Korobeiniki

Korobeiniki is a Russian song, which is based upon a poem written by Nikolai Alexejewitsch Nekrassow (1821 – 1878) in 1861. It was printed in a magazine called Sowremennik. Korobeiniki were door-to-door salesmen, who mostly sold fabric, household items and books in the pre-revolutionary Russia. This song became popular because of its simple and catchy melody and because of its faster and faster turning dance character. It quickly it achieved the status of a Russian folk tune. The song tells about love and how a young door-to-door salesman lures the naive Katja into a rye field. Later on Korobeiniki was used as a soundtrack in the computer game „Tetris“ and became well-known in the Western civilization. The song was also played in films, for exemple: “Die durch die Hölle gehen”, “Snatch – Schweine und Diamanten” or “The Man Who Knew Too Little”. In 2002, the Rockband “Ozma” published a cover of Korobeiniki on their album “The Doubble Donkey Disc”. In addition there are also many Techno- and Tranceremixes from various artists.

The following version for wind ensemble begins with a slow introduction, which ends with a powerful Grandioso. From bar 56 to bar, there is a fast and fleet-footed part, in which we hear the theme for the first time in its original version. Soloists get the chance to improvise over the theme at the section from bar 128 to bar , which can be repeated as many times as wanted. The following part shows the theme carried on and in a colorful and changing orchestration. In conclusion the melody is played one more time all together and leads into a grand finish.