Folk songs as a source of themes for S. S. Prokofiev’s «Russian Overture»

- · 22.05.2025

Original article
DOI: 10.56620/2227-9997-2025-2-48-62

Daria K. Dolgova

N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory, St. Petersburg, Russia,
barkazuhina@yandex.ru, https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7526-4707
Abstract: «Russian Overture» opens a line of creativity of S. S. Prokofiev, associated with an appeal to genuine Russian musical folklore. The song sources of the themes that served as the basis of the work are established. They turned out to be two samples from the repertoire of the State Academic Russian Folk Choir named after M. E. Pyatnitsky, being prepared for publication during the period of writing and premiere of the overture. Both tunes belong to the wedding tradition of the Western Russian territory and have a similar compositional structure. The characteristic features of the use of authentic melodies in the context of the tradition of the genre of overture on folk themes are considered. Having compared the structural features of similar works by Prokofiev’s predecessors, it becomes obvious that the author of the «Russian Overture» chose his own path. Instead of sonata form with an introduction, he turns to a rondo sonata with a central episode. In the process of comparing the musical text of the overture and original tunes, parameters are revealed that the composer systematically changes. The most variable are compositional and rhythmic indicators, while modal and pitch transformations of folk melodies are reduced to a minimum.

Keywords: Sergei Prokofiev, overture, quotation of folk tunes, composer, folklore, symphonic music, Russian school of composition

For citation: Dolgova D. K. Folk songs as a source of themes for S. S. Prokofiev’s «Russian Overture». Scholarly papers of Gnesin Russian Academy of Music. 2025;(2):48-62. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.56620/2227-9997-2025-2-48-62

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