Ippolitov-Ivanov - Caucasian Sketches Suite No. 2 'Iveria'

Ippolitov-Ivanov is not too well-known to most music lovers. His Caucasian Sketches Suite No. 1 is probably his best known work, at least the piece 'Procession Of  The Sardar' from the suite.  He composed a second suite of Caucasian Sketches that are just as tuneful and interesting as the first, but it is not heard on recordings or in the concert hall.

Ippolitov-Ivanov spent eleven years in the Caucasus region of Georgia and developed an interest in the folk music and culture of the area. He received a professorship at the Moscow Conservatory in 1894, and after he moved to Moscow he wrote the first Caucasian Sketches suite and also wrote a book about Georgian Folk Songs.

The 2nd suite has four movements:
I. Introduction : Lamentation Of Princess Ketevana - Princess Ketevana was a daughter of a ruling prince, a member of the Georgian nobility in the early 17th century.  She was wed to a ruler called David that died 6 months later. As queen she did many things for the people of Georgia.  She was threatened by many usurpers to the throne and when she refused to convert to Islam under threat of torture and death, she was in fact tortured and died a horrible death. Her story became part of Georgian folk lore.

II. Berceuse - A lullaby with an oriental sound to it.

III. Lesghinka - A folk dance that gets more frantic as it goes.

IV. Georgian March - A rousing march, perhaps for the military.

Ippolitov-Ivanov's music is rich in the culture and sound of the Georgia he came to know during his time there. A culture markedly different from his own Russian background,  it inspired him to write some very good music. Perhaps not the 'deepest' music ever written, but it is highly listenable and very well orchestrated. It wouldn't hurt for both of the Caucasian Sketches suites to be heard in their entirety more often.

Ippolitov-Ivanov - Caucasian Sketches Suite

Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859 - 1935) was a Russian composer, teacher and conductor. He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and was a student of Rimsky-Korsakov. His first appointment was music director and conductor at Tbilisi, capital city of the country of Georgia, south of Russia.  He held that position for seven years. He later became the director of the Conservatory in Moscow in 1905 and held that post until 1924.  He managed to stay independent for the most part and didn't get involved in the cultural dust-ups that occurred in the arts after the Russian Revolution.

The Caucasian Sketches of Ippolitov-Ivanov refer to the region of the Caucasus Mountains region of  Eurasia, specifically the country that is called Georgia.  It is one of the most culturally diverse places in the world as a result of many factors. Bordering the Black Sea, the area was a major trade route.  It was first influenced by the Roman Empire, and after its demise was much influenced by the Eastern Roman Empire.  Despite a close relationship with Russia, the 18th century saw invasions from Persia and Turkey and their subsequent additions to the culture.  The entire Causcasus region shares in Georgia's diversity and as such the people of the region and Georgia don't fit into any of the major ethnic categories of Europe or Asia.  Of course this diversity spills over into the arts and in the musical world leads to music that can sound European one moment, exotic and oriental the next.

Ippolitov-Ivanov was influenced greatly by the diversity he witnessed at Tbilisi during his years there. He even went back in later years to help reorganize the Conservatory there. He wrote two sets of Caucasian Sketches, the first one in 1894. He uses folk tunes of the region with brilliant use of the orchestra. The Suite consists of 4 separate 'sketches':

1. In A Mountain Pass -  A musical painting of the mountains in the region.
2. In A Village - The English horn is used to play an exotic tune in imitation of the native zurna of the region.
3. In a Mosque - Although Georgia is predominantly Orthodox now, it is one of the few places in the world where an Islamic Mosque and a Christian Church stand side by side in Tbilisi.
4. Procession Of The Sardar - Sardar is a Persian word that means leader.

Ippolitov-Ivanov wrote music in many genres, but most of his output was for voice,  chorus or orchestra. He carried on the tradition of orchestration that he learned from Rimsky-Korsakov as his music for orchestra is brilliantly and imaginatively orchestrated.  His music is mostly forgotten, with only the 'Procession of The Sardar' from this suite played occasionally.