Slovo o polku Igoreve (052)

No doubt that everybody is familiar with Warren G's rap single "Prince Igor", where the original russian lyrics were sung by Sissel Kyrkjebø. The "Polovetsian Dances" means "Dance of Kypchaks". The touching motive which is accompanied by the text: "Uletaj na kryl'jakh vetra ty v kraj rodnoj, rodnaja pesnja nasha, tuda, gde my tebja svobodno peli, gde bylo tak privol'no nam s toboju.", I don't know for sure but want to believe that it takes its roots from the steppe, I'm sure it would sound great if played on saz or qobyz. Prince Igor was a real character and this video is about how he was defeated by kypchaks, this fact was depictured in several sources including "Slovo o Polku Igoreve" found in 17th century written in old russian language. Igor's life story has inspired the well known russian composer Alexander Borodin to write an opera so called "Prince Igor". The libretto, adapted by the composer from the East Slavic epic "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", centers on a 12th-century Russian prince (Igor Svyatoslavich) and his campaigns against the invading Polovtsian tribes. The opera was first performed in St.Petersburg on November 4, 1890. In the USA the opera was first produced at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, December 30, 1915. His military campaign against the Polovtsian(Kypchak) tribes was catastrophic for him as for some southern russian towns which were overrun by kypchaks after the main battle which they have won. Kypchaks (polovtsy) have defeated the russian prince Igor and his son Vladimir. Both of them were taken captive. Later Vladimir marries daughter of Polovtsian Khan Konchak and stays in the polovtsian camp as a hostage while his father escapes from captivity and arrives safely at the city of Kremlin. Borodin left the opera incomplete at his death in 1887. Composition and orchestration was completed posthumously by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov. According to the printed score, the opera was completed as follows: Rimsky-Korsakov orchestrated the previously unorchestrated passages from the Prologue, Acts 1, 2, and 4, and the "Polovetsian March" which opens Act 3. Glazunov used what existing material was left to compose and orchestrate the rest of the third act; the often-repeated legend is that he also reconstructed and orchestrated the overture from memory after hearing the composer play it at the piano several times. (In Testimony, Shostakovich quotes Glazunov as admitting to, in essence, writing the overture based on Borodin's themes; this explanation appears to make more sense, due to the complex polyphonic nature of the overture, which would have made it virtually impossible to adequately render on the piano.) Both the Overture to Prince Igor and the "Polovetsian Dances" (from Act II) are well-known concert standards. Together with the "Polovetsian March", they form the so-called "suite" from the opera. The Polovetsian Dances are perhaps the best known selections from Alexander Borodin's opera Prince Igor. They are often played as a stand-alone concert piece as one of the best known works in the classical repertoire. In the opera the dances are performed with chorus, but concert performances often omit the choral parts. The dances do not include the "Polovetsian March" which opens Act III (No. 18), but the overture, dances, and march from the opera have been performed together to form a suite from Prince Igor. In the opera Prince Igor the dances occur in Act II - in the Polovetsian camp. The Tale of Igor's Campaign Polovtsian Dances March of the Polovtsy Polovtsian Dances: "Fly away on the wings of the wind" («Улетай на крыльях ветра»)