Basner V. Suite From the Ballet “Three Musketeers”

Veniamin Yefimovich Basner (January 1, 1925, Yaroslavl — September 3, 1996, St.Petersburg) — the distinguished composer, People’s Artist of Russia, recipient of the State Prize, whose creation has undoubtedly opened the new page in his Motherland’s music history.Basner’s resourceful sphere is really widespread, embracing diverse genres and imaginative areas. Among his compositions of academic genre there are thirteen opuses for music theatre, three symphonies, two instrumental concertos, symphonic suites, five quartets, vocal cycles, having enjoyed the popularity both in Russia and abroad. The composer’s tribute to cinema and popular song genre is striking indeed, i. e. sound tracks to over one hundred films, more than three hundred hits, having caught fancy all over the world. 

The “Three Musketeers” by Veniamin Basner was firstly staged by the choreographer N. Boyarchikov at the Leningrad Academic Maly Opera and Ballet Theatre in the end of 1964. However, already before this dramatization, in 1962, the composer had selected separate scenes out of the ballet score and formed symphonic suite, which enjoyed its popularity as an independent creation on the concert stage.

The suite includes sounding portraits of main personages, so as actions and dancing divertissement. Basner does not resort to any musical stylistic imitation of the age, the action takes place in. Nevertheless, he inculcates to the most contemporary score some single attributes of genre, intonation and rhythm inherent in the epoch depicted.

Meanwhile Basner’s main objective is the blend of romantic impetuosity and grotesque, lyric and buffoonery casting that unbridled joie de vivre of glorious Dumas’ novel and noble ideological earnestness concluded in it.

Contents:

I. INTRODUCTION, FARANDOLE AND MUSKETEERS' MARCH 
II. SERENADE OF ARAMIS
III. BOLERO AND GIGUE