Falling into Folk Preview | Prokofiev's Inspirations from the Circassian People

Leah Froyd
Oct 11
3 min read

Updated: Oct 12

For our third spotlight in our Falling into Folk series, we will talk about the Russian composer, Sergei Prokofiev and his inspirations from folk music.

RSVP

Prokofiev's Early Life

Prokofiev was born to family of farmers in Sontsovka, Ukraine in 1891. Despite a lack of formal training his mother would play the piano and sing folk songs to the young Sergei. His mother realized his musical talent as he was able to quickly learn how to play the songs he learned. She frequently took him to the opera in Moscow where He would eventually move to study composition. There he studied with Sergei Taneyev and Rienhold Glière (a composer featured in out Power of Three concert!). After studying in Moscow, Prokofiev was admitted to the St. Petersburg Conservatory where he won the Rubinstein Prize for a performance of his Piano Concerto No. 1.

In the excerpt above, you can hear many different characters as Prokofiev a master of bold and striking music. He begins with a unison shared by the soloist and orchestra and then clears the texture to make way for an agile and playful piano solo. Early in his career, it was clear that Prokofiev was a master of juxtaposing dramatic musical material side by side (put a pin in that!).

Away From Home

Sergei Prokofiev in New York, photo by George Grantham Bain.

Prokofiev was immensely successful both in Russia and abroad, yet he was deeply impacted by both World Wars. He joined a group of fellow musicians and artists who fled to Nalchik when the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.

During his stay, Prokofiev was approached by The Chairman of the Arts Committee in Nalchik who asked him to write music inspired by the folk music of the Caucasus Mountain region. Prokofiev was very inspired and was able to complete the work in just a month.

The material proved to be very fresh and original, and I settled on writing a string quartet, thinking that the combination of new, untouched Oriental folklore with the most classical of classic forms, the string quartet, ought to produce interesting and unexpected results.”

—Prokofiev, autobiography

In the video above, you can hear a traditional melody from the Circassian people (Kabardians were one of the 12 native Circassian tribes). The main instrument used was the accordion and features a long melodic line accompanied by both a drone and rhythmic bass. In Prokofiev’s interpretation, you will hear similar drones and rhythmic bass lines, however the melody quickly changes between an array of different musical themes which to me paints an image of Prokofiev immersing himself into the music of the Kabardians.

To hear Prokofiev’s take on Kabardian music, come to Falling into Folk!

Prokofiev as drawn by Henri Matisse 1921

Want to hear it in person?

Have burning questions about the music?

Have something else to share with other members of our community?

Our general admission sale is currently underway for our next concert series in San Francisco. You can now reserve a seat at any of our upcoming concerts!!

RSVP