Charles Gounod - Fantaisie sur l'Hymne National Russe (1886) - I. Moderato maetoso

This double upload presents an elaborate French fantasy on the basis of one of Russia's first national anthems and one of the country's grandest hymns.

The original "God, save the Tsar" was the national anthem of the late Russian Empire. The anthem, written by violinist Prince Alexei Lvov to the words of the Romantic court poet Vasily Zhukovsky, was chosen from a competition held in 1833 and quickly became one of the symbols of the Empire, its' simple one-verse structure and stately music congenial to the Russian character. It remained the national anthem until the Russian Revolution of 1917. Over the years many Russian composers made use of the theme in their compositions, most notably Tchaikovsky who quoted it in the 1812 Overture and his Sinfonia on the Danish national anthem. Interestingly enough, the melody seems to have been adapted by foreign composers as well, in this particular, the French operatic composer, Charles Gounod.

In the 1880s, Gounod met the young Lucie Palicot whose virtuoso performance on the pedal grand piano kindled the enthusiasm of the nearly seventy-year-old master who in 1886 composed a grand orchestral piece based on the melody of the hymn in question and dedicated it to Lucie. At first, I had doubts about the effectiveness of a piece written around a rather short (though wonderfully solemn) melody but Gounod's obvious compositional skills and the brilliant performance of the particular version turned my skepticism to delight. A short wind fanfare precedes the theme itself which is then passed between the organ (replacing here the piano) and the orchestra: thus, the initial solo organ section gives way to a stunning combination of the winds playing the main melody over sustained strings lines; later on - the horns stating the theme over the organ's ornamented scales; even further on - another quasi-variations section for the organ playing the theme over a particularly colorful bass line. In the course of the piece, Gounod places variations that are more or less complete alongside recitative-like passages and lyrical melodies (a charmingly enchanting episode at 6:54 - one of the highlights), effectively elaborating the theme which, despite being constantly used throughout the fantaisie, never tires the listener. At the triumphal close (here presented in the second part of the upload), the hymn is played by the full orchestra over arpeggios in the organ, with a bass line conceived after the manner of pealing bells.

Organist Franz Hauk easily encompasses both the delicate demands of the more restrained sections and the majestic boldness of the extroverted later episodes. He is accompanied brilliantly by the Ingolstadt Philharmonic, conducted with flair by Alfredo Ibarra, in perfect balance. Hope you'll enjoy :).

Видео Charles Gounod - Fantaisie sur l'Hymne National Russe (1886) - I. Moderato maetoso канала LindoroRossini