'RUS
Program Note
Rus’ -the Slavic work for Viking, referring to the descendants of a Scandinavian warlord class, which invaded and then began ruling large areas of modern day Russian and Ukrainian territories beginning as early as the 8th century.
Musically it was my intention from the beginning to write a work, which reflected the contrast of the “Pagan- Viking” world with the transforming experience of Orthodox Christianity, which began around the year 1000. The all-important sound of the Russian “bell” became the primary musical source material for the work. Multiple derivatives of bell sounds combined with Orthodox chant and a choral setting of “It is meet” by Dmitry Bortnansky (1751-1825) are used to define the Christian element of the work. This world was shattered at the beginning of the 20th century with the overthrow of the existing social order, the banning of all religious practice (thus in a sense a return to Paganism) and the brutal assassination of the entire Royal family by the communist regime in July of 1917. Orthodox Christianity would reemerge in Russia once again after the fall of the Communists during the 1990’s.
The Viking world is represented by the bass drum and smaller wooden frame drum (characteristic of Northern European cultures) as well as the brake drum and vocal and animal sounds meant to signify “the Viking horde”.
Visually, I chose the iconic image of “St George Slaying the Dragon” as the primary visual motive for the work. The various icons of “St George” appear during the “bell” based musical opening of the work, and reappear (as a visual recapitulation) to always signify a return of the opening material in some form. The “Birth” of Christianity is signified not just by the Christ icon but also by the principle surviving icons of Andrei Rublev (1370-1427).