Dubinuska

From Wind Repertory Project
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (trans. Ralf Schreurs)


This work bears the designation Opus 62.


General Info

Year: 1906 / 2018
Duration: c. 4:15
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Baton Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - €89.00   |   Score Only (print) - €18.00


Instrumentation

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

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Snare Drum
  • Triangle

Cello (optional)


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Dubinuska actually began life during another, earlier period of upheaval in Russian history, the years that followed Tsar Alexander II's emancipation of the serfs in 1861. The serfs had expected freedom but instead they remained as beholden to and dependent on big landowners as ever. In 1865, the poet C.I. Bogdanov captured their frustration in verses that tell of laborers who use the tools of their – the dubinuska, or "little oak stick" – to overthrow their oppressive masters. The text was joined to a traditional folk melody and became a popular song of resistance.

Rimsky heard works marching along St. Petersburg's Tverskoi Boulevard singing it during the 1905 revolution and set about composing a work for orchestra based on the tune. It begins as a jaunty march, with brass and winds dominating the texture. The composer creates a contrasting section by reworking the melody for the strings, recasting it more lyrically before gradually bringing back other instruments and building to a climactic close for the full orchestra.

- Program Note from Heart of Texas Concert Band concert program, 21 November 2021


Media

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)


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


Resources