Page:The Russian Review Volume 1.djvu/120

100 in the development of Russian music. Among them, the most faithful follower of the precepts of Glinka and Dargomyzhsky was Moussorgsky. Everything that he composed is permeated with truly Russian coloring. All his subjects were taken from the actual life of the Russian people. This genius, this "god of the new Russian music," as Debussy once called him, represented in his glowing tones, with marvelous power and truthfulness, every phase of human life,—be it of peasant or boyar,—from childhood to death. There is scarcely another composer who has approached as near as Moussorgsky to Dargomyzhsky's great precept, "I want the sound to express the word."

Balakirev is sometimes called the leader of the "Moguchaya Kuchka." But he was a leader only in a certain sense. When the little group came into existence, Balakirev was already a well-known musician. Naturally, the others, much younger than he in years and in musical experience, grouped themselves about their more accomplished and maturer colleague. But Balakirev's influence was not such as to affect the development of the musical work of the younger composers. It is true they often sought his advice and criticism, but each followed his own road, although all these roads converged to the same goal, the realization and the extension of the precepts of Glinka and Dargomyzhsky.

As a composer, Balakirev made several very valuable contributions to the music of his country. While not very numerous, all his compositions are remarkable for their originality, polish, and finish. Among his best compositions are his symphony "Russia," his symphonic poem "Tamara," and his overture "On Russian Themes." He edited an excellent collection of Russian popular songs.

A. P. Borodin was one of the most brilliant exponents of the Russian national music that was being created by the "Moguchaya Kuchka." It is as a symphonist that he attained prominence, and his compositions were instrumental, rather than vocal. Except for a few exquisite songs, Borodin's larger vocal compositions, like his opera, "Prince Igor," for example, appear to be unfinished, as though he did not devote to them the painstaking attention which results in brilliancy and polish. His orchestral pieces are his most distinctive works.

C. A. Cui was a devoted member of the "Moguchaya Kuchka." But his contribution to the work of this musical cenacle was not so much in the capacity of composer, as of musical critic, always ready to defend the ideas and the strivings of the "Kuchka." As composer, he can scarcely be classed with the school