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Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov - The Golden Cockerel
Reduced orchestration: flute/piccolo, oboe/cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bassoon, 2 horns, trumpet, trombone, timpani, percussion, harp, strings Performed by English Touring Opera, 2022 |
The Daily Telegraph: The Golden Cockerel is the last of his many operas, and the musical idiom, here in a skilfully reduced orchestration by Iain Farrington, is seductively attractive.
The Guardian: Gerry Cornelius conducts with fine attention to detail, using a reduced orchestration by Iain Farrington that preserves much of the brilliance and sensuality of Rimsky-Korsakov’s original.
The Independent: Rimsky-Korsakov is best known today for his Scheherazade, and the opera’s score shares much of the suite’s lush exoticism. A reduced orchestration by Iain Farrington cleverly captures the essence, and any loss of depth only adds to the brittle, off-kilter whimsy.
The Times: The musical invention is really the reason to take the opera out of cold storage. Gerry Cornelius conducts a clever compression of the score by Iain Farrington that preserves its allure, a potent mixture of Russian folk and "oriental" themes, but seeded with a hollow triumphalism that looks ahead to the ironies of Shostakovich.
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Programme note:
Throughout the 19th century, Russian composers developed and refined what became a distinctive national sound, a movement that was reflected in other European nations. This often involved exploring the rich material of folk song, with its particular melodic and rhythmic traits, as well as popular dance styles. Mikhail Glinka paved the way in Russia, especially with his colourful operas that were to prove influential to later generations. Not only were the stories of a strong Russian character, but Glinka's treatment of the orchestra was innovative and brilliant, far removed from the Germanic tradition. This particularly Russian style found one of its greatest advocates in the work of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Along with the other four members of the so-called 'Mighty Handful', Rimsky-Korsakov was largely self-taught and spent many years working outside of music, in his case as a naval officer. As a group, they made a determined effort to distance themselves from the Classical Western style, seeking out new harmonies and scales that infused their musical language. Rimsky-Korsakov became particularly renowned for his orchestrations, and it is still valuable to study them today as well as his writings on the subject.
One of the fundamental aspects of this Russian sound was the use of virtuosic solos, especially in the woodwind. The players were given taxing material in prominent display, often bold and brilliant in nature. This could use the full range of the instrument, especially using the highest pitches, as well as quick double-tonguing, exuberant scales and arpeggios and long lyrical solos. Rather than acting as a doubling section for the strings, the woodwind and brass took on their character, mixing across the different sections of the orchestra to create rich and intoxicating textures. The piccolo became a standout feature of the Russian orchestra, with its dazzling tone creating a shining brilliance, a technique much used later by Shostakovich. Whirling clarinet solos also often used oriental scales drawn from the East, lending the music an exotic quality. Trumpet fanfares were chromatic and bold, often with mutes for extra brightness and edge. Trombones were used sparingly, keeping the texture clear and light. The horns were given a crucial role, as the new valved instruments expanded their full chromatic range. They often provided the sustained middle harmony of the texture, a warm, glowing sound freeing up the rest of the orchestra for textural variation. In particular, this allowed the string parts to have light and shade, with plenty of plucked pizzicati, soaring melodic lines and intricate accompaniment figures. The strings would also be divided into multiple parts for large sustained harmonies or intertwining motifs. The newly developed chromatic harp was explored in a fantastical manner, evoking magic with its swooping glissandi and crystal-clear tones. As for the percussion section, their expanded use was a key element of the Russian sound. Not only was extra brilliance achieved with the use of triangle and cymbals, but folk-like colour was added with the tambourine and snare drum, and a shining sparkle with the glockenspiel. Aside from the orchestra, the singers have distinctive and virtuoso musical characteristics. The stratospheric other-world tenor of the Astrologer, the high coloratura allure of the Tsaritsa, the strident soprano of the Cockerel, as well as the block-chord writing of the chorus, in a Russian Orthodox tradition.
In The Golden Cockerel, all of these key elements of orchestration are on display, and are used to differentiate the various characters, from the very opening of the work. The muted high trumpet depicts the Cockerel herself, proud, spiky and dangerous. Chromatic descending woodwind figures combine with rustling strings, bell-like harp and smoky cymbal to evoke the world of old fairytales. Elaborate clarinet solos conjure up the distant lands of the Tsaritsa, using exotic oriental melodies. The star-like brilliance of the glockenspiel and harp chime over slowly shifting chords to depict the Astrologer. Another exceptionally bold section is the opening of Act 2, with its use of the whole tone scale and its extended sustained A flat in the texture. The hushed overlapping strings and frozen landscape of the texture are a direct precursor to Stravinsky's Firebird. Rimsky-Korsakov was a master at painting pictures with the orchestra, as is known from his orchestral tone poems. He employed all of these various techniques in The Golden Cockerel to create a sound that is beautiful, brilliant and Russian.
The Guardian: Gerry Cornelius conducts with fine attention to detail, using a reduced orchestration by Iain Farrington that preserves much of the brilliance and sensuality of Rimsky-Korsakov’s original.
The Independent: Rimsky-Korsakov is best known today for his Scheherazade, and the opera’s score shares much of the suite’s lush exoticism. A reduced orchestration by Iain Farrington cleverly captures the essence, and any loss of depth only adds to the brittle, off-kilter whimsy.
The Times: The musical invention is really the reason to take the opera out of cold storage. Gerry Cornelius conducts a clever compression of the score by Iain Farrington that preserves its allure, a potent mixture of Russian folk and "oriental" themes, but seeded with a hollow triumphalism that looks ahead to the ironies of Shostakovich.
-----------------------------------
Programme note:
Throughout the 19th century, Russian composers developed and refined what became a distinctive national sound, a movement that was reflected in other European nations. This often involved exploring the rich material of folk song, with its particular melodic and rhythmic traits, as well as popular dance styles. Mikhail Glinka paved the way in Russia, especially with his colourful operas that were to prove influential to later generations. Not only were the stories of a strong Russian character, but Glinka's treatment of the orchestra was innovative and brilliant, far removed from the Germanic tradition. This particularly Russian style found one of its greatest advocates in the work of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Along with the other four members of the so-called 'Mighty Handful', Rimsky-Korsakov was largely self-taught and spent many years working outside of music, in his case as a naval officer. As a group, they made a determined effort to distance themselves from the Classical Western style, seeking out new harmonies and scales that infused their musical language. Rimsky-Korsakov became particularly renowned for his orchestrations, and it is still valuable to study them today as well as his writings on the subject.
One of the fundamental aspects of this Russian sound was the use of virtuosic solos, especially in the woodwind. The players were given taxing material in prominent display, often bold and brilliant in nature. This could use the full range of the instrument, especially using the highest pitches, as well as quick double-tonguing, exuberant scales and arpeggios and long lyrical solos. Rather than acting as a doubling section for the strings, the woodwind and brass took on their character, mixing across the different sections of the orchestra to create rich and intoxicating textures. The piccolo became a standout feature of the Russian orchestra, with its dazzling tone creating a shining brilliance, a technique much used later by Shostakovich. Whirling clarinet solos also often used oriental scales drawn from the East, lending the music an exotic quality. Trumpet fanfares were chromatic and bold, often with mutes for extra brightness and edge. Trombones were used sparingly, keeping the texture clear and light. The horns were given a crucial role, as the new valved instruments expanded their full chromatic range. They often provided the sustained middle harmony of the texture, a warm, glowing sound freeing up the rest of the orchestra for textural variation. In particular, this allowed the string parts to have light and shade, with plenty of plucked pizzicati, soaring melodic lines and intricate accompaniment figures. The strings would also be divided into multiple parts for large sustained harmonies or intertwining motifs. The newly developed chromatic harp was explored in a fantastical manner, evoking magic with its swooping glissandi and crystal-clear tones. As for the percussion section, their expanded use was a key element of the Russian sound. Not only was extra brilliance achieved with the use of triangle and cymbals, but folk-like colour was added with the tambourine and snare drum, and a shining sparkle with the glockenspiel. Aside from the orchestra, the singers have distinctive and virtuoso musical characteristics. The stratospheric other-world tenor of the Astrologer, the high coloratura allure of the Tsaritsa, the strident soprano of the Cockerel, as well as the block-chord writing of the chorus, in a Russian Orthodox tradition.
In The Golden Cockerel, all of these key elements of orchestration are on display, and are used to differentiate the various characters, from the very opening of the work. The muted high trumpet depicts the Cockerel herself, proud, spiky and dangerous. Chromatic descending woodwind figures combine with rustling strings, bell-like harp and smoky cymbal to evoke the world of old fairytales. Elaborate clarinet solos conjure up the distant lands of the Tsaritsa, using exotic oriental melodies. The star-like brilliance of the glockenspiel and harp chime over slowly shifting chords to depict the Astrologer. Another exceptionally bold section is the opening of Act 2, with its use of the whole tone scale and its extended sustained A flat in the texture. The hushed overlapping strings and frozen landscape of the texture are a direct precursor to Stravinsky's Firebird. Rimsky-Korsakov was a master at painting pictures with the orchestra, as is known from his orchestral tone poems. He employed all of these various techniques in The Golden Cockerel to create a sound that is beautiful, brilliant and Russian.