The score of the work in its purely orchestral form is prefaced by a descriptive programme, of which the following is a translation:
"The stage is covered with thick clouds. Darkness. The clouds disperse little by little, and finally disappear completely. Falling stars. A clear, moonless night. A gorge on Mount Triglav. Souls of the dead approach floating, and begin a fantastic round (Kolo). The full moon, which rises, lights up the gorge; in its rays appears the wraith of the princess Mlada, making signs to Jaromir to follow her. Lightly she glides above the rocks and precipices. Jaromir follows her. The shades interrupt the Kolo. Jaromir, in a wild burst of passion, seeks to approach Mlada, who disappears. Jaromir pursues her. The moon grows red. Subterranean thunder. Seized with terror, the shades of the dead disappear. Night birds wing their way across the stage. Evil spirits issue from all the caverns and crevasses—demons, spectres, and sorcerers come forth, and serpents and toads crawl out. Revels and dances of the spirits of darkness. From the midst of the infernal round, Chernobog arises, in the form of a black stag, with his followers. He evokes the souls of Jaromir and of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. Impenetrable darkness. The stage is transformed into a splendid Egyptian hall. Queen Cleopatra is reclining upon a sumptuous couch of purple, surrounded by dancing-girls and slaves. Dances of the slaves, the dancing-girls, and Cleopatra. She seeks passionately to draw Jaromir towards her; the soul of the latter grows animated; the wraith of Mlada hides its face in its hands and weeps. A cock crows. Suddenly everything vanishes. Deep night; a peal of underground thunder. Quiet. The clouds successively disperse. First gleam of dawn. The wooded slope of Mount Triglav. Jaromir is sleeping. Nature awakes; the leaves rustle and the birds twitter. A ray of the rising sun falls on Jaromir. Full daylight."
SUITE, "CHRISTMAS EVE"
TABLEAU 1. INTRODUCTION: CHRISTMAS EVE
TABLEAU 2. IN SPACE
TABLEAU 3. BRILLIANT BALL IN THE IMPERIAL PALACE
TABLEAU 4. NIGHT, IN SPACE
Rimsky-Korsakoff composed, in 1895, an opera, "Christmas Eve," based on a story by Gogol.[130] It was produced at St. Petersburg December 10, 1895. Excerpts from it were afterwards made into a suite by the composer. Mr. H. E. Krehbiel has paraphrased Gogol's tale, as it has been utilized by Rimsky-Korsakoff, with a clearness and concision which could not well be bettered:
"[The story] is concerned with one of the adventures of the hero, a young, handsome, herculean, and stout-hearted blacksmith named Wakula, in an effort to win the hand of a wilful and capricious damsel named Oxana. She commands him to bring her the tscherewitschki (embroidered slippers, or little shoes) of the Empress Catherine the Great. To understand how he achieved this feat it is necessary to relate that his mother, Ssoloka, is a mistress of the magic arts, and also a buxom dame, who counts among her four lovers not only the father of the whimsical Oxana, but the devil himself. One day, the day before Christmas, her four lovers appear at her house in such rapid succession that she is obliged to hide them in sacks, one after another, to prevent discovery of the numerous rivalry. In her haste two are put into one sack. She has just disposed of the last when Wakula comes home, and to him she gives the sacks (as containing so much coal) to carry away to various destinations. Wakula shoulders the three sacks at once and is off. After depositing two of them in the street, he discovers that he has trapped the devil in the third, and under threat of baptizement unless he consents, compels his satanic majesty to transport him instanter to St. Petersburg, and help him get the empress's slippers. Here the suite begins, and, since most of it is of the descriptive order, the rest of the tale may best be told with hints intended to identify the scenes with the music."
TABLEAU I. INTRODUCTION: CHRISTMAS EVE
"The scene pictures Dikanka, a village in Little Russia, on a clear, cold night (Adagio)."
TABLEAU II. IN SPACE
"The stars group themselves upon the clouds (Andante). The stars engage in games and dances (Ballet). Mazurka, Allegro assai.... A procession of comets (Adagio). A round dance, revolution of the constellations about the pole (Andante non troppo). A shower of meteors ( ... Allegro). Clouds descend and hide the stars. A wizard rides into view, seated in a kettle, which he drives with an oven-fork; after him, a rout of wizards, in pots, kettles and bowls, carrying forks, frying-pans, tongs, and pokers; witches astride of brooms. Dance of the witches. Wakula rushes by upon the devil, in the shape of a winged horse; wizards and witches skurry after him (Allegro assai, with a dactyllic figure to suggest the infernal ride). The lights of St. Petersburg are seen (Moderato)."
TABLEAU III. BRILLIANT BALL IN THE IMPERIAL PALACE
"(Polonaise, Allegro non troppo, alla Polacca.) The devil enters with Wakula (the dactyllic figure is resumed). Darkness comes over the scene."
TABLEAU IV. NIGHT, IN SPACE
"Glimpses of the setting moon are had through rifts in the clouds (Andante). Flying through the clouds, a multitude of empty pots and kettles, brooms, forks, and other kitchen utensils (Allegro). Wakula dashes past, in the opposite direction, upon his devil-horse (Allegro assai). The clouds disperse and vanish. The moon sets, and the morning star (Venus) appears (Moderato). Dawn. Kolyada, in a golden sledge, and Ovsen, on a boar with golden bristles, appear with a train of light elves who hymn them (Andante). Kolyada is an ancient Slavic sun goddess. In an old ceremony she used to be represented by a maiden, clad in white robes, who was driven from house to house in the yuletide, while kolyadki (i.e., Kolyada songs) were sung by the youths and maidens who attended her, and received gifts from the people in return for their songs. The sun rises through the frosty mists, and Dikanka becomes visible. Wakula is returned with the shoes in time for early mass. The bells of the village church are heard, and the people singing the pious Christmas canticle."
FOOTNOTES:
[121] Some authorities give May 22d.
[122] "Gusli": an instrument peculiar to the Russian people. "Originally it had a small, flat sounding-box, with a maple-wood cover, and strung with seven strings."