Intonation models N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov in the music of S.V. Rachmaninov
Abstract
Using intonation models of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov in Rakhmaninov’s music was deeply motivated by his special attitude to the older contemporary: N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov – along with P.I. Tchaikovsky – was one of the most considered and beloved Rakhmaninov’s composers.
The nature of Rakhmaninov’s appeal to the musical patterns of the Petersburg master is determined by the specifics of the personal and creative contacts of the two musicians, which are briefly covered in the article.
Cases of particular interest are when a tense semantic conjugation of his own text and borrowings from Rimsky-Korsakov’s music – clear allusions and quotations – occurs in the Rakhmaninov’s works. These particular cases are considered in the article. The article attempts to correlate the described cases with the “influence theory” of Harold Bloom. They form two groups. In the first one, clear allusions to the themes and individual intonations of the senior colleague provide additional depth to own artistic concepts, as in the vocal symphonic poem “The Bells”. In the outro of the first movement, there is a reference to the episode from Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia” – “Walking in the Invisible City” (introduction to the second pattern of the fourth act). The main theme of the second movement evoke associations with the Queen of Shemakha theme from “The Golden Cockerel” of Rimsky-Korsakov.
In the second group of Rakhmaninov’s works, such borrowings polemically transform the meanings of the borrowed models. In the “Russian Rhapsody” for two pianos, deliberate rethought of theme from the third movement of “Scheherazade” by Rimsky-Korsakov is obvious. There is a reference to the leitmotif of Bomelius from the “Tsar’s Bride” in the second theme of the first movement of the Second sonata. The intonations of the song of the Indian guest from “Sadko” are distinctly showed in the outro of the Prelude in B Minor op. 32 № 10. In both cases, the signs of romantic exoticism grow into the subjective lyrics, introducing into it the painfully broken note of the Art Nouveau style of the early twentieth century.
Keywords: Rimsky-Korsakov, Rakhmaninov, intonation models, the “influence theory”, Harold Bloom
For citation: Val’kova V. B. Intonation Models N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov in the Music of S.V. Rachmaninov [Electronic source]. In: Sovremennye problemy muzykoznaniya / Contemporary Musicology, 2019, No. 3, pp. 24–43. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.56620/2587-9731-2019-3-024-043
References
Asaf'ev B.V. S.V. Rahmaninov [S.V.Rakhmaninov] // Vospominaniya o Rahmaninove v 2-h tomah. Izdanie pyatoe, dopolnennoe. / Sost., red., predisl., komment., ukazateli Z.A. Apetyan. T. 2. [Recollections on Rakhmaninov in 2 Vol. Edition 5th, supplied. / Compiling, editing, foreword, comments, indexes by Z.A. Apetian. Vol. 2]. Moscow: Muzyka [Music], 1988. P. 373—400.
Blum H. [Bloom H.] Strah vliyaniya. Karta perechityvaniya. [The Anxiety of Influence. A Map of Misreading]. Ekaterinburg: Izd-vo Ural'skogo un-ta, [The Uralsk University Publishers], 1998.
Bryanceva V.N. S.V. Rahmaninov [S.V. Rakhmaninov]. Moscow: Sovet. komp., [Soviet Composer], 1976.
Valkova V.B. Intertekstual’nye dialogi v poeme Rakhmaninova “Kolokola” [Intertextual Dialogs in Rakhmaninov’s “The Bells”] // Nasledie Rakhmaninova v kulturnom universume: Sbornik statey po materialam Mezhdunarodnogo simpoziuma 21-23 marta 2013 goda / Nauchn. red i sost. M.R.Chornaya. [Rakhmaninov’s Heritage in the Cultural Universe: Collection of Articles from Materials of the International Scientific Symposium, March, 21-23, 2013 / Editor, Compiler M.R.Chornaya.]. Saint-Petersburg:Izdatel’stvo RGPU im. A.I. Gertsena [A.I.Gertsen’s RGPU Publisher House], 2015. P. 52-64.
Gedike A.F. Pamyatnye vstrechi [The Memorable Meetings] // Vospominaniya o Rahmaninove. Izdanie pyatoe, dopolnennoe. / Sost., red., predisl., komment., ukazateli Z.A. Apetyan. T. 2. [Recollections of Rakhmaninov. Edition 5th, supplied. / Compiling, editing, foreword, comments, indexes by Z.A. Apetian. Vol. 2]. M.: Muzyka [Moscow: Music], 1988. P. 4—17.
Demchenko A.I. “Kolokola“ Rakhmaninova kak socialno-psihologicheskiy fenomen [Rakhmaninov’s “The Bells” as a Socio-Psychological Phenomenon] // Sergey Rakhmaninov: ot veka minuvshego k veku nyneshnemu [Sergey Rakhmaninov: from the Past Century to the Present Century]. Rostov-Don: Izdatel’stvo Rostovskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta [State Pedagogical University Publisher House], 1994. P. 74–82.
Kandinskij A.I. Simfonizm Rahmaninova i ego poema «Kolokola»: Ocherk vtoroj [Rachmaninov’s Symphonism and His Poem “The Bells”. Second Essay] // Sovetskaya muzyka. [The Soviet Music]. 1973. № 6. P. 86–98.
Keldysh YU.V. Rahmaninov i ego vremya. [Rakhmaninov and His Time] Moscow: Muzyka, [Music], 1973.
Krejnina YU.V. Vybor vliyaniya, ili test Rorshaha: Iogann Sebast'yan Bah i kompozitory XX veka [Choice of Influence, or Rorschach Test: Johann Sebastian Bach and XXth Century Composers] // Uchonye zapiski Rossijskoj akademii muzyki imeni Gnesinyh. [Scholarly Notes: Russian Gnesins Academy of Music]. 2014. № 4. P. 46—54.
Ossovskij A.V. S.V. Rahmaninov [S.V. Rakhmaninov] // Vospominaniya o Rahmaninove v 2-h tomah. Izdanie pyatoe, dopolnennoe. / Sost., red., predisl., komment., ukazateli Z.A. Apetyan. T. 1. [Recollections on Rakhmaninov in 2 Vol. Edition 5th, supplied. / Compiling, editing, foreword, comments, indexes by Z.A.Apetian. Vol.1]. Moscow: Muzyka [Music], 1988. P. 343–385.
Rakhmaninov S.V. Literaturnoe nasledie v 3 t. / sost.-red., avt. vstup. st., komment., ukaz. Z.A. Apetian [S.V. Rakhmaninov’s Literary Heritage in 3 Vol.; compiling, editing, preface note, commentaries, index by Z.A. Apetian]. Vol. 1: Vospominaniya. Stat'i. Interv'yu. Pis'ma [Vol. 1. Memoirs. Articles, Interviews, Letters]. Moscow: Sov. Kompozitor [Publishing House “Soviet Composer”], 1978.
Rahimova D.A. Orientalizm v muzyke S.V. Rahmaninova. [The orientalism in Music by S.V. Rakhmaninov]. Volgograd: V.I.I. im. P.A. Serebryakova, MIRIA, [Volgograd: The Volgograd Institute of Arts, MIRIA], 2013.
Rimskij-Korsakov N.A. Sbornik dokumentov. / Pod red. V.A. Kiseleva. [The Collection of Documents / Ed. by V.A. Kiseliov]. Moscow-Leningrad: Muzgiz, [The State Music Publishing House], 1951.
Rostovceva L.D. Vospominaniya o S.V. Rahmaninove [The Recollections of Rakhmaninov] // Vospominaniya o Rahmaninove v 2-h tomah. Izdanie pyatoe, dopolnennoe. / Sost., red., predisl., komment., ukazateli Z.A. Apetyan. Vol. 2. [Recollections on Rakhmaninov in 2 Vol. Edition 5th, supplied. / Compiling, editing, foreword, comments, indexes by Z.A. Apetian. Vol. 2]. Moscow: Muzyka [Music], 1988. P. 232–250.
Frolov S.V. Rahmaninov: muzykal'no-istoricheskie etyudy. [Rakhmaninov: The Historic-Musical Essays]. Ivanovka: RIO MURI, [Rakhmaninov Museum Publisher House], 2014.
Shchepatova T.M. Shubert i Bethoven: «tema radosti» v finale Bol'shoj simfonii C-dur [Schubert and Beethoven: “Theme of Joy” in the Final of the C-Major Big Symphony] // Processy muzykal'nogo tvorchestva: Sbornik trudov [The Musical Creative Processes]. 185 (12). Moscow: RAM im. Gnesinyh, [Russian Gnesins Academy of Music], 2012. P. 66—84.
Bloom H. The Anxiety of Influence: A Theory of Poetry. Oxford University Press, 1973.
Bloom H. A Map of Misreading. Oxford University Press, 1975.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56620/2587-9731-2019-3-024-043
Copyright (c) 2019 Vera B. Val’kova
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/