"ANTAR," SYMPHONY No. 2: Op. 15
1. Largo
Allegro vivace
2. Allegro
3. Allegro risoluto alla Marcia
4. Allegretto vivace
Andante amoroso
Antar was a famous Arabian warrior-poet of pre-Mohammedan times. He lived in the sixth century, and his eloquence and inspiration as a poet were so revered that one of his poems, inscribed upon deerskin, was hung up among the idols in the Kaaba[124] at Mecca for the adoration of worshippers. Rimsky-Korsakoff's symphony (first performed at Magdeburg in 1881) is based on a tale by Sennkowsky of which Antar is the hero. Its substance is condensed in the following note, in French and German, prefaced to the score:
I
[Largo; allegro vivace]"Awful is the view of the desert of Sham;[125] mighty in their desolation are the ruins of Palmyra, the city raised by the spirits of darkness. But Antar, the man of the desert, braves them, and dwells serenely in the midst of the scenes of destruction. Antar has forever forsaken the company of mankind. He has sworn eternal hatred on account of the evil they returned him for the good which he intended.
"Suddenly a charming, graceful gazelle[126] appears. Antar starts to pursue it. But a great noise seems pulsing through the heavens, and the light of day is veiled by a dense shadow. It is a giant bird that is giving chase to the gazelle.
"Antar straightway changes his intent, and attacks the monster, which gives a piercing cry and flies away. The gazelle disappears at the same time, and Antar, left alone in the midst of the ruins, soon goes to sleep while meditating on the event that has happened.
"He sees himself transported to a splendid palace, where a multitude of slaves hasten to serve him and to charm his ear with their song. It is the abode of the Queen of Palmyra—the fairy Gul-nazar. The gazelle that he has saved from the talons of the spirit of darkness is none other than the fairy herself. In gratitude Gul-nazar promises Antar the three great joys of life, and, when he assents to the proffered gift, the vision vanishes, and he awakes amid the surrounding ruins."
II
[Allegro]"The first joy granted by the Queen of Palmyra to Antar is the delight of vengeance."
III
[Allegro risoluto alla Marcia]"The second joy—the delight of power."
IV
[Allegretto vivace; andante amoroso]"Antar has returned to the fallen remains of Palmyra. The third and last gift granted by the fairy to Antar is the joy of true love. Antar begs the fairy to take away his life as soon as she perceives the least estrangement on his side, and she promises to do his desire.
"After a long time of mutual bliss, the fairy perceives one day that Antar is absent in spirit, and is gazing into the distance. Straightway divining the reason, she passionately embraces him. The fire of her love inflames Antar, and his heart is consumed away.
"Their lips meet in a last kiss, and Antar dies in the arms of the fairy."[127]
The grave theme for violas and wood-wind which is heard in the opening Largo, and which recurs throughout the symphony, has been called the "Antar" motive; while the graceful motive for flute and accompanying horns in the succeeding Allegro section has been said to characterize the transformed gazelle—the miraculously potent fairy queen through whose love Antar finally meets his end.
César Cui, to whom the score is dedicated, has thus commented on the music:
"First Part: Antar is in the desert—he saves a gazelle from a beast of prey. The gazelle is a fay, who rewards her deliverer by granting him three pleasures. The whole of this part, which begins and ends with a picture of the desolate and boundless desert, is worthy of the composer's magic brush.
"Second Part: The pleasure of Vengeance—a rugged, savage, unbridled Allegro, with crescendos like the letting loose of furious winds.
"Third Part: The Pleasure of Power—an Oriental march. A masterpiece of the finest and most brilliant interpretation.
"Last Part: The Pleasure of Love, amid which Antar expires—a delicate, poetic, delicious Andante...."
And Alfred Bruneau speaks of the music's striking depiction of the three primal human passions: "These sentiments, passing severally through diverse measures, tonalities, and rhythms, over which hovers insistently the parent-phrase of Antar, are the faithful reflections of our tormented, vague, and mysterious souls."