplomats overseas • But, the country did not engage in extended interaction with the West

34. Peter the Great (r. 1682-1725) began a large-scale Westernization program • During his reign, the educated elite increasingly realized Russia’s isolation from the West • This epiphany also spread throughout the general population • European civilization fascinated Peter • He traveled throughout Europe in disguise • At one point, the tsar worked as a shipbuilder on a Dutch wharf • Peter the Great aimed to recreate Russia as a major European power • He intended to establish an irreversible, large-scale program of Westernization

37. St. Petersburg • St. Petersburg became the thriving center of Peter’s “new and improved” Russia • Engineers and laborers drained a strategically located marsh to build the city • The tsar based the city on Venice and Amsterdam • St. Petersburg featured its own harbor and canals • It contained towering modern buildings • The Europeanized city did not look like any other Russian town

38. Peter Westernized every aspect of city life • The well-organized grid of streets and identical houses emphasized his power • He renamed and remodeled all state institutions to fit Western models • He forced the aristocracy to adopt European dress and shave their beards • Nobles discarded their long robes in favor of European breeches and coats • Those who refused to shave were forcibly coerced • Peter also hosted assamblei (fashionable balls) and introduced the minuet (slow and graceful ballroom dance for two, the minuet first appeared in the French royal court during the 17th century. Its name derives from the small (menu means “small”) steps required to perform the dance. 18th-century composers often included a minuet-style piece in triple time as a movement in a larger composition.)

39. Despite heavy resistance, Peter the Great successfully implemented his reforms • In part, he triumphed due to sheer ruthlessness • His alterations, however, did benefit some segments of the population • Still, controversies over Westernization remained for two centuries • Communism later declared itself the supreme Westernizing force • However, the Soviet Communist movement still diverged from Western ideals

40. The emergence of Russian nationalism : Nationalism only gained major momentum in the late 18th century • German nationalist philosophers influenced the educated Russian elite • Both nations worked to collect folk songs • Russians also began to take interest in their native Slaviclanguage • At the time, the urbanized nobility mostly spoke French • The Russian elite viewed nationalism in completely cultural terms at this time

41. Napoleon Invades • Napoleon’s invasion in 1812 truly launched Russian nationalistic fervor • Authorities realized that the army required the support of the entire population • Political nationalism first appeared in mass produced patriotic posters and leaflets • These advertisements urged all Russians to unite as a single nation • They asked individuals to pledge their main loyalty to their nation

42. The pamphlets succeeded in uniting the Russian population • Russian peasants fought French invaders with axes and sticks • Citizens set fire to Moscow rather than relinquish it to French forces • The defeat of Napoleon gave rise to Russian national awareness

43. Outcomes of the Napoleonic Wars • Though their victory united Russian citizens, the 1812 Patriotic War also fostered dissent • Russian military officers and soldiers realized their country’s backwardness • These men fought Napoleon back to Paris • En route, they noticed the superior infrastructure and greater equality in Europe • They also realized that serfdomwas incredibly outdated (Serfdom refers to exploitation of rural peasants by the landowning nobility. The peasants, called serfs, worked for the wealthy landowners in exchange for legal protection and certain other rights. In essence, serfs lived in a condition of modified slavery, as they received no pay and depended on their landlords for all manner of legal, economic, and social welfare.) • Most European nations had outlawed serfdom centuries prior

44. Another Outcome: The Decembrist Uprising, 1825 • Dissatisfied soldiers revolted against the new tsar Nicholas I in December 1825 • The “Decembrists” aimed to incite social reform • Unfortunately, their revolution failed • The tsar hanged five of the rebel leaders • He also exiled many other participants to Siberia • Thus, Napoleon’s invasion also revealed growing frustration within Tsarist Russia

45. Establishment of Russian Nationalism • In 1833, the Russian government established Official Nationalism • All Russian schools would teach students this new state ideology • Minister of Education Sergei Uvarovintroduced the doctrine • He described it with a slogan: “Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality” • Orthodoxy referred to the dominant Russian religion, the Orthodox Church • Autocracy embodied the unquestionable absolute sovereignty of the tsar • However, even Uvarov did not truly understand “Nationality” (narodnost’) • At this point, dissatisfied intellectuals developed the concept of nationalism • The Russian government did not yet see nationalism as a weapon they could employ

46. PyotrChaadayev • Chaadayev’s concerns • PyotrChaadayev (1794-1856) expressed concern about Russia’s cultural backwardness • His “Philosophical Letter” of 1829 addressed this issue • Chaadayev noted that European nations shared common history and traditions • Their societies held similar views on justice, law, order, and duty • By contrast, Russia never participated in this community • Thus, Russia lacked these basic European principles

47. The authorities refused to publish Chaadayev’s “Philosophical Letter” • They thought his ideas too controversial • Instead, they declared him insane and treated him as such • Regardless, manuscript copies spread throughout the nation (USAD made this corrections in June.) ‘‘In his land, Peter the Great found only a blank sheet of paper, and he wrote on it: ‘Europe and the West’; since then we have belonged to Europe and the West”

48. Chaadayev’s work inspired two different ideological groups in the mid-19th century • Westernizers believed Russians was part of Europe • They supported continued imitation of Western traditions • Slavophilesfocused on Russia’s “blind, superficial and awkward imitation” of the West • This group advocated the reversal of Peter the Great’s Westernizing reforms • They called to reinstate communal law and other abolished practices • Slavophilesalso wanted to firmly distinguish Russian Orthodoxy (Eastern Christianity) from Western Christianity (especially Catholicism) • They claimed Eastern Christians favored authority and faith over logic and reason • Slavophilesalso spoke of a new world order led by Russia, not Europe

49. Like Chaadayev, many other 19th-century intellectuals compared Russians to Westerners • Most comparisons were to the French and Germans • The French were old enemies from 1812 • Meanwhile, the Germans made up a large part of St. Petersburg’s high society • Comparison and contrast formed the basis for defining Russian “national character” • However, this method of analysis also resulted in national stereotypes • The French were brilliant but the Russians were profound • The Germans were industrious but the Russians were humane and empathetic • “Russian character” proved nothing but a philosophical construct

50. Philosophical Influence on Music • 19th-century Russian composers sought to differentiate themselves from the West • Glinka attempted to create a new style of opera • He believed Russia displayed greater melancholy than sunny Italy • Thus, Russian opera should be more sorrowful than widespread Italian opera • The Mighty Handful would adopt similar ideas in the 1860s • National stereotypes played a major role in the creation of “Russian style” • From the beginning, composers defined Russian music as non-German • German stereotypes thus became a major factor in Russian musical development