Russian school

History and character

Russian art music was born as a national school with Mikhail Glinka (1804–1857): the operas A Life for the Tsar (1836) and above all Ruslan and Ludmila (1842), in which the wizard Chernomor is characterized by a descending whole-tone scale, and the orchestral overture Kamarinskaya (1848), variations on two folk songs. After him came Alexander Dargomyzhsky (The Stone Guest, with a recitative modeled on spoken language).

The core of the school is The Five (“Moguchaya kuchka,” the “Mighty Handful,” a name coined by the critic Vladimir Stasov), active between roughly 1856 and 1870: Mily Balakirev (the leader: Islamey, the symphonic poem Tamara, collections of Volga folk songs), César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky (Boris Godunov, 1869/1874; Khovanshchina; Night on Bald Mountain; Pictures at an Exhibition for piano, 1874, orchestrated by Ravel in 1922; the song cycles Sunless and Songs and Dances of Death), Alexander Borodin (a chemist by profession: the opera Prince Igor with the Polovtsian Dances; In the Steppes of Central Asia; two quartets), Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Scheherazade 1888, Capriccio espagnol, Russian Easter Festival Overture, fifteen operas including The Golden Cockerel and Sadko; the treatise Principles of Orchestration, published posthumously; teacher of Glazunov, Lyadov, Respighi and Stravinsky). The Five were largely self-taught and positioned themselves against the German-influenced symphonism of Anton Rubinstein's St. Petersburg Conservatory; they drew on peasant songs, Cossack and Caucasian dances, Orthodox liturgical chant, the sound of bells, and an orientalism (the Caucasus, Central Asia) rich in chromaticism and augmented seconds.

Alongside them stood Tchaikovsky (close to the European idiom but deeply Russian in his melodies), then Glazunov, Lyadov (Baba Yaga, Kikimora), Arensky, Ippolitov-Ivanov, Rachmaninoff (Vespers, 1915, based on liturgical chant) and the young Igor Stravinsky, who with the ballets for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes — The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), The Rite of Spring (1913) — carried the legacy of the Five (octatonic, folklore, orchestral color) into the twentieth century. In the Soviet era the national line continued in Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Khachaturian (Gayane, Spartacus) and Sviridov.

Scales and keys

The Russian idiom combines European tonality, the modes of folk and liturgical song and two symmetrical scales (whole-tone and octatonic) that became the school's signature. Roman numerals in minor keys are relative to natural minor.

Folk modes: Aeolian, Dorian, Mixolydian

• Aeolian 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 — D: D E F G A Bb C. Chords: i ii° III iv v VI VII.
• Dorian 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 — D: D E F G A B C. Chords (relative to natural minor): i ii III IV v #vi° VII.
• Mixolydian 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 — G: G A B C D E F. Chords: I ii iii° IV v vi bVII.
• Characteristic note: no leading tone (b7): Russian cadences reach the tonic by step from the b7 or from the 2, or plagally.
• Modal mutability (peremennost'): the same melody oscillates between two centers, typically a minor key and its relative major (D minor ↔ F major): the melody “doesn't know” where it will end up. It is a hallmark of Russian peasant song.
• Example: Mussorgsky — Pictures at an Exhibition, “Promenade” (a pentatonic-modal melody with alternating 5/4 and 6/4 meters).
• Common mistake: harmonizing a modal song with V7 and a leading tone at every cadence: the folk character is lost.

Pentatonic

• 1 2 3 5 6 — C: C D E G A (anhemitonic). Example: the opening chorus of Prince Igor (Borodin) uses C D E G A. A “primitive,” archaic or “oriental” color.

Whole-tone scale

• 1 2 3 #4 #5 b7 — C: C D E F# G# A#. Only two transpositions.
• Characteristic note: no semitones; it produces only augmented triads.
• Use: evil, the magical, the monstrous. Historical example: Glinka — Ruslan and Ludmila, Chernomor's theme (descending whole-tone scale in the bass).

Octatonic (“Korsakov scale”)

• Semitone–tone: C Db Eb E F# G A Bb; tone–semitone: C D Eb F Gb Ab A B. Only three transpositions.
• Characteristic note: symmetry by minor thirds: it contains four major triads (C, Eb, F#, A) and four minor ones, four dominant sevenths and the two diminished chords.
• In Rimsky-Korsakov's circle it was called the “Korsakov scale”; Stravinsky uses it extensively in Petrushka and the Rite (source: Wikipedia, Octatonic scale).
• Use: the fantastic, magic, spells (Rimsky, Sadko, The Golden Cockerel), harmonic tension above French augmented sixths.

“Oriental” scales

• Minor with #4 (Hungarian/“Gypsy” minor): 1 2 b3 #4 5 b6 7 — A: A B C D# E F G#. Phrygian dominant: 1 b2 3 4 5 b6 b7 — E: E F G# A B C D.
• Characteristic note: the augmented second and chromatic melismas: the oriental “sensuality” (Borodin, Polovtsian Dances; Rimsky, Scheherazade; Balakirev, Islamey).

Orthodox liturgical modes

Znamenny chant and its eight “glasy” (tones) are modal and diatonic, often harmonized a cappella with deep basses: the basis of Rachmaninoff's Vespers.

How to choose

Folk modes and mutability for the people and nature; pentatonic for the archaic; whole-tone for the monster and black magic; octatonic for the fantastic and the supernatural; oriental scales for the East and the exotic; liturgical modes for the sacred and bells.

Harmony

Principles

• Modal harmonization: diatonic triads without a leading tone, plagal cadences (iv–i, IV–I) and “VII–i” cadences in place of V–I.
• Pedals and drones: open fifths in the bass that imitate the drones of folk instruments (gusli, hurdy-gurdies, bagpipes) or the hum of bells.
• Heterophony (podgolosochnaya polyphony): several voices simultaneously varying the same melody, as in peasant choruses; Mussorgsky and Stravinsky transfer it to the orchestra.
• Bells: superimposed chords and dissonant intervals (seconds, sevenths, tritones) that imitate the overtones of Orthodox bells. Famous example: the coronation scene of Boris Godunov, where, according to the most widespread analyses, two dominant seventh chords a tritone apart (Ab7 and D7) alternate over a pedal.
• Third and tritone relations: keys a minor third apart (octatonic) or a tritone apart.
• Chords of the “Golden Cockerel” and the fantastic: augmented triads, octatonic chords, chains of diminished sevenths.
• Mussorgsky's “primitive” harmonization: parallel fifths, juxtaposed chords without preparation, unresolved dissonances, declamation over static chords.

Harmonic rhythm

Often extremely slow (pedals, bells, ostinatos for dozens of bars) with color entrusted to the orchestration; faster in the dance sections.

Orchestration as harmony

Rimsky-Korsakov considers timbre a part of harmony: brilliant doublings (piccolo + glockenspiel + violins), harmonics, divisi, chords split among different families; in his treatise the examples are drawn from his own operas.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

• Shifting and irregular meters taken from folk song: 5/4, 7/4, 5/4–6/4 alternations (Mussorgsky, Promenade), 5/4 in the “limping” waltz of Tchaikovsky's Pathétique Symphony.
• Dances: trepak (fast 2/4, Cossack: The Nutcracker), khorovod (a slow circle dance, 2/4 or 4/4), lezginka (a fast Caucasian dance in 6/8, Glinka and Khachaturian), Polovtsian dances (increasing speed and accents), kamarinskaya (2/4, one phrase repeated many times with varied accompaniment: the technique of “Glinka variations”).
• Ostinatos: repeated figures as an engine (Borodin, In the Steppes: pizzicato eighth notes; Stravinsky, Rite).
• Bells and chorales: free, heavy rhythm, “tolling.”
• Phrase asymmetries: phrases of 3, 5, 7 bars as in folk song.

Drums

Percussion in the Russian school

• Timpani: pedals, rolls, strokes at cadences; timpani ostinatos in the dances.
• Tambourine, triangle, cymbals, bass drum, snare drum: in oriental and Cossack dances (Borodin, Polovtsian Dances: tambourine and triangle; Rimsky, Capriccio espagnol with castanets and tambourine; Scheherazade with cymbals, snare drum and tam-tam in the storm of the finale).
• Bells (tubular or “Russian bells” simulated with tam-tam, piano, brass): Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov and The Great Gate of Kiev (Pictures, Ravel's orchestration); Rimsky, Russian Easter Festival Overture.
• Glockenspiel, xylophone, celesta for the fairy-tale (Lyadov, Rimsky, Tchaikovsky).
• Percussion of the Rite (Stravinsky): timpani for 2 players, bass drum, tam-tam, guiro, antique cymbals, tambourine: percussion becomes the primary rhythmic engine.

How they think rhythmically

Percussion colors the exotic (tambourine, triangle, castanets), imitates bells, supports the dances with regular strokes on repeated ostinatos, and in the finales builds up in a crescendo for the choral apotheoses.

Typical mistakes

Generic “Western” percussion under an oriental theme (you need the specific color: tambourine, triangle), bells without reverb, no dynamics in the ostinatos.

Bass

• Bass voices as a symbol of Russian music: basso profondo and octavist (who sings an octave below the bass part, down to A1 or G1 in liturgical choirs), dramatic bass (Boris Godunov, Ivan Susanin, Don Quixote).
• Orchestra: double basses and cellos often on a pedal; tuba and trombones for solemn scenes; bassoons and contrabassoon for the grotesque (Mussorgsky).
• Lines: fifth drones, tonic pedals for choral scenes and bells, ostinato basses in the dances, whole-tone basses (Glinka), chromatic basses for the oriental.
• Frequencies: Russian choral basses go down to 50–60 Hz with the human voice: in the mix they should be treated as low instruments (no aggressive high-passes).

Harmonic instruments

• Brilliant orchestra à la Rimsky-Korsakov: strings with divisi, harmonics and pizzicatos; solo woodwinds (clarinet, oboe, flute, bassoon) with ornate melodies; solo violin as narrating voice (Scheherazade); harp and celesta for the fairy-tale; brass for the epic (horns for the steppe, trumpets for fanfares).
• Piano: virtuosity (Islamey), bells (The Great Gate of Kiev), folk colors.
• Chorus: protagonist of Russian opera (the people in Boris), of the Vespers, of symphonic finales; a cappella in the Orthodox liturgy (which forbids instruments).
• Folk instruments (balalaika, domra, gusli, bayan/accordion) imitated by the orchestra (pizzicatos, harp, mandolin tremolos) or included in folk-instrument orchestras (Vasily Andreyev, late nineteenth century).
• Voicing: doublings at the octave and double octave of folk melodies, open chords with fifths in the bass, pure colors (one family at a time) following Rimsky-Korsakov's principles.

Melody and vocals

• Folk-style melodies: narrow range, pentatonic or modal, repetition with variation, irregular phrases, endings on the 2nd or 5th degree; the protyazhnaya pesnya (“drawn-out” song) with long melismas.
• Mussorgsky's declamation: the melody follows the natural intonation of the Russian language (Boris, Sunless).
• Orientalism: chromatic melismas, augmented seconds, ornaments (Borodin, “Dance of the Polovtsian Maidens”; Rimsky, Scheherazade, the violin theme).
• Voices: dramatic and deep basses, lyric tenors (Lensky in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin), lyric sopranos, dark mezzo-sopranos (Marfa in Khovanshchina); choruses of the people, of boyars, of monks; liturgical a cappella chorus.
• Cyclic themes and leitmotifs: Scheherazade uses two main themes (the Sultan in the low brass and Scheherazade on solo violin) that return in all four movements.

Instruments

Romantic symphony orchestra with a strong emphasis on solo woodwinds, harp, percussion (tambourine, triangle, cymbals, tam-tam, bells, glockenspiel, xylophone, castanets), piano, celesta; mixed chorus and male chorus; basso profondo voices; folk instruments: balalaika, domra, gusli, bayan (button accordion), zhaleika, rozhok (shepherd's horn), Orthodox bells.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Piano V — Bells and piano virtuosity: For Pictures at an Exhibition and Islamey: a grand piano model with rich resonance, long pedal for the “bells” of The Great Gate of Kiev.
• Augmented Strings — Study strings: For sketching modal melodies doubled at the octave and the pizzicatos of the dances.
• Augmented Voices — Liturgical and folk choirs: A dark choral pad (“oh” vowels, low register) for trying out a cappella choruses in Orthodox style.
• Synclavier V — Russian bells: Additive/FM synthesis for low bells with inharmonic partials (inharmonic ratios), useful for simulating Orthodox carillons.
• Mellotron V — Choirs and tape strings: For prog arrangements of Russian themes (1970s progressive rock often reinterpreted Mussorgsky, e.g. Emerson, Lake & Palmer with Pictures at an Exhibition, 1971).

Song structure

Typical forms

• Symphonic poem and symphonic tableau (Borodin, In the Steppes of Central Asia; Mussorgsky, Night on Bald Mountain; Lyadov): free narrative form, often with two themes (Russian and oriental) that overlap.
• Programmatic symphonic suite (Scheherazade: four movements, cyclic themes).
• Ostinato variations (“Glinka variations”): a folk song repeated many times with a changing accompaniment (Kamarinskaya).
• Historical and epic opera (Boris Godunov, Prince Igor, Khovanshchina) with choral mass scenes, and fairy-tale opera (Rimsky: The Snow Maiden, Sadko, The Golden Cockerel).
• Ballet (Tchaikovsky; Stravinsky with the Ballets Russes): dance numbers and pantomime scenes.
• Piano cycle in tableaux (Pictures at an Exhibition: ten pictures linked by the varied Promenade).

Arrangement and proportions

Repetition with variation of timbre (the same theme passes from clarinet to flute to violin to full orchestra), crescendo by accumulation, choral finales or finales with bells. A symphonic poem: 8–20 minutes; an opera: 3–4 hours; Scheherazade about 42–46 minutes.

Mixing and mastering

Sound goal

Brilliance and orchestral color (every soloist clear, sparkling percussion), depth and power in the choruses and basses, bells and tuttis with plenty of space. References: Soviet Melodiya recordings (a rawer, more present sound), Decca, DG, Philips and RCA recordings (Fritz Reiner with Chicago in Scheherazade, 1960; Valery Gergiev with the Mariinsky; Evgeny Svetlanov).

Orchestra

• Miking: tree + outriggers + ambient; spots for solo woodwinds, solo violin, harp, percussion, celesta.
• Solo woodwinds: spots at 1–1.5 m, levels that let the solo emerge without bringing it too “close” (automation +2/+3 dB in the solos).
• Solo violin (Scheherazade): spot at 1–1.5 m above the instrument, high-pass 150 Hz, −1 dB at 3 kHz if harsh, shared reverb.
• Strings: high-pass per section, −1/−2 dB at 300 Hz; pizzicatos with a bit more spot for definition.
• Brass: horns on the left, trumpets and trombones back right; no compression.
• Percussion: tambourine and triangle with a light spot (the highs are already bright: no boost), cymbals and tam-tam with plenty of tail; bells with long reverb (3–4 s).
• Space: hall 2–2.5 s.

Choruses (opera and liturgy)

• Orthodox a cappella chorus: church or reverberant hall (3–5 s); main pair + spot for the deep basses; do not apply a high-pass above 50 Hz on the basses (you lose the octavists); −1/−2 dB at 150–250 Hz if the church booms.
• Opera chorus: pair above the chorus + spot per section; reverb shared with the orchestra.

Solo voices (Russian opera)

Spot at 1.5–2 m; dramatic basses with body (do not cut below 70 Hz), high-pass 60 Hz; no compression; automation in the declamatory passages.

Piano (Mussorgsky, Balakirev)

Pair at 1.5–2.5 m; keep resonance and pedal well preserved in the bells; −1/−2 dB at 200 Hz if it gets bloated; no compression.

With virtual libraries

• Expressive solo woodwinds (patches with vibrato and legato), a dedicated solo violin, ethnic and orchestral percussion (tambourine, triangle, tubular bells).
• Folk melodies doubled at the octave: watch for consistent intonation and dynamics across patches.
• Choruses: low male choir patch for the Russian color; add a “profundo” bass patch an octave below if available.

Buses and groups

Strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion/bells, harp/celesta/piano, voices, chorus; shared reverb + a long reverb for bells and sacred choruses.

Sidechain

No.

Master

• Indicative target: −20/−16 LUFS integrated for orchestral; −22/−18 for liturgical choruses; true peak −1 dBTP; LRA 12–20 LU.
• Minimal chain: EQ, transparent limiter only for the occasional peaks of cymbals and bass drum.

Common mistakes

• Bright percussion too loud (tambourine and triangle dominate the highs).
• Choral basses cut by a “routine” high-pass.
• Woodwind solos buried or, conversely, too close.
• Bells without space (they become “ringtones”).

Reference tracks for the mix

• Rimsky-Korsakov — Scheherazade (Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony, RCA 1960).
• Mussorgsky/Ravel — Pictures at an Exhibition (reference recordings).
• Borodin — Polovtsian Dances with chorus (reference recordings).
• Rachmaninoff — Vespers, op. 37 (recordings by Russian choirs or ensembles such as the Swedish Radio Choir).
• Stravinsky — The Firebird (reference recordings).

Reference listening

• Michail Glinka — Ruslan e Ljudmila: Ouverture (1842)
• Michail Glinka — Kamarinskaja (1848)
• Modest Musorgskij — Una notte sul Monte Calvo (1867; versione Rimskij-Korsakov 1886)
• Modest Musorgskij — Boris Godunov: scena dell'incoronazione (1874)
• Modest Musorgskij — Quadri di un'esposizione (1874; orch. Ravel 1922)
• Aleksandr Borodin — Nelle steppe dell'Asia centrale (1880)
• Aleksandr Borodin — Il principe Igor: Danze polovesiane (1890, postumo)
• Milij Balakirev — Islamey (1869)
• Nikolaj Rimskij-Korsakov — Capriccio spagnolo, op. 34 (1887)
• Nikolaj Rimskij-Korsakov — Shéhérazade, op. 35 (1888)
• Sergej Rachmaninov — Vespri (Veglia di tutta la notte), op. 37 (1915)
• Igor Stravinskij — L'uccello di fuoco (1910)
• Igor Stravinskij — Petruška (1911)