"Islamey" Oriental Fantasy for Orchestra - Mily Balakirev / Alfredo Casella скачать в хорошем качестве

"Islamey" Oriental Fantasy for Orchestra - Mily Balakirev / Alfredo Casella

RCA Symphony Orchestra conducted by Douglas Gamley. I - Allegro agitato - Tranquillo - Andantino espressivo - Poco più mosso, energico - Tranquillo. Tempo I - Allegro vivo - Presto furioso: 0:00 Balakirev's Islamey was composed between August and September of 1869, being revised much later in 1902. It was premiered that year in December 12 by the great virtuoso Nikolai Rubinstein, to whom the work is dedicated. One of the hardest pieces for piano, it quickly became a common piece for piano players who wanted to showcase their skill. Many examples of Russian music were inspired by Russia's nineteenth century conquest of Caucasian territories between the Black and Caspian Seas and the conquest of Turkic kingdoms between the states which are now known as Iran and Afghanistan. This resulted in a rise of interest in all forms of arts and literature of these newly incorporated regions, and these people's musics were quickly imitated in Russian concert music. Balakirev, a committed nationalist whose music was influenced by Russian traditions, was inspired to write the piece after a trip to the Caucasus, as he relates in a letter: "The majestic beauty of luxuriant nature there and the beauty of the inhabitants that harmonises with it, all these things together made a deep impression on me... Since I interested myself in the vocal music there, I made the acquaintance of a Circassian prince, who frequently came to me and played folk tunes on his instrument, that was something like a violin. One of them, called Islamey, a dance-tune, pleased me extraordinarily and with a view to the work I had in mind on Tamara I began to arrange it for the piano. The second theme was communicated to me in Moscow by an Armenian actor, who came from the Crimea and is, as he assured me, well known among the Crimean Tatars." Italian composer Alfredo Casella arranged the work for orchesra in 1908, without actually hearing Casella’s score, Rimsky-Korsakov might not have been impressed, but what he called "incredible size" was hardly an exaggeration; at least one page requires 30 staves. The score reveals a good deal of textural complexity, with multiple divisi strings as in Wagner’s mature orchestra, and tutti textures calling for plenty of instrumental volume, but there are also passages of coloristic delicacy, some fine instrumental soli in the abundance of melodic writing. Balakirev himself and Alexander Siloti were enthusiastic about the orchestration. The work is structured in ternary form. It opens with a vigorous and rhythmic time called in itself "Islamey", it is a kabardinian dance tune from the north caucasus. It is exposed with full of energy and virtuosity, showing the influence of Liszt (who by the way deeply admired the work). After a pause, the middle section begins with a deeply lyrical second theme, based on a Tatar love song from Crimea. After an intense climax, the main theme is recapitulated and briefly developed, full of virtuosism and energy. An accelerated final passage, in which the music turns similar to a Russian trepak, brings the whole work to a brilliant end. Islamey, far from being merely a piece of presumptuous virtuosity, it has had a great impact. It also testifies to the haracteristic tendency of Russian music to draw upon popular slavic sources rather than from the French or German traditions. As Mikhail Glinka, father of modern Russian music, declared: "It is the people who create music; and we, the artists, merely arrange it." Picture: "Harvest time (The Reapers)" (1887) by the Russian painter Grigoriy Myasoyedov. Sources: https://bit.ly/3zscTem, https://bit.ly/3RWFMpW and https://bit.ly/3oobBdL