Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Op. 35 - IV. Festival At Baghdad. The Sea. The Ship Breaks against a Cliff Surmounted by a Bronze Horseman.

Allegro molto — Lento — Vivo — Allegro non troppo e maestoso — Tempo come I


see previous post for the first half of the movement vid.


this movement is extremely virtuosic and impassioned. as is implied in the title, it's kind of a mishmash of the previous themes, set in a new light, as well as a little bit of new material (the festival, etc)
the first minute or so is alternation of a furious orchestral representation of the suite's opening motif, the sultan (who will kill scheherazade at any moment, it seems, but for his curiosity about the stories she tells), and a newly impassioned version of the scheherazade leitmotif, which is now even more ornate, faster, and flamboyant.


the carnival begins at the vivo, 7:47 in the video. the softly galloping theme is given first by the flute, then by the strings. then rimsky begins his typical process of repetition with augmentation. a second part of the theme comes in at 8:37, slightly broader (in rhythm only; the tempo remains the same).
9:09 brings the return of a third movement theme - a brief few moments of nostalgia. but without warning we are snapped back into the tempo and mood of the festival, with quick and piquant colors and rhythms.

one of the program notes i read notes that the flavor of the polovtsian dances that rimsky had just been working on with borodin's score comes out particularly in this section of baghdad revelry. see for yourself. 


this section goes on for a while, but i won't bore you by describing what rimsky does with the motif; it's all the same music, but he reinvents it by inserting shorter or longer sections of hiatus, playing with the rhythms (duple time, triple time, quadruple time) alternating it with that third movement melody, using different instrumentations, and usually adding some additional little lick in some instrument to accent it, usually from an entirely different section of the piece. we finally come to a more satisfying cadence, where we find ourselves all of a sudden right in the middle of the raging sea from the first movement (4:37).


from here is a depiction of one of sinbad's (many) shipwrecks. the swaying waves are augmented by even more chromatic swells from the winds, a rolling bass drum/timpani, and sustained chords from the brass.
the shipwreck happens on a plummeting chromatic line starting in the violins, then, with a final fanfare from the brass, all is quiet.


6:27 is the beginning of the final section; the mood is stricken, the waves are still there, but calm now, and the reappearance of the chorale figure from the first movement reassures us that it was all just a story. scheherazade's voice comes in again to conclude the movement, which ends quietly - as most stories do.