Reinhold Glière - Symphony No. 3 (1911)
I. Wandering
Pilgrims -
Ilya Muromets and Svyagotor - 00:00
II.
Nightingale the Robber - 28:39
III. At the
Court of
Vladimir the
Mighty Sun - 57:31
IV. The Heroic Deeds and Petrification of Ilya Muromets - 1:05:33
Glière completed his third symphony in 1911, choosing to base it on the legend of
Il'ya Muromets, the subject of ancient
Russian epic. Il'ya Muromets is described as the son of a peasant and appears in a number of early Russian poems, to be identified, it is thought, with the pagan god Pyerun, but eventually absorbed into
Christian tradition. One group of Russian epics, or byliny, is concerned with the older heroes or bogatyri, of which Il'ya Muromets and
Svyatogor are among the most important. The former, remarkable among other things as the son of a peasant, was weak, without the use of his legs, for the first 33 years of his life, but strength came to him by a miracle, when two passing travellers, wandering pilgrims, gave him a draught of honey. His exploits in the service of Vladimir
Fair Sun, to be identified either with the historical
St. Vladimir, the first
Christian ruler of
Kiev, or with a later prince,
Vladimir Monomakh, were remarkable in wars against pagan enemies, much assisted, in one century or the other, by a horse that could fly over the land. Of uncertain temper, in anger he once destroyed the domes and spires of the churches of Kiev, but when death approached he built a cathedral in Kiev and when he died his body was turned to stone, and so remains to this day, as the epics tell us.
The symphony opens with a slow and evocative introduction, a horn call piercing the mists of medieval
Russia, as excitement mounts, the hero springs to life, riding his wonderful horse to find the bogatyr Svyatogor, whom he greets
respectfully. The two leap on their horses and ride a long time over the
Holy Mountains, taking pleasure on their journey in heroic games. They find a large coffin in which Svyatogor lays himself and cannot be raised from its depths. Before he dies he gives wise counsel to Il'ya, who receives the strength of the dead hero and rides on to Kiev.
Solovey the Brigand lives in the forest, sheltered in a grove of seven oak-trees. He whistles like a nightingale and sends out fierce cries, and all the men in his country lie dead. Three girls help to lure his victims to their doom. When he hears Il'ya Muromets approaching, Solovey whistles and utters his harsh cries, but the hero draws his bow and shoots a shaft of glowing iron, piercing the brigand's right eye. He ties Solovey to his stirrup and drags him to the palace of
Prince Vladimir. The movement starts with an eerie string figure, and follows in general the traditional story, moving from the sinister to the lyrical, before dramatic action intervenes once more.
The third movement is set at the court of Prince Vladimir, known as Fair Sun, in a scherzo.
The Prince is giving a feast for his nobles and the bogatyrs. Approaching the palace gates, Il'ya Muromets bids Solovey whistle and utter his harsh cries, the roof of the palace trembles, and the nobles fall down in fear, except forVladimir, who remains standing. Il'ya cuts off Solovey's head and is welcomed by Vladimir as a knight at his table.
The longest of the four movements deals with the brave exploits of Il'ya Muromets against the enemies of Christian Kiev, led by Batygha the
Wicked. He fights against Oudalaya Polyenitsa for twelve days and nights, beheading him and carrying his severed head back on a lance. Other enemies arise, two warriors who increase in number as each one falls. In flight Il'ya Muromets and the bogatyrs are turned to stone, and this is the reason for the absence of bogatyrs today.