Rimsky-Korsakov and Shostakovich versions of Boris Godunov

Although "Boris Godunov" is usually praised for its originality, for the dramatic power of its choruses, for its sharply delineated characters, and for the powerful psychological portrayal of Tsar Boris, it has received an inordinate amount of criticism for technical shortcomings: weak or faulty harmony, counterpoint, part-writing, and orchestration. The perception that "Boris" needed correction due to Mussorgsky's poverty of technique prompted his friend Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov to revise it after his death. His edition supplanted the composer's Revised Version of 1872 in Russia, and launched the work in the world's opera houses, remaining the preferred edition for some 75 years.

Dmitriy Shostakovich edited "Boris Godunov" in 1939–1940. He confined himself largely to reorchestrating the opera, and was more respectful of the composer's unique melodic and harmonic style. However, Shostakovich greatly increased the contributions of the woodwind and especially brass instruments to the score, a significant departure from the practice of Mussorgsky, who exercised great restraint in his instrumentation, preferring to utilize the individual qualities of these instruments for specific purposes. Shostakovich also aimed for a greater symphonic development, wanting the orchestra to do more than simply accompany the singers. [Volkov, Solomon, tr. Bouis, Antonina W., "Testomony: The Memoirs of Dmitry Shostakovich" (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1979), 227.]

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

On Modest Mussorgsky's death in 1881, all of his manuscripts and sketches were brought in one mass to his friend Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov so he could put them in order, complete and prepere them for publication.Rimsky-Korsakov, "My Musical Life", 248.] Mussorgsky's musical executor, the folk singer T.I. Filippov, made an agreement with the publisher Bessel to publish Mussorgsky's works, which the firm promised to do within the shortest time possible.Rimsky-Korsakov, "My Musical Life", 248.] Rimsky-Korsakov undertook to set in order and complete all of Mussorgsky's works, turning freely to Bessel those works that he found suitable for publication.Rimsky-Korsakov, "My Musical Life", 248.] He completed "Khovanshchina", reconstructed "Night on Bald Mountain", and "corrected" some songs. Next, he turned to "Boris Godunov".

He experimented first with the Polonaise, scoring it for a Wagner-sized orchestra in 1888. In 1892 he revised the Coronation Scene, and completed the remainder of the opera in the 1874 Vocal Score, although with significant cuts, by 1896. He later completed another revision in 1908, this time restoring the cuts, adding some music to the Coronation Scene (because Diaghilev wanted more stage spectacle for the Paris premiere), and replacing the ending of Act III. These revisions went beyond mere reorchestration. He made substantial modifications to harmony, melody, dynamics, etc., even changing the order of scenes.

The Rimsky-Korsakov version of the score was played at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1896.Maes, 185.] The full opera was premiered on December 7, 1898 by Savva Mamontov's Privsate Opera Company in Moscow.Maes, 185.] The performance was historic because Fyodor Shalyapin sang the title role for the first time.Maes, 185.]

César Cui had been the loudest denunciator amongst "The Five" when Mussorgsky wrote "Boris".Maes, 185.] Upon hearing what Rimsky-Korsakov had done to it, Cui showed his typical intolerance and unpredictability:Maes, 185.]

Cui's comments are more ironic considering his devastating of the original "Boris" in 1874.Maes, 185.]

Rimsky-Korsakov has come under fire from some critics for altering "Boris". The defense usually made by his supporters is that without his ministrations, Mussorgsky's opera would have faded from the repertory due to difficulty in appreciating his raw and uncompromising idiom. Therefore, as Rimsky-Korsakov claimed in his autobiography, "My Musical Life", his justification in making improvements to keep the work alive and increase the public's awareness of Mussorgsky's melodic and dramatic genius. Besides, he may have foreseen his edition as only a temporary solution if interest in Mussorgsky's original versions arose:

It must be admitted that some listeners simply find Rimsky-Korsakov's glossy version more aesthetically pleasing. His version of "Boris Godunov" remained the one usually performed in Russia, even after Mussorgsky's earthier original (1872) re-established itself in the West.

Dmitry Shostakovich

Dmitriy Shostakovich remembered Alexander Glazunov telling him how Mussorgsky himself played scened from "Boris" at the piano. Mussorgsky's renditions, according to Glazunov, were brilliant and powerful—quaities Shostakovich felt did not come through in the orchestration of much of "Boris". [Volkov, 227-228.] Shostakovich, who had known the opera since his student days at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, assumed that Mussorgsky's orchestral intentions were correct but that Musssorgsky simply could not realize them: [Volkov, 230.]

Shostakovich quote|"As far as I can tell, he imagined something like a singing line around the vocal parts, the way subvoices surround the main melodic line in Russian folk song. But Mussorgsky lacked the technique for that. What a shame! Obviously, he had a purely orchestral immagination, and purely orchestral imagery, as well. The music strives for "new shores," as they say—musical dramaturgy, musical dynamics, language, imagery. But his orchestral technique drags us back to the old shores."|Dmitry Shostakovich

One of those "old shore" moments was the large momastery bell in the scene in the monk's cell. Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov both use the gong. To Shostakovich, this was too elemental and simplistic to be effective dramatically, since this bel showed the atmosphere of the monk's estragement. "When the bell tolls," Shostakovich told Solomon Volkov, "it's a reminder that there are powers mightier than man, that you can't escape the judgment of history." [Volkov, 234.] Therefore, Shostakovich reorchestrated the bell's tolling by the simultaneous playing of seven instruments—bass clarinet, double bassoon, French horns, gong, harps, piano and double basses (at an octave). To Shostakovich, this combination of instruments sounded more like a real bell. [Volkov, 234.]

Shostakovich admitted Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestration was more colorful than his own and used brighter timbres. However, he also felt that Rimsky-Korsakov chopped up the melodic lines too much and, by blending melody and subvoices, may have subverted much of Mussorgsky's intent. Shostakovich also felt that Rimsky-Korsakov did not use the orchestra flexibly enough to follow the characters' mood changes, instead making the orchestra calmer, more balanced. [Volkov, 234.]

Instrumentation

Mussorgsky Orchestration
*"Strings:" Violins, Violas, Cellos, Double Basses
*"Woodwinds:" 2 Flutes, 1 Flute/Piccolo, 1 Oboe, 1 Oboe/English Horn, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons
*"Brass:" 4 Horns, 2 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, 1 Tuba
*"Percussion:" Timpani, Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Tambourine, Cymbals, Tam-tam
*"Other:" Piano, Harp
*"On/Offstage:" 1 Trumpet, Bells

Rimsky-Korsakov Orchestration:
*"Strings:" Violins, Violas, Cellos, Double Basses
*"Woodwinds:" 2 Flutes, 1 Flute/Piccolo, 1 Oboe, 1 Oboe/English Horn, 2 Clarinets, 1 Clarinet/Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons
*"Brass:" 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, 1 Tuba
*"Percussion:" Timpani, Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Tambourine, Cymbals
*"Other:" Piano, Harp
*"On/Offstage:" 1 Trumpet, Bells, Tam-tam

Shostakovich Orchestration:
*"Strings:" Violins, Violas, Cellos, Double Basses
*"Woodwinds:" 2 Flutes, 1 Flute/Piccolo, 2 Oboes, 1 English Horn, 2 Clarinets, 1 Clarinet/E-flat clarinet, 1 Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 1 Bassoon/Contrabassoon
*"Brass:" 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, 1 Tuba
*"Percussion:" Timpani, Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Cymbals, Tam-tam, Triangle, Bells, Glockenspiel, Xylophone
*"Other:" Piano, Harp, Celesta
*"On/Offstage:" 4 Trumpets, 2 Cornets, 2 Horns, 2 Baritone Horns, 2 Euphoniums, 2 Tubas, Balalaika and Domra ad libitum

Sources

* Calvocoressi, M.D., Abraham, G., "Mussorgsky, 'Master Musicians' Series", London: J.M.Dent & Sons, Ltd., 1946
* Calvocoressi, M.D., "Modest Mussorgsky: His Life and Works", London: Rockliff, 1956
* Maes, Francis, tr. Pomerans, Arnold J. and Erica Pomerans, "A History of Russian Music: From "Kamarinskaya "to" Babi Yar (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 2002). ISBN 0-520-21815-9.
* Rimsky-Korsakov, N., "Chronicle of My Musical Life", New York: Knopf, 1923
* Volkov, Solomon, tr. Bouis, Antonina W., "Testomony: The Memoirs of Dmitry Shostakovich" (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1979).

References