prince igor epic dimension

8/10/2019 Prince Igor Epic Dimension

1/20

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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2/20

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


3/20

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


4/20

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


5/20

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


6/20

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


7/20

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).

Studia

ustcoloca

Academiae

Sczentiarum

lGunSartcae

33,1991


8/20

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".

Studia Musicolovica Academiae

Scientiarum Nunyaricae

33,1991


9/20

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

Studia

usicolosica

Academiae

Scientiaru7n

ilungaricae

33,1991


10/20

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.

Studia Musicolosica Academiae

Scientiatum Eungaricae 33,1991


11/20

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

Studia

?sicoloica

Academiae

Scientiarum

Eunaricae

33, ]99]


12/20

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

Studia

MusicoloSica

Academiae

Scientiarum EunSaricae

33,1991


13/20

142

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.

Studia MusicoloSica Academiae ScienXiarumHunSaricae 33,1991


14/20

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:


15/20

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


16/20

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

Studia

MusicoloSica

Academiae

Scientiarum

Ilunancae

33,1991


17/20

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.

Studia

MusicoloSica

Academiae

Sei4ntgrum

Hunaorscae

33,1991


18/20

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*

Studia Musicoloyica ilcademiae Sczentiarum ffunsaricae 33,1991


19/20

148

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]

prince igor epic dimension

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