New-York tribune., 1911-02-26

adopt so serious an attitude toward music
that. unlike Cui Rimsky-Korsakow, Boro-
din and others, he decided to abandon the
! profession for which he had been trained
and devote himself TO music. But he had 10
five. and to do this he accepted small
post under the government. The work was
irksome 20 him and unsatisfactory TO his
superiors. and he abandoned II in 1868, Wheh
! ne went TO St Petersburg with his opera,
Boris Goudonov," under his arm. This,
after being overhauled. had some perform
ances In 81. Petersburg in 1874 and in Mos
COW In 1850 Since then it has enjoyed con-
siderable popularity with private opera
companies When it was published in
new edition IN 1896 the orchestraton was
revised by Rimsky- x Korsakow. but the pop
ular tendency toward realism to-ody has
led some critics TO the conclusion that the
original strength OF the work was impaired
by the revision. \ second opera. ''kho-
vanstchina," has recently been produced in
| Germany, hut IL. too. has been reorchos-
trated by Rimsky-Korsakow
The chorus Joshua" (or Joshua Navn'
i. G., Joshua the Son of Num-. which was
written in 1877. has a companion piece i'm
another composition called "The Destruc-
! ton of Sennacherib." Both are based on
| old Hebrew themes. which. however, a. MIR.
! Leon NJ. Kramer, conductor of the
! Cantors' Association of America, writes TO
! this commentator, arc not synagogal. but
, belong TO Jewish fok-song. Concerning
the principal melody of Joshua Mr..
! Kramer says: Among the Lithuanian and
! Polish Jews there exists a sect known as
the Chassidim-extremely pious Jews-who
/ usually sing this song. not i'm Hebrew but
| in jargon. Tho second melody Clear Ye
Amoreas Daughters is very much like the
| 'Wageschuler Hashom1yim,' melody
sung in every synagogue throughout the
world on Friday evenings. II is little
varied. but / have no doubt of its origin
being in this melody" Moussorgsky died
| on his forty-second birthday, March 16-2s,
1881.
| Music by Borodin has been heard oftener
in New York than that of Moussorgsky or
| even Chabrier. He was born i'm 1884 and
lied in 1857, having been throughout his
career one Of the most eager and energetic
spirits Of the Russian school OF composers.
Music, however. was not his profession.
| He was educated as a physician and
| chemist, served in the Russian army as
( surgeon. became professor at the Academy
I of Medicine and Surgery, was made Im
perlal Councillor. knighted by the Car and
achieved other political, scientific and civic
distinctions. The libretto of his opera.
prince Igor" was drawn by Stassoff from
an epical poem of the Russians which
deals with the adventures of Prince Igor
in an expedition against "A nomadic people
allied TO the ancient Turks. called the
! Polovtsi. who invaded Russian territory
some time about the twelfth century. AS
| in the story there is a conflict between
Occidental and Asatic influences. Borodin
tried to preserve this element In his music
He saturated himself with the ancient
literature on the subject and made a study
Of the old songs OF the people who dwelt
in the steppes which had been occupied by
the Polovtsi. There is an unmistakable
relic of Orientalism in the music Of the
first chorus. 10 be sung at the concert Of
the MacDowell Chorus. which is built on a
scale with its frequent use Of an augment
ed. or superfuous, second, thus:
piacere
lento, accel. rit