| Russian Easter Festival Overture |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT RUSSIAN EASTER FESTIVAL OVERTURE | |
| compositions by nikolai rimsky-korsakov | |
| overtures | |
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BACKGROUND The tunes in the overture are largely from the Russian orthodox liturgy, based on a collection of old Russian Orthodox canticles called the '' Obikhod ''. Rimsky-Korsakov includes several biblical quotations in the score to guide the listener as to his intent, including Psalm 68 and Mark 16. In this overture, the composer, as he says in his autobiography, is eager to reproduce "the legendary and heathen aspect of the holiday, and the transition from the solemnity and mystery of the evening of Passion Saturday to the unbridled pagan-religious celebrations of Easter Sunday morning". STRUCTURE The opening ''Andante lugubre'' alternates two themes: the first is intoned solemnly by woodwind ''"Let God Arise, let his enemies be scattered"''; while the second is the hymn ''"An Angel Cried Out"'', after a solo violin Cadenza , first heard on solo cello. Trombones and strings then repeat the first theme antiphonally. The ''allegro'' section, led by a second solo violin cadenza, has a very lively and syncopated theme, which quotes the hymn ''"Let them also that hate Him flee before Him"'', and the mood builds up to one of exultation. A calm melody, which is based on a famous Russian Easter chant ''"Christ is Risen"'', also appears. All these themes appear at the climax, and the chant "amids the trumpet blasts and the bell-tolling, constituting a triumphant coda". A feature the work is its use of short violin cadenzas to separate some of its sections. They represent the light shining from the Holy Sepulcher . |
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