This composition was based on Russian Orthodox liturgical themes found by Rimsky-Korsakov in an old book. His idea was to highlight the pagan origins of the Easter Festival and how the more modern Orthodox festival and tradition had its roots in the old pagan ways. Rimsky-Korsakov was a non believer but he seems to have had an interest in the music of the church.Rimsky-Korsakov wrote his own program notes for the work, as written in his autobiography:
"This legendary and heathen side of the holiday, this transition from the gloomy and mysterious evening of Passion Saturday to the unbridled pagan-religious merry-making of Easter Sunday, is what I was eager to reproduce in my overture. . . . The rather lengthy slow introduction . . . on the theme “Let God arise” [woodwinds], alternating with the ecclesiastical melody “An angel cried out” [solo cello], appeared to me, in the beginning, as it were, the ancient prophecy of Isaiah of the Resurrection of Christ. The gloomy colors of the Andante lugubre seemed to depict the Holy Sepulchre that had shone with ineffable light at the moment of the Resurrection—in the transition to the Allegro of the overture. The beginning of the Allegro —the theme “Let them also that hate Him flee before Him”—led to the holiday mood of the Greek Orthodox service on Christ's matins; the solemn trumpet voice of the Archangel was replaced by a tonal reproduction of the joyous, almost dancelike tolling of bells, alternating now with the sexton's rapid reading and now with the conventional chant of the priest's reading the glad tidings of the Evangel. The Obikhod theme, “Christ is arisen,” which forms a sort of subsidiary part of the overture, appears amid the trumpet blasts and the bell-tolling, constituting a triumphant coda."
The work was composed in 1887-1888 and the premiere was lead by the composer late in 1888. It was one of his last works for orchestra as he devoted his time almost exclusively to writing opera. The work is full of orchestral color and shows Rimsky-Korsakov a master of the orchestra. It opens with the very different time signature of 5/2, and in the last section of the work time signatures of 3/1 and 2/1 are used.
Franz Liszt began planning the work as early as 1838 after
he saw The Triumph Of Death fresco by Francesco Traini in the Campo Santo in
Pisa, Italy. But until he dedicated himself to composing over traveling Europe
as the most famous virtuoso of his day, the first version was not completed until
1853. Liszt revisited the work in 1859
and completed the 2nd version, the version most often heard, in 1864.
The Romantic era in general had a certain amount of interest
in the subject of death, but Liszt took it even farther. He composed a number
of pieces that dwelled on the subject to the point of morbidity.
Totendanz is a set of variations (or as Liszt put it, a paraphrase)
on the Gregorian chant Dies Irae, or day of wrath, words that were taken from
the Bible that depicted the day of final judgement. The original Latin text and
music for Dies Irae date back to the 13th century. The chant is most
frequently heard in the Catholic Requiem Mass, and Liszt is just one of many
composers that used the melody in their compositions.
The Triumph Of Death fresco by Francesco Traini
Opening theme ‘Dies irae -The music begins with the
soloist playing deep in the bass of the piano in marked tone clusters while the
orchestra plays the theme. The piano
then plays the first of three cadenzas that span the compass of the keyboard
with the orchestra contributes short chords after each. The orchestra then
takes up the theme while the piano hammers out chords in the treble range of
the piano in rapid tempo that makes it sound like a huge 8-note tremolo. A
climax is reached and the music grows quiet. The piano has a solo that leads to
-
Variation I (Allegro
moderato) - The bassoon and violas play a variant of the melody, and the
piano repeats it. Clarinets and bassoon play the second part of the melody and
the piano repeats it, and leads to -
Variation II -The
left hand of the piano plays a variant of the theme low in the bass as the
right hand plays runs higher in the bass. A horn and pizzicato strings add to
the texture. The next part of the
variation has piano glissandos in the right hand, the bass plays a dotted
rhythm while trumpets and low strings are added. The drama increases as the
piano plays glissandos in both hands as the woodwinds and strings lend
accompaniment. This leads to -
Variation III (Molto
vivace) - The soloist goes back to the deep bass for an agitated section that
eventually climbs into the high treble. A full stop comes upon a D minor chord
that leads to -
Variation IV (Lento) -
For piano solo, this gentle canon gives some rest after the preceding
drama. After it has played out, a cadenza in B major (the only section of any
length in a major key in the piece) gives repose. The music then goes back to
the minor with a solo clarinet playing a simple variant of the melody with a
light piano accompaniment. Another
section of transformation begins abruptly with the piano increasing the tempo
to presto, with octaves in each hand leading to -
Variation V (Vivace) -The first part of the theme is rendered contrapuntally by solo piano in a
fugue with repeated notes. The orchestra joins the soloist and the music goes
somewhat a field to different keys. There is a section of the piano part that
has the directive strepitoso, meaning clamorous, impetuous. The section ends in
a long cadenza for the soloist and leads to -
Variation VI (Semper
allegro (ma non troppo)) -This is a mini-set of variations itself.
1.The horns play a figure in triplets while the orchestra, minus
the other brass, accompany.
2.The piano enters and plays a variant with pizzicato low
strings, flute and triangle.
3.Oboes, piano, strings, and the triangle play a variant.
4.The piano imitates hands as the woodwinds and strings fill out
the harmonies.
5.The figure is played in the bass of the piano with chords in
the right hand. Woodwinds fill in harmonies while the strings play col legno.
6.The piano plays a variant that is marked piacevole that is punctuated
by chromatic runs played by both hands a third apart that venture high into the
treble.
7.The piano accompanies with chords and octave runs while the orchestra
plays another variant.
This mini-set of variants
ends when there is another cadenza that has the Dies Irate played low in the
bass while a tremendous minor scale is played that covers the rest of the
keyboard. The glissandos appear again,
as the music leads up to a raucous closing. There is no written part for the
piano in the score, but it is not out of place for a soloist to play along with
the orchestra. There is a tradition for the soloist to play in contrary motion to
the orchestra with the final chromatic run and final chords.
The modern way in which
Liszt treated the piano in the middle of the 19th century was ahead
of its time. His percussive treatment of the instrument was a big influence on a
20th century fellow Hungarian composer, Bela Bartok.
