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Akadmiai Kiad
The Epic Dimension in Borodin's Prince IgorAuthor(s): Zsuzsa DomokosSource: Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, T. 33, Fasc. 1/4 (1991), pp. 131-149Published by: Akadmiai KiadStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/902441Accessed: 17/02/2010 06:50
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ZSUZSA
DOMOEOS*
After
being
composed
for
18
years,
Prince Igor
remained
ncomplete
when ts authordied.lUsingBorodin'sdrafts,Rimsky-KorsakovndGElazunov
finished t,
i.e.
they
orchestrated
he
missing
parts
and
published
he
opera n
1888.2
t
is due
to
their
effort
that
PrinceIgor
can
be
performed s a
complete
work.
At the
same
ime,
since
only
the third
act
remained
nfinished,
Borodin's
music
andtext
are
complete
nd
coherent
nough o
provideus
with
an
authent-
ic
picture
of the
composer's
riginal
plans
concerning
he
music
and
drama-
tization.
Prince
Igor
underwent
some
major
conceptualand
structural
changes
during
he long
time
it
was
composed.
Borodin
got
the
scenario
rom
his
friend,
VladimirStasov, n the springof 1869.It wasthe 12thcenturyepic,TheStory
of
Iyor's
Army,
and
the
events
recorded n
the
chronicles
f
that
period
that
Stasov
used for
his
scenario.
n the
beginning
Borodin
based
his
own text
and
music on
this
scenario,
although
as he
went on
working,
he got
further
and
further
away from
it.
The
composer
radually
realised
a
different
conception
of the
music
drama
wherethe
epic,
instead
of being
an
external
episode,
be-
comes
an
internal
structuring
lement.
This
determining
ole the
epic
gives
a
particular
character o
Borodin's
opera.
The
purpose
of
this
paper
is
to
examine
his
unique
eature
and
explore
he
comples
relationship
etween
he
opera and the epic.
*
This
paper is
based
on my
dissertation,
Borodtn's
Prtnce
Igor
q,n he
Mtrror
of
Larnm's
Manqlacrtpt.
should
like to
thank Marta
Papp
for
her
help, and
the
staff of
the
Glinka
Museum in
Moscowas
well as
Professor
Aleksey
Landinsky for
their
help
with
my
study
of
sources.
1
Borodin
completed
Acts
I, II,
IV in
his
piano
score, and
only the
last
part of
the
finale of
Act I
(the
news
about the
Polovtsian
attack,
called
"music of
disaster") s
missing
from
his
autograph.
2
When
comparing
the
modern
printed
editions with
those of
Borodin's
time,
we
find
that the
former
are
just
reprints.
For
the
sake of
availability
we
take
the 1983
edi-
tion
as our
basis
of
reference:A.
SOpORMH:
KHS3b
UOpb.
Onepa B
MeTbIpeX AeXCTBMflX C
nponoroNk
rIepeno>KeHMeRnS
neHMe
H
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132
Zs.
Dornokos:
The
Eptc
Dtrnenezon
n
Borodtn's
Prtnce
Iyor
The
period
following
the
crisis
between
1870
a,nd
1874
is
a
turning
point
n
the
process
of
the
composition;
Borodin's
interest
in
the
subject
is
aroused
again.
It
is
at
this
point
that
we
can
grasp
the
main
dramaturgic
problem
the
composeris concernedabout: Canhe meet the requirementsof the
stage
when
composing
an
opera
whose
source
is
an
epic
basically
not
suitable
for
the
stage
?
e
first
replies
in
the
negative:
"The
subject
matter,
which
is
not
adequate
to
being
set
to
music,
will
not
appeal
to
the
audience,
either.
There
is
little
drama
in
it
and
it
lacks
stage
dynamism.
After
all,
it
is
not
easy
to
write
a
libretto
satisfying
the
needs
of
oth
the
stage
and
the
music.
I
am
not
experienced
and
talented
in
it,
have
no
time
for
it.
There
is
nothing
to
make
the
opera
a
success....
Moreover,
a
non-
dramatic
opera
(in
the
literal
sense
of
the
word)
seems
an
unnatural thing tome,"he writes in 1870.3
After
such
an
outright
refusal,
the
fact
that
the
composer
starts
to
work
on
the
opera
again
assumes
paramount
importance.
Although
nothing
proves
in
is
letters
what
might
have
caused
this
change,
it
is
possibe
that
Borodin
found
or
sensed
by
intuition
a
new
solution
which
got
crystallised
during
the
years
of
composition.
It
is
this
new
approach
that
creates
the
particular
logic
n
he
dralnaturgy
of
the
opera.
In
1876
Borodin
expresses
his
musical
and
aesthetic
views
on
the
opera.
What
s
of
significance
to
us
here
is
the
second
half of a sentence which, beingart f
a
simile is usually
overlooked,
but
can
serve
as
a
suitable
start
to
the
sequence
f
thoughts
belows:
".
.
.
and
similarly
I
keep
trying
to
achieve
my
dream
nd
compose
my
Russian
epic
opera."4
But
what
did
Borodin
mean
by
the
adjective
"epic"
?
Did
he
have
the
same
dea
in
mind
as
his
contemporaries
?
In
1888
Stasov
considers
Pr?:nce
gor
in
his
book
on
Borodin
as
the
con-
tinuation
f
the
Glinka
tradition,
a
perfect
match
for
Ruslan
and
Lyudrntla:5
"And
o
on
20th
April
1869
the
future
of
Borodin's
opera
was
decided.
As
an
epic
pera,
it
is
the
most
outstanding work of our century besides GElinka'sRtuslan
nd
Lyzudrntla."
Confronting
Glinka's
style
with
that
of
Dargomizhsky
in
his
letter
mention-
d
bove,
Borodin
also
regards
himself
as
the
follower
of
Rtuslan:
(in
the
letter
e
efuses
the
purely
declamatory
style
preferring
singing).
3
To
his
wife,
4th
March
1870
in:
Cepren
HaHHH:
nUCbMa
Sopoduha.
nonHoe
co6-
aHne
KpEITEIMeCKH
c6epeHHoe
c
nO;nHHHbIMM
TeKCTaMM.
C
npe;ncsosueM
H
npHMeMaHMMMM
C.
.
7naHuHa.
bInycK
.
(1857-1871).
MOCKBa,
1927-1928.
200.
To
Lyubov
Karmalina,
ist
June
1876
in:
Cepren
aHHH:
17UCbMa
A.
n.
sOpO-
uHa.
ctynuTen^HasI
TaTb5I
T.
Xy60Ba.
PeRaKHS, KOMMeHTapHM H npHMeMaHMS C.
A.
HaH"Ha.BhlIlyCK
II. (1872-1877).
MOCKBa,
1936.
108.
5
BJIagHMHp
CTaCOB:
AJleKCaH8p
n.
SopoduH.
MOCKBa,
1954.
53.
St?dia
usicoloyica
Academiae
Scientiar?m
SI?ntaticae
33,1991
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Zs.
Domokos:
The Eptc
Dtqnenszon
n
Borodtn's
Prtece Igor
133
"Of course
cannot
judgehow
successfully
will be
able to
realize
my ambi-
tions, but I
am
convinced hat
my opera
will
be more
ike
Rslan
than like
The
Stone
G?zest."
Fortunately
hese
ambitions
re
expressed
by the
composer
himself:"The
pure
recitativestyle
has
always
gone
against
my grain
and
againstmy
charac-
ter.
I
am drawn
o
singing, o
cantilena,not to
recitative,
ven
though,
accor-
ding to
the
reactions
f those
who know
me,
I am not
too bad
at
the latter.
Be-
sides, I am
drawn o more
inished,
more
rounded,more
expansive
forms.My
whole
mannerof
treating
operatic
material s
different.
In
my
opinion, n the
opera
tself no
less
than in the
sets,
small
forms,
details,
niceties
houldhave
no
place.
Everything
hould
be pated
n bold
stronkes, learly,
vividly,
and
as prac-
ticably as possibleboth from the vocal and orchestral tandpoints.Singings
houldplay a
primary ole
and the
orchestra
hould tay in
the
background."
These
views
characterize ot
only
Borodin's
ndividual aste
and
inclina-
tion in
following
raditions,
but
also the
aesthetic
attitude of the
composers
f
his
time.
Serov
also
writes about
this
attitude
in
connection
with
Rxsalka:6
"Owing o
its
very
essenceand die
circumstances f its
performance,
he opera
requires
learand
expansive orms
n
both
melodyand
harmony.
Detailedcom-
position,
meticulositygo
unnoticed in
the
huge
dimensions
of the
theatre
hall. . .
The
music of the
opera must
be simple
and
always
beautiful,
hen
it
willbe easyto understand nd in consequencenjoyable oreverybody.
As
Boris
Yarustovsky lso
points
out,7
"composingn
bold
strokeks"
akes
similar
musical
devices
cometo life
in the
various
Russianoperas:
uch as the
important
role
of
contrasted
cenes,
the clear
separation
f
primary
and see-
ondary
facts,
tile effort
to make
musical
characterization
learand
compre-
hensible.
Chorus
cenesof
Russian
operas
play an
imortant
ole n
creating
randiose
forms.
Russian
composers
o not
use the
chorus
only as a
meansof
sllaping he
structureof
the
opera.
For them
the chorus
cene is one
of the
most
essential
elements n creating he nationalcharacter f the opera.II11864Cuipointed
out
in an
essay what
he
considered o be
the
characteristie
eatures
of the
Russian
opera:8
"The
chorus las
a
more
mportant ole
n
ouroperas
han in all
the
others.
It is
not a
mass
without
any
will-power
hat
have come
together o
sing,but a
self-
conscious,
autonomous
participant.
With it a
new
element
appears n
music:
the
universe
expands
n all
dimensions."
6
AneNcaHp cepoB:
136pannble Cmamsu.Tox I.
MocKBa--
neH"Hrpar,
950. 2.
7 E;opHc
SpyCTOBCKH": XpaMamypZUS pyCCKOU
onepnouKnaccuKu.
ocKBa
1952.2.
8 Cesar
Clli:
l
lepffoe u
ffmopoe
npeoemaffnenue Pyenana u
J7p04MUXU".
in:
lt36paHHble
cTaTbu.
eH"Hrpar,952.
7.
Studia
Musicolovica
Academiae
Scieltiaruan
Hunglaricae
33,1991
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134
Ze. Domokos:The Epic Dirnension n Borodin'sPrince Igor
Eowever, Borodin's tatement about the similaritiesbetweenhis future
operaandRqbelan ayhaveseemed 2rtremelyudacious o his contemporaries.
Critics,aesthetes,composers f the time had been conductingheated debates
aboutRqbelanndLyqzdmilaor decades.Mostof them consideredt unsuccess-
ful. No one shouldbe deceivedby the fact that Stasov, lookingback fromthe
end of the 1880s, matchesBorodin'sopera with Rqbelanegarding he latter
ae an acceptedmasterpiece f the Russianopera.In fact by the 1880sseveral
Russian operas had been composedwhich contemporariesooked upon as
worksof everlasting aluethat had to be followed.Composers o longer awthe
challenge n Rtuslan, ut regarded t as an outstandingwork of their national
culture.
Rtuslan, owever, s appreciatedn an entirelydifferentway by the gener-
ation that, departing rom Glinka's wo operasratheropposed n character,
had to createthe repertory f the Russiannationaloperaandformulate heir
views on it. Interestinglyenough,the impulse did not come from the first,
succ*sful Glinkaopera (A Life for the rsar), but from he failureof the second
(R?bels6n),s RichardTaruskinpoints it out.9Operacomposers, egardless f
whether hey were for or againstRuslan, could not avoid facingthe problem
of the relationship etween he musicand the drama.
The premiere f R?telan6nd yqtdmils6n 1842wassucha failure hat it did
not go on stage until 1858.The choiceof the subjectwas not successful:Push-
kin's poem represented n athetic trend foreign to the tendenciesof the
1840s, t couldnot combine he dramatic lementwith the nationalcharacter.
"It is a fairytale devoidof any senseof time and placeor nationalcharacter,"
Belinsky,a major iterary epresentativefthe 1840s,wrote t about hepoem.l
As a matterof fact, the sameview s e2rpressedy a criticafterthe premiere
of Glinka's opera:ll
"If the subjectof the operadoes not provideany dramatic ituations o
show emotions, he musicwill inevitablybecome ifeless.The poet has to fill
the musicianwith enthusiasm, ut is therean interesting, ramatic cene n the
new operaat all ? If oureyes had not beenenchantedby the director's plendid
stage scenery, he subjectof the operawould not have given anything o our
heartsor ears."
In fact there was a duality of opinions ormedabout the opera:although
it was not denied hat it had to be taken nto consideration s a pieceof music,
9 Richard Taru#kin,Opera and drama in Rz4ssia fAsPreached and Pradised in the
1860s
(Ru##ianMu#icStudie#, No. 2.) Ann Arbor, Michigen, 1981. 28.
0 Cited by Taru#kinop. cit. 3.
In: CesepHastlexa. o. 27b, 277., cited by Sta#ov op. cit. 281.
Studsa Busicolosica jIcademive SofenXimum lunsancae 33,1991
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s. Dornokos:The Epic Dimension in Borodin'sPrince
Igor
135
it was
regarded nacceptableromthe point of view of
dramatizationabelled
"c'est
une chosemanquee".
After the premiereof Ruslan, the debate continued or
a
few decades
between composersand critics,
who, mainly in order to
present their own
aesthetic
views, either defended he opera or disapproved
f the points that
they consideredweak,and so
attacked he ideasfavouredby Ruslanists.Serov,
the most
nfluentialaestheteof the 1860s, trictlyadhered o
the unity between
the
draxna nd the opera,and his
opinionwas fully accepted. n fact, Borodin
also
shareshis view when, n his above-mentionedetter from
1870,he gives up
his idea of composing rinceIgor
(seethe beginning f this paper).At the same
time a reviewon Ruslanand
Lyudmilawritten by Cui was
published n 1864.
Its mainpoint is that the authorrecognizedn Ruslan
a
newpossibility or the
musicdrama.He argues hat this
newkindof opera nsteadof
beingapproached
on the basis of the requirements
hat it cannot meet
should be understood
through its particular nner laws.
"The libretto of Ruslan has always been
strongly
criticized owing to its
diversity and lack of unity and dramatic
tension, as is the only type of
opera s the operadrama.
Music,however,can
inspire
maginationbesides the
fact that or not it expresses he dynamism
of emotions.Ruslan s a, fantastic
fairy operawithout
drama.Nevertheless t
provides
he composerwith the most variedand attractive
magesgivingscope
forcreative magination. n this respect he Ruslan ibrettohelpedGlinka lot
to createmusicalmiracles,whichhe
generously id in this
opera.''l2
With this Cui acceptsthe
existenceof a new genre,the
epic operawhose
characteristics re: colourful
scenes followingone another according o the
principle
f contrasts, he denouement oingon in a balanced
hythm, inished
and
independent cenes,l3 11 f
whichwill characterize orodin's peraas they
do
Glink^'s.However,whileRuslanandLyudmila s a fairy
opera,PrinceIgor,
just like the otherGElinkapera
van Susanin, s a historical pera.The drama-
tization of Ruslan,as the first
representative f a new
tendency,coul not have
been enough or Borodin o find
a
new solutiongiving
a
new stimulus o the
composer'smagination;and it
does not answer he questionwhy the threads
running hroughStasov's ibretto
are broken n the
dramatization f Borodin's
opera.
Stasov preparesPrince Igor's escape already n the
first act and the
esecution
of the plan is its logical consequence.Borodin
does not think it
important o prepare he escape.Stasov does not sharpen he
internalconflict,
i.e. VladimirGalitsky'sclaim to
the throne, so much as Borodin does in his
opera,whereGalitsky's ttempt o
siezethe throne s the
clima, of his first act.
12 C.
CUi Op. cit. 38.
13 Yarustovsky op. cit. 85.
Studia Musicoloica AcadeqniaeScxenXiarumBunaancoe 33,1991
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136
Zs.
Dornokos:
The
Epivc
Divrnensqyon
yn
Borodqyn's
rqynce
gor
However,
while
in
Stasov's
libretto
this
internal
conflict
i.s
resolved
in
the
last
ct,
when
Igor
settles
accounts
with
his
enemies,
the
resolution
of
the
same
conflict
is
missing
from
Borodin's
work.
Stasov
wrote
a
scenario
based
on
cause
and
effect, but Borodin gradually gave up Stasov's idea applying some other
logic
(which
might
not
seem
consistent
enough
at
first).
We
have
now
returned
to
our
original
problem
to
form
our
main
question
concretely:
did
the
epic
mean
anything
more
to
Borodin
than
the
tradition
f
the
Russian
epic
opera
created
by
GElinka
In
1861
a
large-scale
scientific
work
on
Russian
folk
poetry
was
published
n
St.
Petersburg.
It
was
written
by
Fyodor
Buslaev,
the
well-known
literary
hlstorian
of
the
time.l4
Stasov
must
have
known
several
of
his
works
since
it
was
Buslaev
who
reviewed
his
study
on
the
origin
of
bylinies.
It
is
not
unlikely
that
throughStasov BorodinalsoknewBuslaev's above-mentioned
work,
whose
first
pages
are
devoted
to
analyzing
the
meaning
of
the
various
literary
genres.
It
is
pointed
out
that
the
genre
of
The
Story
of
Igor's
Arrny
s
indicated
in
its
original
title
saying
it
is
an
epic.l5
"And
therefore
'poem'
took
up
a
more
general
meaning
in
every
day
usage.
First
t
was
used
in
the
sense
of
'tale'
or
'skazk^',
then
influenced
by
the
verb
'gadat'
foretell,
guess)
it
took
up
a
new
meaning
similar
to
that
of
the
Lithua-
nian
glied-mi',
which
means
song.
The
Greek
^o;
first
means
speech,
and
only
later
poem,
za
'^n.
The
German
'saga,
sage'
has
the
same
meaning as our'skazk^'.Finally, the original ancient
meaning
of
our
'slovo'
was
that
of
the
GEreek
7r0;
end
the
German
'saga',
and
it
survived
in
the
literary
works
of
ancient
imes,
as
in
the
case
of
'Slovo
a
polku
Igorjeve'.
How
did
the
fact
that
the
subject
matter
of
the
opera
was
an
epic
influence
ts
pic
character
?
Is
it
possible
that
Borodin
thought
of
this
relationship
when
writing
n
his
letter
in
1876
that
he
wanted
to
compose
the
Russian
epic
opera
?
If
we
consider
how
The
Story
of
Igor's
Arrny
elates
to
the
libretto
on
the
one
and
and
to
the
opera
in
the
process
of
compositionon the other, we findomenterestingchanges.
In
his
scenario
Stasov
often
quotes
from
the
epic
and
he
hronicles.
(There
are
twelve
quotations
from
the
epic
and
three
from
the
chronicles.)l6
or
him
these
quotations
establish
the
connection
with
the
liter-
ary
ource.
From
the
point
of
view
of
dramatization
their
role
is
to
slow
down
he
ourse
of
events
and
emphasize
the
epic
character.
14
cDe,Rop
iycnaeB:
PYCCKaS
apo0Has
noS3us.
IXICTOppItIeCKIvIe
tIepKEI
pyCCKEIIvI
apO,RHOIvI
SOBeCTHOCTH
MCKYCCTBa.
OM
1.
CaHKT_HeTeP6YPr
861.
lo
Buslaev
op.
cit.
5.
1613esides
TheStoryof Igor'sArmy
Stasov quotes
from
the
Ipat-Chronicle
(1117-
292)
s
well
as
the
Lavretensky-Chronicle
(1185-1186).
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Zs. Domokos:The
Eptc Dtmenszon
n Borodtn's
Prtece Igor 137
In the beginning,
Borodin's conception
is the
same. The first
versions of
Prince
Igor's as well
as Yaroslavna's
airs have
images coming from
The
Story
of Igor's
Arrny ven more
than in Stasov's
libretto):
the vision of
catastrophe in
Yaroslavna's
dream (Scene 2,
Act I) can be found,
though
not word by
word,
in the epic (in
Svyatoslav's dream),
and
we can recognize
Svyatoslav's "golden
words"
as he addresses
the different princes
in the
first version of
Prince Igor's
air in
Act II.17
During the
process
of composition
the number of
quotations
is getting
more and more
reduced.There
remain three
quotations altogether:
Yaroslavna's
lament
in Act IV, and
Prince
Igor's two sentences
in the Prologue:l8
I{Onbe flpeJIOMEITb He 6 XOTeJIOCb . B
,a,aneux ctperlxx rIonoseLxKzx.
(I want, he said,
to joust on the
edge of
Polovtsian fields.)
and
}paTb5l, C5l,eM
Ha 60p3bIX
KOHeEIEI fl03pEIM
CHH5IrO
MOpSI.
(Let
us mount
our horses,
my brothers, to see
the blue
water of the see.)
The allusions to
The Story
of Igor'sArmy
are missing from
the later
ver-
sions of Yaroslavna's
and Igor's airs, too.
However, it does
not
mean that the
link
between
the literary source
and the opera
loosens,
on the contrary,
it
becomes closerdue to
a
change in quality.
Although the point
of the
opera corresponds
to that of The
Storyof
Igor's
Armyonly at
certain essential
points,
the opera realizes
the most important
principles of the
epic concerning
dramatization
and structuring.
In this way
the
particular
atinosphere,
the solemn
tone of the
source is
much better reflected
than with the
help of quotations.
It is
a decisive element
in the relationship
between
the opera and
its literary and
historical
sources that Borodin
studied
these sources
not only before starting
the
opera, but he also
analysed them
again
and again while
colnposing the
music.19
17The first
versions of Yaroslavnais
and Igor's airs
C8l1only
be found in nlanllscript,
BOIOdin recomposed
both
later.
l8 See the Rus.sian
edition of
the piallo score (Moscow,
1983): 36., 44.
In a(l(lition
to these Arnold
Sohor Itlentions further
expressions
and phrases
taken
fronl The Story
of lgor's
Army, in the Tgor-
Konchak dialoglle
(Act II),
the Ovlll- -
Igor
L)ialogue
(Act TTI), the chorus
of the khans and
Konchak's
response (Act III)
and
in Skula
and
Yeruska's song (Act
IV). in: ApHon, Coxop:
AxeKca4p
Hoplupoesutl
Sopo-
oU1S. H3Hb, ReSTeSbHOCTb,
My3blKaSbHoe
TBOp'leCTBO.
MOCKBa--SeH"HrPaR,
1965. 604.
19Borodin
mentions several
t;inles in
his letters that he
studies historical sources.
This is what he
writes to
Rimsky-Korsakov
on 5th August 1879:
"Due to a closer stlldy
of the Ipat-Chronicle,
I arranged
the second act,
Konchaliov-
I1&'S
umber etc., quite
well to the advantage
of the
whole opera."
In 1883, four years before his death, he asks Stasov for the Kiev-Chronicle and Ka-
ramzin's historical
sttldy }ecause these
"seelaed
to l)e al)solutely
necessary for my
n-
happy Igor".
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138
Ze.
Dom,okos:
he
Epic
Dimension
n,
Borodin's
Prince
Igor
Our
earch
or
the
invisible
inks
between
The
Story
of
Igor's
Army
and
the
opera
s
based
on
the
analysis
by
Dimitry
Lihachow,
he
most
famous
iving
scholar
of
medieval
Russian
iterature.20
At the time of its birth,TheStoryof Igor'sArmywas the
representative
of
a
new
genre
n
Russian
iterature:
t
is
on
the
borderline
etween
olk
poetry
and
poetry.
Folk
elements
can
be
found
mostly
in
the
laments
and
songs
of
praise.
t
is
Lihachow
who
draws
our
attention
o
their
relatively
great
number
in
The
Story
of
Igor's
Arrny.
t
proves
Borodin's
deep
insight
that
from
among
the
many
quotations
aken
from
the
epic
he
kept
Yaroslavna's
ament,
whose
form
s
closest
to
folk
laments.
However,
he
most
interesting
hing
about
the
opera
s
the
great
number
of
choruses
f
praise.
There
s
no
other
opera
with
so
many
of
them:
the
beginning
nd
end
of
the
Prologue,
he
first
sceneof Act I,the praiseof the khansin the chows
of
the
Polovtsian
dances
at
the
end
of
Act
II,
the
praise
of
the
khans
again
n
the
Polovtsian
march
n
Act
III,
even
the
responses
f
the
chorus
n
Konchak's
ir
in
Act
III,
and
the
final
chorus
n
Act
IV.
As
the
frame
of
the
opera
s
made
up
from
choruses
f
praise,
he
focus,
as
opposed
o
Stasov's
scenario,
s
shifted
from
the
life
of
theindividual
har-
acters
to
a
more
general
historical
evel.
This
is
reinforced
lso
by
the
other
ohoruses
epresenting
cenes
rom
every
day
life.
At
the
same
time
the
choruses
of
praise
have
an
important
tructural
role,
as
well:
the
development
f
the
plot
s
based
on
them
a11
hrough he opera; he Prologue,-the beginning fActI,
the
end
of
Act
II,-the
beginning
f
Act
III,
the
end
of
Act
IV.
This
comparison
oes
not
want
to
suggest
that
certain
perts
of
The
Story
of
Igor's
Arrny
can
be
found
in
the
opera,
because
heir
relationship
s
much
deeper:
orodin
borrows
nd
realizes
he
most
important
tructuring
rinciple
of
the
12th
century
epic,
the
principle
of
repetition,
and
the
question
whether
it
s
due
to
his
deliberate
decision
or
to
his
intuition
s
irrelevant
at
this
point.
"Repetition
s
the
basic
principle
n
the
artistic
world
of
ancient
Russian
literature,"
ihachow
writes.2l
Repetitionnthese iteraryworkshastwodirections:xternaland nternal.
It
s
realized
on
the
one
hand
by
quotations
ited
from
other
works
and
on
the
other
and
by
an
internal
rhythm
created
by
refrains
and
images
recurring
n
the
whole
of
the
opera.
The
abundance
f
repetitions
orresponds
o
the
Inedieval
literary
dea
that
lays
stress
on
recognizing
he
already
existing
rather
han
on
learning
bout
the
unknown.
According
o
Lihachow
repetition
has
an
es-
tremely
mportant
role
in
The
Story
of
Igor's
Army.
One
of
its
forms
is
the
repetition
f
situations
resulting
rom
the
structure
of
the
epic.
The
story
of
20
zMXTpHZ
uxaMeB:
cxoso
nonKy
Hzopese
UCKyCC
60
zo
peMenu.
eHHHrpa;,
985.
1
Lihachow
op.
cit.
237
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Ze. Dornokos:The Eptc Dtmenszon n
Borodtn'sPrtnce Iyor
139
Igor'scampaign s constantly
nterrupted y recollections
f past events which
are either opposed o
or paralleled with presentevents. This constant
alter-
nation and rhythmof present and past, of collective and individual mages
reinforce he epic tone
by slowingdown the tempo. The evocationof ancient
fraternal nimosity n
the description f the fight between gor andVsevolod
s
such a repetition f situation
n TheStoryof Igor'sArrny: or exampleafter
the
second battle, the chronicler emembershe struggle
ought by Igor's grand-
father,Oleg, and then
returns o the present, o
Igor'swar. It is natural hen
that the praise of winners
as well as the lament
and mourning ollowing he
defeatsare present hroughout he wholeopera.
The sameemotion s expressed
by almost the same
image or simile. After Igor's defeat nature mourns
he
warriorskilled in the fight:
HHWHeT C EaSOCTH WOBbISb-TpaBa,
B rope a,epeso Ic 3eMSe ICSOHHTCH.
(The
bladesof grass bent is sorrow,
and the trees bowedto the ground
n pain.)22
The same image
returns n the form of an opposed imile in the dialogue
between Igor escaping rom prison and the river Donets: while the Donets
helps Igor to escape, he
youngPrinceRostislavgets killed n the riverStugna.
The lament s symbolizedwitha similar mage rom
natureby the authorof the
epic:
pHyHbISH uBeTbI B EaSOCTH,
It ,A,epeBbYI rletIaJIb6O C3eMJIe
ICJIOHFITCiI.
(Sorrowwithered he flowers,
and pain pulled he trees to the
ground.)
In the description f the beginning f the battle,
there is a line returning s a
refrain, he narrator's
poetic interruptionpredicting he final failure of
the
struggle.
0 3eMJIFIMOFI,eMSS Pyccica
He Bilp,Ha TbIyxce3a IcypraHMu
(OhRussian and You are lost among
he hills )
22
The quotations from the Story of Igor's Army are based on: Cnoso o
nOnKy
kIro-
peBe. zBepHepyCCKHM TeKCT H
IlepeBO;bI. CTHXOTBOpHOe
IlepeJIOmeHMe
H
IlOSCHeHMM K HeMy
JI. ItI. THMOeeBa. MOCKBa, 1965.
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140
Z.
Dornokos:
The
Eptc
Dtmenszon
n
Borodtn's
Prtnce
Igor
Yaroslavna's
lament
as
well
as
Svyatoslav's
speech
is
also
built
upon
refrains.
n
the
latter
the
image
of
the
defeat
suffered
by
the
Russian
army
returns
hree
times
when
Svyatoslav
incites
the
warriors
to
fight
back:
BCTYnHTe
C
BI
B
CTPeMeHa
SaMeHBIe
3a
06HASI
aIIIerO
PeMeHZ,
3a
3eMnio
Pyccicyo,
3a
paH^I
zIropH,
3a
IzIrop,
6yero
CBSTOCJIaBMMa
(Mount,
gentlemen,
your
golden
stirrups
in
revenge
for
our
defeat
for the Russian land,
for
Igor's
wounds,
for
the
young
brave
Svyatoslav
)
Besides
these
recurring
repetitions,
there
are
also
some
hidden
ones
in
he
tory
of
lyor's
Army.
Lihachow
mentions
there
turning
image
of
the
river
ank
which
is
associated
with
a
ritual
experience).
Igor,
when
setting
out
on
his
ilitary
ampaign,
wants
to
drink
from
the
water
of
the
Don
and
runs
home
long
he
Donets.
Yaroslavna
prays
to
the
forces
of
nature
for
help. Returning
ymbols
elong to the same type of hidden
repetitions,
Igor
as
a
hawk,
or
the
olf
unning
at
night
in
the
image
of
their
escape,
or
the
sun
and
moon
meta-
hore
f
the
Russian
princes.
The
unity
of
the
epic
is
created
by
these
repetitions
hether
idden
or
emphasized
as
refrains
lacing
the
work
with
invisible
hreads.
Repetition
has
a
fundamental
role
in
the
structure
of
the
drama,tization
of
orodin's
pera,
and
it
has
as
many
varied
forms
as
in
the
epic.
The
role
of
the
horus
f
praise
and
the
repetition
of
situations
framing
and
spanning
the
opera
ave
lready
been
mentioned.
Just
like
in
The
Story
of Igor'sArrny
efrainsreatinghe unity of different parts can
also
be
found
in
the
opera,
together
ith
eliberate
musical
allusions
(similar
to
the
symbols
in
the
epic)
connecting
he
ifferent
acts
or
scenes.
These
allusions
return
almost
sound
by
sound
n
he
ame
key.
In
the
autographs
unlike
in
the
printed
score
there
is
an
in-
trumental
nterlude
in
C
sharp
minor
with
accompaniment
descending
chro-
atically.
t
represents
Yaroslavna
regaining
consciousness
and
is
nothing
lse
ut
the
beginning
and
the
middle
part
of
the
first
(C
sharp
minor)
version
f
he
gor
air
composed
in
1875.
That
this
is
a
deliberate
allusion
by
the
omposer
s
easy
to
prove:
Borodin
himself
refers
to
the above-mentionedscenen theinale of Act I in his autographin
the
middle
part
of
the
Igor
air.
Borodin
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Zs. Dornokos:
The
Eptc Dznlenszon
n Borodtn's
Prtnce
Igor
141
intended
to compose
the beginning
of Yaroslavna
and
Galitsky's
duet in the
second
scene of
Art I
in a flat key
(G flat major
D
flat major).
Thereby the
first
passage
is connected
to the previous
scene (in C sharp
minor)
with the
help
of
the same key
relationship
as Galitsky's
air (G
flat major-E
flat
minor) in the
first
scene of
Act I to
the recitative
(C sharp)
preceding
it. The
composer's
deliberate
intention
was, as
well, the return
of
the main theme
form Igor's
air
(the
later, known
version in
b flat
minor) in the
Boyars' talein
the finale
of Act I
before
the
air itself (in
the autograph
only),
and after
the air in the
dialogue
between
Igor and
Konchak.
These
repetitions are
static
symbolic images
as the
character
of the
protagonist
does
not change,
either, all through
the
opera he
represents
the
warrior whose
duty
is to save
his country
and a11
he does is
determined by this responsibility. He has to regain freedom, this is what the
text
in the musical
allusions
always
suggests,
and so the
above-mentioned
recurring
motive
associated
with Igor corresponds
o the Igor
hawk symbol
appearing
several times
in the epic
and it
does not serve
as a detailed
characteri-
zation
of the hero.
The
unity of the
musical material
is
further strengthened
in
the Prolongue
by the
two themes
in the
dialogue between
Prince
Igor and
Vla-
dimir
GEalitsky.
hey are both
taken
from Act I (from
Galitsky's
song
in Scene 1,
Act I, and
from
the GEalitsky
Yaroslavna
scene,
in Scene
2, Act I). We
can
-find another
unifying
element
at the beginning
of the
Yaroslavna-Igor
duet
in Act IV, where the middle part (the dream) from Yaroslavna's air in Act I
reappears
and is a hidden
repetition
at
the same time:
the dream
came
true
when
Igor returned
home.
Symmetrical
and refrain-like
structures
in
the opera can
mostly be
found
in
the Prologue
and the
first scene
of Act I. The
symmetry
in the
Prologue is
created
by the
return of the
introduction
and
the opening
chorus at the
end.
The
refrain is the
motive in
the response
of the
chorus to Prince
Igor inciting
them to
fight.
This motive recurs
again and
again
as the linking
element between
the parts
of the Prologue
(in
the printed
score (1983),
33).
A refrainof a bigger scalethan the above motive is createdby the recurrence
of
parts the opening
chorus in the
first scene of
Act I.
In the light
of all this it,
seems
more important
that when
preparing the
opera
for publishing,
Rimsky-
Korsakov
omitted
or shor tenedthese
recurrences
ound in Borodin's
autograph,
thus
overshadowing
the
composer's
original
ideas.
For
the time being
we are not
going
to answer the
question whether
these
correspondences
are
intentional
or they
necessarily
result
from an external
factor
which is
independent
of the
relationship
between
the epic and
the opera.
Let
us go one
step further
examining
Lihachow's
analysis.
He supposes
thar
behind the poetic device of repetitions in
The Storyof Igor'sArtny
we can find
the world
view and
poetic
message of the
age. The
adverb
'already' is
often
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Ze. Dornokos:The Epic Dimension n Borodin'sPrince Igor
repeated n the epic. In Lihachow's pinion t suggeststhat everythinghap-
pened he way it had beenpredicted.Thewholeplot of TheStoryof Igor'sArmy
is connectedwith poeticprophecyand this createsa specialatmosphere-the
atmosphereof historicalyriepoetry"."Thereforeepetitions andamong hem
prophecies)n The Storyof Igor'sArrnyplay an importantpart not only from
the point of view of rhythm.They have a fundamentel ole in creating he
particular eeling hat nothingoccurred ccidentally,which o a certainextent
connectspast with presentandfuture.In fact whena certainpronouns repeat-
ed several imes at the same nterval, t suggests hat the differentphenomena
correspond,hey arepre-determinednd carry he characteristicsf fatality."23
Events in The Storyof Igor's Army are describedaccording o a double
viewpoint: we have the level of present ime relatingwhat happensand the
level of eternity relatingwhat was boundto happen,and these two live in a
perfectunity inseparably.Lihachow alls this phenomenon ancient tructure
with doublemeaning".According o this ancient dea the real causa of Igor's
defeat(lackof unity, fraternal nimosity) ombinewith the transcendent ause,
the punishment f God.
In TheStoryof Igor'sArrny wo eventsareemphasized ndtheiroccurrence
is prepared y intuitivepropheciesustifiedby divinepre-determination:rince
Igor's defeat and escape.
The solareclipse s a bad omenof the aoutcomeof Igor's campaign.Com-
paredwith the epic, Borodinrelyingon the description n the chroniclesaid
morestress on it in the middlepart of the Prologue. The Prologue s entirely
Borodin's dea ) The people ry to detaintheir leaderbut he Lsadament:
HaM SOEbe 3HaMeHbe OT Sora, K Ao6py znz HeT, y3HaeM MbI,
CyRb6bI CBOeElHEIKTOHe 060E1ReT, YerO 60>RTbC>R aM?
FI,ReMa upasoeMbI,ReJIo,a sepy, pO,uHy,a Pycb.
YEeJIZ HaM 6e3 60>S BOpOTEITbC>R IlyTb OTI{pbITb Bpary.
(Thisunearthly ign comes romGod,we shallknowwhether t meansgood
or bad. No one can escape heir fate, what shouldwe be afraidof, then? A just
cause s leadingus, we fight forourfaJith, urcountrJr, ussia.Shouldwe return
without ighting, etting the enemy reely n ?)24
His wordsexpress he belief n predestination, nd they reflect he tone of
the Ipat-Chronicle:Thefollowing s a free translation f the test in the chro-
23
Lihachow op. cit. 251*
24
See the piano score cited in Note 18, 43.
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Ze. Domokos:
The
Epic Dirnension
n Borodtn's
Prtnce
Igor
143
nicle.)
"And
when n the
evening hey
left
for the Donets,
Igor turned
his
ey
onto
the
skJr nd saw
the sunas if it
were
he moon,and
saidto his
boyars
and
warriors:
"Look
at that sight
over there
" Then
all of them
noticed t, observed
he
skJr
nd bowed
theirheads.
And they
said: "Oh
Prince,this
is a
bad omen."
And Igor
answered
hem: "MJr
rethren
and
warriors,nobodJr
inows
God's
secrets.
Godgave
us this sign
as H:e reated
he
wholeworld.
We cannot
know
if that
whichGod
created or
us will
meangood
or bad to us,
unless
we complete
our
work."
And saying
this he crossed
he
Donets.
At the
end of the
finale in Act
I above
the peal
of alarmbells
the chorus
sings about
God's
punishment
after having
heard
of Igor's
defeat and
the
Polovtsianattack:
OT
SOEbMcyAa
He yuRemb
HHKyRa
(There
s no
escape rom
God's udgement.)25
The
authorof the
epic recalls
he same
dea coming
romthe
chronicle
y
the
famousBoJran:
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Zs. Domokos:
The
EpiXcDtmensiXon n
Borodtn's
Prtnce
Igor
44
(The sun is
shining n the
sky
again-
Prince
Igor is on
Russiansoil.)
In this respect he fact that in Borodin'sautograph he chorussings the fol-
lowing
at the
final notes
of Act IV
gains
special
mportance:
rOCHORb
noMor
(God
helped us )
Now we
are able to
point out
the
facts that,
apart from the
common
featuresof the
Rz4slan-tradition,
xplain he epic
character f the
opera.If the
problems f
dramatizationhat
have seemed
nconsistent r
questionablen
the
opera so far areapproached n the basis of the theory of "ancientstructure
with double
meaning", .e. the
inevitable
occurrence f main
events,
then
Borodin's
olutionsof
composition
and
dramatization
re justified.
The
bad
omen
predicting he
failureof
the campaign,
he solar
eclipse,
and a11 he
pre-
destined
events occurring
fter the
defeat
are, as we
have seen, a11
trongly
emphasized n the
opera.
Borodin
tries to
prepare n
his
dramatization he
predestined
ecessityof Igor's
escape n the
same
way. That is
why he
sharpens
Galitsky'sclaim o
the
thronebesides
making his
internalconflictof
the epic
more
realistic n
this way, and
bringing
more
stage action
into the plot.
It
followsfromthe predestined ecessityof Igor'sescapethat Borodindoes not
feel it
important o work
out
the plan of
the escape n
Act I,
as it is done
in
Stasov'sscenario,
and
that is why in
the opera
Galitsky's
urther ife
becomes
irrelevant fter
Igor's
returnhome.
Borodindoes
not
intendto follow
hrough
the
life of
each character,
nsteadof
this he
wants to
createenough
ension
so
that
Igor's return,
ust
like in the epic,
will provide
a
satisfactoryand
perfect
solution.
This tension s
createdat the
end
of Act I,
when Galitsky
decides
o
seize power
and
at the height
of this
internal
conflict the
news about
the
enemy's
attackswoops
downon
the castleof
Putivl as a
real
blow.
Consideringhe theory of doubleviewpoint, t seemsto be easier o grasp
what
madeseveral
cholarsdraw he
conclusion
hat the
operawasnot
finished
in a proper
one.26
he final
chours,apart
fromthe
coda, is
basically
different
from
the heroic
and "eternal"
one of
the
Prologueor the
finale of
Act I. Its
characters
lighter,more
dance-like
nd the
roleof the
gudokplayers,
which
s
strongly
emphasized,
ssociates
t with the
1st scene n
Act I,
where
Vladimir
26 David
Lloyd-Jones
mainly
critioizes the
"mysterious
and
inconsistent" way
Prince
Galitsky is portrayed,
and that is
the
reason why the
fincls that the
attraction
of
the wcork s
due to
the musical
quality of the
individual numbers
rather than to
the
whole of the opera.
See Borodtn,
Atexander
Porftr'yevtch.
Staye Mustc. in
The New
Grove
Dictionary of
Music
and Musicians
(ed. by
Stanley Sadie).
London. 1980.
III/61.
Studta
Mustcoloytca Academtae
Sczenttarum
Mur^yartcae 3,
1991
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Zs.
Domotc)s:
The
E7pic
Dtmens?,on,n
Borodtn's
Prtnce Igor
145
Galitsky is
praised.
The
ending is
not
characteristic
f the
sublime,
solemn
tone
of
The
Storyof
Igor's
Arrnyor
the
byliny.27
However,
he
same
tone is
typical of
the
chorus
n C
major
which
Borodin
originally
wanted to
be the
finale.28Wecan
suppose hat
this
return o
the
"sphere
f
eternity"
might
have
been
Borodin's
ntention
according o
which
he
would
have
ended
the
opera
with
PrinceIgor
inciting
the
people
of fight
and
the
chorus
responding
n the
elevated
one of
the
Prologueand
Act
1.
It
is not
only in
The Story
of
Igor's
Arrny
hat
we
can see a
predestined
course f
eventsor
the
principle f
predetermination.
t
is a
generalphenomenon
reflecting
he
attitudeof the
feudal
society
of
the age
and
especially
ypical of
the
historical
accountsof
the
chronicles.
Victory
is
the
revelation
of
GEod's
mercy.This is how the KtewChrontclebefore1185)describesSvyatoslav
Vselovod's
victory over
the
Polovtsians:
"TheLord
n his
mercy
gave
victory
to the
Russian
prince."
Accordingly,he
defeat
of
the
Russians s
regarded
s
God's
punishment.
It
is
not
only the
dramatization f
the
opera
where
the
influenceof
the
double
viewpoint,
he
simultaneous
xistenceof
eternity
anda
realistic
historic
level
can be
detected.
The
linguistic
characteristics
f
Prtnce
Igor,
that is
the
style of
the
libretto
manifest
he
relationship
etweenThe
Storyof
Igor's
Army
and
the
opera
even
more
clearly
han
the
parallelisms
n the
music
or
drama-
tization.T. Tcherednichenko,he youngSovietmusichistorian,analysing he
opera's
text from
a
literary
point of
view
discovers
some
important
den-
tical
linguistic
eatures n
the text
of the
epic
and
Borodin's
ibretto.29
"Beinga
free
translationand
adaptation,
Borodin's ext
keeps
the epic
tone
of
and
the
artistic
structural
principles
behind ts
original
ource
not
only
on the
whole
but
also in
the
more
elaborated
details.
This
embodies
he
poetic
valuesof
the
libretto,
and it
is even
more
evident
when
t is
compared
with the
translations
f
The Story
of
Igor's
Army
that
Borodinmay
have been
familiar
with.
Borodin
reated
his
own
poetic
style
influencedby
two
significant
actors:
the Russianheroicepicandfolkpoetryonthe onehandandmid-19thcentury
Russian
poetry on
the
other."
Tcherednichenko's
ost
important
point in
our
analysis of
the
libretto's
style is
that
the
double
viewpoint in
our
analysis of
the epic
prevails
in
the
opera, oo:
Borodin
uses
linguistic
means,as
well
in
order o
contrast
he
characters f
Prince
Igor
and
Vladimir
GEalitsky.
his
can
be
seen in
the
way
they
talk and
in
the form
of the
praises
addressed
o
them.
Igor's
style is
lofty
27
Byliny:
heroic
epic,
a genre
of
Russian folk
poetry.
28
This
chorus
in C
major is
at
present the
opening
chorus of
the
Prologue.
Original-
ly, Borodin intended to use it in the finale and it was only later (in 1880) that he put it
into the
Prologues.
29
T.
qepegH"MeHEo; SOpODUH
aK noam.
in:
CoseTcKa
My3blKa
978/8.
94.
10
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Ilunancae
33,1991
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146
Ze.
ornokos:
The
Epic
Dirnension
*n
Borodin's
Prince
Igor
while
Galitsky's
ext
is
interwoven
with
sayings
and
proverbs.30
his
duality
corresponds
o
the
style
of
The
Story
of
Igor's
Army.
The
anguage
f
the
epic
s
remarkably
omples
and
varied:
in
addition
to
the
oratorical
anguage,
t
containts
elementslike proverbsand salutations,as well. The languageof
Prince
gor's
praise
s
similar
o
the
language
f
bylinies,
t
is
full
of
similes
and
metaphores
nd
what
is
even
more
significant:
he
praise
s
extended
nto
the
infinity
of
time
and
space:3l
C
AOHa
BeJI"KOrO
...
B
3eMSX
He3HaeMbIX
JIaBy
HO>T
BaM.
(You
are
glorified
rom
the
big
Don
to
the
unknown
teppes.
As
opposed
o
this,
Vladimir
Galitsky
s
praised
"only"
until
the
morning
inthespiritfolksongsofpraise:
KHM3S
HeCHflX
eSHMaSH
yTpa.
(The
prince
was
praised
with
songs
till
next
morning.)32
In
medieval
Russian
iterature
he
contrast
of
the
actual
present
and
the
eternal
s
expressed
by
the
style,
as
well:
"In
the
case
of
primary
hemes
iterature
s
imbued
with
loftine,ss
nd
its
language
and
style
are
clearly
distinguished
rom
those
of
everyday
peach.
In the caseof secondaryhemes iteratute s simpler,morepractical
and
more
modest,
t
is
of
a
lower
quality
both
in
its
language
and
its
origin,"
Lihachow
writes.33
The
assumption
hat
the
differentiation
between
the
texts
of
the
individual
characters
s
owing
to
the
influence
of
the
epic
is
supported
by
the
fact
Borodin
was
thoroughly
amiliar
with
the
complexity
of
its
language.
The
presence
of
this
complexity
n
the
libretto
of
the
opera
could
only
be
the
result
of
a
deliberated
ecision.
Borodin
ries
to
keep
the
poetic
devices
of
the
epic,
or
adapt
them
to
the
language
f
the
libretto.
He
does
his
best
to
kwp
the
alliteration
f
the
first
strophe
n
Yaroslavna's
ament,
he
even
subordinates
er-
tainlivingformsof 19thcenturyRussian o the sounding ules n the te2rtof
the
lament.34
He
tries
to
keep
the
atmosphere
f
the
images
but
avoid
stylized
30
For
example
"There
are
many
girls
in
the
world,
I
cannot
know
all
of
them."
See
the
piano
score
cited
in
Note
18,
125.
(Yaroslavna-Galitsky
Scene
2,
Act
I).
31
See
the
piano
score
cited
in
Note
18,
28.
(Prologue).
32
See
the
piano
score
cited
in
Note
18,
69.
(Scene
1,
Act
I).
33
^"xaMeB:
nepffble
ceMbcom
Xem
pyscKou
Xumepamypbl.
13.
in
Cherednichenko
p.
cit.
98
34
An
expression
that
used
to
belong
to
the
rare
eastern
vocabulary
of
Kievan-Rus
was
discovered
n
the
Konchak-air
Act
II)
by
the
Soviet
music
historian,
Listova.
Later
this word "changa'n,meaning woman slave, disappearedfrom the Russian language.
See
H.
JIISCTOBa:
13
usmopuu
c038anuS
onepu
gHR3b
8Opb
A.
n.
sopoauRa.
in:
Coo6meHns
}3IHCTTITyTa
3ICTOpTIIS
zICKyCCTB.
HyMep
15.
l\ly3bIKa.
\locKsa,
1953.
34.
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MusicoloSica
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Sei4ntgrum
Hunaorscae
33,1991
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Zs. Dornokos:The Epic D*mension*n Borodin'sPrince Igor
147
archaisms and therefore replaces them with tropes as is the case with the adap-
ted version of Svyatoslav's "speech" in Prince Igor's air in C sharp tninor. Bo-
rodin follows the descriptive structure of
TheStoryof Igor'sArrny
ut shortens
the rhetoric parts by keeping only the Inost typical:
The Storyof Igor'sArrny:
BenHxHZ XHR3b BcesonoR
IzI3SasaJIeMa nn He 3aMblcnnn TbI
nOCTOSTb 3a 3naTon OT7OBCKHZ CTOS?
TbI Be,Rb Bonry MOnCemb secnaMu BbIrInecKaTb}
A AOH SeJIOMaMH BbIMepHaTb.
ica6bI TbI, XHMXCe, 6bIn 6bI 3,^ecb
To pa6bIHZ 6bI Enu 3a 6e3RenHuy,
A pa6bIrIocaMo;i IoMenoZ.
TbI BeAb MOEeSb CTpeSHTb, CSOBHO ctpenaMu.
YAaSbIMH CbIHaMH rSe60BbIM".
(Grand Prince, Vsevolod
Can you not fly here from far away, if only in your thoughts,
to defend your paternal golden throne ?
You, who spill the water of the Volga with oars
and can scoop the water out of the Donets with oars
If you were here.
the Polovtsian women would be sold cheap
and the prisoners even cheaper.
You, whose hands
throw living flames on land
the brave sons of Glleb.)
Borodin:
TbI, BCeBOSOA BeSZKHM, TbI BecnaMu pa36pbl3raTb Movemb Bonry,
IlJeSOMOB BbIMepHaTb BeCb AOH.
TbI pyCCKHMMKOCTbMMWany He3acbInan.
(Grand Prince, Vsevolod You spill the water of the Volga with oars and can
scoop the water out of the Donets with helmets. You did not strew the Kayala
with Russian bones.)
The fact that Borodin took over the original verse structures is the most
convincing proof of the great effort he made to follow the style of the epic as
10*
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Zs. Domokos:The Epic Dztnension n Borodin'sPrtnce Igor
closely as possible n the languageof the libretto.Tcherednichenkoompares
the opening ines of The Storyof Igor'sArrny Prooemium)o the beginning f
the openingchorusof the Prologue. In his opinionthe individual ines are
arranged nto closed images by the threefoldbasis of the subject, form and
general circumstances f the plot. This structure, which itself contains a
three-part nner repetition, s repeatedthree times ;at the beginningof The
Storyof Igor's Arrny:
Te pacTeKagq -tCnud |BOnKOMl _+
Fig. 1
(Becaqbseoyan,the magician,whenhe wanted o sing
a
songaboutsomething,
ran up the tree as a mouse n the forest, ran on the earth as a gray wolf, flew
under he cloudsas a gray eagle.)
e nena M0St1 [cT8naByl MRoMaiH , ,
X
Fig. 5
When comparing he
repetitions n The Storyof Igor'sArmy, we did not
answer he questionwhether t
was really the influenceof the epic that we
recognizedn the repetitivestructureof the opera.Therepetitions hemselves
do not prove this, but the
influenceof the theory of "ancientstructurewith
double
meaning",whoseeffect can be provedobjectively
with linguisticmeans,
can
clearlybe shown n 13orodin'spera.And it is esactly
with the help of the
double
viewpointof the epic that the main characteristic f
the opera'sdrama-
tization
can be understood.Thus, lookingback from the
end of our analysis,
the dramaticparallelisms f the
epic and the opera,with the repetitions s part
of them,
cannotbe merecoincidences, ither.
Studia MusicoloSica jlcaderniae
Scientiarum EunSaricae 33,199]