Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (1833 – 1887) was a
chemist by profession, but is more readily remembered
as among the finest of nineteenth century Russian
composers. Borodin's dual life prevented him from
completing a number of important musical works, among
them the opera Prince Igor. The composer labored on the
score (and text) intermittently for nearly 20 years,
intending to create a great historical tableau based on
an ancient ballad about a hero in Russia's struggles
against the tribes of...(+)
Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (1833 – 1887) was a
chemist by profession, but is more readily remembered
as among the finest of nineteenth century Russian
composers. Borodin's dual life prevented him from
completing a number of important musical works, among
them the opera Prince Igor. The composer labored on the
score (and text) intermittently for nearly 20 years,
intending to create a great historical tableau based on
an ancient ballad about a hero in Russia's struggles
against the tribes of Central Asia. The Polovtsy tribe
took Igor prisoner for a time, and this episode
provides much of the dramatic impetus for the opera.
Prince Igor -- later completed by Rimsky-Korsakov,
Glazunov, and others -- remains one of the most
important works in the history of Russian opera, though
it is only rarely staged outside of its native land.
Various reconstructions of Borodin's original
intentions have been made, and the vast dimensions of
the work pose problems. The work combines influences
from French grand opera (rarely staged much anymore
either) with, especially in its depiction of the
"exotic" Polovtsy, the typically Russian harmonic
daring also associated with Mussorgsky.
The most famous music from the opera is a set of
dances, the Polovtsian Dances, that accompany a banquet
put on by the Khan of the Polovtsy. These are
overwhelmingly brilliant and irresistibly barbaric in
the best Romantic crowd-pleasing manner, particularly
when performed with the original choral parts. The
Dances gained an unexpected popular currency when one
of the more memorable tunes was transformed into the
song "Stranger in Paradise" as part of the Broadway
musical Kismet (1953).
Although originally written for Opera, I created this
arrangement of the "Danse de jeunes filles
Polovtsiennes" (Dance of the young Polovtsian girls)
from Prince Igor (IAB 7 Act II No. 8) for String
Quartet (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
PARTITION