Scan 44
Groves Dictionary Of Music And Musicians,vol.2, 1906
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1Glinka, out of the primitive elements of the folk-music, had created a new and polished musical idiom which every Russian could understand. Each member of the new school endeavoured to work out the principle of reformation for himself, guided, however, by the dominant idea that the human voice should remain the interpreter of the composer's intention, while the orchestra should be regarded as a means of supplementing and enhancing the vocal music.
3Guided by these principles, Dargomijsky created his last opera 'The Stone Guest' (Don Juan), sometimes called 'The Gospel of the New School.' This work represents the final stage of his development, when he had come to use with great power and facility the realistic language of 'The Roussalka' and of his finest songs. But in following out his own dictum that 'the sound must express, or echo, the word,' he evolved a new operatic form which necessitated the abandonment of the traditional divisions. Lenz described this opera as 'a recitative in three acts.' It would be truer to say that the characters repress themselves in that 'melos' or 'mezzo-recitative' which is neither song nor speech, but the connecting link between the two. Dargomijsky's respect for 'the word,' and his passion for realistic expression, had led him, by completely independent methods, to a reformation as radical as that of Wagner himself. The story of Don Juan, as told by Poushkin, agrees only in its broad outline with Mozart's libretto; but it gains in dramatic force in the hands of a great poet. Dargomijsky has set the text precisely as it originally stood, and although this tends to a lack of scenic variety, there is a compensating intensity of emotional interest, while the psychological delineation is subtle and profound. Dargomijsky on his deathbed entrusted the instrumentation of his opera to Rimsky-Korsakov, who carried it out in strict accordance with his directions.
5The composer had fixed 3000 roubles (about £330) as the price of his work, but an obsolete law made it illegal for a native composer to receive more than £160 for an opera. At the suggestion of Vladimir Stassov, the sum was raised by public subscription, and 'The Stone Guest' was performed in 1872. It did not appeal to a public accustomed only to Italian cantilena. The ideals which it embodied have exercised considerable influence upon the subsequent development of national opera, but time has not assured the popularity of 'The Stone Guest.' In spite of its sobriquet, this 'Gospel' has never been accepted in its entirety. Borodin and Moussorgsky revered it, but neither conformed strictly to its principles; while Cui, Rimsky-Korsakov, Glazounov and Liadov have gradually drawn away from this work which once seemed destined to be the rallying-point of the entire Russian school. Yet the faithful adherents of 'The Stone Guest' still believe that the 20th century may witness its vindication and triumph.
7The following is a list of Dargomijsky's chief works, to which no opus numbers are attached:
9OPERATIC WORKS
10'Esmeralda,' libretto from Victor Hugo's Notre-Dame de Paris.
11'The Triumph of Bacchus.' Text by Poushkin. An opera-ballet in one act and two tableaux.
12'The Roussalka,' libretto from a dramatic ballad by Poushkin.
13'Rogdane,' an unfinished fairy opera.
14Duet for Orlik and Kochubey from the unfinished opera 'Mazeppa.'
15'Kamennoi Gost' ('The Stone Guest'), in three acts. Libretto by Poushkin.
17VOCAL WORKS, SONGS, ETC.
18Fifteen Duets.
19Three Trios.
20Two Quartets.
21Twelve Trios or Choruses (The 'Petersburg Serenades').
22About ninety Songs for voice and pianoforte accompaniment.
24FOR PIANOFORTE
25'Tarantelle Slave,' for four hands.
27ORCHESTRAL WORKS
28The Little-Russian 'Kazachok.'
29'Baba-Yaga,' an orchestral fantasia.
30'The Dance of Mummies.'
32BIBL.—OSKAR VON RIESEMAN. Monographien zur russischen Musik, 1923; ROSA NEWMARCH, The Russian Opera.
34DARKE, HAROLD EDWIN, Mus.D. (b. Highbury, London, Oct. 29, 1888), organist, composer and conductor, was educated at the R.C.M., where he held a scholarship for organ under Parratt and composition under Stanford, and won the Tagore Gold Medal.
36He became organist of Emmanuel Church, W. Hampstead (1906), and subsequently of St. James's, Paddington, while he was assistant to Walford Davies at the Temple Church. He was also piano accompanist to the Bach Choir. In 1916 he became organist of St. Michael's Church, Cornhill, which he made a centre of musical activity, both by his midday organ recitals and by the periodic choral festivals given by the St. Michael's Singers (a mixed choir of some 80 voices). Darke is regarded as one of the finest of the younger English organists. His recitals at St. Michael's have included the whole series of Bach's organ works and a very large repertory of other works in which English masters from the Elizabethans to the present day have been prominent.
38The choral festivals have included a wide range of music from the less-known cantatas of Bach to the works of Parry, Vaughan Williams and other modern composers. In the autumn of 1924 a four days' festival was concluded with Bach's Mass in B minor, given in the church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in order that a larger congregation might be accommodated. The City of London Choral Union (200 voices) was founded under his direction for the purpose of giving choral music by city workers on a larger scale and in secular surroundings. Its first concert was given at the Bishopsgate Institute in Apr. 1925. Darke is a Fellow, member of the council of, and examiner to the Royal College of Organists, and a member of the teaching staff
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