Day 9: Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade
A good friend reminded me of this fantastic work, which I
used to listen to regularly, but has lain hidden on my CD shelves for quite
some time!
Scherherazade, composed by the Russian Rimsky-Korsakov, is
an orchestral suite that is loosely based on the tales of the Arabian nights.
It’s in four movements and uses a range of instruments: flute, piccolos, oboes,
cor anglais, clarinets, bassoon, horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba, strings and
a variety of percussion typical of music from this era (about 1888) including,
timpani, harp and tam-tam.
Also fairly typical of the era, the music is quirky and
tuneful, although, we often think of Russian music as being quite doleful and
heavy (well, I do!)! In some ways it almost sounds oriental.
At one point, some of the music was set as a ballet, and was
also arranged to accompany the end of the film “Song of Schererazade”, which is
a bio-pic of Rimsky-Korsakov.
I’m pretty sure I’ve played some of this when I used to play
in a wind band – or it could have been that other Rimsky-Korsakov suite, Le Coq
D’Or. Either way, it’s great stuff too play!
No comments:
Post a Comment