Stevan Hristić - Охридска легенда / The Legend of Ohrid / Ohridska legenda

Stevan Hristić (1885-1958), Serbia / Србија - Охридска легенда, први српски балет у четири свите (1947) - Ohridska legenda, prvi srpski balet u četiri svite (1947) - La Légende d’Ohrid, le premier ballet serbe en quatre suites (1947) - The Legend of Ohrid, the first Serbian ballet in four suites (1947) - Suite No. 1 (Introduction, Serbian Wedding Dance, Greek Dance, Dance of the Janissaries, Song of the Turtledove) - Suite No. 2 (Moderato - Allegro - Andante) - Suite No. 3 (Scene at a Magic Lake) - Suite No. 4 (Slave Girl’s Dance, Rumanian Dance, Dance of the Young Men) Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra (1997) Emil Tabakov Београдска филхармонија (1997) Емил Табаков ---------------------------------------------------- - Suite No. 1 includes the following movements: 1. Introduction with the energetic theme of Bilyana’s father and a gentle introductory music to the first act of the ballet; Serbian Dance (Srpska igra) – the wedding kolo dance from Act I, rich with rhythm and a metre coloured by folklore; 2. Greek Dance – a slave girl’s dance from Act III, based on the ostinato motif in the bassoon and giving rise to the development of rich musical ornaments in the woodwind instruments. The third movement, The Dance of the Janissaries, depicts the horde of wild, robust warriors. The first suite concludes with The Song of the Turtledove, a merry dance of youthful verve belonging to the most popular numbers of the entire ballet. -Suite No. 2 has a three-part form and repeats the music appearing at the beginning of Act IV of the ballet. The slow introduction is based on the rich interweaving of the basic leitmotifs, depicting Marko’s sorrow and concern upon his return to the village. In the middle section (Allegro), his friends try to console him by dancing, but they do not succeed and give up, and the music resumes its former mood. - Suite No. 3 encompasses parts from the second act in which Hristić depicts the atmosphere of the magic lake by means of the orchestra’s rich colour, together with the elements from the impressionistic treatment of instruments. The increasingly agitated water nymphs’ dance culminates in Marko’s victorious Dance with the Sword. A powerful contrast is achieved by the music of Bilyana’s Dance, full of protest and defiance, as her cry for freedom. - Suite No. 4 mostly has the character of a divertissement and is composed of five movements: Slave Girl’s Dance from Act III, it is followed by the festive Rumanian Dance performed by the slave girls before the Sultan. The following Dance of the Young Men characterised by metrical shifts also comes from Act IV and concludes the suite. ------------------------------------------------------------------