HOPAK
by Modest Moussorgsky - transcribed for concert band [1' 50"/ Grade 3+]
MP3 (735 KB) Real Audio (443 KB) Windows Media (438 KB)
A hopak is the traditional peasant dance of Ukraine; this "Hopak" is from Moussorgsky's opera, "Sorochinsky Fair". Moussorgsky began writing the opera in 1874; despite encouragement from friends and benefactors, he was unable to finish it before his death in 1881. While the rest of the opera has been largely forgotten, "Hopak" has survived the test of time (largely due to the popular piano arrangement by Sergei Rachmaninoff).
I first encountered "Hopak" in orchestration class. My professor suggested we take a portion of it to create a concert band arrangement. I attacked the project with great zeal and arranged the whole piece; but it was my first experience with the challenges of concert band writing, and the results were absolutely dreadful. I filed the piece away for many years, and memories of the attempt always left a sheepish grin on my face. Deep down I knew it could be a great concert band piece, but this arrangement definitely was NOT it.
When it came time for me to re-approach the piece, I glanced at my original version, had a good laugh, and started over completely from scratch. Now that I had more experience as a composer and orchestrator, I had a great time imagining what a Russian composer like Moussorgsky would've done if he'd have had the power of all the brass, woodwinds, and percussion of a concert band to work with. And when it came time to find someone to play it, I went back to my friends at UNLV to see if they'd take a crack at it. As usual, their performance was intensely exciting.
I'd like to thank Sebastian Birch for introducing me to this piece, and Tom Leslie for helping it to finally see the light of day.
World Premiere: November 2000, UNLV Wind Orchestra - Thomas G. Leslie, Director
[Score and Parts = $85.00 + shipping & handling]
To order Hopak, click here