The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda (film)
Encyclopedia
The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda is an extant Soviet animation
feature film
by Mikhail Tsekhanovsky based on the eponymous fairy tale in verse
by Alexander Pushkin. The only surviving episode (4 mins) is called Bazar (Marketplace) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0817882/).
A screenplay
for the film was written in the 1930s by the director
Mikhail Tsekhanovskiy. Work began in 1933. In the same year, the director contacted the young composer Dimitri Shostakovich and asked him to write music to accompany the film. Shostakovich wrote some music for the film in 1933-34 but never completed the score because of the 1936 denunciation of his work in the form of the Pravda article Muddle Instead of Music. Partially because the film now had no score, work on it was stopped and it was never completed. http://books.interros.ru/?book=mult&mode=print&id=4 Other reasons included production difficulties and a general lack of organization at the studio. Although the film was nearly finished, it was put into storage at the Lenfilm
archives, where almost all of it was lost in a fire during the Second World War
. http://theatre.perm.ru/premier/balda.shtml The 6-minute scene of the market from the tale is all that survives and it stands alone as a classic of Russian animated films. http://animator.ru/db/?p=show_film&fid=6310
The score was published in 2005, in volume 126 of DSCH Publishers' New Collected Works of Dmitri Shostakovich. http://www.devinci.fr/chostakovitch/BILINGUE/150.htm This publication contains text in Russian and English.
1The violin, viola, cello and contrabass parts are only present for one loud chord at the end of the piece.
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
by Mikhail Tsekhanovsky based on the eponymous fairy tale in verse
The Tale of the Priest and of his Workman Balda
The Tale of the Priest and of his Workman Balda is a fairy tale in verse by Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin wrote the tale on September 13, 1830 while staying at Boldino. It is based on a Russian folk tale which Pushkin collected in Mikhailovskoe early on...
by Alexander Pushkin. The only surviving episode (4 mins) is called Bazar (Marketplace) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0817882/).
A screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
for the film was written in the 1930s by the director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Mikhail Tsekhanovskiy. Work began in 1933. In the same year, the director contacted the young composer Dimitri Shostakovich and asked him to write music to accompany the film. Shostakovich wrote some music for the film in 1933-34 but never completed the score because of the 1936 denunciation of his work in the form of the Pravda article Muddle Instead of Music. Partially because the film now had no score, work on it was stopped and it was never completed. http://books.interros.ru/?book=mult&mode=print&id=4 Other reasons included production difficulties and a general lack of organization at the studio. Although the film was nearly finished, it was put into storage at the Lenfilm
Lenfilm
Kinostudiya "Lenfilm" is a production unit of the Russian film industry, with its own film studio, located in Saint Petersburg, Russia, formerly Leningrad, R.S.F.S.R. Today OAO "Kinostudiya Lenfilm" is a corporation with its stakes shared between private owners, and several private film studios,...
archives, where almost all of it was lost in a fire during the Second World War
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
. http://theatre.perm.ru/premier/balda.shtml The 6-minute scene of the market from the tale is all that survives and it stands alone as a classic of Russian animated films. http://animator.ru/db/?p=show_film&fid=6310
Music
After Shostakovich died, his widow arranged to have the score completed by one of Shostakovich's students, Vadim Bibergan. The world premiere recording of the 50-minute work was made by the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Thomas Sanderling and released in 2006, a century after Shostakovich's birth. http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=139082The score was published in 2005, in volume 126 of DSCH Publishers' New Collected Works of Dmitri Shostakovich. http://www.devinci.fr/chostakovitch/BILINGUE/150.htm This publication contains text in Russian and English.
Surviving and restored parts (DSCH, 2005)
A number of items were found either in the original composer's handwriting or that of a copier's; eleven others were found only in rough draft form with missing parts or harmonies, and were restored by Vadim Bibergan.| Name | Original | Copied | Draft |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Overture | |||
| 2. Bazaar. Introduction | |||
| 3. Noisy Bazaar | |||
| 4. First Carousel | |||
| 5. Balda's March | |||
| 6. Dance of the Bell-Ringer | |||
| 7. Second Carousel | |||
| 8. Bear's Dance | |||
| 9. Balda's Song | |||
| 10. Balda's Meeting with the Priest | |||
| 11. Balda's Dialogue with the Priest | |||
| 12. Finale of Part One (March) | |||
| 13. The Village | |||
| 14. Balda's First Job | |||
| 15. Priest Metropolitan. Tea-Drinking | |||
| 16. Overture for a Party | |||
| 17. Lullaby | |||
| 18. Priest's Daughter's Dream | |||
| 19. Waltz | |||
| 20. Balda's Second Job | |||
| 21. Priest's Dance with the Devil | |||
| 22. Dance of Dead Men | |||
| 23. Procession of Ghouls | |||
| 24. Balda's Dialogue with Old Devil | |||
| 25. Balda's First Dialogue with Imp | |||
| 26. Devil's Couplets | |||
| 27. Balda's Second Dialogue with Imp | |||
| 28. Three Fillips | |||
| 29. Balda's Gallop |
Winds
Note: "1+" means that two instruments are specified, but only one part is written for them both to play.| Part | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
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| Piccolo Piccolo The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written... (2) |
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| Flute Flute The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening... (2) |
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| Oboe Oboe The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca... (2) |
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| English horn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clarinet in Eb E-flat clarinet The E-flat clarinet is a member of the clarinet family. It is usually classed as a soprano clarinet, although some authors describe it as a "sopranino" or even "piccolo" clarinet. Smaller in size and higher in pitch than the more common B clarinet, it is a transposing instrument in E, sounding a... |
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| Clarinet Clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed... in Bb (2) |
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| Bass clarinet Bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet... in Bb |
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| Soprano sax Soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in... in Bb (2) |
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| Tenor sax Tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... in Bb |
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| Bassoon Bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature... (2) |
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| Contrabassoon Contrabassoon The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower... |
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| Horn Horn (instrument) The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player .... in F (4) |
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| Trumpet Trumpet The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... in Bb (3) |
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| Euphonium Euphonium The euphonium is a conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced"... |
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| Trombone Trombone The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... (3) |
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| Tuba Tuba The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the... |
Strings
Note: the exact number of violin/viola/cello/contrabass players is not indicated, except in pieces where only one instrument is to play.| Part | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 181 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
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| Violins I & II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Viola Viola The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average... |
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| Cello Cello The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is... |
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| Contrabass Contrabass Contrabass refers to a musical instrument of very low pitch; generally those pitched one octave below instruments of the bass register... |
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| Harp Pedal harp The pedal harp is a large and technically modern harp, designed primarily for classical music and played either solo, as part of chamber ensembles, as soloist with or as a section or member in an orchestra... |
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| Russian guitar Russian guitar The Russian guitar is a seven-string acoustic guitar that arrived in Russia toward the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, most probably as an evolution of the cittern, kobza, and torban... |
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| Balalaika Balalaika The balalaika is a stringed musical instrument popular in Russia, with a characteristic triangular body and three strings.The balalaika family of instruments includes instruments of various sizes, from the highest-pitched to the lowest, the prima balalaika, secunda balalaika, alto balalaika, bass... |
1The violin, viola, cello and contrabass parts are only present for one loud chord at the end of the piece.
Keyboards and tuned percussion
| Part | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timpani Timpani Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet... |
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| Glockenspiel Glockenspiel A glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone... |
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| Xylophone Xylophone The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets... |
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| Chimes Tubular bell Tubular bells are musical instruments in the percussion family. Each bell is a metal tube, 30–38 mm in diameter, tuned by altering its length. Its standard range is from C4-F5, though many professional instruments reach G5 . Tubular bells are often replaced by studio chimes, which are a smaller... |
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| Accordion Accordion The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist.... |
Other percussion
Names in italics are in their original Italian.| Part | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
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| Triangle Triangle (instrument) The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve... |
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| Whistle Whistle A whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means... |
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| Vetro (Glass) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wood block Wood block A woodblock is essentially a small piece of slit drum made from a single piece of wood and used as a percussion instrument. It is struck with a stick, making a characteristically percussive sound.... (2) |
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| Raganella Raganella The raganella is a percussion instrument common in the folk music of Calabria in southern Italy. Technically, the raganella is a "cog rattle," producing a sound that is enough of a "croak" to have derived the folk name of the instrument from the Italian name of the common tree-frog.- Design :The... |
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| Whip Whip (instrument) In music, a whip or slapstick is a percussion instrument consisting of two wooden boards joined by a hinge at one end. When the boards are brought together rapidly, the sound is reminiscent of the crack of a whip. It is often used in modern orchestras, bands, and percussion ensembles.There are... |
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| Pistola | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tambourine Tambourine The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all.... |
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| Tamburo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Suspended cymbal Suspended cymbal right|thumb|Classical suspended cymbalA suspended cymbal is any single cymbal played with a stick or beater rather than struck against another cymbal. A common abbreviation used is sus. cym., or sus. cymb. .-History:... |
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| Crash cymbal Cymbal Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a... |
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| Cassa |
Voices
Note: the exact number of choralists is mostly not indicated; "2+" means that there are at least two harmonic lines somewhere in a part, or at least 2 voices are specifically called for.| Part | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Narrator (child's voice (boy)) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balda (bass) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Priest (2 voices: tenor and bass) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Priest's Wife (bass) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Priest's Daughter (soprano) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Old Demon (2 voices: mezzo-soprano and bass) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Imp (descant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Devil/Chyort (bass-baritone) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chorus (sopranos) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chorus (altos) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chorus (tenors) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chorus (basses) |
External links
- «The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda» at animator.ruAnimator.ruAnimator.ru is a Russian website chronicling the films, people and studios of the animation industry in Russia, the former Soviet Union and the CIS. It also includes a forum, a news block, a photo-gallery and an animators labour exchange...
- Liner notes by Manashir Yakubov for the recording of The Tale of the Priest and his Worker, Balda by the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Thomas Sanderling conductor (Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
B0006507-02) - Surviving portion of the film on Vimeo with English subtitles (public domain)