# Getting communist marches on a higher artistic level



## MilanStevanovich (Nov 4, 2011)

True, not very demanding in the harmonic sense, but very powerful and not so easy to compose.
I do not mean this in any political sense, hence I'm not a communist. 




I just find communist music simple and very catchy, which is why it should be preformed more often, and not just by military orchestras/choirs.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I can easily listen to marches such as this but, as with the waltzes of Strauss, I could rarely, if ever, listen to a whole disc of them in one sitting.

I suppose that a lot of works such as this were intentionally written in an idiom that wouldn't make too many intellectual demands on the proletariat while being ideologically appropriate - even in large-scale patriotic cantatas the apotheosis in the form of a triumphant march is virtually expected, such were the requirements of the musical aspect of 'Socialist Realism' in the Soviet Union's case. Not that the left has ever had the monopoly on this sort of thing, of course...

EDIT: out of curiosity I checked this particular work on Wiki and it was actually written during tsarist times! It was never banned, though - it seems the words were later changed presumably to make the work politically suitable.


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## stevederekson (Jan 5, 2014)

Have you listened to the North Korean marches? Some of them are pretty good.


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## Fortinbras Armstrong (Dec 29, 2013)

Those Korean soldiers in the chorus had lots and lots of medals. My grandfather, my father and I served in an actual wars (my grandfather in WWI, my father in WWII and me in Vietnam), unlike any of them, and we had far fewer. Maybe they are "good singing" medals.

My favorite communist song is The Internationale


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## stevederekson (Jan 5, 2014)

Fortinbras Armstrong said:


> Those Korean soldiers in the chorus had lots and lots of medals. My grandfather, my father and I served in an actual wars (my grandfather in WWI, my father in WWII and me in Vietnam), unlike any of them, and we had far fewer. Maybe they are "good singing" medals.
> 
> My favorite communist song is The Internationale


Well, perhaps the US should revise their medalling system!

If we count other pieces aswell, I am truly fond of the East German anthem. Also, if you like the Internationale, check out a video on Youtube where it is sung a cappella in the USSR congress. Quite moving, it shows that good music is good music, no matter what political label is attached to it.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Whether written under the commie pinko banner, the greedy capitalist pigs banner, the anarchist ideal banner, the Urantian Foundation annual member's picnic, St. Paddy's day parades, etc. This sort of material is supposed to be 'light' and 'catchy.'

"Getting communist marches on a higher artistic level" reads to me like a hope to raise a banner higher on the flagpole than the flagpole's actual height allows.

Here are several by Beethoven: to the modern ear, many of Beethoven's marches sound as if he was thumbing his nose in a nearly wide open sardonic manner to mock the stiff ceremonial pomp and circumstance.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

How about that pounding march rhythm from Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony?


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## stevederekson (Jan 5, 2014)

That is one hell of a symphony.

I wonder what the Nazis thought when they heard it.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

I wonder if the folks admiring communist marches would also admire the Horst Wessel Lied. It's quite tuneful, after all...


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## Fortinbras Armstrong (Dec 29, 2013)

To me, the classic example of Prussian music is Fredrick the Great's Hohenfriedberger March

Here it is, as taken from the soundtrack of _Barry Lyndon_


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## stevederekson (Jan 5, 2014)

SiegendesLicht said:


> I wonder if the folks admiring communist marches would also admire the Horst Wessel Lied. It's quite tuneful, after all...


Not bad, but is far more anthem-sounding than the communist marches. I am not communist in any way, but I will say that a lot of the political music from the red countries has been wonderful.


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## ahammel (Oct 10, 2012)

SiegendesLicht said:


> I wonder if the folks admiring communist marches would also admire the Horst Wessel Lied. It's quite tuneful, after all...


Dunno about that, but it's not unusual for film geeks to admire the cinematography of Nazi propaganda (not to mention _The Birth of a Nation_).

People frequently admire art while reviling the motivation behind the creation of said art.


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## stevederekson (Jan 5, 2014)

ahammel said:


> Dunno about that, but it's not unusual for film geeks to admire the cinematography of Nazi propaganda (not to mention _The Birth of a Nation_).
> 
> People frequently admire art while reviling the motivation behind the creation of said art.


It would be silly, for example, to miss out on Wagner simply because of what he wrote.


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## ahammel (Oct 10, 2012)

stevederekson said:


> It would be silly, for example, to miss out on Wagner simply because of what he wrote.


A bit of a different situation, since Wagner didn't tend to express his more distasteful views in music drama*. But yes.

*Some people will tell you that there are expressions of anti-Semitism in some of his operas. In my opinion, these interpretations are a huge stretch, and seem to all be of post-war vintage. But this is neither the time nor the place for that.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

stevederekson said:


> That is one hell of a symphony.
> 
> I wonder what the Nazis thought when they heard it.


I don't know, but every time I hear it I feel an adrenalin rush. Puts one in the mood to fight!

That march should be the theme music of "Atonal vs Traditional", a debate to the death!


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

stevederekson said:


> It would be silly, for example, to miss out on Wagner simply because of what he wrote.


As the ultimate Wagner fanatic, I definitely agree. However, political music, marches, anthems etc, written with the express purpose of supporting a certain regime is an altogether different thing. This is the only kind of music that is not meant to be separated from politics.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

SiegendesLicht said:


> As the ultimate Wagner fanatic


Hey, Couchie. Somebody is usurping your position.


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## samurai (Apr 22, 2011)

hpowders said:


> How about that pounding march rhythm from Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony?


Yes, the one that gradually builds in crescendo, ala Ravel's Bolero? I seem to be one of the few listeners who actually like this part, based on some of the rather scathing reviews I've read of it, and not just on this forum.


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## Fortinbras Armstrong (Dec 29, 2013)

I was just thinking of Woody Allen's comment, "I can't listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland."


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

samurai said:


> Yes, the one that gradually builds in crescendo, ala Ravel's Bolero? I seem to be one of the few listeners who actually like this part, based on some of the rather scathing reviews I've read of it, and not just on this forum.


I have the Bernstein/Chicago Symphony and it's time to listen to it again. Tomorrow. Too much NFL playoffs today! Although that march could be an excellent soundtrack for the games!


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## samurai (Apr 22, 2011)

hpowders said:


> I have the Bernstein/Chicago Symphony and it's time to listen to it again. Tomorrow. Too much NFL playoffs today! Although that march could be an excellent soundtrack for the games!


That's a great, rousing version, very emotive---after all, it is Lenny at the wheel! :lol:


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

samurai said:


> That's a great, rousing version, very emotive---after all, it is Lenny at the wheel! :lol:


He seemed to have a fine rapport with the Chicago players. I guess he learned how to say "discount daaable check!"


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