Marche Slave, Op.31

Although he took little interest in politics, Tchaikovsky was not unpatriotic. It does seem, for example, that he was moved to genuine Slavonic fervour by the war waged on Turkey by Montenegro, Serbia, and Russian volunteers after the atrocities committed on Christians in the Balkans in 1876. Certainly, having been asked by Nikolai Rubinstein to write a piece for a charity concert in aid of the war effort and on behalf of the victims, he completed a Serbo-Russian March - now known as the Marche slave or Slavonic March - within no more than five days.

The shape of the Marche slave is determined, appropriately enough, by conventional march form. Two Serbian folksongs and a fragment of another are allied with the Tsarist national anthem in a basically ternary construction. Although they are of the kind which can only be repeated rather than developed, the Serbian melodies suited Tchaikovsky’s purpose: the opening section includes no fewer than five statements of the same theme, sometimes suffering and sometimes heroic. The middle section is based on a brisker, more business-like tune which is similarly repeated but combined also with a theme of distinctly Russian identity - an intervention which, after the repeat of the opening section, brings about the triumph of the joyously extended coda.

Though not unpatriotic, Tchaikovsky took little interest in politics. His obsessive preoccupations were with his own inner life and, by extension, his intimate relationships with family and friends. It does seem, however, that he was moved to Slavonic fervour by the war waged on Turkey by Montenegro, Serbia, and Russian volunteers after the atrocities committed on Christians in the Balkans in 1876. Certainly, having been asked by Nikolai Rubinstein to write a piece for a charity concert in aid of the war effort and on behalf of the victims, he completed a Serbo-Russian March - now known as the Marche Slave or Slavonic March - within no more than five days.

The shape of the Marche Slave is determined, appropriately enough, by conventional march form: two Serbian folksongs and a fragment of another are allied with the Tsarist national anthem in a basically ternary construction. Although they are of the kind which can only be repeated rather than developed, the Serbian melodies suited Tchaikovsky’s purpose. The opening section includes no fewer than five statements of the same theme, sometimes suffering and sometimes heroic, in B minor. The middle section is based on a more business-like tune in the relative major similarly repeated but combined also with a theme of distinctly Russian identity - an intervention which, after the repeat of the opening section, brings about the triumph of the joyously extended coda in B flat major.