March Slav (tr Simpson)

From Wind Repertory Project
Peter I Tchaikovsky

Peter I Tchaikovsky (orch. Simpson)


This work bears the designation Opus 31.


General Info

Year: 1876 / 2000
Duration: c. 9:00
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Masters Music Publications Inc
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $100.00   |   Score Only (print) - $25.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo I-II
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba I-II
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Snare Drum


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Marche Slav dates from 1876, a time when large numbers of Slavic troops were fighting on the side of Serbia against Turkey, and Russia was making plans to officially enter the war the following year. During this time of great pan-Slavonic enthusiasm, Nicolai Rubinstein, the director of the Moscow Conservatory (where Tchaikovsky taught harmony) organized a concert for the benefit of the wounded soldiers. He asked Tchaikovsky, who was in full sympathy with the feeling of the hour, to write this march for the occasion. Ss a musical expression of the emotions then dominant in Russia, it was a huge success.

- Program Note from March Music Notes


In 1876, Tchaikovsky was commissioned by the Russian Musical Society to compose a piece for a concert to benefit the Red Cross Society, in support of Serbian veterans wounded during the ongoing Serbo-Turkish war. Tchaikovsky composed the programmatic march in just 5 days. The piece begins with 2 Serbian folk songs, to describe the oppression of the Serbs by the Turkish. A simple dance melody in a major key follows, representing the Russian effort to rally support for the Serbs. The Russian national anthem ("God save the Tsar") is heard, followed by a frenetic section depicting the Russian army coming to assist the Serbs. An eyewitness to the premier of the Marche wrote: "The rumpus and roar that broke out in the hall [is almost beyond] description. The whole audience rose to its feet. . . It was one of the most stirring moments of 1876. Many in the hall were weeping." If this work sounds familiar, perhaps it's because Tchaikovsky used the Tsarist Anthem again in his 1812 Overture. Marche Slave became one of Tchaikovsky's most popular works and he often used it as a dramatic finale to his concerts while on tour.

- Program Note by Patricia Matos Puente for the Stony Brook Wind Ensemble concert program, 2014


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Heart of Texas (San Antonio) Concert Band (R. Mark Rogers, conductor) - 21 November 2021


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources

  • March Slave. Wikipedia. Accessed 8 August 2023
  • Smith, Norman E. (1986). March Music Notes. Lake Charles, La.: Program Note Press, p. 410.
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