Classical Composer: | Balakirev, Mily Alexeyevich |
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Work: | Dumka in E-Flat Minor, "Complainte" |
Year Composed: | 1900 |
Instrumentation: | pf |
Publisher: | State Music Publishers |
Duration: | 00:04:31 |
Period: | Romantic |
Work Category: | Instrumental |
Work Information
Available Recording(s)
The dumka—'a little thought' in Ukrainian—is a type of melancholic epic ballad. The genre became popular after Mykola Lysenko, the Ukrainian composer and ethnomusicologist (1842–1912), published a paper and gave an illustrated lecture in St Petersburg in 1874. Balakirev's Dumka (1900) has the characteristic juxtaposition of touchingly sad passages with more cheerful episodes. The main theme, a quintessentially Russian melody, combines with a plethora of ornamental detail and improvisatory elements, such as the experimental strumming of the introduction and the cadenza-like passages, to create a feeling of the endless Russian landscape and the timelessness of village life.
Writer: Nicholas Walker
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