On Rimsky-Korsakov’s False (Hexatonic) Progressions Outside the Limits of a Tonality

Abstract

AbstractIt is well known that Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov used various types of octatonicism in his music, and that he likely passed on this eight-note device to his students, including, most famously, Igor Stravinsky. However, little work has been done with respect to Rimsky-Korsakov’s use of hexatonicism, despite its frequent appearance in his music. Octatonic and hexatonic structures arise naturally in Rimsky’s concept of “false progressions” along the cycle of minor and major thirds, respectively, a concept that he included at the end of his influential harmony textbook from 1885. In this article I examine his use of hexatonicism and demonstrate how it was a significant part of both his pedagogy and his compositions. In music examples selected from his operas, I identify three types of hexatonic structures and suggest specific dramatic and expressive functions for why he may have used them. I then discuss Rimsky’s own beliefs, expressed in his writings, about the hexatonic collection, which he called “wild” and “luring.” Ultimately, I aim to enrich the discourse on Rimsky-Korsakov the teacher, writer, and composer, beyond the typical Western narrative of Rimsky-Korsakov as, primarily, the teacher of Igor Stravinsky.