In my opinion Catherine The Great was to Russia what Queen Elizabeth the first was to England, a great Monarch who brought stability in troubled times. By todays standards you could easily accuse both of being blood thirsty, but those were the days. The Russian people were used to being ruled by force. Many of it’s people where serfs, which is really a form of slavery. I think that this goes a long way to explain why Russia is what it is today. It’s people have never been able to enjoy democracy.
For my part I envision her as a proud, strong Woman. Yes, she had to scheme and plot, but I also think she had a softer side that knew how to let her hair down and have some fun. She was born of royal blood in Germany, a country then made up of small states ruled by Princes, who were really electors for the title of Holy Roman Emperor. She was able to hold her end in a court where intrigue and plotting was part of the fabric, failure in this regard could lead to death. Underneath there had to be a lot going on, strong enough to wrestle the throne from her husband, She then went on to rule for many years.
I have tried to make the music sound courtly, I hope the melody sounds like it could have come from the late 1700’s, about the time of Mozart. To my ears it sounds like a courtly dance, arranged for a simple backing of Piano and Violin, (I think Pianos where about then, although very much under development). Underneath there is a lot more going on. I have tried to experiment with constant time changes, without making it sound too weird.
Again this version is straight out of Musecore. I am pleased with the result.
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