- Marche Slave
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The Marche Slave in B-flat minor, Op. 31 (published as Slavonic March) is an orchestral composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Contents
Background
In June 1876, Serbia was at war with the Ottoman Empire. Russia openly supported Serbia. The Russian Musical Society commissioned an orchestral piece from Tchaikovsky for a concert in aid of the Red Cross Society, and ultimately for the benefit of wounded Serbian veterans.[1][2]
Many Russians sympathized with those they considered to be their fellow Slavs and Orthodox Christians and sent volunteer soldiers and aid to assist Serbia.
Tchaikovsky referred to it as his "Russo-Serban March". The piece was premiered in Moscow on November 17, 1876, conducted by Nikolai Rubinstein.
The march is highly programmatic in its form and organization. The first section describes the oppression of the Serbs by the Turkish. It uses two Serbian folk songs, "Sunce jarko ne sijas jednako" (Bright sun, you do not shine equally) [3][4], "Rado ide Srbin u vojnike" (Gladly does the Serb become a soldier) [5], 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 Serbs. 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.
Instrumentation
The march is scored for two flutes, two piccolos, two oboes, two clarinets in B flat, two bassoons, four horns in F, two cornets in B flat, two trumpets in B flat, three trombones (two tenor, one bass), tuba, three timpani, snare drum, cymbals, bass drum, tamtam, and strings.
Notable recordings
- Sir Adrian Boult conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra
- Antal Doráti conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
- Charles Dutoit conducting the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
- Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic
- Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
- Leopold Stokowski conducting the London Symphony Orchestra
- Neeme Järvi conducting the Gothenburg Symphony
- Leonard Bernstein conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
- Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra
Legacy
The theme from Marche Slave is used in the Accept song "Metal Heart" from their album Metal Heart. The song has also been covered by Dimmu Borgir.
See also
References
External links
- Marche Slave: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
- Downloadable recordings of the march
Book references
- Brown D (1982) "Tchaikovsky: A Biographical and Critical Study, Volume 2 The Crisis Years 1874-1878" pp. 99–102 Victor Gollancz London. ISBN 0-575-03132-8
- Garden E (1973) "Tchaikovsky" p.67 JM Dent and Sons ISBN 0460 031058
Categories:- Compositions by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- 1876 compositions
- March music
- Compositions for symphonic orchestra
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