Arensky: A Dream on the Volga, Op.16

Introduction

Son na Volge, or "A Volga Dream," is based on a text by Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky, originally written for Tchaikovsky's opera Voyevoda. Arensky composed Son na Volge in 1888, and it had its professional premiere at the Bol'shoy Theatre of Moscow on December 21, 1890. This was one of Arensky's earlier works, composed while he was still studying composition with Rimsky-Korsakov. Although Arensky is not usually considered a nationalist composer, and does not usually make prominent use of folk idioms in his works in order to depict Russian daily life, this composition is very full of dramatic and local color. The nightmare scene in particular makes use of a stylized Russian folk idiom called the kuchlist style, which is infused throughout a tableau of dramatic recitative.