{{Short description|1876 tone poem by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky}} {{italic title}} [[File:Tchaikovsky,_head-and-shoulders_portrait.jpg|thumb|316x316px|Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, {{Circa|1880}}]] The '''''Marche slave''''', also '''''Marche slav''''' ({{IPA|fr|maʁʃ(ə) slav}}) in B{{music|flat}} minor, Op. 31, is an orchestral tone poem by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky published in 1876. It was written to celebrate Russia's intervention in the Serbo-Ottoman War.
It has been published variously as '''''Slavic March''''' ({{langx|sr|Словенски марш}} / ''Slovenski marš''; {{langx|ru|Славянский марш|Slavyanskiy marsh}}), '''''Slavonic March''''', and '''''Serbo-Russian March''''' ({{langx|sr|Српско-руски марш}} / ''Srpsko-ruski marš''; {{langx|ru|Сербско-русский марш|Serbsko-russkiy marsh}}).
==Background and composition== In June 1876, Serbia and the Ottoman Empire were engaged in the Serbian-Ottoman War, in which Russia openly supported Serbia. The Russian Musical Society commissioned an orchestral piece from Tchaikovsky for a concert in aid of the Red Cross Society, and ultimately for the benefit of wounded Serbian veterans.<ref name="Slavonic March">{{cite web|title=Slavonic March|url=https://www.kennedy-center.org/artist/composition/3218|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822201925/https://www.kennedy-center.org/artist/composition/3218 |archive-date=22 August 2016 |website=The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts|access-date=14 July 2016}}</ref> Many Russians sympathized with their fellow Slavs and Orthodox Christians and sent volunteer soldiers and aid to assist Serbia.
Tchaikovsky referred to the piece as his "Serbo-Russian March" while writing it. It was premiered in Moscow on {{OldStyleDate|November 17|1876|November 5}}, conducted by Nikolai Rubinstein.<ref name="Slavonic March" />
[[File:Srbi prodiru na Mramor.jpg|thumb|Serbian soldiers attacking the Ottoman army at Mramor, illustration from 1877]]
The march is highly programmatic in its form and organization. The first section, written in the somber key of B{{music|flat}} minor, describes the oppression of the Serbs by the Ottoman Turks. It uses two Serbian folk songs, "Sunce jarko, ne sijaš jednako" (Bright sun, you do not shine equally),<ref>{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXZn7DASlaU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/UXZn7DASlaU| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Sunce jarko ne sijaš jednako - Gordana Kojadinović|author=Gordana Kojadinović}}{{cbignore}}</ref> by Isidor Ćirić and "Rado ide Srbin u vojnike" (Gladly does the Serb become a soldier).<ref name="Serbian folk song: Rado ide Srbin u vojnike">{{cite video|title=Радо иде Србин у војнике (хорска верзија)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HyaH89oRns |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/3HyaH89oRns| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|author=National Channel}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Basil W. R. Jenkins|author2=Anita Dorich|title=A brief history of Serbian music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1G1LAAAAYAAJ|year=1996|publisher=Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Western America|page=79}}</ref>
This eventually gives way to the second section, written in the relative key of D{{music|flat}} major, which describes the Russians rallying to help the Serbs. This is based on a simple melody with the character of a rustic dance that is passed around the orchestra, until finally it gives way to a solemn statement of the Russian imperial anthem "God Save the Tsar".{{cn|date=April 2025}} The third section of the piece is a repeat of Tchaikovsky's furious orchestral climax from the first section, reiterating the Serbian cry for help. The fourth and final section describes the Russian volunteers marching into battle to assist the Serbs.{{cn|date=April 2025}} It uses a Russian folk tune, this time in the tonic major key of B{{music|flat}} major, and includes another blazing rendition of "God Save the Tsar", prophesying the triumph of the Slavonic people over the Ottomans. The overture finishes with a virtuoso coda for the full orchestra.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
==See also== *Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
==References== {{Reflist}}
===Further reading=== * {{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=David |title=Tchaikovsky: A Biographical and Critical Study. - Vol.2: The Crisis Years (1874-1878) |date=1982 |publisher=Victor Gollancz Ltd |isbn=9780575031326 |pages=99-102}} * {{cite book |last1=Garden |first1=Edward |title=Tchaikovsky |date=1973 |publisher=J M Dent & Sons Ltd |isbn=9780460031059}}
==External links== *{{IMSLP2|work=Slavonic_March,_Op.31_(Tchaikovsky,_Pyotr)|cname=Marche Slave}} *[http://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/Slavonic_March Tchaikovsky Research] oeke *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060710215953/http://www.hymn.ru/god-save-in-tchaikovsky/index-en.html Downloadable recordings of the march] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0sgKCetlb8 Slavonic March on Youtube] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3XFuNwMwio Slavonic March on Youtube]
{{Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky}} {{Great Eastern Crisis}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Orchestral compositions by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Category:1876 compositions Category:Orchestral marches Category:1876 in the Russian Empire Category:19th century in Serbia Category:Compositions in B-flat minor Category:Russia–Serbia relations Category:Pan-Slavism Category:Compositions using folk songs Category:Music and politics Category:God Save the Tsar!