Marche Slave
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The Slavonic March in B-flat minor, Op. 31 (also commonly known by its French title Marche slave), is an orchestral composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
In June 1876, following incidents in which Turkish soldiers killed a large number of Christian Slavs, Serbia declared war on Turkey. Many Russians sympathized with those they considered to be their fellow Slavs and sent volunteer soldiers and aid to assist the Kingdom of Serbia. In the ensuing struggle the Serbian army was quickly defeated by the Turks.
Nikolai Rubinstein, a close friend of Tchaikovsky, asked him to compose a piece for a concert benefiting the wounded Russian volunteers. In a burst of patriotism, Tchaikovsky composed and orchestrated what was first known as the "Serbo-Russian March" (later to be known as "Marche slave") in only five days [1]. The piece was premiered in Moscow on November 17, 1876 to a warm reception.
The march is highly programmatic in its form and organisation. The first section describes the oppression of the Serbians by the Turkish. It uses two Serbian folk songs. The first "Come my dearest, why so sad this morning?" is played at the outset, as Tchaikovsky directs, "at the speed of a funeral march". The second folk song is more optimistic in character. An episode follows, describing the atrocities in the Balkans, in which Tchaikovsky uses his mastery of the orchestra to build a tremendous climax, at the height of which the first folk song returns, fortissimo on the trumpets like a plangent cry for help. The tempestuous mood subsides giving way to the second section in the relative major key, which describes the Russians rallying to help the Serbs. This is based on a simple melody with the character of a rustic dance which is passed around the orchestra until finally it gives way to a solemn statement of the Russian national anthem "God Save the Tsar". The third section of the piece is a repeat of Tchaikovsky's furious orchestral climax, reiterating the Serbian cry for help. The final section describes the Russian volunteers marching to assist the Serbians. It uses a Russian tune, this time in the tonic major key and includes another blazing rendition of "God Save the Tsar" prophesying the triumph of the Slavonic people over tyranny. The overture finishes with a virtuoso coda for the full orchestra.
The piece shares a few refrains with the 1812 Overture, with which it is frequently paired in performance.
Notable recordings
Sir Adrian Boult conducting London Philharmonic Orchestra
Antal Dorati conducting Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Charles Dutoit conducting Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Herbert von Karajan conducting Berliner Philharmoniker
Fritz Reiner conducting Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Leopold Stokowski conducting London Symphony Orchestra
[edit] Instrumentation
The march is scored for 2 flutes, 2 piccolos, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B flat, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, 2 cornets in B flat, 2 trumpets in B flat, 3 trombones (2 tenor, 1 bass), tuba, 3 timpani, snare drum, cymbals, bass drum, tam-tam, and strings.
[edit] External links
- Marche Slave was available at the International Music Score Library Project.
- Downloadable recordings of the march
[edit] References
Brown D (1982) "Tchaikovsky: A Biographical and Critical Study, Volume 2 The Crisis Years 1874-1878" pp99-102 Victor Gollancz London. ISBN 0-575-03132-8
Garden E (1973) "Tchaikovsky" p67 JM Dent and Sons ISBN 0460 031058
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